Classic Victorian & Edwardian Ghost Stories [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION Macbeth has murdered sleep. Haimted by the ghost of his victim die murderer is denied sleep; the ghost or the spirit seeks revenge; but also the ghost, imprisoned on Time's wheel, can be the spirit of the perpetrator endlessly waiting to be released from the perpetual punishment of forever re-enacting the crime. At the eleventh hour of the thirteenth day of the second month the spirit of the wicked Sir Ranulph appears in the great hall and the flagstone marking the place where he struck down his brother grows dark again with his brother's blood. It is to be observed that the ghost, aided by some supernatural news agency, has been alerted about the loss of the eleven days and has accordingly adjusted his calendar. hi Cornwall our ancestors used to pray: 'From ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties and things that go bimip in the night, Good Lord deliver us.' 'Do you believe in ghosts?' How many times has one been asked this question and how many times has one hedged one's bets and answered: 'Well actually I haven't seen a ghost but . . . ' or, being literary, have murmured: 'Well, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." ' 'Well,' one begins, and using 'well' usually means that one is going to dissemble and refuse to offer a straight answer. What is a ghost? One dictionary definition gives: n. a spirit: the soul of a man (or woman): a spirit appearing after death. It is with the latter definition that the ghost story is concerned. Usually but not always it is the unquiet soul or spirit of the dead person seeking peace that does the haunting; for example, in one of