‘‘Tis the season to indulge yourself in the spookiest scariest history you can get your hands on. From classic Victorian Gothic horror to those chapters from history that are just to grisly for any other time of year. And beyond books there’s no better way to truly bask in the bone chilling than with some history nerd approves goodies.
Oh and don’t worry if you’re not a Stevie Nicks inspired perma witch – I’ve lined up plenty of tricks and treats for everyone!
1. A deliciously detailed cookie cutter
We’ve all been there, your making your way through a pack of chocolate chip cookies but you when your eating cookies and you can’t help but feel somethings missing. Like sure bad boys are great, but they would be SO much better if they were shaped like a Gothic writer and an anatomically correct heart.
OK maybe this is just me, but luckily the internet exists and some kind person has made an incredibly detailed cookie cutter of Edgar Allan Poe (and his tell tale heart!)
If that’s not your thing, the seller also makes a plethora of intricate historic figure cookie cutters, from Ada Lovelace to Emily Dickinson and even Nikola Tesla.
2. The perfect witchy pin to show your true colours
This pin pays homage to Martha Carrier who was accused of being a witch at the 1692 Salem Witch trials. Martha was strong, brave and woman beyond her time.
At her execution one witness described her as ‘rampant hag.’
I love that this pin flips this insult into a tongue in cheek celebration for (as the maker says) ‘all women who don’t behave as expected.’
Ok. No, I don’t know why someone made a Black Death candle, but they did. God bless Etsy.
Luckily for everyone involved, despite its name and label this candle smells A LOT better than a Black Death ridden city. Giving off a spicy autumnal scent. Because although I’m sure there is a market for Eau de rotting corpses, I’m pretty sure (or at least hope) its a niche one.
You know how I was just like ‘hahaha they made a black death candle, how brilliantly weird!’ Well Etsy went up one upped themselves…
Presenting Elizabeth Bathory bath bombs:
That’s right, a bath bomb that turns your bath blood red in a tribute (???) to famous 17th century murderer, Elizabeth Bathory who notoriously bathed in her victims blood. Elizabeth also killed people by covering them in honey and watching them get eaten alive by insects, but I guess that’s harder to theme a bath time treat to.
Ok let’s end things on a ‘my god, the world can be the best place’ note:
6. Rosa Parks Halloween Costume
That’s right. A historically accurate Rosa Parks at the Montgomery Bus Boycott costume for your child to wear this Halloween.
I MEAN….
Seriously this is the best thing I have seen all week. If a child dressed up as the first lady of civil rights doesn’t deserve all the candy this Halloween, then who does?
(The seller also makes children’s costumes for Amelia Earhart, Sojurner Truth and Alexander Hamilton, because I think they might be some kind of saint)
The myth of life sucking demons has been putting the fright into ordinary folks for fucking ages (or centuries as you might call it)
Through varying incarnations and guises, these iconic undead killers have remained the stuff of nightmares. Pennywises and Freddy Kruegers come and go, but vampires are forever.
What lippie is that babes? Via Giphy
So without further ado, lets take a look at the history of our favourite monster!
The First Vampire: Ekimmu
Arguably the earliest incarnation of vampires is the Ekimmu or Eddimu from ancient Babylonia (we’re talking from like 4,000 years B.C here)
The Ekimmu was a restless spirit of the dead who drained the blood and life-force of the living. They were said to be created from souls who met a violent end or who weren’t buried properly.
It’s dinner tiiiiime! Via giphy
And if you thought that after 1000s of years these suckers has flown off, you’d be mistaken! It’s said that The Ekimmu still live in big cities amongst the homeless spreading death and disease…
The Lady is a Vamp: Estries
Estries are another ancient vampire from Jewish Folklore; female vampires they feed on the blood of the living and have the ability to shapeshift into animals, usually preferring the form of cats.
It’s basically reverse Sailormoon…but with murder and no dick in a top hat!!
