I found this volume to be very good reading. Pretty much all of these stories were thrilling, and some were extremely scary, necessitating a brief break before I could continue reading. Some were more sad than anything, with spirits who had no where left to go, so they lingered on the earthly plane in a limbo. It took several months to finish reading this book, but this is the kind of book you read in sessions anyway. Definitely makes me glad that I live in a brand new house. One of my favorites was "The Whistling Room" by William Hope Hodgson. Highly recommended, although I strongly object to Stephen King's story "The Boogeyman" being considered as a haunting short story. That was a straight up monster. That story disturbed rather than scared me. The Gaston Leroux story "Letters of Fire" was very creepy, indeed. anthology favorites ghost ...more16 s Matt182 3

I think most importantly, if you are going to put together a collection of stories under the banner "Haunted House Stories" you might want to make sure that all the stories are about haunted houses. While this is somewhat not the case here, I still enjoyed the bulk of it. I should also mention that the number of stories written before 1930 vastly outnumbered those that were more modern. I guess I had expected a book of modern stories about haunted houses. Not necessarily a book containing quite a number of royalty free entries.

To be fair, the majority of stories written after 1960 weren't as good as the ones written before. And I had read a few of them before in other collections. There were some really terrible ones though, a few times I found myself falling asleep. But there are so many stories (over 40, according to the cover) that I have a hard time recalling the bad ones. There were also some great ideas behind some of them. And I would probably rate the book a little higher had it not occasionally caused me to fall asleep.2013 haunted-houses short-stories ...more5 s Robert1,114 60

There are a lot of ghostly stories in this book. And with a book that is just a bit bigger than a paperback and small print this is quite a punch in a small package. A lot of the stories are European (mainly English) and a lot of them are quite old. Each story has a brief introduction to the author which was a nice feature as a lot of the authors I knew nothing about. Again a lot of these stories are quite old so the authors of course have faded with time. Perhaps to haunt someone else wherever they may have ended up. I only skipped over two stories due to the obscure and arcane language used in ye olden times. So for a large collection of haunting this book should fill the bill.story-collection supernatural5 s Tom2,361 40


Haunted Places: Stories of Fact and Fiction
The Haunted House • (2000) by Elizabeth Albright and Ray Bradbury 4?
Foreword: I Live In A Haunted House • (2000) • essay by Peter Haining 3.25?

The Haunted and the Haunters • (1919) by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (variant of The Haunted and the Haunters; or, The House and the Brain 1859) 5?
Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House • (1862) by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu 3?
A Case of Eavesdropping • [Jim Shorthouse] • (1900) by Algernon Blackwood 4?
A Haunted House • (1921) by Virginia Woolf 4?
Ghost Hunt • (1948) by H. Russell Wakefield 4.25?
Dark Winner • (1976) by William F. Nolan 4.25?

Avenging Spirits Tales of Dangerous Elementals
The Old House in Vauxhall Walk • (1882) by Mrs. J. H. Riddell 4.25?
No. 252 Rue M. Le Prince • (1895) by Ralph Adams Cram 4?
The Southwest Chamber • (2000) by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman 3.25?
The Toll-House • (1907) by W. W. Jacobs 5?
Feet Foremost • (1932) by L. P. Hartley 4?
Happy Hour • (1990) by Ian Watson 5?

Shadowy Corners Accounts of Restless Spirits
The Ankardyne Pew • (1979) by William Fryer Harvey [as by W. F. Harvey] 2.5?
The Real and the Counterfeit • (1988) by Mrs. Alfred Baldwin [as by Louisa Baldwin] 4.25?
A Night at a Cottage ... • (1926) by Richard Hughes 3.5?
The Considerate Hosts • (1939) by Thorp McClusky 4.5?
The Grey House • (1967) by Basil Copper 5?
Watching Me, Watching You • (1981) by Fay Weldon 4.25?

Phantom Lovers Sex and the Supernatural
A Spirit Elopement • (1915) by Richard Dehan 3?
The House of Dust • (1920) by Herbert de Hamel 3.75?
The Kisstruck Bogie • (1946) by A. E. Coppard 3.25?
Mr. Edward • (1947) by Norah Lofts 3.25?
House of the Hatchet • (1941) by Robert Bloch 5?
Napier Court • (1971) by Ramsey Campbell 3.5?

