Bits and Pieces

Today was a fairly uneventful day until it got to about 15.00. Then disaster struck.... I chipped a bit of my tooth!! Some of the filling is now exposed and this means I have to finally go and do what I have been putting off for the last 10 years: Make an appointment with the dentist. I have set aside tomorrow to make the dreaded phone call.... Wish me luck.
On the up side. I have not bought any more books! I have given myself a good talking to and have told myself to get the books to be read down before I can buy another one.... or two.... or three


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Best Ghost Stories - Charles Dickens
This was a great collection of ghost stories and this was my first reading of Dickens' most famous one of all, The Christmas Carol. Below is a brief run down of all of the ones in this collection. In true Dickensian style the stories meander on a bit at times but they are suitably gloomy for the dark days before Christmas.

The Queer Chair, the bagman's story
Tom Smart ends up staying overnight in a local inn. He rather likes the look of the landlady but she only has eyes for another man. Fortunately for Tom he has some lively and very chatty furniture in his room that advises him on how to win the lovely lady over.

A Madman's Manuscript
Kind of does what it says on the tin. There is a madman who manages to hide his madness long enough to marry a lovely girl who is really in love with someone else. He drives her mad before he unravels himself. the lady then comes and keeps him company in his cell.

The Goblins who stole a Sexton
On Christmas Eve the sexton, Gabriel decides that he wants to get ahead of the game and finish of a grave. some goblins show up and remind him to stop being a grump and teach him to be more cheerful. Gabriel then decides that he needs to explore new horizons to be truly happy and cheery but returns to the village an old and happier man in the end.

The Ghosts of the Mail, the story of the bagman's uncle
This one rambles on a bit but is still fairly entertaining. A man has a little nap on a closed lot of a wheelwright who works on old postal coaches. At night the place comes alive and the bagman's uncle is forced to come to aid of a damsel in distress. Just as he gets her to safety the lady mysteriously vanishes but the uncle never looks at another woman again. 

The Baron of Grogzwig
The Baron marries a lady and his life changes forever. She makes his life decidedly less fun than it was. To add insult to injury the baron then loses all his money. the baron then decides that as there is no more fun to be had he might as well lock himself away from the world. When he does this he is visited by a ghost who helps him appreciate what he has and that life is not that bad after all.

A Christmas Carol
I think most people probably know the story from one movie version or another. Before I read the story I had only seen the Muppet version (Loving the Kermit) and I have to say that the written version is quite a bit better. I love the first line of it just making sure we all know that Marley is dead. Makes it clear that whatever happens next is going to be special. Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by Marley and then by three more ghosts of Christmas Present, Past and Future. These guys are creepy as hell and in some cases not very chatty but they certainly know how to get their point across. 

The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain
This one meandered on a bit too  much for my linking. 
It is a long winded story about a chemist who thinks that he does not need the constant reminders of sorrow and wrong in his life. He wishes them away to a ghost and his life goes into disarray form there. It is not just his own life that is affected but he infects those around him as well. People become cold, distant and cruel and only one woman seems to be able to help them return back to normal. Naturally our chemist changes his mind in the end and all returns to normal.

To be Read at Dusk
In essence five ghosts telling ghost stories to each other.
okay but nothing too exciting.

The Ghost in the Bride's Chamber
Two gentleman are forced to listen to the story of a ghost who is cursed by having to dwell in limbo forever. The story is of a woman who was so ill used by her husband that he literally told her to die. The joke however is on the ghost as he is forced to keep retelling his story and if only he can get two men to listen the curse that keeps him earthbound will be broken unfortunately for our ghost that seems never to be.

The Haunted House
A man decides he wants to spice up his life and moves into a house that he knows is haunted. He gets all his friends to come and stay as well and they decide to see what happens with them. At the appearance of the ghost of a certain Mr B the tale goes off into some weird direction that seems to be wholly unrelated to the introduction of the tale. The whole thing then rambles on to the end and it does not really feel like anything is resolved or explained. Unsatisfactory ending to a weird tale.

The Trial for Murder
This was a good one about a man who is a juror in a murder trial and gets a little supernatural help in deciding if the accused is actually guilty. Nice tightly constructed tale and the final sentence is just about perfect. 

The Signalman
I have read this one before and it is still good.
Lovely story about a signalman who sees the future cooped up down by the railway line. He does not make it to the end of the story due to an unfortunate encounter with a fast moving mode of transport.... guess he did not see that one coming.

All in all this was a great collection of ghost stories. Sure they meander on a bit at times but this just Dickens' writing style and it shows their age a bit... but not in a bad way. Secondly, I finally got to read Christmas Carol so it is all good in my book.


Title: Best Ghost Stories
Author: Charles Dickens
273 pages
Wordsworth Classics
ISBN# 1-85326-734-1

Books to be read: 152