Hauntings (Smith & Taylor Classics, 10)

Hauntings by Vernon Lee is a collection of four haunted short stories. First published in 1890, this reprinting contains a conversation with Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya and Gretchen Falker-Martin, both LGBTQ horror authors. The four stories included in this collection are Amour Dure, Dionea, Oke of Okehurst, and A Wicked Voice. If you are not familiar with Vernon Lee, she was a writer, musician, critic, and activist who lived from 1856 to 1935. Much of her work explores the supernatural, possessions, and hauntings. That includes the four stories featured in this book, which are considered her most famous.

Lee’s stories are a reminder of what horror and supernatural stories used to be. Her works are not graphic or gory like some modern horror writers. She unsettles the reader with a significant build-up to a haunting reveal. She adds detail and wit to help the reader along before dropping a ghost or a witch onto the reader’s lap. And this book proves why well-written ghost stories are timeless. The book concludes with a conversation between Upadhyaya and Falker-Martin. This conversation offers a lot of insight into Lee’s works. This is a great book to add to any fan of the supernatural’s collection.