About Night Terrors

For today's countdown to Halloween, I wanted to blog about Night Terrors, the anthology E.F. Benson's ghost stories. I blogged about it briefly in Augtober last year. No, I haven't read it all yet, it's a solid 705 pages book. I think it has all his stories. That said, I have read some of them this month, because I like to have variety in the writers and the writing in my Halloween reading list, and every year I need a healthy those of Gothic horror. And some of his stories are really short, so they make for a quick read. Anyway, if you can get your hands on this book, you won't regret it. If not, you can find at least some of the ghost stories of Benson online. I might find them for you in future posts.

Night Terrors

You must think I'm obsessing about Halloween already and you are right. But we are in Augtober after all. And sometimes, chance or fate seems to confirm it. Like when my son and I went to a small fayre last weekend. There were toys and books on sale, including this E.F. Benson's anthology, aptly titled Night Terrors. I'm going to surprise you: I did not buy it. Oh, not because I decided to behave: I already have it, this very edition in fact, with the spider and all. I even have started reading it, one of my many books of classic ghost stories I tend to read this time of year. But I thought it was funny that it showed up like this. I hope it found a buyer.

More Ghost Stories?

I saw this book during one of my trips to the local bookshop a few months ago. I came this close to buy it, just because of the really nice spooky cover (and yes, I know about the haunting it refers to) but thankfully I did not. Not because I don't like of E.F. Benson, but because it struck me that I have his complete works somewhere. Worse: I have started reading the book. So I was about to foolishly buy a book for its cover. Silly me. All the same, as time goes, I am getting in a spooky Halloween mood and will start soon to read ghost and horror stories. But it's not like I have nothing scary in my TBR list. What about you?

Ghosts in the House

For today's countdown to Halloween reading suggestion, I go for forgotten classics: Ghosts in the House: Tales of Terror by A.C. Benson & R.H. Benson. They are the brothers of E.F. Benson, who is nowadays far more famous. These are old fashioned ghost stories in the vein of M.R. James. When they were not writing spooky tales, A.C. was a school master, R.H. a Catholic priest, so they belong to a long tradition of mild mannered British writers with a dark imagination. You will get a few shivers reading the stories, but they are pretty much devoid of the fatalism and cynicism of modern horror. The forces of evil might be a threat, but they are seldom triumphant.

The Shooting of Achnaleish

I thought I would quickly give a reading suggestion for everybody here who is doing the countdown to Halloween. This is a short horror story (or ghost story as they were labeled back then) by E.F. Benson, a writer I am slowly starting to discover and so far I am really impressed. I can even say that I have been pleasantly spooked. So anyway, one of the horror stories I have really enjoyed of him is The Shooting of Achnaleish. Without giving too much away, it starts with Englishmen and women going on a hunting trip in mysterious and eerie Scotland. Well, in a mysterious and eerie part of Scotland, the small village of Achnaleish. Things quickly take a dramatic turn. The story is a proof that you do not need a big monster with fangs and claws to create terror. Sometimes, all you need is a few superstitious and suspicious villagers, some old folklore about witches and... black hares. Anyway, tell me what you thought of it in the comments.

The Room in the Tower

For tonight's countdown to Halloween post (well, for the one in English, as I already blogged in French), a simple reading suggestion. It is a horror story I reread a few weeks ago and which I wanted to share tonight, as it is a genuinely scary one as well as an old classic: The Room in the Tower by E.F. Benson. You can read it online here. I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say that this is both a ghost story and a vampire story, of a sort of vampire that is slightly different than the modern day bloodsuckers: if this one does have an appetite for blood, it is far more etheral than your usual vampire, as much as a ghost. There are also nightmares that turn (at least) partly real, a familiar and friendly environment that has a sinister secret, it's a very neat chiller that deserves to be rediscovered. Take some time to read it, then tell me what you thought of it in the comments.