In these stories, the narrators are individuals hapless in the face of some kind of trouble. An over-worked doctor, a returning soldier, a worried husband, or an ambushed lawyer; in each case, the supernatural is an unwanted guest that comes a-knocking. Whether it is for better or worse, however, is only revealed at the end, keeping the reader in suspense as the plot unfolds. Even in this modern age of science, there are many episodes that are simply beyond our ken. The Dalvey Estate Midnight Visitor, for instance, recounts the strange events in a ward that lead a medical man to wonder if there may be something else at work to aid him in his noble calling. Similarly, the husband in The Eerie Guardian prides himself on his no-nonsense attitude, easily dismissing his colleagues' warnings as flights of fancy. Yet, it is only when he becomes trapped in a living nightmare that he begins to seek the truth behind his misfortunes. At the same time, these are more than dime-store pulp horror. Though the stories tell of grisly figures and tragic pasts, at their very heart, they are about fundamentally human emotions. The lingering memory of safety that a parental figure evokes in The Robin Road Peanut Seller. The violent anger at familial betrayal and stolen love in The Ghostly Bride. Look beyond the tattered rags and chilling voices that these spectres wear like armour, and you may find something that is not so different from you and I after all.
