December 1th: The Open Door by Margaret Oliphant (from Classic Ghost Stories)
A story about a father, whose son falls sick after he has encountered something strange in the ruins on their home property, and his subsequent search for the truth behind the encounter.
This short story was an ok one. The parts I enjoyed the most were the nightly trips to the ruins, the juniper bush with a life of its own and the sceptical doctor, who doesn´t believe in superstitious mumbo jumbo. A good and decent story. This will definitely not be my last read by Mrs. Oliphant. 3 Stars.
December 2th: They by Rudyard Kipling (from Classic Ghost Stories)
This short story has some beautiful writing, even though the prose is too flowery for my taste (do you really need 2,5 pages to tell the reader, that the narrator got lost in the country side? I don´t think so). And I didn´t like the story. 1) There is no suspense at all, because it is clear from the get go what is up with those children and 2) I need someone who explains the ending to me. I didn´t get the ending at all. 1,5 Stars.
December 3th: The Captain of the "Pole-Star" by Arthur Conan Doyle (from The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories and Classic Ghost Stories)
I really enjoyed this story and I loved the setting(a whaling ship stuck in the polar region). It´s one of my favorite settings and it works wonderfully in this story. The captain is an intriguing character I would have liked to know more about and Conan Doyle is setting him up in a very mystical way. The fact that the story is told from the point of view of the ships doctor adds to the mystery, since he takes a rational approach to everything that is happening on the ship. A great example of Conan Doyles weird fiction. 4 Stars.
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