A strong blend of the fear of growing old or outliving others meeting other traits similar to that. I'm not sure it's a story for me but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I don't have much to say on it besides it's a solid hour read. ( )

A posthumous collection of lesser and early work by arguably the first great ghost story writer. Still, half the contents are worth the price of admission with the eponymous story, Squire Toby's Will, Dickon the Devil, The Child that went with the Fairies, The White Cat of Drumgunniol, Aungier Street, Sir Dominick's Bargain being all worth the time before the fireplace with the lights down. ( )

Madam Crowl’s Ghost & Other Stories contains twelve of Sheridan Le Fanu’s ghost stories that had originally been published anonymously or under pseudonyms. The stories offer some insight into the culture, folklore, and landscape of mid-eighteenth century Ireland, and Le Fanu sets the scenes of his tales quite well with a keen sense of foreboding.

The stories were collected and edited by M.R. James in 1923, fifty years after Le Fanu’s death. In his introduction, James notes that he has “placed the most striking and sensational of the stories at the beginning,” and assuredly, the opener “Madam Crowl’s Ghost” is the best of this lot, wherein an old woman recounts her strange experience at the age of thirteen when she was sent to Applewale House to care for the elderly and addled Dame Arabella Crowl. And upon Madam Crowl’s death, her darkest secret comes to light. That the unfolding events are seen through the eyes of a child add an additional layer of creepiness, though Le Fanu’s continuous use of a regional dialect throughout the story forces the reader to hit the brakes occasionally thereby slowing the narrative’s natural flow.

Most of the subsequent stories are fairly bland and routine, but these are the ones of some note:

Squire Toby’s Will - When the old Squire Toby Marston dies, his estate is left to his two sons, Scroope and Charlie. The elder Scroope is convinced that Charlie, by suppressing a key document, has cheated him out of ownership of the house at Gylingden - and promises revenge. An excellent atmospheric ghost story.

The White Cat of Drumgunniol - The story of that white cat and its dark omen that has hereditarily attached itself to the Donovan family. And here, the use of regional dialect in the dialogue somehow enhances the effectiveness of the story.

Ghost Stories of Chapelizod - Le Fanu spent his early childhood in Chapelizod, a village within Dublin, and it is reasonable to imagine that these tales in this mini anthology were inspired by events, rumors, or legends that came his way in those formative years. The stories are decidedly mundane, but the thought of their possible origin adds just a bit of spice. ( )

This was a good introduction to the works of Le Fanu. ( )

Indeholder "Introduction by M. R. James", "Madam Crowl's Ghost", "Squire Toby's Will", "Dickon the Devil", "The Child That Went with the Fairies", "The White Cat of Drumgunniol", "An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street", "Ghost Stories of Chapelizod", " The Village Bully", " The Sexton's Adventure", " The Specter Lovers", " Wicked Captain Walshawe, of Wauling", " Sir Dominick's Bargain", " Ultor de Lacy", "The Vision of Tom Chuff", "Stories of Lough Guir", " The Magician Earl", " Moll Rial's Adventure", " The Banshee", " The Governess's Dream", " The Earl's Hall".

"Introduction by M. R. James" handler om ???
"Madam Crowl's Ghost" handler om en ung pige, der bliver sendt ud til sin moster, der passer en meget gammel dame.???
"Squire Toby's Will" handler om ???
"Dickon the Devil" handler om ???
"The Child That Went with the Fairies" handler om ???
"The White Cat of Drumgunniol" handler om ???
"An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street" handler om ???
"Ghost Stories of Chapelizod" handler om ???
" The Village Bully" handler om ???
" The Sexton's Adventure" handler om ???
" The Specter Lovers" handler om ???
" Wicked Captain Walshawe, of Wauling" handler om et vokslys, hvor Walshawe's sjæl er blevet bundet efter døden. Da lyset bliver brændt, kommer en lillebitte person ud under lyseslukkeren og viser et skjult rum i et skrivebord.
" Sir Dominick's Bargain" handler om ???
" Ultor de Lacy" handler om ???
"The Vision of Tom Chuff" handler om ???
"Stories of Lough Guir" handler om miss Anne Baily og de historier, hun fortæller.
" The Magician Earl" handler om en slot, der nu ligger på bunden af søen, Lough Guir. Earl of Desmond var en magiker, der føjede sin unge kones ønske om at se hans kræfter demonstreret. Men hvis hun undervejs sagde en lyd, ville slottet og alle i det, havne på bunden af søen og forblive der i masser af år. Han forvandles til en ådselsgrib, der svæver over hende. Derefter til en hæslig heks. Så til en slange. Så til sig selv der strækker sig og strækker sig. Det får hende til at skrige og slottet havner på bunden af søen. En gang hvert syvende år viser slottet og Jarlen sig og han kan ride til solopgang. Og når engang hesteskoene af sølv er slidt igennem, bliver forbandelsen hævet. Det fortælles også at han forsøger at få folk til at sige noget, når de ser ham. Måske vil det tryllebinde dem og forkorte hans egen forbandelse?
" Moll Rial's Adventure" handler om en ung pige, der vasker tøj ved bredden af søen og bliver tilbudt en ring af en fin herre. Man når hun kigger ned, er vandet blevet fyldt af blod. Så hun siger ikke noget og der sker hende ikke noget.
" The Banshee" handler om at Anne Baily selv har hørt en banshee (som er en venligsindet kvindelig ånd) mens hun og en anden søster vågede over en søster, der var ved at dø af tuberkulose.
" The Governess's Dream" handler om en guvernante, der i et drømmesyn får åbenbaret, hvor en skat er begravet. Efter tre gange at have drømt den samme drøm overtaler hun mr Baily til at grave der og de finder et skatkammer, men desværre helt tomt.
" The Earl's Hall" handler om samme guvernante, der falder i søvn i en af husets sale og ser en lille djævelsk mandsperson gøre tegn til hende. Hun falder i afmagt og dør nogle dage senere.

En række spøgelseshistorier og lidt diskussion af genren. Bogen er en slags opsamling af Le Fanus småhistorier og der er slet ingen af hans bedste historier at finde her. Suppe på en pølsepind. ( )