Sutherland Menzies

A mixed collection, some fairly unmemorable tales, but also a few gems. Most of my favourite stories were anonymous ones, the Dead Man of Varley Grange, with its atmosphere of thick horror, and two of the longer stories, the Mysterious Stranger, a German vampire tale, and the Ghost in the Bank of England. The Shadow of a Shade was my favourite among the others.

I read this right after Twelve Gothic Tales, so I was still in the mood for some Victorian horror. Not all were actually about ghosts, but they were mostly entertaining reads, with a few standouts for me, such as "The Shadow of a Shade" by Tom Hood, "The Picture on the Wall" by Katherine Tynan, and "The Ghost in the Bank of England" (Anonymous), the wittiness of which I loved. I also enjoyed the vampire stories, "The Mysterious Stranger" (from the German) and "The Tomb of Sarah" by Frederick show more George Loring. show less