Haunted Houses: Two Novels

The two novels in this collection, first published in the 1870s, are sumptuous slices of Victorian gothic concerned with, as editor Andrew Smith notes, “the seemingly prosaic problem of how to rent out haunted properties.” In “Fairy Water” (1873), the haunting of Crow Hall by a family ghost is part of a larger plot involving the romance between its former owner and a young widow who’s tragically enjoined by her deceased husband’s will never to marry again. “The Uninhabited House” (1875) tells of the haunting of River Hall by the ghost of a presumed suicide, and the startling truth revealed when the narrator attempts to lay it to rest. More than simple tales of horror, these ghost stories are complex works enriched by Riddell’s grasp of the era’s social (and especially pecuniary) anxieties, her eye for the colorful detail of London and exurban environs, and her capacity for creating memorable characters both comic and dramatic. This is a fine introduction to Riddell’s work, and to the Victorian ghost story in general. (Apr.)