"As I stooped to reach it I felt someone pull my dress from behind. I fancied I had caught the train in something, and I turned to disengage it. But the folds were perfectly free, and I returned to my original design of ringing the bell... My first impusle was to examine my dress. Yes! There on the new velvet was the distinct impress of a little hand where the material had been grasped abd pulled, just about on a level with my knees" (The Haunted Nursery, by Florence Marryat)
I've been collecting books from the British Library - Crime Classics for a few years, as I love their book designs. Every time I check out online what the latest additions are, I come upon suggestions for British Library Tales of the Weird. I enjoy reading paranormal/ghost stories, and have added a few to my wish list. It was one of the Insta reels though that made me search for the books properly.
Unsure whether I want to start another shopping spree of the series I might or might not like, I decided to borrow a couple of books in the library before making up my mind.
My first foray in the series is Fear in the Blood: Tales from the Dark Lineages of the Weird (edited by Mike Ashley).
The concept of the book is the literary bloodlines, the writer's skills and talents passed down through the generations in families.
As it happens, quite a few families have passed their writing genes to descendants. Charles Dickens and his family are probably one of the better known ones. Among his descendants you can find such writers as Mary Angela Dickens, Monica Dickens and Mary Danby. All of them happened to turn their hand to tales of the supernatural.
Mike Ashley explains, "Which is the theme of this volume. I have selected six literary families and chosen stories from different generations to show how an interest in dark tales has passed down the bloodline".
The table of contents lists six literary families:
The Marryat Family (Frederick and Florence Marryat),
The Sheridan and Le Fanu Families (Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Rhoda Broughton and Sarah Lefanu),
The Hawthorne Family (Nathaniel Hawthorne, Julian Hawthorne and Hildegarde Hawthorne),
The Dickens Family (Charles Dickens, Mary Angela Dickens, Monica Dickens, Mary Danby)'
The Pangborn Family (Georgia Wood Pangborn, Edgar Pangborn and Mary C. Pangborn),
The Aiken Family (Conrad Aieken, Martin Armstrong and Joan Aiken)
The stories vary in style and literary skill, some appear very old-fashioned and quaint, bordering on overly sentimental, some are quite brutal and harsh, and all of them explore the world of the eerie and strange.
I had to search and read the synopsis of a couple of stories to help me understand the plot, as I found them rather confusing and convoluted. One of them is the classic story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Browne, published in 1835.This atmospheric story is set in the Puritan New England, and deals with the themes of depravity and self-scrutiny.
Most of the classic stories in the volume left me indifferent, and hard to relate to. It's the stories by modern writers that I found more intriguing and spellbinding.
The three stories worth highlighting are:
Fran Nan's Story by Sarah Lefanu is set during the foot-and-mouth outbreak in the early 2000s.
Fran the junior haidresser at the salon tells her tale, while doing the customer's hair.
Her Nan shared the tale about the old man and his three-legged border collie Jess who disappeared in the moors.
The old farmer is desperate to save the remaining healthy sheep and move them away from being destroyed. He takes his loyal companion collie Jess on a perilous night trip through the moors.
During the trek, the dog goes missing, and the old man pines for her, waiting for her to reappear at the farm.
"No, he said. "I seen her. I seen a dog with three legs. She were standing there on the old drovers' track. I knows it were my Jess. She were a-calling me. But when I got to where she were, she warn't there no more".
It's not a horror story, but a tale of the deep bond between a man and his best friend.
The Secret Ones by Mary Danby is a thought-provoking tale of the outcasts of the society.
It deliberately doesn't specify who the family members are, they are nameless. They could be unfortunates fleeing the wars, asylum seekers in search of a peaceful life.
"The husband, the wife and the wife's sister arrived by boat one fear-grey dawn". They are starving, and to survive, search for scraps of food among the heaps of rubbish. They hide from the hostile people.
"They were the last members of a vast family to make the journey and were disheartened to find the land of their dreams to be one of hate, not plenty".
The story takes a sinister turn and has a shocking ending. And while there are hints through the narrative at who the family members are, the revelation at the end will make you wince.
Woggelbeast by Edgar Pangborn explores the themes of unfulfilled dreams, hope and loss.
Molly lives with her husband Danny. She is a traditional housewife, whose life is centred around the needs of her husband. Molly is 41 and childless. She believes that to have a child at this date would need a miracle.
Lonely Molly finds the most unusual companion in Wogglebeast. To this magic creature she pours her heart and tells of her heart's desire.
"There had always been something about Molly to make you think of a little girl playing with dolls".
This is a poignant moving story of a woman who dreams of having a child.
The sad tale resonated deeply, as it addresses the loneliness of a gentle soul who yearns for a child, and tries to find imaginative in the mundane.
It was a promising introduction to the series, and I've alredy started reading another book from Tales of the Weird called Polar Horrors.
Are you familiar with British Classic Tales of the Weird series? Is there a book that you would recommend?
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