It's difficult enough to drum up new ideas in vampire fiction; trying write an original ghost story is like trying to mine tailings for gold. In the introduction to this anthology, editor Rob Redman mentions that New Ghost Stories II came about because The Fiction Desk had a surfeit of good ghost stories left in its slush pile. This intrigued me and, since I had not read a ghost story in many years, I decided to purchase a copy and see what modern practitioners of the spectral had to offer.
'Incomers' by Amanda Mason
Emma, who appears less than confident in her own relationship, is easy prey for the ghost of a woman who was in a similar situation during the 19th century. Mason does a fine job of evoking a gloomy seaside town and conveying Emma's unhappy state of mind, but the story telegraphs its twist far too early – and then over-explains the climax. Otherwise tight writing and an excellent atmosphere undone by a predictable and not terribly original plot.
'The Bear Got Me' by Matthew Licht
A man driving through Alaska to a secret military base falls victim to hallucinatory paranoia involving a bear. I suspect this story was not conceived as a ghost story at all, but was rewritten sufficiently to get it accepted as one. It rather reads that way, too – more wisecracking and droll than creepy.
'Next to Godliness' by Matt Plass
Rooms in the home of a lately bereaved couple are mysteriously cleaned and tidied, and each thinks the other is doing it (and has lost his or her mind). A neat – if you'll pardon the pun – twist and a thrifty writing style make this one very enjoyable.
'The Table' by Tamsin Hopkins
A woman passes away and leaves her enormous antique table to twins that only she can see. When her family gathers to discuss the will, the truth about her 'hallucinations' is revealed. 'The Table' packs an impressive amount of characterisation into just a few pages and has a convincing sense of reality. I did pick the twist on this one and it's not what I'd call creepy – but that did little to diminish my enjoyment.
'The Armies' by Miha Mazzini
A ten year-old-boy is put in charge of caring for his elderly grandmother while his mother, jilted by an unfaithful partner, comes home from work most days to take out her anger on the boy and his grandmother. The boy's trauma manifests itself as invading armies that he has to repel with imaginary weapons, which he secrets behind a baseboard in his grandmother's bedroom.
While reading 'The Armies' I noted some rather odd phrasing and descriptive imagery: "expanded like a jellyfish", "clasped his ears", and the unforgivable "comprised of". When I returned to read the editor’s forenote (every story has one), all was explained: it has been translated into English from the author's native tongue.
Unusual language aside, it's quite a good story – but only in the most generous sense could it be classified as a ghost story.
'The Time of Your Life' by Lucinda Bromfield
A young man in a long line of distinguished lawyers, Matthew, expects to one day receive his father's antique watch when he rises to become a partner in the family firm. But when his father is unexpectedly killed, Matthew inherits the watch... and it begins to suck the life out of him.
Bromfield is a fine writer and I particularly enjoyed her nostalgic evocation of Matthew's childhood hours in the company of the mysterious Mr Lucas (the watchmaker entrusted with maintaining the sinister heirloom down through the generations). 'The Time of Your Life' has shades of The Picture of Dorian Gray but it is no imitation – the themes are strong, the prose is precise and considered, and everything ticks along as is should.
'End of the Rope' by Melanie Whipman
A teenaged girl named Bridget befriends the strange new student in her class, Ruby. They seem to complement each other in a perverse way: Bridget has never forgiven her father for leaving her mother and wants nothing to do with him, while Ruby hates her father even though, to Bridget, he seems like the ideal dad. But in time the ugly reality of Ruby's existence begins to seep through.
Once again, this is only a ghost story in the most nominal sense. Well written, with a good ear for the jagged melody that is the teenaged mind, but more subtle urban fantasy than anything resembling a classic ghost tale.
'Hell for Leather' by Bernie Deehan
Now this is a ghost story. Two young motorbike enthusiasts – also friends – compete in an insane road race to win the affections of a promiscuous young lady. It doesn't end well, and things will only get worse.
Vivid and honest writing, free from the literary self-consciousness evident elsewhere in this collection, is just one thing that sets this story apart. It also has a memorable ending which, on first sight, I thought was going to be a cliché – but then came the grim little topper that made all the difference.
Unlike a couple of the other writers with whom he shares a table of contents, Deehan does not seem uncomfortable with the genre in which he is writing. It's easy to imagine the others at a dinner party saying, "Ahem, yes, my story does contain elements of the supernatural, however it's really a means to an end to make a comment about [insert theme]." Deehan, on the other hand, wallows in the conventions and makes no apologies for it.
None of which, by the way, is to denigrate Deehan's skills as an author. He might not have the exacting linguistic prowess of Bromfield or Plass, but he's a hell of a good storyteller, and 'Hell for Leather' was the first story in this collection that I gobbled up purely as a reader rather than as a reviewer or editor. Deehan simply seduced me into it.
'Twice a Day' with Water by Die Booth
A shot of vodka mysteriously appears on a drug addict's kitchen table and, after he drinks it, he begins to hear the voice of a long-dead woman inside his head. She explains that she once lived in the building where he has an apartment but is now a spirit that can enter his body through vodka or – as happens from then on – his daily hit of heroin. Is she just a side-effect of his growing addiction, or could she be something more vital?
Colour plays an integral part in this story and it forms some of the best imagery. This line really affected me: ...Carmen tells him stories of long ago when she was alive, when films were still black and white and the monochrome world outside was still in colour.
Of all the stories here, this is the one that concurrently wears its ‘genre’ and ‘literary’ hats with the most ease. It's perhaps not surprising: being a drug addict and a ghost have a lot in common.
'Kate and Gustav' by Alice Adams
A murdered woman continues to haunt the house she and her husband shared during their marriage. She is lonely at first until a young couple rents the house from her husband and the ghost makes herself known, in subtle ways, to the girl, Kate.
This is a nice enough story, but its moral (the negative consequences of meddling in others' lives) is not exactly mind-blowing and it ends leaving a key question unanswered to no discernible purpose.
'In Yon Green Hill' to Dwell by Jane Alexander
A poet, Tam, and his wife Janet are in counselling to try to save their fizzling marriage. He seems distant and reticent, she appears to be jealous of another woman who had a connection with Tam before she did. This anthology being what it is, however, you can be certain it's not just another case of love gone sour.
Jane Alexander is an author in perfect control of her story. There is not a word in surplus and she supplies the reader with just as much as he needs to maintain intrigue and keep him reading to the final reveal.
Inspired by the classic Scottish poem ‘Traditional’ (which is reprinted after the story), it contains a fascinating observation: the spark that makes one person love another can sometimes have its roots in something maleficent. The relationship between Janet and Tam is an effective allegory for a million others in real life.
I'm conflicted over whether or not this is a ghost story (even though it won The Fiction Desk's 2014 Ghost Story Competition). Certainly it contains a form of possession, which is a well-mined convention of the genre, but the 'ghost' in question is by name a Faerie Queen. I want it to be a ghost story, because it is without doubt the superlative piece of fiction in a choice collection.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is an exceptional anthology, but I'm not sure it's an exceptional anthology of ghost stories. Anyone who bought this book expecting wall to wall ghosts – as in spectres of the actual or metaphorical kind – might feel a little short changed.
Provided you come into it understanding that four of the eleven stories are (by my reckoning) only ghost stories by the broadest definition imaginable, then you are sure to turn the final page impressed. I know I did. I can't remember the last time I read a small-press anthology with such a richness of writing talent. The Fiction Desk keeps high standards indeed.