Killing an Estrie meant decapitating and burning the corpse. This form of vampire extermination apparently works…because today decapitation and a good vamp bonfire are also referred to as effective ways to kill our more modern vamps.
Vampires of Eastern Europe
Now Vampires in one form or another have been around in European folklore for hundreds of years, such as the Shtriga from Albanian folklore.
The Shtriga was a delightful vampire witch that sucked up the blood of babies and infants at night (nice!)
Mmmmmm babies. Via Giphy
Shtriga would then turn themselves into a flying insect (think moth, wasp etc) and fly the feck outta there post meal without even leaving a tip.
Another vamp favourites from this corner of Europe is the Strigoi (which sounds like it should be a delicious pastry).
These vampires hailed from Romanian culture and have fed heavily into our modern vampire mythos; the spirits of the dead they drained the blood from living creatures and had the ability to transform into different animals, not only that but the jammy buggers could also turn invisible.
And for my next trick… Via Giphy
The best way to kill one was to cut the head off a suspected Strigoi corpse and to stab it in the chest with steel (because the Romanians are nothing if not thorough). The vampire slayer would then leave the vamp’s head between the knees or behind the bum. Which just seems rude.
The Best Selling Vampire
We can thank short story, The Vampyre by John William Polder, for our modern day vampires.
Published in 1819 it tells the story of charming aristocratic vamp Lord Ruthven who is a total shit to his mate Aubrey (probably because he is a 19th century aristocrat). Ruthven kills the girl Aubrey fancies and then goes after his sister. It ends with a blood drained corpse and a missing Ruthven.
Next up came Carmilla in 1872, An amazing short story from Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, WHICH BTW GAVE BIRTH TO QUEER LADY VAMPIRES!
Carmilla trying to cop a feel… Via Wikipedia
Carmilla is a super sexy lady vamp who prefers to chomp down on and suck the life out of innocent young ladies. Sadly though Carmilla is a trailblazer and future queer icon… it doesn’t end well for her, she gets a stake through the heart, then they cut her head off and burn her body… finally they chuck the ashes in a river. Overkill much?
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, published in 1897, was heavily influenced by The Vampyre and Carmilla.
Phwooooooooooor Drac. Via Giphy
Stoker elevated the modern vampire by taking the already established vampire mythos and building on it in a way that cemented it into the public’s consciousness.
Blood lust – check
Not keen on garlic – check
Hates crosses – check
Some kind of toff aristocrat as the main vamp – check
Fuck loads of bats – check.
When Dracula was released it wasn’t an immediate hit, in fact it wasn’t until silent nightmare vamp flick Nosferatu was made in 1922 that Dracula became more well-known.
Creepy as fuck mate. Via Giphy
The producers of Nosferatu wanted to do a faithful version of Stoker’s Dracula, but they weren’t allowed. Stoker’s widow was having none of it.
To get round the fact they couldn’t use Drac producers basically changed some names and tweaked the ending from the book having their count vamp die in a sunlight related accident instead of getting staked.
Thanks to this, we now we know vamps hate sunlight! We also have the word ‘Nosferatu’ as a word to describe vamps thanks to this film too! Knowledge is power!
F Yeah History, helping people win pub quizzes since 2017
Post Dracula
Thanks to Dracula’s cinematic success, everyone wanted a piece of the undead action.
Universal had a punt at making the Dracula legend with Bela Lugosi giving Drac that sassy European accent, Hammer Horror upped the sexy factor in their vamp films thanks to Christopher Lee feeding on big busted wenches and also used Carmilla as an influence for some light lesbian vampire action.
Dead but delicious. Via Giphy
Then you have Buffy, Blade, Anne Rice novels, True Blood and our personal fave the Underworld series (anything that puts Kate Beckinsale in PVC is a winner) plus a million other vamp inspired shows and books that all take lore and influence from Dracula & co.