Little Terrors Ghosts and Children
Lost Hearts • (1895) by M. R. James 4.5?
The Shadowy Third • (1916) by Ellen Glasgow 5?
A Little Ghost • (1922) by Hugh Walpole 3?
The Patter of Tiny Feet • (1950) by Nigel Kneale 4?
Uninvited Ghosts (1981) by Penelope Lively 3?

Psychic Phenomena
Playing with Fire • (1966) by Arthur Conan Doyle 3.5?
The Whistling Room • [Carnacki (Hodgson)] • (1910) by William Hope Hodgson 4.25?
Bagnell Terrace • (1925) by E. F. Benson 4.25?
The Companion • (1978) by Joan Aiken 4.25?
The Ghost Hunter • (2000) by James Herbert 3.5?
Computer Séance • (1997) by Ruth Rendell 2.5?
In Letters of Fire • [L'homme qui a vu le diable] • (1908) by Gaston Leroux 3.25?
The Judge's House • (1891) by Bram Stoker 4?
The Storm • (1944) by McKnight Malmar 5?
The Waxwork • (1931) by A. M. Burrage [as by Ex-Private X] 5?
The Inexperienced Ghost • (1902) by H. G. Wells 4?
Sophy Mason Comes Back • (1930) by E. M. Delafield 4.25?
The Boogeyman • (1973) by Stephen King 5?3 s Melissa Chung905 325

This collection was gifted to me from a friend and I'm so happy that she knows me well enough to know that I would it. I also buddy read this with my friend Ashley. As it turns out, her edition had another section that mine did not and so she was able to read 7 more stories. My edition is from 2000. I'm actually kind of bummed about that teehee. I'm rating this collection a 3.5 stars.

With all collections I to focus on my favorites. This particular collection had 35 stories in it and that would make my review much too long, if I talked about all of them. So if you are interested in the stories I will include the Titles and authors of the stories and give a star rating next to them. These stories were separated by themes.

Haunted Places-
1. Haunted and the Haunters by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (4 stars)
2. Authentic Narrative of A Haunted House by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (3 star)
3. A Case of Eavesdropping by Algernon Blackwood ( 4 star)
4. A Haunted House by Virginia Woolf (4 star) Gorgeous writing!
5. Ghost Hunt by H. Russell Wakefield (5 star) One of my favorites
6. Dark Winner by William F. Nolan (2 star)

Avenging Ghosts-
7. The Old House in Vauxhall Walk (3 stars)
8. No. 252 Rue M. Le Prince by Ralph Adams Cram (3 stars)
9. The Southwest Chamber by Mary Eleanor Freeman (2.5 stars)
10. The Toll-House by W.W. Jacobs (3 stars) *This is the author of The Monkey's Paw*
11. Feet Foremost by L.P. Hartley (3.5 stars)
12. Happy Hour by Ian Watson (5 stars) Most interesting story in the collection

Shadowy Corners-
13. The Ankardyne Pew by W.F. Harvey (2 stars) there's a cock-fight and a ghost.
14. The Real and the Counterfeit by Louisa Baldwin (5 stars) this one was GREAT!
15. A Night at a Cottage by Richard Hughes (5 stars) proper ghost story! Loved. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
16. The Considerate Hosts by Thorp McClusky (4 stars) A storm, a traveler, a broken down car and a phone call.
17. The Grey House by Basil Copper (5 stars) Vampire-esque, loved!
18. Watching Me, Watching You by Fay Weldon (3 stars)

Phantom Lovers-
19. A Spirit Elopement (3 stars) Such a weird premise. Very interesting.
20. The House of Dust by Herbert de Hamel (3 stars) ghostly succubus?
21. The Kisstruck Bogie by A.E. Coppard (3 stars) A bored ghost who wants to talk
22. Mr. Edward by Norah Lofts (2 stars)
23. House of the Hatchet by Robert Bloch (5 stars) * This is the author of Psycho* Really d this one. There was a misdirect.
24. Napier Court by Ramsey Campbell (1 star) I didn't understand who killed the main character.

