The New York herald., 1921-06-19
Reviewed by FRANK M. O'BRIEN.

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n EvERAL collections Of ghost
stories have been published
~ since the spiritistic renaissance
began. We cannot attribute the new
interest in ghost stories to the new
interest in psychic phenomena. There
is scant relationship between the good
old ghost of yesterday and the pencil
guiding spirit of to-day. 1t is easier
to think that the collectors of ghost
stories have been alarmed by the cold,
calculating methods of the psychic in
vestigators. The spirtists and their
frends-and enemies-the scientists
threaten to put the old fashioned,
grooming, hair raising ghost on, so to
speak, the bum The best of the
modern research articles may thrill,
but they do not terrify. And when
scientist of the w J. Crawford type
begins to measure spooks with scales
and tape measures we fly to the blood
stained panels of the haunted chamber
for comfort.
Miss Dorothy Scarborough, in the
role of collector. fires a double bar
relied gun for the good old ghosts al
though one barrel is loaded with fool
ish powder. For the creeps use ia
nous Modern Ghost Stories To re-
cover from the chill, try Humorous
Ghost Stories.
The gloomy volume starts off with
"The Willows by Algernon Blacs-
wood This IS eighty pages of at
mosphere touched with incident. If
YOU are troubled with Snerves, read it
at midnight in the attic of an aban-
doned house In the morning you will
have no nerves. 1t contains the es-
sence of Impending Gloom. Next
comes short story by Mary Wilkins
Freeman, "The Shadow on the Wall.
Mrs. Freeman lacks atmosphere, but
she can throw a shadow and kill its
victim with neatness and despatch.
"The Messenger" by Robert w Cham
bers, was written twenty-four years
ago. This is a Gothic structure with
American sun parlors built on; skull
that rolls uphill face that appears at
the window: a Thing that can only be
shot with a bullet dipped in holy
water,
Fitz-James O'Brien is represented by
What Was IT," O'Brien has been
dead nearly sixty years. but his
strength and his style are as alive as
they were before the civil war. He
stands the test Of time wonderfully.
He keeps you awake and shivering,
which is more than can be said of Poe
in "Ligeia," the story which the an
thologist has chosen to stand for the
master of horror in this collection
THE Mass of Shadows" brief tale
by Anatole France. is trivial. "Laza
rus" bY Andreyev, is not a ghost story
at all, but just as much odor of the
grave as your deliberate Russian can
compress into a small bottle. And
that is more than plenty. The story
disgusts and does not thrill. THE
Shell of Sense" by Olivia II. Dunbar is
The Quick or the Dead" denatured
and lightly perfumed.
OF the volume as a whole we can
only complain that nearly half the
stories are not terrifying enough 1t
is not sufficient that the ghost be
present and communicate with some
body He should do something big.
Before the psychic experts finally
supernatural communication as easy
as telephoning. let us have the old
ghosts of action. Let them bring their
groans their chains their sulphurous
smells. their mouldy cerements When
they go let them disappear with a
shrek through the secret panel But
let them be good. old fashioned ghosts.
And this plea brings US to Miss Scar
borough's other volume. Humorous
Ghost Stories" If the reader has
never met Oscar Wildes Centreville
Ghost. this story is alone worth the
price of seance. Then we have
Frank r. Stockton's Transferred
Ghost; j. X Bangs's Water Ghost.
Brander Matthews's Rival Ghosts. Ge-
lett Burg gess's Ghost Extinguisher
Wallace Irwn's Transplanted Ghost
and a whole troop OF ghosts marshalled
by Nelson Lloyd. Will Adams Wash
ington Irving. Ellis Parker Butler
Richard Middleton. Eden Philpotts. SC
In this collection is a short story
which has not been i'm print since De
cember 10. 1874 when it appeared
anonymously on the front page Of THE
Sun. This is Back from That
Bourne" which presents the strange
social predicament OF Pocock Island
Off the Maine coast following the re.
fusal Of John Newbegin to return 10
the spirit world after he had been
matoria lizcd bv visiting uadfum