Our worldwide vampire obsession continues to this day. Everyone loves a new vampire iteration… unless you decide to make them sparkly, creepy and abusive bum nuggets… also BTW no way would anyone in their right mind choose Pattinson over Lautner.
Sara Westrop is passionate about making history accessible (and fun!) for everyone. A disabled, queer writer from just outside London, who loves writing about the unsung chapters of history.
For a genre that loves nothing more than a final girl trope, horror always seems to be incredibly saturated by men. Don’t get me wrong, I loves me some Stephen King and John Carpenter, but horror was built by both men and women.
So this Halloween let’s put some time aside to celebrate 4 female forgotten horror heroes, without whom the genre would be nothing but a lone bucket of out of date fake blood.
1. The Writer: Daphne du Maurier
When you think of horror writers, you might not immediately look to Daphne du Maurier; the author of books and short novels including, Rebecca, The Birds, My Cousin Rachel and Don’t Look Now, is often categorised as a romantic author.
Personally I think this a hangover from when Daphne published her work (starting in the 1930s) because if you read her work, 9 times out of 10 it sure as f ain’t romantic!
Hers is a prose that hints to a quiet slowly unravelling menacing dread, it’s gripping and ever turning.
Daphne du Maurier
You may also have noticed that all of Daphnes work listed earlier went on to become classic horror films.
This isn’t coincidence! Daphnes work lends itself to timeliness horror; its undercurrent of dread and fear making her stories work for audiences across the generations.
From the gripping thriller, Don’t Look Now (which includes Donald Sutherland rocking some amazing facial hair), modern horror, My Cousin Rachel and of course Hitchcock’s seminal classics, Rebecca and The Birds (AKA why I’m scared of flocks of pigeons)
Seriously though…..fuck birds
The thing that makes Daphnes stories stay with you is the unique brand of evil they contain.
You won’t encounter a mask clad chainsaw wielding maniac here; hers are the monsters that tread in the daylight, the ones who might just step off the page and into your every day…
Mrs Danvers ofically worse than Michael Myers
2. The director: Ida Lupino
Though she started her Hollywood career as an actress (she described herself as a ‘poor mans Bette Davis’) Ida made her mark behind the camera; becoming know as the Queen of the B’s (as in B movies…not a swarm of overly coifed Hollywood bees)
Ida Lupino
In 1953s taut noir/psychological horror, The Hitchhiker (which btw was the first noir by a US female director) Ida shows that when in the right hands, psychology and emotion can be just as powerful as a jump scare.
The claustrophobic film revolves around two guys off on a fishing trip; on the drive up they pick up a hitchhiker…who sadly turns out to be a serial killer (life lesson: hitchhikers are not your friend)
True to form, their new murder-ey pal then happily points out that he’ll kill the men as soon as they’re no longer useful; as he psychologically breaks the men, the film explores what happens when masculinity and fear are trapped together.
So a super happy fun time car ride
You can still see the lasting impact The Hitchhiker had on psychological horror (seriously elements of it are all over!)
But for me, Ida’s biggest legacy is the sheer amount of doors she opened for other female filmmakers.
As well as being the first US woman to direct a noir, she was also the first woman to direct an episode of iconic horror series, The Twilight Zone
Ida’s episode, The Masks….in no way nightmarish
Through Ida’s use of emotions she succeeded where many male directors had failed; using the human psyche to delve into our deepest desires and show us our darkest fears.
Whilst we’re on the subject of groundbreaking lady directors…may I introduce you to:
3. The pioneer: Alice Guy Blanche
Alice was arguably the first female director in history. Directing 1896s, La Fée aux Choux when she was just 23.
Alice Guy Blanche, nailing her early twenties
A secretary for Leon Garment -one of the worlds first film entrepreneurs- Alice created a script for a fictional film (then unheard of!) and demanded Gaument let her use one of his cameras to shoot it.
This film was La Fée aux Choux, which depicts a fairy who skitters about pulling babies from cabbages (because…reasons) though shot as a slice of fantasy fiction, the film is now sometimes referred to by modern audiences as a horror film.
