[ THE OPEN DOOR (DODO PRESS) ] Riddell, Charlotte (AUTHOR ) May-01-2008 Paperback

Really enjoyed this collection of stories, by an author I’d not previously heard of. The contents vary - some are ‘weird stories’ rather than ‘ghost stories’ - slow-burning as the bumpf says, so get well into the atmosphere. Not overly scary, enough frisson to engage the reader well (Details given on Amazon a bit contradictory - this is the full 400 pages on Kindle’

Good entertaining selection.

I'd never really heard of this author before, but oh she's wonderful. Perfect winter reading.

Quite interesting

Very good

First let me say I love a good ghost story and I was thrilled to see a collection of them, but once I started to read I was disappointed to find they were not spooky frightening or scary, I soldiered on and continued reading thinking the rest of the stories would be different but I am sorry to say they were not thus the two stars.

For a buck, this is simply a fabulous collection of stories! I didn't expect much for my 99 cents and I was very pleasantly surprised. It's great to read ghost stories that have no gore, very little violence, no lurid sex, aren't disturbing, and yet completely hold your attention. Our family reads stories aloud together and I'd say these are appropriate for anyone from age 10 through adult. Great for reading by the fire on a winter evening! Very pleasantly surprised.

Charlotte Riddell ist Klassik. Und lassen Sie sich nicht von dem niedlichen Püppchen auf dem Titelbild täuschend: Diese viktorianischen Gruselgeschichten haben es in sich. Mit feiner Feder geschrieben, raffiniert pointiert und - ja, grausig! Ein Muss für alle, die dezentes, aber echt an die Nieren gehendes Grauen lieben.

Classic ghost stories of the Victorian era, when ghosts were very much in vogue!

If you're fond of Victorian haunting and horror stories, as I am, this will be really fun for you! The stories are populated by engaging characters, plots are intriguing, and the stories move along nicely. These are really good to read on winter nights while tucked safely in bed.

If you're looking for a good fright, this book might disappoint you, as Victorian author, Charlotte Riddell tended more toward the gothic rather than the malevolent spirits of her contemporary, Sheridan Le Fanu. This collection of 14 supernatural stories contains ghosts (more to be pitied than feared), a banshee, devils, and dreams that foretell future events. Mrs. Riddell who was born Charlotte Cowan in Northern Ireland sets many of her stories in her native land. London and the Victorian business world also figure prominently. These are the 14 stories in this collection: "The Old House in Vauxhall Walk" --A young man recently disinherited by his father is out on the cold, rainy streets of London with no money and no place to sleep. Luckily an old family servant spots him and offers to put him up in an empty house. A miserly old woman was recently murdered there and the young man is determined to solve the mystery of her death--and the location of her hidden treasure. "Nut Bush Farm" --A man rents a farm whose previous owner supposedly ran off with a young woman, deserting his wife and children. "The Open Door" --A young clerk is fired from his job for being too cheeky. Desperate for money, he takes on the task of staying in an old mansion to solve the puzzle of a door that won't stay closed. "Sandy the Tinker" --A Scottish minister narrates a strange tale of another minister's awful dream. Will the dreamer have to give up his soul to the Evil One in order to save the village reprobate? "The Last Squire of Ennismore" --Squire Ennismore invites a stranger who appeared out of the sea to drink a grand puncheon of rum with him. "A Strange Christmas Game" --An impecunious brother and sister inherit an estate from a distant relative, whose ancestor had mysteriously disappeared on a distant Christmas day. "Forewarned, Forearmed" --Mr. Dwarris' dream foreshadows a journey and an encounter with a murderer. "Hertford O'Donnell's Warning" --A brilliant but impecunious Irish surgeon is about to propose to a rich heiress when the strange howling begins that only he can hear. "Diarmid Chittock's Story" --A man who is tired of London society rents a lonely castle on Ireland's stormy coast. Who is the grave young governess who turned down the proposal of the castle's exiled master? "Walnut Tree House" --The ghost of a young boy, much abused in life haunts the new owner of Walnut Tree House. "Old Mrs. Jones" --The nastiest ghost in the collection resides in an otherwise humorous account of a London cabbie who moves his family into a haunted house. "Why Dr. Cray Left Southam" --A physician who could not tolerate hypochondriacs was not welcome in Southam, especially after he accused a devoted husband of poisoning his wife. "Conn Kilrea" --A ghost that always appears before the imminent demise of the Kilrea family heir haunts Private Conway Kilrea, who believes the ghost is foretelling his own death. "A Terrible Vengeance" --A pretty flirt breaks up with her boyfriend during a boating expedition, then goes missing. The next morning little wet footprints begin to follow a gentleman who took a walk along the river where the flirt disappeared.