The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton

by Edith Wharton

Book Overview

One might not expect a woman of Edith Wharton's literary stature to be a believer of ghost stories, much less be frightened by them, but as she admits in her postscript to this spine-tingling collection, "...till I was twenty-seven or -eight, I could not sleep in the room with a book containing a ghost story." Once her fear was overcome, however, she took to writing tales of the supernatural for publication in the magazines of the day. These eleven...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684842572
• ISBN13: 9780684842578
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Who Knew that Edith Whorton wrote Ghost Stories

This book is brand new and even though I have only had a fleeting glimpse into the this intriguing world of ghosts I have it in the stack of books beside my bedside table, just waiting for me to discover all of her magical tales of the ghostly kind.

This book needs to come with a disclaimer!

Edith Wharton is an acknowleged giant of the fiction novel. But this particular book of hers needs to come complete with a disclaimer. I would suggest: DON'T EXPECT TO READ THE AVERAGE GHOST STORY HERE. My one negative thing to say about this book is actually a positive. I could only read one of these stories at a time because I had to think one story over before I went on to the next . My tendency is to sit down with a book and read it cover to cover with minor stops along the way for everyday life to intervene. I have been reading this book for over a week now because each story makes me stop after I have read it to have a nice long thinking session regarding what I have just read. I loved that. My favorite story of the eleven story collection is titled, "Afterward". The title means that a person did not know if they had met the ghost at Lyng in Dorsetshire until long, long afterward. A superb rendering of a mystery which began so quietly that Mary Boyne didn't even know she was involved in it until it was too late. Another favorite is "Kerfol" which takes place in Brittany and involves a pack of dogs and how they got where they were. Or were they there at all? And then there is "Bewitched" a masterpiece which made me shiver while reading about the frozen New England winter even though it was 90 degrees outside my house. Wharton's descriptions of the physical appearances of all those involved in this wonderfully frightening tale is straight from the Grant Wood painting American Gothic, except with all the wintery background painted in by Edith Wharton. Very highly recommended. These are not the modern man's ghost stories even though they were published in 1973. Some have no resolution, you have to decide for yourself how you think the situation ended. Some may not seem like ghost stories at all until you think about them afterward. Some are like those odd occurrances which make you wonder if you really got all your information straight and if you might, just might, be imagining things. A bonus for me were the black and white drawings which accompanied each story. The writing is wonderful but I had expected that from Edith Wharton. What I had not expected was to be so totally engrossed.

A timeless treasure of tales

The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton. Highly recommended.I was unaware that Edith Wharton, known for such insightful novels as The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, and Ethan Frome (as well as the popular movies these novels inspired), had indulged in writing ghost stories other than "Afterward" until I found this collection. In Ghost Stories, Wharton reveals her mastery of the psychology of horror-where ghosts terrify through their oblique influence on the human mind and emotion-and where these human foibles create their own horrors.Wharton's ghosts take many forms-from the loyal retainer in "The Lady's Maid's Bell" to the loyal retainers of a different sort in "Kerfol"; from the guilt behind "The Eyes" to the guilt recognised "Afterward"; from the mysterious "Mr. Jones" to the ghostly and ghastly "Miss Mary Pask." Some of these visitations are not seen, or, in the case of "Kerfol," even heard. They fulfill various functions: To protect the secrets of the past, to bring the secrets of the past to light, to warn the present about the future, and to remind the living of the dead.Like the best ghost story writers, Wharton begins each tale with a scenario that seems ordinary enough. Early on, she drops subtle clues that build from a feeling that something is somewhat amiss up to a sense of fractured reality that shatters one's assumptions. Wharton masterfully creates ironic twists ("Miss Mary Pask"), innocent victims (the wife in "Afterward"), and nontraditional ghosts ("The Eyes," "Kerfol"). In many cases, the reader is one step ahead of the narrator or protagonist (Hitchcock's definition of suspense), creating a delicious sense of inevitable, unavoidable doom.If you are looking for the gore and thrills of today's tale of horror, you will not find them in Wharton's work. If, on the other hand, you appreciate the subtle, growing sense of terror that M. R. James insinuates into The Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, you'll discover the same feeling of the fine line between this world and another that can manifest itself at any time and in any way when the need arises. These are stories to be read, savored, and read again-alone, of course.Diane L. Schirf, 28 December 2003.

Classic Tales

Edith Wharton was a master of the ghost story, and these stories linger in the mind long after the book is over. Above all, the stories are incredibly rich in atmosphere: Wharton is not writing to give thrills but rather chills, and the subtle, nuanced dread evoked in so many of these stories testifies to her immense talent as a writer. These are supernatural tales of the highest quality, and the book is absolutely essential for anyone who loves the classic ghost story.

My favorite ghost story collection

These are ghost stories the way they should be, though the dense style of the period might put off readers expecting a quick, effortless read. Don't confuse these traditional ghost stories with the kind of campfire tales gathered in regional collections. These stories are fully plotted and provide the quiet "authentic shudder" most readers of "literary" ghost stories expect. For the thoughtful sensitive reader who wants to linger in the dusk awhile, THE GHOST STORIES OF EDITH WHARTON and ROALD DAHL'S BOOK OF GHOST STORIES are the best collections to have.

Same great story lines!

This book of ghost stories by Edith Wharton is a treasure for any Edith Wharton fan. Her ghost stories are superb with the same flowing rhythem of a wonderful author. Some of her plots are story lines are simple but they still manage to put me in a thumping heart stage!