I reckon that might have something to do with the whole nightmare fuel situation of a women yanking squirming newborns from vegetables and then dumping them on the floor to twirl around them – who knows.
how many nightmare babies can you spot?
Over her career, Alice made around 1000 films. I’ll repeat that
1000 films
These films included the rather fantastically (and now bleakly) named, In The Year 2000, When Women Are in Charge.
She was also the first female director to tackle the horror film, making film adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe’s, The Pit and The Pendulam, as wells as films The Monster and The Girl and The Vampire.
These films contained groundbreaking techniques that now appear in horror flicks across the globe; including double exposure (for all you film nerds out there!)
And, ass kicking pioneer that she was, Alice’s work in the horror genre didn’t stop with her!
Two of her mentees Louis Feuillade and Lois Webber, went on to help forge early horror film making and Alfred Hitchcock cited Alice’s work as vital inspiration.
Promo still from 1913 horror The Pit and The Pendulum, which Alice produced and directed
Yet Despite all her pioneering work, Alice was largely written out of history. When her old boss, Leon Gaument, published the history of his film company, Alice was nowhere to be seen (despite her essential body of work and role as Head of Production!)
Subsequent books around this period also largely overlooked Alice’s contributions and it’s only recently that we’re starting to rediscover this titan of early filmmaking.
Just casually operating a camera, whilst amending a script in a wedding dress…. remind me again why history forgot this woman!?!
So far we’ve been pretty heavy on pyscholigcal horror and I know what your thinking:
WHERES THE BLOOD?!?!?
Well I’ve got you covered with our final forgotten horror hero:
4. The scream queen: Paula Maxa
Paula (real name Marie) was the original scream queen. In fact, as well as being the first in the genre, I’d argue that Paula was the hardest working scream queen in history; having died over 10,000 times.
Paula Maxa presents: head shot goals
Paula was one of the most famous actors at Paris Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol. The theatre specialised in gory horror and from 1917 to the 1930s, Paula was killed so many times on stage that she became known as the worlds most assassinated woman!
Here are just some of Paulas on stage deaths:
– Steamrollered – Eaten alive by a Puma – Chopped into 90 pieces – Disembowelled (with her intestines then stolen) – Murdered by an invisible knife
She once even ‘decomposed’ on stage, a feat of stunt work and special effects she managed for 200 performances
Just another day at the office (also loving the flip flops, comfort first!)
Paula loved her work; she’d had a morbid fascination with death and horror from childhood and her work allowed her to fully immerse herself into this world.
And she really threw herself into the blood and gore! Plays at the Grand-Guignol were so horrifying that a doctor was on hand for each performance to tend to passed out patrons.
A fun night out for all the family!
Fresh blood was mixed up for every performance to ensure it looking fresh just like the real deal.
And if a performance finished without walk outs, fainting spells and maybe the odd bit of sick…then it was considered a failure.
Sounds like my kind of theatre
This was interesting where can I find out more?There’s a book all about the weird world of The Grand Guignol (Grand Guignol, French Theatre of Horror, 2015) which covers Paula’s life and career (thats otherwise weirdly tough to read up on!)
Talking about haunted places in Britain is a doddle… it’d probably be easier to tell you places that aren’t haunted or have some kind of horrific supernatural story behind it. We’re tripping over ghosts and castles everywhere!
But these 5…. these 5 places are so horrifically haunted that they deserve a special place in the heart of every Halloween loving goth kid.
So. Many. Fucking. Ghosts. Via Giphy
Hampton Court Palace
This place has hella ghosts. Like so many that we could probably do a post just on Hampton Court… but we have a word count to keep to (and other haunted spots to visit) so we’ll touch base with just some of their more famous spooks.
The ghosts of Catherine Howard AND Jane Seymour (wives of historical gobshite King Henry VIII) are supposedly busy getting their spook on here.
