I really enjoyed this collection of ghost stories, collected by Tanya Kirk, a curator for The British Library. She wrote a nice introduction to the collection and talked about the tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve, which was popular with the Victorians. It was something we did this year with a friend, and it was fun, so we hope to make it a tradition. This collection has several contenders for a good read-aloud for next year.
Kirk wrote an introduction to each story, talking briefly about the author’s life. I was struck by how so many of them were writing to make ends meet and support their families. I always think of making a profit from writing as an eventual reward after a combination of persistence and luck, not a job to do because you need money. I thought of it more as something you want to do—or feel you can’t not do—and hopefully, eventually, you share your creation with the world and maybe support yourself with it, but maybe not. Anyway, it seems like writing was approached at least somewhat differently by these writers, many of whom wrote for magazines in the late 1800s.
It took me a couple of weeks to pick away at this, so here’s the rundown the best I can remember:

A Strange Christmas Game, by Charlotte Riddell 3.5 stars
Quick little ditty with a likeable narrator, some ghosts, and a little twist at the end.

The Old Portrait, by Hume Nisbet 4 stars
Sure, haunted portraits have been done before, but this one still snuck up on me and got me!

The Real and the Counterfeit, by Louisa Baldwin 3.5 stars
This probably deserves more stars, but the grim, sudden ending made me mad at it.

Old Applejoy’s Ghost, by Frank R. Stockton 5 stars
This one had an irresistible spirit of joy and goodwill. Not all ghosts have to be scary, and this one was sweet.

Transition, by Algernon Blackwood 4 stars
This was familiar territory, but it was the friendliest lead-in I’ve ever seen to the dark revelation (I mean, not really—I think most readers will know where the story is going) at the end.

The Fourth Wall, by A.M. Burrage 5 stars
This was one of my favorites of the collection and at the top of my list to read out loud next Christmas Eve. It took a neat, original path to creating a nice spooky mood.

The Festival, by H.P. Lovecraft 4 stars
I’m not a big fan of weird horror, but I have to give it to Lovecraft—he sure knew how to make a reader’s skin crawl.

The Crown Derby Plate, by Marjorie Bowen 4 stars
Fun story about a china collector who gets more than she bargained for when she goes looking for the last piece of a set.

Green Holly, by Elizabeth Bowen 2 stars
Meh, my least favorite. I didn’t like any of the characters and didn’t care what happened to them.

Christmas Re-union, by Sir Andrew Caldecott 4 stars
A very ominous Santa Claus in this one, and I liked the setting and the idea of department stores sending out Santas to homes that had ordered them.

A Christmas Meeting, by Rosemary Timperley 5 stars
Short and sweet tale of two lonely souls making a connection on Christmas Eve.

Someone in the Lift, by L.P. Hartley 3 stars
I liked it until the ending.

Told After Supper, by Jerome K. Jerome 5 stars
This novelette made me laugh out loud so many times. It’s a clever satire of a bunch of different ghost story tropes, and reading it made me look forward to reading this author again. Loved it! ( )

‘’At the edge of the dark sky, sprinkled with stars, a faint band of cold light heralded the rising moon. How different from the grey light of dawn, that ushers in the cheerful day, is the solemn rising of the moon in the depth of a winter night.’’

A Strange Christmas Game (Charlotte Riddell): Two siblings inherit a formidable estate and a ghost desperate for vengeance…

The Old Portrait (Hume Nisbet): Wonderfully atmospheric story. If portraits make you feel uncomfortable, this tale will justify your fear.

The Real and the Counterfeit (Louisa Baldwin): A practical joke goes horribly wrong in an estate haunted by the spirit of a Cistercian monk.

Old Applejoy’s Ghost (Frank R. Stockton): In this delightful story an ancestor’s ghost, heavily disappointed by the negligence of his descendant, takes it upon himself to restore Christmas in his estate in all its glory and a brilliant young woman becomes his invaluable assistant.

Transition (Algernon Blackwood): A man returns home, his arms bursting with Christmas presents for his beloved family. But things are not quite as expected… An astonishing story.

‘Do you know’, he said, ‘ that this room is just like a scene on the stage. Try and imagine that wall over there - the fourth wall I think it’s called - has been taken down. On the floor is a row of footlights. Beyond it’s all dark, and there is row after row of blurred faces.’

The Fourth Wall (A. M. Burrage): A jubilant company of young intellectuals decide to spend Christmas in a lovely cottage. However, they soon feel as if they are acting a part in front of an audience and a strange smell of smoke returns evening after evening. A brilliant, atmospheric story.

The Festival (H. P. Lovecraft): A man of controversial heritage returns to New England and attends a dark ritual. This story is as creepy and as Gothic as it gets.

‘’Martha Pym said that she had never seen a ghost and that she would very much like to do so, particularly at Christmas for you can laugh as you like, that is the correct time to see a ghost.’’

The Crown Derby Plate (Marjorie Bowen): You desperately want a Crown Derby plate that is missing from your set. You venture the moor in awful weather to meet the lady that holds your coveted treasure. A reclusive lady, strange, hostile even…
My God, what an incredible story! The atmosphere, the dialogue, the twists, the classic British aura! Marvellous!

Green Holly (Elizabeth Bowen): What if a ghost only returned out of loneliness and the deep wish to be loved? A classic Irish story by Bowen.

Christmas Re-Union (Andrew Caldecott): A Christmas cracker reveals the sins of the past in a story inspired by the work of M.R.James.

A Christmas Meeting (Rosemary Timperley): The haunted and the haunting find each other in a mesmerizing Christmas meeting.

‘There’s someone coming down in the lift, Mummy!’
‘No, my darling, you’re wrong, there isn’t.’
‘But I can see him through the bars - a tall gentleman.’
‘You think you can, but it’s only a shadow. Now, you’ll see, the lift’s empty.’
And it always was.’

Someone In The Lift (L.P.Hartley): I don’t know about you but lifts scare me to death, especially those old ones that make an awful, squeaky, screamy noise. This story makes excellent use of omens, premonitions and the theme of the Doppelganger, producing a striking result. Shocking and unforgettable.

Told After Supper (Jerome K.Jerome): A novelette that satirizes the tropes of the British Ghost story. I can’t say I appreciated this one, sorry.

P.S. Spending 2022 anxiously waiting for the next volume of Christmas Ghost stories by British Library.

‘’There was no pretence at flower-beds nor any manner of cultivation in this garden where a few rank weeds and straggling bushes matted together above the dead grass; on the enclosing wall, which appeared to have been built high as protection against the ceaseless winds that swung along the flats, where the remains of fruit trees; their crucified branches, rotting under the great nails that held them up, looked like the skeletons of those who had died in torment.’’

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ ( )

Christmas - the perfect time for telling ghost stories! Seriously, long before romance took over the Christmas genre, ghost stories were the thing. In this anthology, there are stories about an unhappy ghost, a joyful ghost, a thoughtful ghost, a revengeful ghost, a ghost who didn’t realize he was a ghost, and more. Each story is prefaced with some informative background tidbits on the author and time period. As in most collections, some stories will be better liked than others, and this collection certainly falls in that category for me. But all are entertaining in their own right, and perfect for reading on a cold and wintery night, especially when the moon is full and spirits are nigh . . . ( )