Little Terrors-
25. Lost Hearts by M.R. James (3 stars) Creepy
26. The Shadowy Third by Ellen Glasgow (3 stars) Love a good revenge ghost story
27. A Little Ghost by Hugh Walpole (4 stars) This story made me smile
28. The Patter of Tiny Feet by Nigel Kneale (2 stars) Poltergeist?
29. Uninvited Ghosts by Penelope Lively (3 stars) this one made me laugh

Psychic Phenomena-
30. Playing with Fire by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (3 stars) *Sherlock Holmes duh* Super weird seance and a unicorn.
31. The Whistling Room by William Hope Hodgson (3 stars) meh
32. Bagnell Terrace by E.F. Benson (3 stars) meh
33. The Companion by Joan Aiken (3 stars) meh
34. The Ghost Hunter by James Herbert (2 stars) *author of Rats* I wish it was longer
35. Computer Seance by Ruth Rendell (2 stars) hated the ending

I'm super bummed that this edition didn't have the 7th collection theme- House of Horror. I think it would have made this book better. All the stories in Psychic Phenomena was just mediocre and not memorable.

I very much enjoyed reading this collection and getting to read older "classic" ghost stories/haunted houses. I love the way the pacing was different back then. The way things were described for example, “…we collared the lamps off the table and went to have a look.” Using the word 'collared' makes sense and I love it.

The 5 star reads in this collection weren't many, but I'm definitely interested in reading more books from those authors because I just loved their writing.

Recommend if you want a taste of classic haunted house stories.
owned3 s Rachel1,435 154 Shelved as 'dnf'

I just couldn't get into this. Short stories and me just don't mesh well.500-pages haunted-house paranormal-ghosts ...more3 s Shawn835 258 Want to read

PLACEHOLDER REVIEWS

"The Ankardyne Pew" by William Fryer Harvey - told as a series of diary entries and letters, we follow the Rev. Thomas Prendergast and friend, and their record of the occurrences in 1890 at Ankardyne House - and the titular "pew" (a separate sub-building of the Church - itself next to Ankardyne house - built long in the past so that the squire could have personal services). But Miss Ankardyne confides that there is something evil and haunting about the house, vague and indeterminate - which bothers her (and the Reverend's) sleep, so that he sends her away and calls a friend, who seems to have knowledge of the supernatural, to visit...

While in many ways this feels a standard M.R. James British Antiquarian Ghost Story (an old chiseled inscription proves to have been changed after the fact, the eerie night-cry of a strange bird), there are some modern flourishes (the House and Chapel are described early as looking "a wicked uncle, setting off for a walk in the woods with one of the babes" which seems strikingly modern in its language and implication) and a willingness to "cut to the chase," as it were - revealing a wicked ancestor and his hideous actions (and death) in the past. Solid.tr-anth-h-s-20th-70-00-own2 s Linda620 28

I love "horror" stories! None of them really frighten me, but I to see if I can figure out the endings. This one has many, many interesting stories from Victorian to Stephen King. Some are by well-known writers - Gaston Leroux (Phantom of the Opera), Bram Stoker (Dracula), H. G. Well (this one is REALLY funny!!!!), and Stephen King. Most are by authors you probably don't know unless you follow this genre and have read many of the old classic authors M. R. James.

My absolute favorite in here for imagination is The Whistling Room. An occult detective is asked to visit Ireland and investigate an Irish castle with a room that actually whistles. Carnacki relates the tale to a circle of his friends. The dectective is not a great character and I don't the way the story is set up. I love it because of what the whistling room is and how it's described.

For some fun before bed, read one of these. They won't necessarily scare you, but they're great entertainment.2 s France-Andrée613 25

It took me a while to read this because I tended to read a short story or two between books, but I really enjoyed most of the stories. It is quite uneven though some stories are really good, others just make you say : "bah". I think my favorite part of the book is the last section where the favorite haunted house short stories of the stars of horror movies are presented; I especially d the favorite of Vincent Price The Waxwork by A.M. Burrage. I also really enjoyed Boris Karloff's favorite The Storm by McKnight Malmar; this one is all about atmosphere. Taken as a whole the book is good enough and I think fans of the genre should be satisfied, I am.anthology-collection horror2 s Sian Jones300 5

As tends to be the case with these big collections, some stories are dull, some are good, some are better. This particular anthology leans heavily towards the 19th century, but I tended to the stories from the 20th century for their slightly less canonical flavor.ghost-stories horror1 Cassandra Glissadevil571 17

4.3 stars!
"IT'S all nonsense," said Jack Barnes. "Of course people have died in the house; people die in every house. As for the noises--wind in the chimney and rats in the wainscot are very convincing to a nervous man. Give me another cup of tea, Meagle."
-W.W. Jacobs

Strong collection of old fashion haunted house stories. I enjoyed this anthology more than most of Mammoth Horror anthology series. I especially d the old ornate prose.

