From Hesperus dust jacket:
An ingenious, multi-authored tale of the supernatural, The Haunted House is a testament to Charles Dickens' comic touch. 'Conducted' by Dickens and featuring various members of the London literati, including Elizabeth Gaskell and Wilkie Collins, The Haunted House takes on the genre of the ghost story - but leaves the reader with something very much more unusual.
When the narrator sees the deserted house from his railway carriage, he cannot resist the challenge of taking up residence in a place no one else will inhabit. Local legend has terrified the nearby villagers, and they, in turn, convince his servants to abandon ship. Undaunted, he and his sister invite a group of friends to join them. Having shared out the household tasks, the guests are then commissioned to rout out the supernatural from the respective rooms. On Twelfth Night they meet to share their ghostly tales. The result is a feast of lively and bizarre storytelling, uniting the finest in Victorian literary talent.