It is said that Catherine haunts the (rather aptly named) haunted gallery. Catherine supposedly ran down the gallery to beg Henry for mercy; her attempt failed and Henry had her head cut off in 1541. Now Catherine is stuck in some kind of horrifying historic limbo, forever trapped wailing in that corridor.
Yeeeeeah…Henry was a dick! Via Giphy
Henry’s 3rd wive, Jane, also supposedly haunts Hampton Court and can be seen walking through the palace courtyards carrying a lantern. She died at the palace in 1537 giving birth to King Henry VIII’s only male heir, Edward. TBH considering what a shit nozzle Henry was, she got off lightly.
Hampton Court’s most famous ghost though is SKELETOR (not the He Man baddie sadly).
CCTV caught this spook in 2003 after security staff noticed the fire doors near the Clock Court kept being violently flung open and closed again.
CCTV CAUGHT THE IMAGE OF THE GHOST IN A FANCY ROBE!
Skeletor! Via Giphy
One half of F Yeah History even had her own ghostly encounter whilst working there. Whilst in one of the shops, Greensleeves started playing on the shops iPod speaker system (nightmarish enough) but the song wouldn’t stop playing, looping itself on an endless repeat.
Our brave lass unplugged the iPod AND IT STILL KEPT PLAYING GREENSLEEVES!
Note: The other half of F Yeah History is a ghost non-believer and would like to point out that she reckons the speakers were just broken…but screw that we’re going with GHOSTS
Glasgow Necropolis
Now this super ancient graveyard has the literal name ‘city of the dead’ opened in 1833. The place is seriously crowded, housing over 50,000 souls; so you’re bound to see some weird shit happen round there.
Sightings of ghosts have been spotted since its conception, and locals advise that if you’re going there alone at night you should be respectful and polite, unless you want a ghost boot up the arse.
The John Henry Alexander Monument at Glasgow Necropolis. Via Wikipedia
One of the stranger rumours was that a vampire lurked round this graveyard back in the 1950’s, there were several sightings of a tall sinister looking man in a huge cape who disappeared into thin air if confronted and the vampire was blamed for the disappearance of two local children.
Local kids armed themselves with knives and homemade stakes and patrolled for two nights back in September of 1954.
Local PC Alex Deeprose was called down to make the kiddies dispurse, he was shocked at the sheer number of them and it took weeks for the patrols to stop!
Sadly a bit before her time… via Giphy
Bolsover Castle
One of our faves, Bolsover is chock full of supernatural shenanigans. This site has had reports of spooky sightings, people being pushed about by unseen forces and objects moving around between locked doors!
Haunted AF Bolsover Castle. Via Wikipedia
Bolsover was built on an ancient burial ground (recipe for supernatural disaster) and has been around since the 11th Century, so there’s a bum load of history there and room for plenty of ghosts.
One of the more well-known ghosts is that of a little boy who holds the hand of female visitors when they explore the garden.
They’ve had staff check out after experiencing spooks first hand. Night shift security guards have handed in their notice after seeing lights and hearing voices when checking the site on their own.
Once during some routine maintenance work 4 builders watched a period clad lady walk through a wall near where they were working. Two of them decided ‘fuck this!’ and didn’t come back.
What he said… via Giphy
Note: The other half of F Yeah History would like to note that Bolsover is so supposedly haunted, that its staff have had to start a ghost sightings books, just to keep up with all the creepy shenanigans (apparently, despite not believing in ghosts, the other half of F Yeah History is a know it all…)
Woodchester Mansion
Woodchester Mansion is just a shell of what would have been an impressive gothic mansion, it’s a strange story because the build was suddenly abandoned in the 1870s and no one ever finished off the work, so it’s stood there for over a hundred years.
Looks quite nice in the daytime! Via Wikipedia
There were rumours one of the workers was murdered on site, and his ghost haunted remaining builders there who downed tools and promptly fucked off… the likelihood is that the money for the build just ran out.
From there its history reads like a series of American Horror story!
