Charlotte Riddell (1832–1906)

Fairy Water by Victorian author Charlotte Riddell is a rather short novel that encompasses a quiet ghost story as well as the trials of a young widow. The narrator, Stafford Trevor, recounts how his elderly cousin marries a girl young enough to be his granddaughter. When the cousin dies he leaves his young widow and her children tied to the house called Fairy Water and makes it impossible for her to ever marry again. Stafford befriends the widow and vows to act as her and her children's protector.

Meanwhile he purchases a country house for himself called Crow Hall from a young friend, Valentine, and this home appears to be haunted. Valentine reports how his own father was driven mad by the ghostly apparition at Crow Hall. Stafford again vows to help him lay the ghost to rest. At first the two plot lines appeared to have no connection, but eventually they are tied together and Stafford has his hands full trying to help both Mary and Valentine.

While Fairy Water was an easy read, I took neither a liking nor a disliking to it. I love a good ghost story but this one was pretty mild. The best part of the book was the narrator, Stafford Trevor. His delivery was earnest, caring and at times quite humorous.… (mer)

Night Shivers: The Ghost Stories of J. H. Riddell presents fifteen classically Victorian tales. As with most anthologies there is some unevenness amongst the stories: some bloated and a bit of a slog, but most intriguing and tightly constructed - and for those, asterisked below, the collection is certainly recommended.

The Nut Bush Farm - The new lessee of the House and land comprising Nut Bush Farm comes to suspect that the property is haunted by a man who was the victim of foul play; and he sets out to find the truth. ***
The Open Door - A man contracts to solve the mystery of Ladlow Hall: The singular oddity of a door which refuses to remain closed. The long and ponderous buildup yields a decidedly meager payoff here.
The Last of Squire Ennismore - “When the night is coming on, and the tide creeps in on the sand, more than one thinks he has seen mighty queer things on the shore”... That left behind in the sand tells the tale of the fate of the squire.
A Strange Christmas Game - After John Lester and his sister Clare inherit the Martingale Estate, they learn how and why the last resident owner, Jeremy Lester disappeared without a trace.
The Old House in Vauxhall Walk - After quarreling with his father, Graham Coulton spends the night at said House, and solves a murder mystery.
Sandy the Tinker - A minister seeks to unburden himself by relating a frightening dream which required of him an impossible choice. ***
Forearmed, Forewarned - “Mr Dwarris’s dream was one of the awful delights of my childhood; and when strangers gathered around the social hearth, and the conversation turned upon supernatural appearances, as it often did in those remote days in lonely country houses, it was always with a thrill of pleasure that I greeted the opening passages of this, the only inexplicable yet true story we possessed....” ***
Hertford O’Donnell’s Warning- Family lore has it that the wail of the banshee portends doom for one of the clan, so when Dr. Hertford O’Donnell hears that mournful cry, he becomes frantic with fear. ***
Walnut-Tree House - A fairly standard haunted house story.
Old Mrs Jones - Impressively atmospheric tale of a house haunted by old Mrs Jones, who was “more like a witch than anything else - a little bit of a woman, with eyes like black beads, and a face the colour of mahogany...” ***
Why Dr Cray Left Southam - Insufferably drawn out trifle concerning the mysterious illness of Mrs Glenalbyn.
Conn Kilrea - A strange twist of fate caps this tale in which Private Conway Kilray’s vision of the resurrected Lord Yiewsley portends an imminent death in the family. ***
Diarmid Chittock’s Story - A nicely woven ghost story/murder mystery is slowly unraveled in classic Victorian style. A good story concerning the source of those strange sounds that abound in certain areas of Blackstone Castle. ***
A Terrible Vengeance - An fine air of ghostly foreboding hovers over this well told Victorian melodrama. One of Riddell’s best. ***
The Uninhabited House - This appealing novella, one of Riddell’s better known stories, rounds out the collection. It is now a well-worn plot line wherein the mystery of the source of River Hall’s haunting can only be discovered through the dedicated efforts of one brave soul to live in the house and seek out the explanation. But this still stands as a classic Victorian tale owing to Riddell’s rich detail, wonderfully drawn characters, and a satisfying Dickensian sensibility. ***… (mer)