What's Inside
This collection gathers ten tales of the supernatural where the horror is often psychological and tied to specific, malevolent locations. Algernon Blackwood populates these stories with professional men — lawyers, secretaries, and students — who find their rational worlds disrupted by the 'aroma of evil deeds' lingering in old architecture. The pieces range from the urban claustrophobia of a New York boarding house to the vast, eerie isolation of a moose-camp on Skeleton Lake. Recurring character Jim Shorthouse appears in multiple stories, acting as a catalyst for trouble in both haunted houses and private secretaryships, while other tales explore the price of broken promises and the strange weights of uninvited gifts.
Works & figures
- Jim Shorthouse
A man prone to 'messes' who frequently encounters strange happenings. (in “A Case of Eavesdropping”)
- Marriott
An exhausted student trying to pass his examinations at Edinburgh University. (in “Keeping His Promise”)
- Smith
A mysterious medical student who occupies the floor above the narrator. (in “Smith: An Episode in a Lodging-House”)
- Blake
A writer living in poverty in a New York boarding house. (in “A Suspicious Gift”)
- Sidebotham
The eccentric Chicago-raised employer of a private secretary in New York. (in “The Strange Adventures of a Private Secretary in New York”)
- Julia
An aunt who accompanies her nephew into a reputedly evil house. (in “The Empty House”)
What it's really about
- Residual Evil
- The idea that past crimes leave a tangible atmosphere in rooms.
- Isolation
- Horror found in both remote islands and lonely city apartments.
Why it's memorable
- A student driving his mind to the breaking point to avoid being ploughed for exams.
- Three men sharing two beds and eating raw rice to fool their stomachs into fullness.
Where to start
Start with 'The Empty House' to see how Blackwood uses physical sensations like gooseflesh and rising hair to signal a building's history.
For your book club
- The way financial desperation in New York creates an environment ripe for supernatural intrusion.
- Whether the ghosts in these stories are external entities or projections of overworked minds.