An Adventure Near Granville Scary Short Story by George Soane

 

An Adventure Near Granville is one of the best ghost stories you have never read and it weighs in at spot 31 in my review of the Top 40 scary stories from 1800-1849. It was published in George Soane's (1789-1860) collection of short stories The Last Ball and Other Stories in 1843. "An Adventure Near Granville" (more aptly titled "A Horror Near Granville") is a warning for anyone moving into a foreign old house. I hope you enjoy it.

When considering scary ghost stories, I am convinced that George Soane is one of the most underrated ghost writers for the first half of the nineteenth century. Who on earth is George Soane? He was the son of the famous English architect, John Soane (1753-1837). George was the black sheep of the family. Much like Edgar Allan Poe, he shunned business and followed the arts. His family disowned him as a result. Yet George turned out to be an excellent short story writer. I picked his "Lucy Ellis" (also called "The Lighthouse") as one of the top dozen horror stories in The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology. Any of his stories in The Last Ball is worth your time.

#ScaryShortStories #GeorgeSoane #oldhousestory #AdventureNearGranville #scarystories

6th Best Ghost Story from 1800-1849 is "The Spectral Ship" by Wilhelm Hauff

I am counting down the Top 10 ghost stories for the first half of the 19th century after starting with the Top 40. The scary story that floats in at the 6th spot is "The Spectral Ship" by German author Wilhelm Hauff (1802-1827). The tale was published in 1828 and I give background on it in he best ghost stories anthology that I edited. If you are looking for ghostly terror at sea, this is the story for you.

  

Best Ghost Story 18 from 1800-1849 is "Monos and Daimonos"

Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873) is known in supernatural circles for penning one of the greatest ghost stories of the nineteenth century: "The Haunted and Haunters." This scary story is not in consideration for this countdown of the best ghost short stories from 1800-1849, however, as it was published in 1857. H.P. Lovecraft called it "one of the best short haunted house tales ever." But enough about "The Haunted and Haunters."

Bulwer-Lytton's second best ghost story is Monos and Daimonos, which floats in at 18 on the countdown. It was published in 1830. The horror story involves a shipwreck, a murder and . . . well . . . a relentless ghost set out for revenge. I hope you enjoy it!

Read my new book: The Best Ghost Stories 18800-1849: A Classic Ghost Anthology  

Best Ghost Story 23 from 1800-1849

Horace Smith (1779-1849) was an English stockbroker, poet and novelist. When he became independently wealthy trading stocks, he turned to writing full time. One can also add to his resume: ghost short story writer.

Floating in at spot 23 in my countdown of the Top 40 ghost stories for the first half of the nineteenth century is Horace Smith's Sir Guy Eveling's Dream. This scary story first appeared in The New Monthly Magazine of 1823. Smith later collected it in his compilation of short stories and essays titled Gaieties and Gravities in 1826. Nine years later Washington Irving would publish his much anthologized "Adventure of the German Student," which has a similar construct as "Sir Guy Eveling's Dream." I won't give away anymore than that!

The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Ghost Anthology is now available on Kindle, Nook or through the iBookstore.

Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849 Scary Story 30 is All Souls Eve by Joseph Stowe

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When researching scary stories for any fifty year period of the modern age, Halloween has to figure into the equation at some point. This is one of them. To fully understand the title of the ghost story I picked for spot 30 of the Top 40 for the first half of the nineteenth century, a background in how the Halloween name was derived is helpful.

It all starts with All Souls' Day, this is the traditional day when the living remember and pray for the souls of the dead. The day is still celebrated in parts of Europe and Mexico (Day of the Dead). Often food is left for the dead and candles lit in the windows so the ghosts can find their way. All Souls' Day is one of love and remembrance. Easy enough.

But then All Souls' Eve began to come into pagan fashion. On this night before All Souls' Day the evil dead return to earth. These ghosts are not out for a good meal, but to exact revenge. All Souls' Eve was also called Hallow Evening and eventually the words were put together to form Hallow'en. In one part of the legend, any person who came in contact with ghosts on Halloween, and left a piece of their clothing behind, would be sure to die.

That brings us to scary story 30, which is All Souls' Eve. Published in 1839 by Joseph Stowe in his collection titled The Rhine, Legends, Traditions, History from Cologne to Mainz. The ghost story is derived from German legend, and it is the first in the English language to address the clothing issue described above. Enjoy this congregation of the dead!

#allsoulseve #halloweenstories #vintagehalloweenstories #classichalloweentales #bestghoststories

        

Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849 - Scary Story 31 is An Adventure Near Granville

An Adventure Near Granville is one of the best ghost stories you have never read and it weighs in at spot 31 in my countdown of the Top 40 scary ghost stories for the 50 year period in review. It was published in George Soane's (1789-1860) collection of short stories "The Last Ball and Other Stories" in 1843. "An Adventure Near Granville" (more aptly titled "A Horror Near Granville") is a warning for anyone moving into a foreign old house. I hope you enjoy it.

  

When considering scary ghost stories, I am convinced that George Soane is one of the most underrated ghost writers for the first half of the nineteenth century. Who on earth is George Soane? He was the son of the famous English architect, John Soane (1753-1837). George was the black sheep of the family. Much like Edgar Allan Poe, he shunned business and followed the arts. His family disowned him as a result. Yet George turned out to be an excellent short story writer. I picked his "Lucy Ellis" (also called "The Lighthouse") as one of the top dozen horror stories in The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology. Any of his stories in "The Last Ball"' are worth your time.