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Know-It-All
Posted
We have a thread about mystery novels, but ghost stories are a bit different. What are your favorite ghost stories or novels?

I like The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions, often considered the "best" ghost story ever written, though I can't find many who've read it. I also love Ghost Story by Peter Straub. It's one of the few books that ever really unnerved me.
 
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Super Bad-Ass Jedi
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I'm not sure if it qualifies as a novel, but The Turn of the Screw is great. Not as awesome as the movie The Innocents, but still terrific.


"Naked Woman, Naked Man
Where did you get that nice sun tan?"
 
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Jedi
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Edgar Allan Poe has been a favourite since childhood, so I can't go past "The Fall of the House of Usher".

I am also very fond of some old Australian ghost tales; stories set in the early pioneer days, full of men betraying one another and haunted roads; ghostly horses as harbingers of doom and strange lights which duck and weave through the dark lonely Australian bush...

Beware the Min-Min light!!!!


Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
 
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Know-It-All
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quote:
Originally posted by mark f:
I'm not sure if it qualifies as a novel, but The Turn of the Screw is great. Not as awesome as the movie The Innocents, but still terrific.


I had never heard of The Innocents, but I looked it up and it sounds wonderful. I'll have to try to find a copy. Thanks for mentioning it.

I loved The Turn of the Screw. It's the first book by Henry James I ever read. Very creepy.
 
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Know-It-All
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quote:
Originally posted by Ishmaelscoffin:
Edgar Allan Poe has been a favourite since childhood, so I can't go past "The Fall of the House of Usher".

I am also very fond of some old Australian ghost tales; stories set in the early pioneer days, full of men betraying one another and haunted roads; ghostly horses as harbingers of doom and strange lights which duck and weave through the dark lonely Australian bush...

Beware the Min-Min light!!!!


I have the Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe but haven't read The Fall of the House of Usher since I was a teenager. I do remember how much I loved it, though.

I also loved The Ghost Writer by John Harwood. I know some people who didn't care for the ending, but I thought it was perfect. And the book is extremely well written throughout.
 
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Jedi
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John Harwood is not a name I know, so I will keep my eyes peeled.
As far as I can tell, ghost stories are really out of fashion these days, although I don't know why exactly.
With the popularity of supernatural follies, like astrology and astral travelling etc. I would expect a rush of spooky other-wordly tales...


Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
 
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Know-It-All
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I think Harwood was a writer of medical texts before turning to fiction writing. The Ghost Writer is a very elegantly written book, though I know people who didn't care for the ending. Personally, I loved it. Though it doesn't take place in Victorian times, it's written more or less in the Victorian ghost story style. Not as sensational as The Woman in White, but there's definitely a Victorian flavor there.
 
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Jedi
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Sounds great.

Ghosts are always scarier in the Victorian era...something about a lot of fog and clanking chains I guess.. Smiler


Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
 
Posts: 2759 | Location: The ever silent spaces of the East | Registered: 12 February 2007Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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