This selection of 42 stories written between 1829 and 1981 presents the full range of the English tradition of literary ghost fiction by demonstrating its historical development as well as its major themes and characteristics. It combines a serious literary purpose with the intention of arousing fear at the doings of the dead and the important contribution of women writers is indicated by the eight stories included, from Amelia Edward's "The Phantom Ghost" to Elizabeth Bowen's "Hand in Glove". The fictional ghost story is dominated by English authors, from J.S.Le Fanu and M.R.James to Walter de la Mare and Robert Aickman, and by American authors, such as Edith Wharton, writing in the English tradition.

Table of Contents

"The Tapestried Chamber" (1829), Sir Walter Scott; "The Phantom Coach" (1864), Amelia B.Edwards; "Squire Toby's Will" (1868), J.S.Le Fanu; "The Shadow in the Corner" (1879), M.E.Braddon; "The Upper Berth" (1886), F.Marion Crawford; "A Wicked Voice" (1890), Vernon Lee; "The Judge's House" (1891), Bram Stoker; "Man-Size in Marble" (1893), E. Nesbit; "The Roll-Call of the Reef" (1895), Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch; "The Friends of the Friends" (1896), Henry James; "The Red Room" (1896), H.G.Wells: "The Monkey's Paw" (1902), W.W.Jacobs; "The Lost Ghost" (1903), Mary E.Wilkins; "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" (1904), M.R.James; "The Empty House" (1906), Algernon Blackwood; "The Cigarette Case" (1911), Oliver Onions; "Rose Rose" (1911), Barry Pain; "The Confession of Charles Linkworth" (1912), E.F.Benson; "On the Brighton Road" (1912), Richard Middleton; "Bone to His Bone" (1912), E.G.Swain; "The True History of Anthony Ffryar" (1919), Arthur Gray; "The Taipan" (1922), W. Somerset Maugham; "The Victim" (1922), May Sinclair; "A Visitor from Down Under" (1926), L.P.Hartley; "Fullcircle" (1928), John Buchan; "The Clock" (1928), W.F.Hartley; "Old Man's Beard" (1929), H.Russell Wakefield; "Mr.Jones" (1930), Edith Wharton; "Smee" (1931), A.M.Burrage; "The Little Ghost" (1931), Hugh Walpole; "Ahoy, Sailor Boy!" (1933), A.e.Coppard; "The Hollow Man" (1935), Thomas Burke; "Et in Sempiternum Pereant" (1935), Charles Williams; "Bosworth Summit Pound" (1948) L.T.C.Rolt; "An Encounter in the Mist" (1949), V.S.Pritchett; "Cushi" (1952), Christopher Woodforde; "Bad Company" (1955), Walter de la Mare; "The Bottle of 1912" (1961), Simon Raven; "The Cicerones" (1968), Robert Aickman; "Soft Voices at Passenham" (1981), T.H.White.

Reviews

"An excellent selection, with an excellent bibliography included. the stories move smoothly through the decades--bringing in the modern and harkening back to the ancient."--Marjorie J. Burns, Portland State University
"A splendid book."--The Chicago Tribune
"Those who enjoy what Wharton called 'the fun of the shudder'...should shudder over The Oxford Book of Ghost Stories."--The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Superb."--The Cincinnati Post
"The forty-two stories gathered here are luminous examples of how affecting an immaculately wrought ghost story can be....A bounty of wonderful authors."--Booklist
"Cox and Gilbert deserve praise for their scholarship and selection....The volume provides an education along with reading pleasure....Only the bravest will read The Oxford Book of Ghost Stories after dark."--Studies in Short Fiction