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The Ghost Story Megapack: 25 Classic Tales by Masters
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Table of Contents
COPYRIGHT INFO
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
AT CHRIGHTON ABBEY, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
THE HAUNTED MILL, by Jerome K. Jerome
THE LOST GHOST, by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
THE GHOST CLUB, by John Kendrick Bangs
THE SHADOWS OF THE DEAD, by Louis Becke
THE ROOM IN THE TOWER, by E. F. Benson
THE HAUNTED AND THE HAUNTERS, by Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton
THE MIDDLE BEDROOM, by H. de Vere Stacpoole
THE DRUMMER GHOST, by John William DeForest
MISS JÉROMETTE AND THE CLERGYMAN, by Wilkie Collins
THE SPECTRE BRIDE, by William Harrison Ainsworth
THE TAPESTRIED CHAMBER; or, The Lady in the Square, by Sir Walter Scott
THE OLD NURSE’S STORY, by Elizabeth Gaskell
THE JUDGE’S HOUSE, by Bram Stoker
AT THE END OF THE PASSAGE, by Rudyard Kipling
THE WITHERED ARM, by Thomas Hardy
JOHN CHARRINGTON’S WEDDING, by Edith Nesbit
THE MAN OF SCIENCE, by Jerome K. Jerome
WHAT DID MISS DARRINGTON SEE? by Emma B. Cobb
A GHOST STORY, by Mark Twain
THE SOUL OF ROSE DÉDÉ, by M.E.M. Davis
THE HOUSE OF THE NIGHTMARE, by Edward Lucas White
REALITY OR DELUSION? by Mrs Henry Wood
FISHER’S GHOST, by John Lang
THROUGH THE IVORY GATE, by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews
THE COLD EMBRACE, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
COPYRIGHT INFO
The Ghost Story Megapack is copyright © 2011 by Wildside Press LLC. All rights reserved. For more information, contact the publisher.
[Version 1.3]
* * * *
“At Chrighton Abbey, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, originally appeared in 1871.
“The Haunted Mill,” by Jerome K. Jerome, originally appeared in 1891.
“The Lost Ghost,” by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, originally appeared in 1903.
“The Ghost Club,” by John Kendrick Bangs, originally appeared in 1894.
“The Shadows of the Dead,” by Louis Becke originally appeared in 1897.
“The Room in the Tower,” by E. F. Benson, originally appeared in 1912.
“The Haunted and the Haunters,” by Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton, originally appeared in 1959.
“The Drummer Ghost,” by John William DeForest originally appeared in 1870.
“Miss Jéromette and the Clergyman, by Wilkie Collins originally appeared in 1875.
“The Spectre Bride,” By William Harrison Ainsworth, originally appeared in 1822.
“The Tapestried Chamber; or, The Lady in the Square,” by Sir Walter Scott, originally appeared in 1829.
“The Old Nurse’s Story,” by Elizabeth Gaskell, originally appeared in 1852.
“The Judge’s House,” by Bram Stoker, originally appeared in 1891.
“At the End of the Passage,” by Rudyard Kipling,” originally appeared in 1891.
“The Withered Arm,” by Thomas Hardy, originally appeared in 1888.
“John Charrington’s Wedding,” by Edith Nesbit, originally appeared in 1891.
“The Man of Science,” by Jerome K. Jerome, originally appeared in 1892.
“What Did Miss Darrington See?” by Emma B. Cobb originally appeared in 1870.
“A Ghost Story,” by Mark Twain, originally appeared in 1903.
“The Soul of Rose Dédé,” by M.E.M. Davis, originally appeared in 1888.
“The House of the Nightmare,” by Edward Lucas White, originally appeared in 1906.
“Reality or Delusion?” by Mrs Henry Wood, originally appeared in 1868.
“Fisher’s Ghost,” by John Lang, originally appeared in 1859.
“Through the Ivory Gate,” by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, originally appeared in 1905.
“The Cold Embrace,” by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, originally appeared in 1860.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
THE GHOST STORY MEGAPACK
Yes, this megapack actually has 26 stories instead of 25. We really can count!
We had planned to include only 25 tales in The Ghost Story Megapack, but since the E.F. Benson story is also in The E.F. Benson Megapack, we’ll include it here without counting it. So enjoy an extra story on us…and if you like it, pick up The E.F. Benson Megapack, which has 36 stories by one of the masters of the supernatural genre!
—John Betancourt
Publisher, Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidepress.com
ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS
Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has proved to be one of our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”
The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt, Mary Wickizer Burgess, Sam Cooper, Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, Robert Reginald. A. E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!).
A NOTE FOR KINDLE READERS
The Kindle versions of our Megapacks employ active tables of contents for easy navigation…please look for one before writing reviews on Amazon that complain about the lack! (They are sometimes at the ends of ebooks, depending on your reader.)
RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?
Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).
Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.
TYPOS
Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.
If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at [email protected] or use the message boards above.
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
MYSTERY
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Charlie Chan Megapack*
The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack
The Detective Megapack
The Father Brown Megapack
The Girl Detective Megapack
The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack
The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack
The First Mystery Megapack
The Second Mystery Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Philo Vance Megapack*
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Raffles Megapack
The Sherlock Holmes Megapack
The Victorian Mystery Megapack
The Wilkie Collins Megapack
GENERAL INTEREST
The Adventure Megapack
The Baseball Megapack
The Cat Story Megapack
The Second Cat Story Megapack
The Third Cat Story Megapack
The Third Cat Story Megapack
The Christmas Megapack
The Second Christmas Megapack
The Classic American Short Stories Megapack, Vol. 1.
