‘Spookiness is, after all, the real purpose of the ghost story…’
Roald Dahl is obviously best known for his children’s books so a collection of ghost stories perhaps feels like an odd fit. One of the reasons that his work is so beloved, however, is that they undoubtedly have a dark undercurrent running through them. 1983 was a spooky year for Dahl. Not only did he drop this short story collection, he also published The Witches – perhaps his most overtly horrifying children’s novel. To be clear, he didn’t write any of the stories contained in this grisly collection, but he did choose them from a long list of 749 supernatural tales and he also contributed an introduction.
Containing 14 different ghost stories ranging from 1885 (The Upper Berthby Francis Marion Crawford) to 1962 (The Ghost of a Hand by Sheridan Le Fanu), Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories is a consistently creepy collection that takes in everything from insidious imaginary friends to vengeful strangers. The jewel in the crown is Robert Aickman’s outstanding short story Ringing the Changes. The story concerns a honeymooning couple who happen upon a seemingly deserted English village that is totally silent except for the incessant ringing of church bells. What unfolds next is beautifully written, wryly observed and genuinely terrifying. A proper old-fashioned ghost story. Indeed, if there is one complaint to be levelled at this collection it would be the lack of diversity. A lot of these stories are written in the Victorian style with many of them indebted to M.R James. Having said that, if you’re going to borrow from anyone, James is the master of the macabre – of that there can be no doubt.
I happened upon this collection in the most fortuitous of circumstances – not unlike those described in some of the stories. It was sitting atop a pile of books ready to be thrown away at the library of the school in which I work. The fact that said library is centuries old and very creepy itself only adds to the nagging feeling of fate pointing its unerring finger in my general direction. What I ended up with is a collection of ghost stories that are perfect for Halloween. God, I love spooky season.