Tag Archives: Gothic Short Stories

The Old Nurse’s Story by Elizabeth Gaskell

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of ghost stories by women book cover

Title: The Old Nurse’s Story
Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
In: The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women (Marie O’Regan) & Gothic Short Stories (David Blair)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Ghosts, Horror
Dates read: 22nd November 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 1852
5th sentence, 74th page: Miss Furnivall was an old lady not far from eighty, I should think, but I do not know.

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Synopsis

A chilling tale of the horrors of the past, as told by the children’s mother’s old nurse.

Thoughts

I really loved the cadence and flow of this story. It had this amazing flow throughout that pulled me in and made me incredibly happy. I also loved the way that the storyline unfolded. It was very easy to follow, but also intricate enough that it was impossible to look away from the pages of the book.

There is something quite scary about children ghosts, which I’m sure I’ve mentioned before. But, the child that is luring the children to their death is not what I would have expected. It gives this sinister feeling to the idea that there is now an orphan left unattached and vulnerable. Something which is kind of tragic and filled with a great backstory.

The Old Nurse’s Story is a wonderful tale that sweeps you away and immerses you in a reality that will take you away from daily life for a short while. It’s gothic and intense. A wonderful story that I look forward to journeying on again in the future.

<- The Phantom CoachAmong the Shoals Forever ->

Image source: Goodreads

No. 252 Rue M. le Prince by Ralph Adams Cram

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of dark magic book cover

Title: No. 252 Rue M. le Prince
Author: Ralph Adams Cram
In: The Mammoth Book of Dark Magic (Mike Ashley) & Gothic Short Stories (David Blair)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Horror
Dates read: 28th January 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 1895
5th sentence, 74th page: Soon after two o’clock Fargeau, who was in the next room, hour after hour, hearing nothing, very much bored, and disappointed.

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Synopsis

A night spent in a haunted house that was cursed by a fellow practitioner of the arts turns a non-believer into one who believes in a number of things. But at what cost?

Thoughts

A short story set in beautiful Paris. About a haunted (make that cursed) house. Definitely a great setting for such a tale. Although, I think that Paris probably makes a great setting for most stories, it’s a beautiful location. Adding a layer of darkness through this house to it… that’s just downright intriguing.

This short story had enough darkness and horror in it to give me pause. It didn’t leave me looking over my shoulder into the dark shadows to see what was hiding for me like some other stories. But, it did make me stop halfway through, take a deep breath and then plough onwards. It just left me somewhat uncomfortable and more than a little bit freaked out.

Although this was dark, mysterious and kind of intimidating, I had a strange feeling of peace when all was said and done. Which was an incredibly unusual reaction. One that I did find intriguing though. Not sure what it says about my psyche that after reading about a creepy, haunted house that has been cursed, I feel at piece. But we’ll leave that discussion for another day…

<- To Become a SorcererThe Bones of the Earth ->

Image source: Hachette Australia

The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
The Body Snatcher

Title: The Body Snatcher
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
In: Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and Other Strange Tales (Robert Louis Stevenson) & Gothic Short Stories (David Blair)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Classics, Dark fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Kingsford Editions
Year: 1884
5th sentence, 74th page: Few lads could have been more insensible to the impressions of a life thus passed among the ensigns of mortality.

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Synopsis

A young man studying medicine in Edinburgh is asked by his professor to be responsible for receiving the cadavers to be dissected by the school’s students. Though he knows many are stolen from graves, he keeps his silence. Then one night he recognizes one of the cadavers as the victim of murder. Instead of turning in the culprit, he allows himself to be drawn deeper into the gruesome intrigue. But justice has the last laugh when the evidence of the man’s crimes – evidence he thought long since dissected and disposed of – mysteriously resurfaces to his everlasting horror.

Thoughts

This was a surprisingly dark story. It started with a slightly waffling cadence, with a sitting room and four men sitting there on a frequent basis. One of whom has an air of drunken mystery about him. As the story unfolds the reason for his drunkenness and his history are slowly revealed. And as his tale is told, the goose bumps on my arms raised higher and higher.

I’ve never been to medical school, but the idea of working on cadavers and understanding that they come from somewhere, with people to miss and want them has always made me question whether I could complete that kind of study. This story made me kind of glad that it wasn’t a field that I went into, after all, these bodies are not coming from legal or sanctioned locations….

 <- Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Strange Tales ReviewThe Bottle Imp Review ->
Image source: Amazon UK