The Classic Humor Megapack
The Dog Story Megapack
The Doll Story Megapack
The Horse Story Megapack
The Military Megapack
The Sea-Story Megapack
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Dragon Megapack
The Randall Garrett Megapack
The Second Randall Garrett Megapack
The Edmond Hamilton Megapack
The C.J. Henderson Megapack
The Murray Leinster Megapack
The Second Murray Leinster Megapack
The Martian Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Andre Norton Megapack
The H. Beam Piper Megapack
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Science-Fantasy Megapack
The First Science Fiction Megapack
The Second Science Fiction Megapack
The Third Science Fiction Megapack
The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack
The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack
The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack
The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack
The Eighth Science Fiction Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Steampunk Megapack
The Time Travel Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
HORROR
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Second Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The E.F. Benson Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The Ghost Story Megapack
The Second Ghost Story Megapack
The Third Ghost Story Megapack
The Haunts & Horrors Megapack
The Horror Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The M.R. James Megapack
The Macabre Megapack
The Second Macabre Megapack
The Third Macabre Megapack
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The Mummy Megapack
The Occult Detective Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Vampire Megapack
The Weird Fiction Megapack
The Werewolf Megapack
WESTERNS
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The Buffalo Bill Megapack
The Cowboy Megapack
The Zane Grey Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The Western Megapack
The Second Western Megapack
YOUNG ADULT
The Boys’ Adventure Megapack
The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack
The Dare Boys Megapack
The Doll Story Megapack
The G.A. Henty Megapack
The Girl Detectives Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Pinocchio Megapack
The Rover Boys Megapack
The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack
The Tom Swift Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
AUTHOR MEGAPACKS
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The E.F. Benson Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Second Fredric Brown Megapack
The Wilkie Collins Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Guy de Maupassant Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The F. Scott Fitzgerald Megapack
The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack
The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Randall Garrett Megapack
The Second Randall Garrett Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Megapack
The Zane Grey Megapack
The Edmond Hamilton Megapack
The Dashiell Hammett Megapack
The C.J. Henderson Megapack
The M.R. James Megapack
The Selma Lagerlof Megapack
The Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Jonas Lie Megapack
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack
The Talbot Mundy Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Andre Norton Megapack
The H. Beam Piper Megapack
The Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Rafael Sabatini Megapack
The Saki Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Bram Stoker Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The Virginia Woolf Megapack
* Not available in the United States
** Not available in the European Union
***Out of print.
OTHER COLLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY
The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany Megapack”)
The Wildside Book of Fantasy
The Wildside Book of Science Fiction
Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
X is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries
AT CHRIGHTON ABBEY, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
The Chrightons were very great people in that part of the country where my childhood and youth were spent. To speak of Squire Chrighton was to speak of a power in that remote western region of England. Chrighton Abbey had belonged to the family ever since the reign of Stephen
, and there was a curious old wing and a cloistered quadrangle still remaining of the original edifice, and in excellent preservation. The rooms at this end of the house were low, and somewhat darksome and gloomy, it is true; but, though rarely used, they were perfectly habitable, and were of service on great occasions when the Abbey was crowded with guests.
The central portion of the Abbey had been rebuilt in the reign of Elizabeth and was of noble and palatial proportions. The southern wing, and a long music-room with eight tall narrow windows added on to it, were as modern as the time of Anne. Altogether, the Abbey was a very splendid mansion, and one of the chief glories of our county.
All the land in Chrighton parish, and for a long way beyond its boundaries, belonged to the great Squire. The parish church was within the park walls, and the living in the Squire’s gift—not a very valuable benefice, but a useful thing to bestow upon a younger son’s younger son, once in a way, or sometimes on a tutor or dependent of the wealthy house.
I was a Chrighton, and my father, a distant cousin of the reigning Squire, had been rector of Chrighton parish. His death left me utterly unprovided for, and I was fain to go out into the bleak unknown world, and earn my living in a position of dependence—a dreadful thing for a Chrighton to be obliged to do.
Out of respect for the traditions and prejudices of my race, I made it my business to seek employment abroad, where the degradation of one solitary Chrighton was not so likely to inflict shame upon the ancient house to which I belonged. Happily for myself, I had been carefully educated, and had industriously cultivated the usual modern accomplishments in the calm retirement of the Vicarage. I was so fortunate as to obtain a situation at Vienna, in a German family of high rank; and here I remained seven years, laying aside year by year a considerable portion of my liberal salary. When my pupils had grown up, my kind mistress procured me a still more profitable position at St. Petersburg, where I remained five more years, at the end of which time I yielded to a yearning that had been long growing upon me—an ardent desire to see my dear old country home once more.
I had no very near relations in England. My mother had died some years before my father; my only brother was far away, in the Indian Civil Service; sister I had none. But I was a Chrighton, and I loved the soil from which I had sprung. I was sure, moreover, of a warm welcome from friends who had loved and honoured my father and mother, and I was still further encouraged to treat myself to this holiday by the very cordial letters I had from time to time received from the Squire’s wife, a noble warm-hearted woman, who fully approved the independent course I had taken, and who had ever shown herself my friend.