Ghost short stories became popular in the first half of the nineteenth century and this collection by Andrew Barger, award-winning editor of Best Ghost Short Stories 1850-1899: A Phantasmal Ghost Anthology and 6a66le: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849, contains the very scariest of them all. As he has done with a number of other books, Andrew Barger has added his scholarly touch to this collection by including story backgrounds, annotations, author photos and a foreword titled All Ghosts Are Gray. Buy the book tonight and be ready to be scared.
​
  • The Tapestried Chamber (1827) Sir Walter Scott was a leading proponent of supernatural tales in Europe. The Tapestried Chamber is the second oldest scary story on this countdown and contains moments of sheer terror.
  • Adventure of the German Student (1824) Washington Irving is best known for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," but the "Adventure of the German Student" is as compact a fright as one will find in a little ghost story.
  • The Old Maid in the Winding Sheet (1837) Nathaniel Hawthorne makes his only appearance with a horror tale that is superbly written. It was also an Edgar Allan Poe favorite.
  • The Spectral Ship (1828) Wilhelm Hauff died in his mid-twenties, yet still showed early promise that he could have been one of the all time great supernatural writers. "The Spectral Ship" leaves an indelible tang of horror.
  • A Night in a Haunted House (1848) This anonymous ghost story will make a person think twice when they hear a thump coming up the stairs.
  • The Mask of the Red Death (1842) "The Mask of the Red Death" is perhaps Edgar Allan Poe's finest ghost story. The writing and symbolism are unparalleled for this period in question.
  • A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family (1839) Joseph Sheridan le Fanu was the early king of the short ghost story. He would later go on to publish "Green Tea" and other ghostly classics.
  • The Deaf and Dumb Girl (1839) This anonymous ghost story is collected for the first time in any anthology since its original publication in 1839.
  • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1819) Washington Irving's most popular ghost story--and perhaps the most popular ghost short story of all time (assuming Dickens's A Christmas Carole is a novella)--is "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Although typically disfavored in a scary ghost story, it is one of the first to do it without losing the element of terror and it is the oldest in the Top 10, which gives the story high marks for originality and creativity.

Reviews

__Midwest Book Review - [A] unique perspective on this dawn of horror's early roots and their connections to our modern day. "The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849" is a choice pick with  stories from many legendary authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving, very much recommended reading.

Amazon Reviewer: Andrew Barger has done an amazing job with his research and compilation of these fantastic timeless ghost stories such as, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", "The Story of the Spectral Ship", and "A Night in a Haunted House" All of the stories he has chosen to include in this are truly great choices and I especially liked that he has included "The Deaf and Dumb Girl" which is the first time it's been republished in nearly 200 years. This book not only includes the full stories but also author photos, story backgrounds, and annotations of antiquated terms. I really enjoyed reading this anthology and I am planning on reading the other anthologies that Andrew has published, "The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849" and "The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849."

Interview with Andrew Barger


Q1. Andrew, the most recent book you edited is THE BEST GHOST STORIES 1800-1849: A CLASSIC GHOST ANTHOLOGY. What criteria did you use in picking the stories?
A1. Just as with The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 and The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849, I looked for superb writing, good characters and a story that made the fine hairs on my the back of my hand stand on end.

Q2. Two of the ghost stories you have chosen for the collection were published anonymously.
A2. Yes: "A Night in a Haunted House" and "The Deaf and Dumb Girl." They are two of most frightening ghost stories in the book, and I believe that is why the authors didn't want their names associated with them. Sensibilities were different in the first half of the nineteenth century. "The Deaf and Dumb Girl" is published for the first time since 1839.

Q3. Where did you find these anonymous stories?
A3. I found both in old magazines. "A Night in a Haunted House" was first published in the May 1848 issue of The Dublin University Magazine. It has only been republished a couple times in the 1800s and all of them were abridged versions. I included the unabridged version in the book. Also, this is the first time that "The Deaf and Dumb" girl has been republished since its original printing in the July 1839 issue of Atkinson's Casket.

Q4. Some of these ghost stories are nearly 200 years old. Will modern readers find them scary?
A4. Without question. All the stories are very scary, but they contain a more nuanced scare than a lot of in-your-face modern ghost stories. Many of the stories build to a climatic ending that will haunt readers for many nights after they experience them.

Q5.  Did you annotate the stories like you did for The Best Witch Short Stories 1800-1849, The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 and The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849 and The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849?
A5. Yes. The annotations are included in the physical book. Due to epub format limitations, the ebook does not contain the annotations, but all the other content is there: author photos, my introduction/background to each story, and list of stories considered. Google ebooks are based off PDF format, so they include the annotations.

Q6. In your foreword you titled "All Ghosts are Gray," you include a few Bible passages that refer to ghosts. What's that about?
A6. I pointed that out because so many people believe the Bible, including myself. If a person believes the Bible they must believe in ghosts. The Bible is quite clear that there are ghosts. Part of the trinity is the Holy Ghost, which implies that there are other ghosts that aren't holy. I make reference in the foreword to the witch at Endor and the sighting of Samuel's ghost along with Saul.

Q7. Why do you think ghost stories hold such a connection with people?
A7. More so than any other genre, ghost stories are part-and-parcel with our childhood memories of sitting around campfires and on church pews. They are part of us at an early age. Thanks to Charles Dickens, ghosts are now inextricably entwined with Christmas like a string of lights on a tree.

Q8. Besides the two anonymous ghost stories, what are the others in the collection?
A8. The others are by famous authors. "The Mask of the Red Death," by Edgar Allan Poe; "A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family," by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu; "The Spectral Ship," by Wilhelm Hauff ; "The Old Maid in the Winding Sheet," by Nathaniel Hawthorne; "The Adventure of the German Student," and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," by Washington Irving; as well as "The Tapestried Chamber," by Sir Walter Scott.

Q9. So Edgar Allan Poe only wrote one of the best ghost stories for the first half of the nineteenth century?
A9. It's surprising to a lot of people. I was surprised myself when I read his short stories while researching my biographical novel about his life: Coffee with Poe. It can be argued that Poe's only ghost stories were "The Mask of the Red Death" and "Ligeia." Both could have made the collection. It is the horror genre where Poe was the undisputed king for the 50 year period under review. I picked four of his stories for The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849.

Q10. Did you have a book trailer video done for the book?
A10. Yes. It's creep with fly-ins of the authors. I wanted it to have ghostly feel. The music is Ghosts by Nine Inch Nails. 



Copyright Andrew Barger - All rights reserved.