Algernon Blackwood,E.F. Bleiler, Best Ghost Stories

Algernon Blackwood,E.F. Bleiler, Best Ghost Stories - Here we have a collection of some of the best short stories from the pen of the English writer of ghost stories and supernatural fiction, Algernon Blackwood (1869 - 1951). Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill, and after attending the University of Edinburgh, he enjoyed a varied life of farming in Canada, operating a hotel, mining in the Alaskan goldfields, and working as a newspaper reporter in New York City before moving to England and starting to write ghost stories. His tales became very successful, and he went on to write ten books of short stories and appeared on both radio and television to tell them. Blackwood's passion for nature and the mysterious world around himself captured his imagination, which is reflected within many of his following short stories. H.P. Lovecraft once wrote about Blackwood "He is the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere". Never was a truer statement made.

This compilation of Blackwood stories was compiled by E.F. Bleiler in the early 1970's and contains thirteen of his most popular shorts. The book runs for a total of 424 pages, with some stories of a much longer length than others. The book contains the following shorts:

The Willows - written in 1907 (Taken from the 1907 book 'The Listener')

Reckoned by Lovecraft to be not only 'foremost of all' Blackwood's tales, but the best 'weird tale' of all time. The story was influenced heavily by Blackwood's own trips down the Danube River, where an altogether disturbing atmosphere crept upon him and he made a rather nasty discovery. The story itself tells the tale of two men sailing down the Danube River, who become trapped on an island during a flood. Odd and disturbing things start to happen to the two weary travellers, as their time there passes on. A deep-seated fear overcomes them, with the unexplainable happenings building all around them. The willow trees that inhabit the small island seem to move in the night, a large hole is discovered on their canoe overnight and the island seems to start to slowly shrink. Blackwood carefully builds upon the haunting suspense of the novel, until the horrific and weird final pages unfold, leaving you restless and disturbed. Blackwood doesn't disclose the true answer to the tale but rather suggests at potential dark forces that are attempting to enter our world. The Willows is my personal favourite of Blackwood's work, delivering one of the most creepy tales I have ever read. Truly awesome.

Secret Worship - written in 1908 (Taken from the 1908 book 'Secret Worship')

One of Blackwood's John Silence stories, 'Secret Worship' tells the tale of the travelling silk merchant, Harris who decides to suddenly take the mountain railway from Strassbourg to revisit his old school for the first time in thirty years. He is welcomed into the school with open arms, but finds that nothing is really as it seems. The story holds a dark secret that pulses an eerie undertone from the minute Harris arrives at the school. Blackwood weaves into the tale bizarre supernatural occurrences, as the tale builds to an unholy climax that will leave you breathless.

Ancient Sorceries - written in 1908 (Taken from the 1908 book 'Secret Worship')

A tourist returning from a trip becomes too enchanted with a strange French town and its people to leave. He is slowly drawn more and more into their realm of secrets and talk of ancient memories. Eerie from the start, this creepy tale deals with the psychological side of horror with paranoia screaming out at you from every page. The story winds towards a weird and haunting conclusion that lingers with you for a long time to come. This is another John Silence story.

The Glamour Of The Snow - written in 1912 (Taken from the book 'Pan's Garden')

A traveller meets a strange woman late one night at a ski resort and spends the rest of his vacation searching for her so that they can have one last moment together. He almost gets his wish. Here we see Blackwood slowly entangle us with this dark tale of love and the supernatural. Rather slow-paced to start with, the story does pick up pace once the characters are defined and the strange ice skater has made her appearance.

The Wendigo - written in 1910 (Taken from the book 'The Lost Valley')

Another camper tale, this time set in the Canadian wilderness. A hunting party separates to track moose, and one member is haunted during the night by the Wendigo of legend. Blackwood does away with the cannibalism aspect of the Wendigo in favour of a more subtle psychological horror. Blackwood works with the idea that whoever sees the Wendigo, will then become the Wendigo. He based his story, he claims, on an actual incident of Wendigo panic in a lonely valley while he lived in Canada. He worked many details of the Native American legend into the story: the Wendigo stalks hunters in the forest, eats moss, can be heard crashing through the trees, has a terrifying voice, and is associated with insanity. This short story is totally gripping from the beginning, and gradually builds on the terrifying scenario until the tale finally plays out it's final part. Pure genius! The legend of the Wendigo has cropped up in many other horrors such as Stephen King's Pet Sematary (where the burial ground had been cursed by the Wendigo), Robert Colombo's collection of stories and poems on the subject, and Larry Fessenden's 2001 film 'Wendigo'.