During the Second World War the grounds of the house were used for D-Day training and one day a fatal accident took place when a bridge over the lake collapsed and soldiers performing a drill were drowned.
Their bodies were taken back to the house and their ghosts still haunt the ruins; visitors claim to have seen men in uniform wandering through the house.
😱 via Giphy
The house itself is said to house a bunch of seriously nasty ghosties. Before it was turned into a gothic shell it was the site of a few other fancy houses so the site has collected all the ghosts from previous incarnations.
There’s a ghost monk in the chapel, a mean old lady ghost who grabs at people in the dark and the ghost of a small girl who likes to trip people up (so all nice people)
It’s been featured in loads of ghost hunter TV shows like Most Haunted and Ghost Hunters International so if you want to get in on the action book yourself in for a ghost hunt there. They do them all the fecking time!
Bleeding Heart Yard
This one is proper creepy. Legend has it that Lady Elizabeth Hatton a beautiful Tudor socialite was brutally murdered in the yard.
She was found torn limb from limb and her still beating heart was left in the road found by a (probably) really fecking traumatised passer-by.
People have reported hearing a loud beating sound like, y’know…. a heartbeat, when in the yard, others have seen a mournful looking woman said to be the ghost of Elizabeth looking for her still beating heart.
Depending on the legend she was either murdered by her lover, a penniless dancer, who was jealous of her attention from rich fancy men or it was the devil himself who killed her. Not much difference between those two really.
Now it houses a super fancy bistro (their eggs Royale is the tits), but we used to work near there and neither of us would walk down the yard at night. It is creepy as fuck.
We hope you enjoyed our countdown, if you fancy visiting for yourself there’s ghost tours round most of these ones that go on year round. Bolsover even has its own FrightFest this October celebrating all their ghosties!
Sara Westrop is passionate about making history accessible (and fun!) for everyone. A disabled, queer writer from just outside London, who loves writing about the unsung chapters of history.
Tis the season to get spooky fa la-la-la la-la la-la AAAAAAARGH. Now call me old fashioned but there’s nothing nicer than curling up with a ghostly short story in front of a fire.
BOOOOOOO MUTHAFUCKERS! Via Giphy
Traditionally in Britain ghost stories are a Christmas activity with those morbid Victorian’s telling their most chilling tales whilst roasting chestnuts on an open fire (so the song goes) and if the BBC doesn’t show a ghost story drama over the festive period, it fucking ruins Christmas for us.
BUT, we also love reading chilling tales throughout October or ‘Goth Christmas’ as we like to call it, so we’ve pulled together our favourite nightmare-fuelled-historical-spectral tales from masters of the craft. Don’t blame us if you have to sleep with the light on.
The Signalman – Charles Dickens – 1886
Now we’re all familiar with Dicken’s in some capacity and arguably he created the most well-known ghost story in the Western World with A Christmas Carol that story of curmudgeonly old bellend Ebenezer Scrooge and his journey to becoming less of a bellend when he’s visited by three Christmas ghosts. Everyone knows this story, even the Muppets have a version of it.
Spooky and fuzzy! Via Giphy
Dickens himself liked a good ghost story and had a keen interest in all kinds of supernatural shiz. So no surprise that he’s have a go at writing ghostly tales himself. The Signalman was published in 1866 as a Christmas short story for part of a collection entitled Mugby Junction.
If you’re new to ghost stories I’d start with this one. It’s a short and unsettling read about a train enthusiast who decides to go have a chat with a signalman, back in those days train signalling was done by human hand. Our narrator finds a confused and terrified signalman who is being haunted by a spectre that foreshadows some seriously shitty events.
Pomegranate Seed – Edith Wharton – 1931
Edith Wharton is Queen of the ghost story genre, she’s incredible at creating suspense and malevolence from totally mundane settings. She’s got three amazing collections of spooky tales we highly recommend AND she won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1921, being the first lady to receive the honour!
