Literary Hauntings: A Gazeteer of Literary Ghost Stories from Britain and Ireland edited by R.B. Russell, Rosalie Parker, and Mark Valentine (Tartarus Press, 2023) Limited Edition Hardcover

R.B. Russell, Rosalie Parker, and Mark Valentine, editors. Literary Hauntings: A Gazetteer of Literary Ghost Stories from Britain and Ireland. Leyburn: Tartarus Press, 2023. Limited edition hardcover. 309 pages. Limited to 350 copies.

Condition: Near Fine in a Near Fine dust jacket. Slight shelf wear on dust jacket and top of spine. (see photos). 

Description from the publisher: 

Edited by R.B. Russe ll, Rosalie Parker and Mark Valentine

With additional contributions from

Mike Ashley, Peter Bell, Gina Collia, R.A. Gilbert, John Howard, Marcelle Mapsby,

Jim Rockhill, Brian J. Showers and Fran Weighell

 Literary Hauntings identifies and describes the real-life locations that have inspired the best fictional ghost stories of Britain and Ireland. Notable examples are the Suffolk beach where M.R. James set his terrifying ‘ “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” ’, and the ruins of the Scottish mansion featured in Margaret Oliphant’s classic ‘The Open Door’.

This comprehensive gazetteer, consisting of 271 entries by experts and exponents in the genre, identifies the building in Dublin that inspired Joseph Le Fanu’s story ‘The House by the Churchyard’, and the canals where Elizabeth Jane Howard’s eerie ‘Three Miles Up’ is set. Both classic and contemporary ghost stories are included.

Literary Hauntings is designed to help readers track down landscapes, monuments, cities, towns and villages that have haunted writers of ghost stories for at least the last two hundred years. The gazetteer is also a celebration of the insight and craft that goes into writing a really good ghost story, a genre that is still sometimes overlooked today.

 Reviews:

"I see this as a book for both summer and winter enjoyment – summer as a travel accessory, and winter as a stepping stone to fireside reading." Northern Earth, 173, September 2023

"This lovely book is useful both as a reminder of half-forgotten classics and a grimoire of British horror’s hidden lore. Even the most seasoned readers, who may not be willing to embark on a real and expensive roadtrip, will certainly be guided by these expert editors into discovering dozens of ghostly gems that are screaming to be revisited." Dejan Ognjanovic, Rue Morgue, Issue 211 Mar/Apr 2023