10 h 59 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 59 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a house holds more than memories—and the dead refuse to stay quiet?
Great Ghost Stories, gathered by Joseph Lewis French, brings together supernatural tales of haunted houses, vampires, witches and restless presences. There is no single path through this collection. Each short story introduces its own setting, its own narrator and another reason to glance over your shoulder.
The haunted house brings memory and dread close to home. Vampires and witches draw on older fears from folklore. Across these tales, fear grows slowly, often through what remains unsaid. A glimpse, a sound or a rumour leaves room for your imagination to supply what you cannot quite see.
What you’ll discover
- Houses heavy with memory Enter haunted spaces where the familiar idea of home becomes a source of dread.
- Older fears take shape Meet vampires and witches whose roots reach into folklore beyond the ghost story.
- The power of suggestion Discover how a glimpse or rumour can leave your imagination working in the dark.
- A different dread each time Move between separate tales, each with its own narrator, setting and unsettling mood.
- Room for fear to grow Take one story at a time and let its atmosphere linger before the next.
Who will love it
This book is for readers who love a candlelit evening, a creaking stair and a tale told by the fire. It suits fans of haunted houses, vampires and werewolves.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A skeptic spends a night in a haunted house
- Two soldiers keep a promise locked in brass
- A father hears a ghost beg to be let in
- A shuttered house and a face in the mirror
- A sketch drawn at night lands a painter in prison
- A feud on Skye and a vanished director
- A hunter shelters strangers and the children grow wary
- A jealous dream leaves a mark on a young bride
- A priest meets a woman who divides his life
- A carved cat in a cathedral and an unseen captive
Who’s who
- Colonel MortimerA father who rents a Scottish house and must find a way to help the weeping voice his sick son hears in the ruins.
- Christian VéniusA poor painter in Nuremberg whose strange nighttime sketch brings a sudden fortune and an even more sudden arrest.
- Rhoda BrookA worn milkmaid in Wessex who dreams of her rival, the farmer's new bride, and cannot forget the dream.
- RomualdA young priest ordained after one dazzling glimpse of a woman, and haunted by her for the rest of his days.
- William LangfordA traveler on the four-fifteen express who talks with a missing railway director and insists on what he saw.
- Archdeacon HaynesA busy cathedral clergyman whose diaries record whispers, a carved cat and his growing fear on the stairs.
- Dr HammondA doctor and friend of Harry in New York who helps him face the strangest captive either has ever held.
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Grandes relatos de fantasmas
by Selección de Joseph Lewis French
A father must aid a weeping ghost at a doorway to nowhere to save his ailing son.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEspañol
Aprende un idioma con clásicos de nivel mediumEspañolFrancésAlemánItalianoJaponésPortuguésInglésCómo medimos los niveles
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In short
What would you do if your watch slid off the table by itself and the candles began to fade? That is the night that opens this book.
Grandes relatos de fantasmas de un vistazo
- Tiempo de lectura
- Unas 6 h 15 min5 h fast, 7 h 30 min slow
- Duración
- 89.600 palabras
- Nivel en la biblioteca
- Mediano longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Cuánto se tarda en leer los clásicos · Actualizado
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A skeptic spends a night in a haunted house
In The House and the Brain by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, a friend claims he has found a haunted house on Oxford Street. The friend and his wife left after three days, driven out by a terror they could not name. The narrator, proud of his nerves, decides to sleep there himself.
He takes his servant, a revolver, a dagger and a bold bull terrier. He expects to catch some trickster. The house answers at once. Small bare footprints form on the damp stones of the yard, and an unseen hand tugs at his wrist.
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Has visto
¿Qué edición es la adecuada para mí?
- 15-minute summary
- Las ideas clave de todo el libro en unos 13 minutos. Una buena introducción o un repaso.
Detalles
- Language
- Español
- Reading time
- 7 h 10 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cita esta edición
French, Joseph Lewis. Great Ghost Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/great-ghost-stories.
French, J. L. (2026). Great ghost stories. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/great-ghost-stories
French, Joseph Lewis. Great Ghost Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/great-ghost-stories.
@book{french2026great,
author = {French, Joseph Lewis},
title = {Great Ghost Stories},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/great-ghost-stories}
}
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What is Great Ghost Stories about?
It is a collection of twelve supernatural tales by different authors. They include haunted houses, a vampire, a werewolf, ghostly voices, cursed carvings and an invisible creature. Each story is complete on its own and set in a different place.
Which authors are in Great Ghost Stories?
The authors are Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Arthur Quiller-Couch, Margaret Oliphant, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Erckmann-Chatrian, Fiona Macleod, Amelia Edwards, Captain Marryat, Thomas Hardy, Theophile Gautier, M. R. James and Fitz-James O'Brien.
Who is Clarimonde in the book?
Clarimonde is a beautiful woman in Gautier's tale, glimpsed by a young priest at his ordination. She is called a courtesan, and old stories about her say she is a ghoul or vampire, which the priest slowly learns to fear.
The author
Joseph Lewis French
American editor and anthologist
Joseph Lewis French (1858–1936) was an American writer and editor who lived in the United States. He wrote fiction and poetry and selected stories for collections. Great Ghost Stories was published in 1918. The words “Selected by” indicate his work as an editor; they are not part of his name.
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