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Summary

On Christmas Eve, a party of friends descends on a purportedly haunted country retreat, charged with the task of discovering evidence of the supernatural. Sequestered in their rooms for the holiday, the friends reconvene on Twelfth Night at a great feast and share their stories of spectral encounters.

"The Mortals in the House" by Charles Dickens provides the framework for the tales, which include two more of his own stories. Counting Elizabeth Gaskell and Wilkie Collins among its other contributors, The Haunted House examines quintessentially Victorian themes - sex and longing, nostalgia and loss - in ways that continue to resonate today.

Ingeniously conceived and written, and spiked with flashes of Dickensian humor, this volume is a strange and sheer delight.

1: "The Mortals in the House" - Charles Dickens
2: "The Ghost in the Clock Room" - Hesba Stretton
3: "The Ghost in the Double Room" - George Augustus Sala
4: "The Ghost in the Picture Room" - Adelaide Anne Procter
5: "The Ghost in the Cupboard Room" - Wilkie Collins
6: "The Ghost in Master B's Room" - Charles Dickens
7: "The Ghost in the Garden Room" - Elizabeth Gaskell
8: "The Ghost in the Corner Room" - Charles Dickens
Click here to see all the titles in our Charles Dickens collection.
©2008 Summersdale Publishers Ltd (P)2008 Summersdale Publishers Ltd

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Joy
  • Grayshott, Surrey, United Kingdom
  • 30-07-08

A Dickens treasure trove!

Wow! Who knew about this book and didn't tell me before? It is a series of stories written by Dickens and by friends whom he asked to participate, amongst others the great Wilkie Collins, and the longest one which is written by the glorious Elizabeth Gaskell. It is a most intriguing collection and I urge everyone with an interest in this period to listen to Philip Bird's incredible narration. He is supreme in his characterisations of material of this sort.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Mr
  • Surbiton, United Kingdom
  • 07-11-11

Not so much haunted as horrid

I sadly felt that the narratives in this compendium ghost story didn't really deliver and felt this was a poor release. The narration was fine, but aside from one or two good stories, there was little to recommend this, and even the "good" stories were not that scary.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Have to disagree about this one

I was very disappointed in this book of 'ghost' stories with no ghosts. Great writers at their poorest, with a set of cobbled together short stories that were uninspiring.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • Tomsde
  • 23-08-12

Not Scary--But Rather Romantic

What did you like best about The Haunted House? What did you like least?

The best part of this book were the colorful characters and dry humor. The worst part was that it isn't really a legitimate collection of ghost stories. Although the titles of the stories offered start with "The Ghost . . ." most of the stories are simply colorful Victorian romances and humerous sketches.

Has The Haunted House turned you off from other books in this genre?

The Haunted House has not turned me off to other books in this genre--which I would consider Victorian Romance--what turned me off was that I I feel the title and the vague framework that Dickens tied it all together with was misleading. I was expecting really scary stories, like Dicken's "The Signalman"--but the book failed to produce that type of tale.

Which character – as performed by Philip Bird – was your favorite?

The narrator was my favorite character.

Was The Haunted House worth the listening time?

This book is worth the listening time if one is aware of what type of book it really is--namely not a collection of scary stories--but rather a collection of witty Victorian sketches.

Any additional comments?

If you like books like those written by Jane Austin and the Bronte Sisters you would probably be pleased with the selection offered here--but if you want bone chilling tales of terror you definitely won't find it here and would be better off with an Edgar Allen Poe anthology.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful