13 Followers
A lot of stories that were alright with some highlights. I think my problem lies not as much with this collection than with gothic tales and old horror stories in general. The writing is quite typical of other stories of this genre I've read before, it feels old and dreary, except for Dissappearences and Curious if true, which had some more humor in it. The plots are more like urban legends than belivable stories with real people in it. There is a strong focus on creating atmosphere, though, which Gaskell nailed and I always felt transported to another time and place. These particular stories are well written and certainly had their moments. Lois the Witch was the one story that I found to be really powerful and I felt with the protagonist all the way through. Other highlights were The Crooked Branch, which I had read before, and, surprisingly, Dissappearences.
Sep 4, 2022
A lot of stories that were alright with some highlights. I think my problem lies not as much with this collection than with gothic tales and old horror stories in general. The writing is quite typical of other stories of this genre I've read before, it feels old and dreary, except for Dissappearences and Curious if true, which had some more humor in it. The plots are more like urban legends than belivable stories with real people in it. There is a strong focus on creating atmosphere, though, which Gaskell nailed and I always felt transported to another time and place. These particular stories are well written and certainly had their moments. Lois the Witch was the one story that I found to be really powerful and I felt with the protagonist all the way through. Other highlights were The Crooked Branch, which I had read before, and, surprisingly, Dissappearences.
Sep 4, 2022
