The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories
£14.10
During the Victorian era, it became traditional for publishers of newspapers and magazines to print ghost stories during the Christmas season for chilling winter reading by the fireside or candlelight. Now for the first time thirteen of these tales are collected here, including a wide range of stories from a diverse group of authors, some well-known, others anonymous or forgotten. Readers whose only previous experience with Victorian Christmas ghost stories has been Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” will be surprised and delighted at the astonishing variety of ghostly tales in this volume.
“In the sickly light I saw it lying on the bed, with its grim head on the pillow. A man? Or a corpse arisen from its unhallowed grave, and awaiting the demon that animated it?” – John Berwick Harwood, “Horror: A True Tale”
“Suddenly I aroused with a start and as ghostly a thrill of horror as ever I remember to have felt in my life. Something — what, I knew not — seemed near, something nameless, but unutterably awful.” – Ada Buisson, “The Ghost’s Summons”
“There was no longer any question what she was, or any thought of her being a living being. Upon a face which wore the fixed features of a corpse were imprinted the traces of the vilest and most hideous passions which had animated her while she lived.” – Walter Scott, “The Tapestried Chamber”
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Additional information
| Publisher | Valancourt Books (30 Oct. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 291 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1943910561 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1943910564 |
| Dimensions | 12.7 x 1.85 x 20.32 cm |
by Amazon Customer
For the last 20 years or so I’ve read ghost stories at Christmas in the tradition but never specifically read Christmas ghost stories. This book is quite fun, you have to take into account the stories are quite old so the language in them can be hard to follow at times but a quick Google search can solve that. I’d recommend it for a December night wrapped up in a blanket.
by Ellison F
This book was given as a Christmas present. The recipient, who is a big fan of ghost stories, has reported this is amongst the best collections he has ever read. These are stories not often anthologised and he says extremely well told, including one of the very best attributed to Anonymous. Highly recommend!
by J McD
Good book for a cold winter’s night in December, containing lots of short spooky stories. Really enjoyed in the run up to Christmas.
by Annette Mulcahy
Looking forward to reading it all on cold evenings before Christmas.
by LAURA B
Had to read this as a book club pick. Found it bland and the stories just a bit pointless (man goes to house, man sees ghost, man leaves). Not Christmas related stories either so not sure why that’s in the title. Hard work to read too if you’re not used to the Victorian language
by Lord Emsworth
I read the first four stories in The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories. They were a very mixed bag. The opening tale, The Tapestried Chamber by Sir Walter Scott (1828) is an underwhelming start. Not only is the story clunky and dull, but is inordinately stretched over pages due to lots of extraneous detail.
The second story by Elizabeth Gaskell is a big improvement. The Old Nurse’s Story (1852) is very absorbing. The tension gradually builds up and the reveal, when it comes, is worth the wait. The remote location, the big empty house, the cold bleak weather, the mystery of Miss Maud, and the disturbing organ music, all contribute to a satisfying and fitting ghost story.
The third and fourth tales were interesting but both were frustrating too. Far too much detail which undermined their impact.
Having been reliably informed that Elizabeth Gaskell’s story was the best in the book I decided to abandon the collection.
It’s fine but I was expecting something a lot better.
by Rose
It might be argued that the Victorians invented the ghost story. Certainly there are a great many of them from that era. in fact, some might argue that the Victorians invented the ghost since there’s no real evidence of them even exiting but, the telling of melodramatic stories with supernatural elements certainly helped to pass the time on many a dark, long night of candles, oil lamps and, as one author once commented, a low dose of carbon monoxide poisoning. In any event, this book certainly covers plenty of themes and the introductory notes explain them thoroughly. However, their only real links to christmas, for the most part, is the back numbers of the magazines in which they were first published being christmas numbers. Most of them are not even set during the festive season. There are creepy tales here, sickly sweet tales here and just plain ludicrous tales here. Something for everyone but christmas ghost stories? Not in my opinion. Not bad though most of them.
by A. J. Tainty
Thoroughly enjoyable anthology of stores. The Victorian language lends itself perfectly to the ghostly atmosphere. I enjoyed all the stories, some more than others. I have to say that “Horror: A True Tale” was the most frightening, more for its build up, which was unnerving. I would highly recommend.