Pomegranate Seed might actually be our favourite ghost story of all time. This tale is horrifying and there is a real layer of malice to the entire story and you keep hoping for a happy ending to this one. LET LOVE WIN!
This probably won’t end well 💀 Via Giphy
It centres round the newly wed Mrs Charlotte Ashby and her hubby Kenneth. He was a widower and his dead wife Elsie decides she has unfinished business with Kenneth. She starts communicating with him through ghostly letters. It’s only gets worse from there.
The Monkey’s Paw – W. W. Jacobs – 1902
First published in 1902 as a short story Harper’s Monthly Magazine this is a brilliant and fairly well known spooky story, was written by William Wymark Jacobs, who was known for his humorous writing. Laurel and Hardy did a film Our Relations based off one of his funny stories The Money Box!
Now our boy Will released a series of spooky and funny stories The Lady of the Barge. This story was included in this anthology. Honestly this story shits me right up. It still makes me recoil in horror reading it, and those of you who like your ghost stories with a bit of necromancy shoved in will enjoy this.
The Simpsons did a Monkey’s Paw homage in Treehouse of Horror. Via Giphy
The White family have a visit from their old mate who’s a Sargent-Major in the army. He’s had a tour of India and seems to have come back a broken man. The White family press him for all the juicy details and he hands over a manky looking mummified monkeys paw and tells them it grants wishes. That’s when all shit hits the fan and stuff gets proper creepy.
The Nature of the Evidence – May Sinclair – 1923
May Sinclair knows how to do psychosexual horror. She was fascinated by Freud and was a member of the Society of Psychical Research, who conducted scientific studies into supernatural events. We’re imagining a sort of Victoriana ghostbusters.
May released two collections of ghost stories Uncanny Stories, which this unsettling and sessyful tale is in and The Intercessor and Other Stories, both have got some seriously scary stuff in, but The Nature of Evidence is the one that makes us need to sleep with the light on.
DON’T GO IN THE FUCKING LIBRARY BITCH! Via Giphy
It’s basically a sexier version of Rebecca, but with an actual ghost. Our narrator has been gently coaxing juicy details of an X-Rated ghostly encounter from his mate Edward Marston, who’s being haunted by the ghost of his first wife Rosamund. His new wife Pauline doesn’t live up to Rosamund’s standards… and she lets the bitch know it!
The Phantom Rickshaw – Rudyard Kipling – 1885
Now Mr Kipling (not the cake dude) is a well beloved author, he gave us The Jungle Book for fecks sake! He’s famous for his short stories and is seen as a figure who reinvented their popularity during his lifetime. Considering he wrote lots of lovely stories for kids this short story is pretty bollocking creepy. This ghost story is one with a message at its core, this message is
‘DON’T BE A SHITTY DUDE!’
The lovely soothing illustration for Kipling’s Ghost Stories. Via Wikipedia
Falling into the ‘MEN ARE TERRIBLE’ category our dickhead narrator Jack strings along a married woman he’s been having an affair with, and when he’s done with her tells her she’s uggo and he hates her so could she just piss off please?
Poor lass is heartbroken and she dies, BUT, then our girl gets her spooky groove back. She decides to teach this fuckboi a lesson and haunts the shiz out of him.
These tales are mostly available to read online or you can get them on your kindle, because they’re fecking ancient. But if you want to sink your teeth into more modern collections we heartily recommend Ghostly a collection of spooky short stories pulled together by Audrey Niffenegger, Pomegranate Seed is included in that one.
The Folio Society have an INCREDIBLE collection of ghost stories in their aptly names Folio Book of Ghost Stories. It looks gorgeous and boasts an excellent selection including The Signalman and The monkey’s Paw.
Happy reading folks!
Sorry… we had to do this. Via Giphy
Sara Westrop is passionate about making history accessible (and fun!) for everyone. A disabled, queer writer from just outside London, who loves writing about the unsung chapters of history.
F Yeah History 