Hugh Lamb (1946–2019)

What a pleasure to read a book compiled by an expert who so clearly loves his topic! Hugh Lamb, in gathering this collection of macabre Victorian fiction, has sought out many authors who, while successful in their day, have not necessarily remained in the public consciousness. These forgotten (or nearly) writers are once again given attention and acknowledgement in this little gem of a book. These stories are dark, powerful, and creepy—and while they certainly have a strong 19th-century show more flavor (that is their time period, after all) the content is never saccharine, and the writing is such that could hold its own against the tales of the present day.

Here are some good things:
• The book is well-organized.
• Each author has a mini (1 page) introduction.
• Lamb, in his intros, gives salient information without being loquacious.
• There are many unknown (or at least not well-known) authors.
• The stories show a wide variety of styles.
• The stories are interesting and quite well-written.
• Lamb clearly knows his craft and has done his research, but he never condescends to his readers or comes off as pretentious.

I suppose perhaps the best compliment I can give is this: these tales tend a bit too much toward the macabre for my taste, and yet I enjoyed reading each and every one of them, partly because Lamb’s introductions helped me understand their value, and mostly because his love for these stories shone through every page. show less

This collection of Victorian horror short stories is more fun than scary. I felt that I should have been sitting in front of a roaring fire with a snifter of good brandy while reading aloud. Ambrose Bierce's title story made me laugh out loud. The others were all good in their own fashion. Some were a bit more difficult to read than others but all were satisfying.

Fantastic anthology here, folks! Both this book and its predecessor, Terror by Gaslight, are treasure troves of creepy, scary stories from the minds of the Victorians. Each is brimming over with works by masters such as H. Rider Haggard, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mrs J.H. Riddell, M.R.James, E.F.Benson, and so many more.

Both books were originally published in England in the mid-1970s. I read both decades ago, sometime in the 1990s, and the happy, chilling memory of them has stayed with me all show more these years.

These masters defined the horror genre for many decades, and from them comes our modern tradition of horror. We horror fiends are descended from these stories, even if a modern horror fan doesn't like this type of classic horror.

If you like elegant, supernatural horror that sends a frisson of fear down your spine, these books will do it, without a chainsaw or ax in sight. show less

These anthologies of obscure vintage thrillers are always interesting grab bags of fiction. "Tales from a Gas-lit Graveyard" sheds light on some quirky (and spooky) short stories from the English-speaking world (and two from the Spanish) gleaned from various Victorian magazines. Some involve ghosts and others simply describe typically macabre or Gothic themes. However, none include a gas-lit graveyard, which was a bit of a disappointment for me! My favorite story was probably "The Haunted show more Station" by Hume Nisbet which paints a very atmospheric picture of the Australian outback. I also thought that "The Tyburn Ghost" by the Countess of Munster was a really creepy story. A few others definitely show their age, however and are a bit dry and keep to well worn Victorian themes, in particular Marsh's "The Houseboat." Still this collection is worth a read for a bit of eerie Autumn atmosphere. show less