Book Review: Spirits of the Night by multiple authors

If you’re already trying to decide what to read over the festive period in 2020, I’ve got you covered. Spirits of the Season is a fantastically well-rounded collection of stories where things go bump in the night.

“It is a genial, festive season, and we love to muse upon graves, and dead bodies, and murders, and blood.”

Given that the collection is comprised of stories published between the years 1867-1940, I was surprised at how readable each and every story was, as sometimes I can struggle with older writing styles. I also love anthologies because they open me up to a range of authors that I want to explore in the future - I had always known that Algernon Blackwood was a huge inspiration for HP Lovecraft and now after reading The Kit-Bag I will be on the hunt for more of his work.

Although the stories are set over the Christmas period, they are not necessarily festive - don’t expect stories brimming with Christmas trees and presents and Santa! (Although one story does revolve around a cursed fir tree) The festivities are more subtle, obviously in line with the time period in which they are written.

The majority of the stories received a rating of 4 stars or higher from me! Standouts for me were as follows: - The Kit-Bag, wherein a key piece of evidence in a court case follows a lawyer after he heads home.

- The Prescription, which tells the story of a doctor who is woken from his sleep to tend to a sick woman, but nothing is as it seems...

- Christmas Eve on a Haunted Hulk, where a man ends up having to spend the night on an abandoned vessel.

- Smee was so creepy!! Smee is a game similar to hide n seek and it is played out in the house where a young woman died years before.

I could honestly go on and on. This collection was mostly stellar, (just a few stories I rated 3 stars), I can’t recommend it enough! The horror is mostly understated, but some stories really turn up the chill factor! 4 stars.

Johann

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