"After reading some English letters that had come
during the day, and dipping for a few minutes into a
book, he became drowsy and got ready for bed. Just
as he was about to get in between the sheets, he
stopped for a moment and listened. There rose in the
night, as he did so, the sound of steps somewhere in
the house below. Listening attentively, he heard that
it was somebody coming upstairs—a heavy tread, and
the owner taking no pains to step quietly. On it came
up the stairs, tramp, tramp, tramp—evidently the
tread of a big man, and one in something of a hurry."
-Algernon Blackwood


Some of the stories are several hundred years old, others only a few decades old. Two thirds of the tales are English while most of the rest are new world American.

Welcome addition to any serious haunted house collection.horror1 Bethnoir657 23

I love short story collections. Each takes you to a different time and character, in a well chosen selection this each tale brings something different.

Many offer a wonderful insight into the mores and tastes of the era and place. Really varied, a few stories I didn't , but overall well worth reading.1 Priyanka Haldar16 10

Mammoth book of Haunted House Stories by Peter Haining is a collection of real life and fictional of haunted house stories by writers around the world.

I was really terror stricken while reading some of the hardcore horror stories in this book. That is what horror stories do to you. I read many horror stories till date but mammoth book is the ultimate book where you will get all the greatest horror stories of all times in one place. This book has a wide variety of horror to offer you, ranging from lighter fare as just ghost sightings to darker fare as psychic phenomena and avenging spirits. The book has over 40 stories of horror. I was pretty in shock after reading the first chapter THE HAUNTED AND THE HAUNTERS. It is so scary that it gave me goosebumps.

Expanded with great new stories, this is the biggest and best anthology of ghostly hauntings ever. Over 40 tales of visitation by the undead—from vengeful and violent spirits, set on causing harm to innocent people tucked up in their homes, to rarer and more kindly ghosts, returning from the grave to reach out across the other side. Yet others entertain desires of a more sinister bent. This new edition includes a selection of favorite haunted house tales chosen by famous screen stars such as Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. In addition, a top ranking list of contributors includes Stephen King, Bram Stoker, Ruth Rendell, and James Herbert—all brought together by an anthologist who himself lives in a haunted house.
1 Amy589

I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this book. I have been reading ghost stories for so many years that many stories feel formulaic to me. I am also delighted when I find a large collection of stories that are not repeats for me and that I have a hard time predicting how the stories will end. Plus, the authors represented here are very talented. I really enjoyed a lot of the language and description that they provided. Several of the stories are instant classics with me and I'm glad tat I bought the book so it can sit on my shelf and I can read it again when I need a ghost story fix.

A couple of critiques: This is supposedly a new addition with an added section of favorite stories from horror movie actors. I did enjoy finding out what some of the favorite stories were for Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, and Alan Cushing (the latter two are also some of my favorite actors from Star Wars movies), but some were stories that have been printed in several collections. I also think they could have left the Stephen King story off the end. It seemed a little superfluous, almost they felt they had to have a token story from him. His story wasn't really a ghost story, it seemed more along the lines of horror, though I suppose you could argue it was about a haunted house, and it had a really unnecessary F-word.

So, hey, I can recommend the book, just don't read the last story1 Mike384 4

A good collection of haunted house stories,. Most of them are fro the 19th and early-20th Century but there are a few more modern tales, including a less-than-subtle Stephen King to finish the book off.

Obviously some are better than others but there are no obvious duds.

Don't do as I did though and try to read the book through in one long slog. Some of the stories might have stuck in my mind more if I'd read them perhaps one each day.



