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Oriental Ghost Stories (Wordsworth Mystery & Supernatural) (Wordsworth Mystery & Supernatural)
by Lafcadio Hearn
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd (2007-06-10)
ISBN: 1840226102
EAN: 9781840226102
Paperback: 256 pages
SKU: N2284
Condition: As New
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
'and the man saw that she had no eyes or nose or mouth - and he screamed.'
Lafcadio Hearn's fascinating and unsettling ghost stories are a reinterpretation of oriental legends, and folktales. They are a potent blend of weird beauty and horror.
Hearn, who referred to his narratives as 'stories and studies of strange things', believed that the spectral world was part of the oriental landscape. Lakes, mountains, ruined castles and terraced fields were the natural locale of ghostly spirits, and their intervention in human affairs was part of the natural order of things. Hearn's apparitions are not a violent intrusion upon everyday reality; they are already a part of that reality, co-existing with the living.
This collection contains the best of the work of this neglected master of the supernatural tale. Prepare to be charmed and chilled in equal measure.
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Customer Reviews
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Unexpected treasure
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-05-05
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This little book is a delight. It isn't good for any chills or nightmares, but certainly provides mystery, anticipation, plot development and lots of supernatural figures. The stories are Hearn's own, based on his interactions with Oriental culture and the folk tales he collected. As for his interactions with the culture, they were extensive -- he settled in Japan at about the age of 40, took a Japanese wife, and spent the rest of his life there. The tales are authentic and properly seeped in the appropriate culture, but written or recorded in the style of the westerner Hearn.
The book is, perhaps, a bit thin. Some of the later tales aren't very ghostly, as though the editors were digging for enough Hearn material to fill the volume. That is my only complaint.
The stories are brief and catchy, sometimes suspenseful and other times with the suspense deliberately downplayed as Hearn offers gentle lessons on the culture that produced the legends. Hearn's occasional direct comments on the culture are worthwhile -- particularly his comments on "A Passionate Karma."
Again, a delight.
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A Nice Introduction to Oriental Ghost Tales
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-02-01
2 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
Lafcadio Hearn was born on the Greek Ionian Island of Leucadia (pronounced Lefacadia - hence his name) on June 27th, 1850. His father was Irish, his mother Greek. He had an English Catholic education, went to live in New Orleans for a spell, spent time in the West Indies and found himself in Japan, married to a Japanese girl. He became a teacher of English in Tokyo and found himself translating into English, the Japanese culture, including their ghost story tradition.
I think this is a nice little book to read. The stories are short, to the point and at times unsettling, at times magical, at times philosophical. I don't think this is an extraordinary collection of stories but if you're interested in Japanese culture or the Supernatural of the Orient pre-twentieth century, this book is not disappointing. (Also included are Chinese ghost stories but 75% of the book is devoted to the Japanese tales.)
My only gripe is the printing format. Too many blank pages between stories. For instance: the title of the story appears twice, first on an empty page, turn the page, blank, then the title again above the body of the text. It does, however, make for a quick read and because the stories are so short, it's an ideal book to pick up and go with. Leave it by your bedside and read one tale each night. They aren't frightening, to say the least, but they cast a spell and the atmosphere is wonderful to take in.
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