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A new collection of twenty ghostly tales of Yuletide terror, collected from rare Victorian periodicals

Seeking to capitalize on the success of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843), Victorian newspapers and magazines frequently featured ghost stories at Christmas time, and reading them by candlelight or the fireside became an annual tradition, a tradition Valancourt Books is pleased to continue with our series of Victorian Christmas ghost stories. This third volume contains twenty tales, most of them never before reprinted. They represent a mix of the diverse styles and themes common to Victorian ghost fiction and include works by once-popular authors like Ellen Wood and Charlotte Riddell as well as contributions from anonymous or wholly forgotten writers. This volume also features a new introduction by Prof. Simon Stern.

"Before me, with the sickly light from the lantern shining right down upon it, was--a cloven hoof! Then the awfulness of the compact I had made came to my mind with terrible force..." - Frederick Manley, "The Ghost of the Cross-Roads"

"By the fireplace there was a large hideous pool of blood soaking into the carpet, and leaving ghastly stains around. I am not ashamed to confess that my brain reeled; the mysterious horror overcame me..." - Lillie Harris, "19, Great Hanover Street"

"A fearful white face comes to me; a horrible mask, with features drawn as in agony--ghastly, pale, hideous! Death or approaching death, violent death, written in every line. Every feature distorted. Eyes starting from the head. Thin lips moving and working--lips that are cursing, although I hear no sound." - Hugh Conway, "A Dead Man's Face"

Contents:

• Frederick Manley - "The Ghost of the Cross-Roads"
• Lillie Harris - "19, Great Hanover Street"
• G. B. Burgin - "Sir Hugo's Prayer"
• Mrs. J. H. Riddell - "Walnut-Tree House"
• Anonymous - "Haunted Ashchurch"
• Anonymous - "The Haunted Tree"
• Hugh Conway - "A Dead Man's Face"
• L. F. Austin - "The Ghost's Double"
• E. H. Rebton - "The Haunted Manor"
• J. E. Thomas - "The Nameless Village"
• Anonymous - "Old Simons' Ghost!"
• J. W. Hollingsworth - "Miriam's Ghost"
• Lucy Farmer - "The Vicar's Ghost"
• Mrs. Henry Wood - "The Ghost of the Hollow Field"
• Alice Mary Vince - "The Wicked Editor's Christmas Dream"
• Anonymous - "The Barber's Ghost"
• Andrew Haggard - "A Spirit Bride"
• W. L. Blackley - "The Haunted Oven"
• Lilian Quiller Couch - "The Devil's Own"
• Anonymous - "A Christmas Ghost Story"