Throwback Thursday: The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood

Author: Algernon Blackwood
First published in 1906 by Eveleigh Nach Company, London

Certain houses like certain persons manage somehow to proclaim at once their character for evil. In the case of the latter no particular feature need betray them; they may boast an open countenance and an ingenuous smile; and yet a little of their company leaves the unalterable conviction that there is something radically amiss with their being: that they are evil.

I found this audiobook on my library's Overdrive site.  It's a real throwback as it's over 100 years old. The Empty House and Otehr Ghost Stories is a collection of short stories by Algernon Blackwood.  For the most part, I did enjoy these spooky tales.  They are reminiscent of Shirley Jackson's Haunting of Hill House.  Although, that was written much later. I wouldn't say these were "scary", not compared to what horror and ghost stories are like today, but they are definitely creepy.  The best one is the first story, "The Empty House". It definitely gave me chills.  "A Case of Eavesdropping" was pretty creepy as well.  

I did listen to all 10 stories in a row, but if I had to do it again, I probably would have taken breaks in between.  The main issue is that the same character name, Mr Shorthouse, is used in every story.  They ended up blending together after a while. 

The great thing about this book is that since it's is so old, it is part of  Project Gutenberg which offers free downloadable copies of books in the public domain.  Their website can be found here.