The Haunted Looking Glass (New York Review Books Classics)

I’m so glad he created this compilation of somewhat scary ghost stories. These are actual stories about ghostly encounters. I find this refreshing as most contemporary compilations of ghost stories tend to wander off into other topics.Great classic stories in here. I recommend it.

I bought my copy of, The Haunted Looking Glass, when it was first published in 1959. I still read out of it but the pages are brittle and yellowed. As a teacher I recommended it to my kids for halloween reading and they managed to find hardbound copies for 5 bucks each and they devoured it just as I did. Edward Gorey published several books under the "Looking Glass Library" label and I regret not buying them up. It is a collection of pretty strong ghost stories that provide a good start for a young ghost story reader. It is also a set of ghost story classics that belongs on the shelf of any genre collector. Many of the stories such as W.F. Harvey's, "August Heat," are frequently anthologized but some like E. Nesbit's, "Man Sized in Marble," are rare and truely eerie. I am sorry that the new edition of The Haunted Looking Glass was not was not printed in hardback. My copy crumbles a little every time I touch it and with Halloween coming it has stories that beg to be read. Savor M. R. James' "Casting the Runes" and experience the three-wish-curse formula in W.W. Jacob's, "The Monkey's Paw."

Fun collection of spooky stories just right for a dark and stormy night in front of the fire. Best read alone or at least hopefully alone are those footsteps? Did you hear a door close? Maybe the stories can inspire all the jittery paranoia that is so much a part of the ghost story tradition.

The trouble with most ghost stories is that they're never sufficiently scary enough: even many of the stories of such masters of the genre as M. R. James and Sheridan le Fanu seem insufficiently frightening, often given the limited frame of the short story. Years before his recent death, the great illustrator Edward Gorey assembled a best-of-the-best collection of the most frightening of all ghost stories (accompanied by his personal illustrations), and his choices do not disappoint. Many of the stories have the sickening, terrifying quality of a bad dream (such as Stoker's "The Judge's House" and E. Nesbit's "Mansize in marble"), while even the shorter pieces which have little in the way of characterization (such as "The Empty House") are genuinely frightening and evocative in terms of atmosphere. The very best stories--"The Monkey's Paw," James's "Casting the Runes," and Dickens's "The Signalman"--are little masterpieces of suspense and mood.NYRB wisely decided to break from its standard cover format by allowing Gorey's original handlettered illustration remain intact; his moody drawings for each story are also kept. This is a nice little collection.

I remember my brother having this book in the 1960's. I wanted to read it but I was too young. I was thrilled to find it still in print. A must have for fans of classic ghost stories.

The illustrations are fab and the stories enticing!

Bought this for the Gorey illustrations, but the short stories are fun too.

This is a great collection of Victorian era chilling tales, selected and illustrated by the late, great Edward Gorey. I'm not positive, but I believe this was the firstbook I ever checked out from my towns' lending library. It's a fine read for devotees of the genre.

I am a fan of gothic/classic horror and knew I’d like any collection which included some of my childhood favourites. Add the Gordy touches and this little collection was perfect for reading while curled up sipping a cup of tea.

ho regalato il prodotto e ho fatto centro