1 Rachel22 1 follower

Lots of wonderful spooky stories that (for the most part) lack the cheesiness that pervades the vast majority of ghost story anthologies. The selection of authors is great, and although I own a ton of ghosty anthologies, there were tons in here that I hadn't read before. 1 Amy CorwinAuthor 53 books133

Although I had read a number of stories from this collection before, about half were previously unknown to me. I enjoyed them all--it was a perfect collection of eerie haunted house stories. None were overly graphic (which is often a problem with horror stories).horror1 William Light6 Currently reading

This is a solid collection of ghost tales. I was surprised to learn that even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote supernatural stories!1 Elizabeth Nesbit-comer696 7

I must say that if I read a book blurb and a house and ghost are mentioned there is a 99.8% chance that I will read said book, so this collection was a little slice of heaven for me.favorites1 Jeanine2,413 108

From Robert Bloch to Stephen King, terrific haunted house storied.fiction horror own-it1 Pam Winkler151 5

Overall, a good collection. A lot of the older stuff. Or I just d the older stuff better, it's hard to say.
A Case of Eavesdropping by Algernon Blackwood is pretty nice; his stuff tends to be good.
Ghost Hunt by H. Russell Wakefield was also pretty good.
The Southwest Chamber by Mary Eleanor Freeman was very good.
The Toll-House by W.W. Jacobs was also very good. I've read it before, and it's still good.
The Ankardyne Pew by W.F. Harvey was good.
The Real and the Counterfeit by Louisa Baldwin was also good.
Mr Edward by Norah Lofts was good and creepy.
House of the Hatchet by Robert Bloch was good and scary.
Lost Hearts by M.R. James was good. It always is; I've read it a couple of different times at this point.
The Whistling Room by William Hope Hodgson was good and a bit creepy.
Computer Séance by Ruth Rendell was a bit silly and good.
The Judge's House by Bram Stoker was very good, very scary.
The Storm by McKnight Malmar was good and well done. I couldn't figure it out, which was great.
The Waxwork by A.M. Burrage was good, I've read it before. And I think I have a recording of Vincent Price doing it.
The Inexperience Ghost by H.G Wells is always very good, although nowadays I tend to skip to the end.
The Boogyman by Stephen King is good. It's scary and gross, and you really feel that the villain gets his good desserts. Justin Stewart6

I've been reading this book on and off over the last several years. Toward the back now but I still have 14 stories left. It's a mixed bag in terms of story quality but I have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of coming back to this book every so often to read a story or two when I need a distraction.

Not every story is buzzing with excitement but one aspect of this collection that keeps me coming back is how old the majority of the stories are. Many were written in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I felt that even most of the stories where not a lot happened, still had some charm to them for being from a different era. I felt transported to a different world, it's comforting in the same way watching an old noire film or something that can be. Would recommend it but may not be for everybody.paused PatAuthor 20 books5

(Read as ebook, not paperback, but it was this edition.) Some good stories, and I quickly got out of the habit of reading it late at night. HOWEVER, the definition of "haunted house story" is far too broad; that Ruth Rendell story and "The Storm" seem quite a stretch. "The Southwest Corner" really isn't the best Mary Freeman. The book does, however, have a nice range of authors--though if you're me, you'll already be familiar with a number of the older stories--and I quite enjoyed the little bits from actors in horror movies. A good read with some chilling moments.anthology ebooks ghost Ashley Wright517 18

I'm usually hard pressed to find a short story collection that I rate any higher or lower than a 3 star and this was no exception. Some stories were great while others lacked. I did appreciate the choice of authors included in this collection. I got a taste of some of the "classic" authors' writing without having to read their tomes so now I have a little bit of a better idea of their styles. Def reading The Phantom of the Opera in the near future. And any short story collection that ends with Stephen King deserves at least a three star in my mind. Peter3,182 540

What a massive volume of haunted house stories. Most of them were hit and I really d the different sections: haunted places, avenging spirits, shadowy corners, phantom lovers (one of my favorites), little terrors, psychic phenomena, houses of horror, incl. The Boogeyman by Stephen King. Included is a nice list of haunted house novels at the end. Great anthology I can highly recommend for the time of the season.horror39 s2 comments Arkrayder 428

I love ghost stories. I particularly haunted house stories. Hell House, The Canterville Ghost and The Shunned House being among my favorites. This is a great collection of haunted house stories. There are a few bad tales in here but they are easily out numbered by the well written stories. Really recommend this book. Cathy127 2

I really was wanting to this book....and I was really looking forward to reading it but I have to say that I was sadly disappointed. Of the many short stories included in the collection I only really enjoyed one or two of them. Not much more to say than that....
Taylor85

In all honesty, this books was a bit boring, alot of the stories were hard to get into. I gave 3 stars just because that's the credit it needs, a 2 would have been insulting. Alicia19

I would have preferred the language to be a bit more modern. Mari4

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