Ghostly

September 7, 2015
Niffenegger (The Time Traveler’s Wife) assembles ghostly fictions by writers both classic (Edgar Allan Poe, Saki, M.R. James) and recent (Neil Gaiman, Kelly Link, A.S. Byatt) in this strong but sometimes uneven anthology. Felines feature prominently in Poe’s “The Black Cat” as well as in Niffenegger’s own contribution, “Secret Life, with Cats.” Humor is provided by P.G. Wodehouse’s hilarious “Honeysuckle Cottage” and Amy Giacalone’s “Tiny Ghosts,” which introduces an irrepressible new voice. Writers who experience ghostly encounters are examined in the longest story, Oliver Onions’s “The Beckoning Fair One,” and Rebecca Curtis’s self-consciously postmodern “The Pink House.” The final story, Ray Bradbury’s postapocalyptic classic “There Will Come Soft Rains,” astonishingly anticipates today’s smart-house technology and tells the haunting story of a house that is itself a ghost. Niffenegger includes crisp introductions that provide context, such as that both Rudyard Kipling’s “They” and Byatt’s “The July Ghost” were written in response to experiencing the death of a child. Some of the older stories are more musty than scary, but the best, such as Gaiman’s very short “Click-Clack the Rattlebag,” do an excellent job of evoking that crucial frisson of dread.

October 15, 2015

The classic and the contemporary mingle in this collection of 16 ghost stories chosen, introduced, and illustrated by Niffenegger (The Time Traveler's Wife). Among the classics is Edgar Allan Poe's very grim "The Black Cat"; P.G. Wodehouse's comic "Honeysuckle Cottage," about a surly author who gets more than he bargained for when he inherits a special home; and Ray Bradbury's "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains," an eerie futuristic piece about an empty, automated home left standing after the apocalypse, still catering to its absent owners. Among the modern shorts is Niffenegger's bittersweet "A Secret Life with Cats," about an unhappily married woman who inherits a house and its resident spirits; and Amy Giacolone's quite funny "Tiny Ghosts," featuring a young couple who must share their home with annoying specters. Other highlights include stories by M.R. James, Neal Gaiman, and Kelly Link. There's nary a dud in the bunch. VERDICT This masterly selection of gothic horror, contemporary sensibility, and dark humor is a standout anthology, and Niffenegger's enlightened introductions elevate each story. Fans of ghost stories of all types will savor.--Kristin Centorcelli, Denton, TX

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