Curious, If True: Strange Tales by Mrs. Gaskell (1995)

Contains: The Old Nurse's Story, The Poor Clare, Lois the Witch, The Grey Woman, and Curious, If True.

VIRAGO EDITION:
Terror stalks 'The Old Nurse's Story', as a little girl is menaced by mysterious organ music and the spectral manifestations of ancestral hatred. There's a wicked bandit's savage pursuit of his wife and some curious cross-dressing in 'The Grey Lady', while some hysteria of Salem's witch trials dooms innocent Lois. 'The Poor Clare' is haunted by a mother's curse and the peculiar horror of a supernatural double. And, in the title story, a benign and playful magic works its spell in the heart of a nocturnal wood. These short fictions provide outlets for a strange and powerful imagination.