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Andrew Barger


Best Ghost Short Stories 1850-1899: A Phantasmal Ghost Anthology
The bleak midwinter is a time for ghosts like those found in the anthology: Best Ghost Short Stories 1850-1899: A Phantasmal Ghost Anthology . It contains the best ghost stories from the last half of the 19th century; shocking tales from popular American and Victorian authors. These are the finest ghost stories for the last half of the nineteenth century and they are combined in one haunting collection. The stories are annotated with background information, author photos and
4 days ago2 min read


Christmastime is for Ghost Stories
Horror author and humorist Jerome K. Jerome said in his 1891 introduction to an anthology of Christmas ghost stories “Told After Supper," "Whenever five or six English-speaking people meet round a fire on Christmas Eve, they start telling each other ghost stories." In 1963 Edward Pola and George Wyle wrote the popular Christmas song, "It's the Most Wonderful time of the Year," which told of "Scary ghost stories," that are told at Christmastime. This Victorian tradition should
Dec 26, 20252 min read


Review of The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849 Anthology Edited by Andrew Barger
It's not often that I post a review of one of my books in its entirety. In fact, I never do. Nicola Manning, however, has recently published one of the most well thought out reviews of the best ghost stories anthology that I edited. I agree with her on most points (Washington Irving excepted). You can follow all her reviews on GoodReads . They are worth your time. "Reason for Reading: I have a particular interest in the Gothic story and my favoured literature time period is
Nov 14, 20255 min read


Lady Eleanor's Mantle by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was no stranger to telling a scary ghost story. His "Legends of the Province House" was mentioned as being exemplary by H.P. Lovecraft and his 1835 story titled "Graves and Goblins" is quite good. But this post is about Lady Eleanor's Mantle , which floats in at the 16th spot in my countdown of the scary ghost stories for the first half of the nineteenth century. "Lady Eleanor's Mantle" is a ghostly tale of pestilence and because of that it dra
Oct 23, 20251 min read
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