A review by alba_marie
The Mammoth Book of Modern Ghost Stories by Elizabeth Bowen, E.F. Benson, Kingsley Amis, Vladimir Nabokov, Derek Barnes, M.R. James, Marjorie Bowen, Alec Guinness, Howard Spring, Algernon Blackwood, Philip Pullman, Hammond Innes, Arthur Machen, Joyce Carol Oates, Arthur Gray, A.N.L. Munby, Louis de Bernières, E.G. Swain, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Alexander Woollcott, E. Nesbit, Peter Ackroyd, Fritz Leiber, Jane Gardam, William F. Nolan, Eudora Welty, James Thurber, A.C. Benson, Daphne du Maurier, A.E. van Vogt, Edith Wharton, W. Somerset Maugham, Arthur Conan Doyle, Eric Keown, Peter Haining, Rudyard Kipling, Dennis Wheatley, H. Rider Haggard, Ray Bradbury, George Minto, H.G. Wells, Lord Dunsany
5.0
As with most short story collections, some stories are better than others, but I really enjoyed most of this collection. The war ghost and comical phantom sections were my least favourite sections but thoroughly enjoyed the other sections (esp. Gothic tales, and Haunting Tales).
Please note that these are not 'ghost stories' in the way that casual 21st century readers expect. No cheap-thrills-blood-guts-and-gore horror film on paper. These are intellectual tales that delve into the supernatural, and interpret 'horror tale' and 'ghost story' liberally. I think this is why I enjoyed it so much, as I prefer to read tales that force us to look at the world (or ourselves) differently, instead of a book of cheap tricks and tales (which is what some of the other readers apparently expected...hmm.).
I also like how each story started off with a little blurb about the author, his/her life, inspirations, interests, other works, etc. Most of the authors were famous in their heyday but have now been lost somewhat in the past. It was great to get a chance to read works by these now-little-known (though often prolific) writers. In fact, I think I prefer works by the more obscure writers rather than the famous ones. Looking back, the book as made me discover some new others (notably a new favourite, MR James).
All in all, a great - though lengthy!! - compilation of 20th century ghost/supernatural stories!!!
Please note that these are not 'ghost stories' in the way that casual 21st century readers expect. No cheap-thrills-blood-guts-and-gore horror film on paper. These are intellectual tales that delve into the supernatural, and interpret 'horror tale' and 'ghost story' liberally. I think this is why I enjoyed it so much, as I prefer to read tales that force us to look at the world (or ourselves) differently, instead of a book of cheap tricks and tales (which is what some of the other readers apparently expected...hmm.).
I also like how each story started off with a little blurb about the author, his/her life, inspirations, interests, other works, etc. Most of the authors were famous in their heyday but have now been lost somewhat in the past. It was great to get a chance to read works by these now-little-known (though often prolific) writers. In fact, I think I prefer works by the more obscure writers rather than the famous ones. Looking back, the book as made me discover some new others (notably a new favourite, MR James).
All in all, a great - though lengthy!! - compilation of 20th century ghost/supernatural stories!!!