Product Description

Mrs H.D. Everett was the last in a long line of gifted Victorian novelists who knew how to grip the reader through the invasion of everyday life by the abnormal and dramatic, leaving the facts to produce their special thrills without piling on the agony. 'I always know', says one of her characters, 'how to distinguish a true ghost story from a faked one. The true ghost story never has any point and the faked one dare not leave it out.' From the chilling horror of The Death Mask to the shocking violence of The Crimson Blind, from the creeping menace of Parson Clench to the mounting suspense of The Pipers of Mallory, these thrilling stories were enthusiastically received by readers and critics when they first appeared, and are sure to delight and terrify the modern reader in equal measure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #295269 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

About the Author
Part of Wordsworth's Mystery & Supernatural series, featuring classic spine chilling tales, some previously unavailable for many years.

Customer Reviews

Very imaginative and creative.
Contrary to several ghost tales I have read, 'The Death Mask' actually sounded greatly believable. Although some people may deem the ending incomplete, the truth is that here one can see how Mrs. Everett once again startled the reader. We are left thinking of how sorrowful the remainder of the character's existence shall be after this. From the start of the story the reader is snatched into the theme, and cannot put the book down thereafter. Through the entire story the reader's blood runs cold, and hair stands on ends. A perfect narrative by a perfect author, and a perfect addition for a Gothic literature collector, or a Mrs Everett fan.
I give this book five stars, and say the title should not be 'The Crimson Blind and Other Stories' but rather 'The Death Mask and Other Stories'. This book has many short stories of terror and sorrow (208 pages,) and is well worth the money.

Why the Crimson Blind?
This book has weaknesses, some inflicted by the publisher, in particular the over the top blurb on the back cover which does not capture the true flavour of the stories,and picking "The Crimson Blind"- one of the weaker stories- for the title. Many of the tales are tame and conventional. However, "Parson Clench" and "The Death Mask" rise above the general level. Better than all is "Anne's Little Ghost" which is down right sinister and almost feels to have been written by a different author from all the other stories. This story alone justifies buying the book.

Casper meets Mills & Boon
There seemed to be two things that most of these stories had in common:

- The ghosts were friendly, which does not make for a scary story. They would be doing things like warning people of danger or looking for someone to talk to.

- There would be underlying romance stories. I spent many a happy hour trying to work out whether all this turn of century romance stuff with all the "Does she love me? Pray let it be true." nonsense was making me want to laugh or vomit (two normally mutually exclusive reactions).

In H.D.'s defence I guess there was some imagination there. If I was reading a compilation of ghost stories from a variety of authors and came across one of hers in there I wouldn't think it too bad. Three stars it is. But if you're looking for a collection of stories by a single author, I'd go straight for the classics: Blackwood, James (M.R.), Lovecraft. Maybe even Conan Doyle.