The Other Wing - written in 1917 (Taken from the book 'Day And Night Stories')

Tim is a young boy. Perhaps a boy with an overactive imagination, or then again, perhaps not. Every night, once the nurse has put him to bed, Tim has a visitor that sneaks a peak into his room. He never quite catches a glimpse of this silent observer, but he is aware of its presence. Tim dreams up the notion that his visitor is in fact 'sleep' itself, and becomes obsessed with the idea of meeting it. Tim lives in a huge Victorian mansion that has one wing closed off to everyone. On the eve of his coming of age, young master Tim decides to finally explore this other wing and in doing so, he will confront his ghostly demon. This is a truly awesome tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. The ending delivers a creepy punch that concludes the story perfectly.

The Transfer - written in 1912 (Taken from the book 'Pan's Garden')

Written from the reference point of a Miss Gould, this very short tale is of a weird vampiric nature about a Mr. Frene whose haunting story is tackled from a reminiscing viewpoint. The tale is definitely not one of Blackwood's best, but does have a certain style to it that is enjoyable to read.

Ancient Lights - written in 1914 (Taken from the book 'Ten Minute Stories')

This tale is of a Croydon surveyor's clerk who is sent to investigate a proposed removal of some woodland to improve the view and accessibility of a small country cottage. He decides to take a shortcut through the woodland itself, which turns out to be not quite as simple as it sounds. The woodland holds tormenting supernatural forces that turn the story into a terrifying experience. A thoroughly enjoyable and gripping tale.

The Listener - written in 1907 (Taken from the book 'The Listener')

A struggling writer rents a room in an old rundown house in London, but slowly realises something is amiss. He starts to get intense headaches, becomes aware of strange footsteps in the house, and notices that someone (or something) is watching him while he sleeps. Blackwood manages to set a chilling scene from the start as this supernatural ghost story slowly unfolds. Another great story.

The Empty House - written in 1906 (Taken from the book 'The Empty House')

Here we have a dark supernatural tale of an evil that has manifested itself into an old house that lies deserted in the middle of a street. A young man named Shorthouse decides to pay his Aunt Julia a weekend visit, which leads to them exploring the empty house in the middle of the night. The house turns out to hold terrible secrets, which torment the two curious onlookers. The story is a simple idea of a haunted house, yet holds an eerie undertone to it that keeps the reader gripped throughout the tale. Blackwood's use of suspense is fantastic, as he builds upon the mounting tension throughout their experiences within the house. A very creepy and enjoyable read.

Accessory Before The Fact - written in 1914 (Taken from the book 'Ten Minute Stories')

This story is again on the extremely short side. The tale concerns a young traveller named Martin who walks into a psychic trap at some crossroads. The young traveller experiences a explosion of paranoia as he is asked for the time by a pair of German tramps. The tale unfolds into a twisted and creepy story that leads to a disturbing twist ending. Nothing is as it seems in this strange tale of the bizarre. The story is well-written, with Blackwood managing to set the reader's imagination alight with his mysterious storyline that will end up haunting you.

Keeping His Promise - written in 1906 (Taken from the book 'The Empty House')

This tale concerns a young man by the name of Marriott who is a fourth year student at Edinburgh University. One night he is cramming for his finals when a friend from a long time ago knocks on the door in a terrible state. His friend is close to starvation, and so Marriot feeds him and sets him to sleep. As his friend sleeps, Marriott discovers that nothing is quite as it seems with the situation. A promise that was made a long time ago seems to have come back to haunt him - literally. This is a very intriguing and well-written short that keeps the reader gripped with the air of supernatural mystery that surrounds it.

Max Hensig - written in 1907 (Taken from the book 'The Listener')

Here we see the story of the reporter Williams who works for the New York Vulture. He is given the assignment of investigating the life and crimes of the murderer Max Hensig, and is set to bleed him of all the news possible. Williams finds the prisoner very difficult to communicate with and something just doesn't seem quite right with the assignment. The storyline builds up in this psychological thriller with an underlying creepy nature that lets the tension mount with every page. This is a great story to end the collection with, leaving the reader dry-mouthed and possibly a little disturbed.

All in all, I would say that the compilation is well put together and includes some of Blackwood's best work. Priced very reasonably, this collection is well worth picking up. Highly recommended!