Wondering if anybody else likes old horror short stories. Writers I particularly like are M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood, Ambrose Bierce, Sheridan LeFanu. The prose is not what we're used to (except for Bierce, whose writing is so potent I don't think it can become dated). But they have a sense of the storyteller confiding something to you by a fire that I don't find much in current horror writing.
Bierce's "Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" is pretty generally regarded as one of the best short stories ever written, period. James's "Passing The Runes" is one of my favorites, and was the basis for the classic B&W film "Curse Of The Demon." LeFanu's "Carmilla" has been made into several horror films, including Hammer's groudnbreakingly sexy "The Vampire Lovers."
These guys paved the way for many of the writers we read, and they don't deserve to be forgotten.
Old Fashioned Ghost Stories
Here-Here, they are underrated.
Old Fashioned Ghost Stories
I've recently begun to collect anthologies of short Horror stories and have read several classic ghost stories by said authors (Blackwood, Birce, Lovecraft and others) above. I read one every night before i go to bed if i can. good dreams.
Old Fashioned Ghost Stories
The trick is finding decent collections of this stuff... let me know if anyone knows any good ones.
Old Fashioned Ghost Stories
Most of the time it's easiest to find single author collections of this stuff. There aren't too many anthologies of multiple authors anymore. Wordsworth Editions, which specializes in cheapie editions of public domain works, has a good M.R. James collection, and I have good Dover collections of Sheridan LeFanu and Algernon Blackwood. Dover is a good catalog to check for fiction of this vintage.
Old Fashioned Ghost Stories
I enjoy reading Sheridan LeFanu and Algernon Blackwood.
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