Yesterday I happened upon a story by R. Murray Gilchrist in a ghost story anthology. I had never heard of him.

The story was The Pageant of Ghosts, and it stood out in the company of other authors who were collected in the anthology: Le Fanu, Blackwood, James, etc. It is a phantasmagoria, and the closest comparison that springs to mind is the sequence in Poe's The Masque of the Red Death, where the POV passes thru the variously hued chambers.

It has a sort of emotional impact similar to The Hours in the Life of a Lousy-Haired Man, by the Compte de Lautraemont, that the narrative transports you, all right, but to a place you're not sure you'd want to be.

Has anyone here read any of his other works, and if so, what are your impressions of his abilities?



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 24 Mar 18 | 10:45AM by Sawfish.

Years ago, I read his book “A Night on the Moor & Other Tales of Dread“. Frankly, I cannot remember what most of the stories were about, I found nothing special in them in terms of horror genre. On the other hand, I must say I liked his writing style that was very artistic sometimes, he was very good at describing things, situations, enviroments; but like I said, his tales made no great impression on me. I would call him an obscure author from Belle Époque who had a knack for expression and description but badly lacking in ideas for his stories to stick in your mind.
By the way, a lot of his stories take place in The Peak District he also wrote a book about.

You can try:

The Crimson Weaver (in my opinion, one of his best works)
[people.brandeis.edu]

The Witch In-Grain
[gutenberg.net.au]

The Peak District
[archive.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 25 Mar 18 | 10:24AM by Minicthulhu.

Thanks very much!