George1959
Senior Member
The thread on horror films led me to this question. Whereas horror movies often don't leave much for imagination, a horror or ghost story is quite different, since the imagination and fantasy of the reader is an important factor.
I've read that in England the people meet with relatives on Christmas eve and tell ghost stories, often by Victorian authors. I don't know if this is true or widespread, but it is interesting.
Nevertheless Victorian ghost stories were such successful during this era, since there was no TV, no radio and no electric light. Imagine the flickering light of a candle, the wind howling through the permeable windows, the shadows of candles painting monsters on the ceiling and so on. Every child who only got such a candle to go to bed at these times must have been horrified by such phenomena.
I remember an episode of my childhood very vividly. My parents and I were at the house of my paternal grandparents. It was an old timber framed house, had electric light but a very cold garret. The winters in this region were cold, there was no heating under the roof and we had very thick and heavy feather beds. But most frightened me that there was a cellar of natural stone only lightened by a tiny light bulb. I was anxious after they told me to go into the cellar and fetch something.
But back to my question. Do you like reading horror and ghost stories?
I've read that in England the people meet with relatives on Christmas eve and tell ghost stories, often by Victorian authors. I don't know if this is true or widespread, but it is interesting.
Nevertheless Victorian ghost stories were such successful during this era, since there was no TV, no radio and no electric light. Imagine the flickering light of a candle, the wind howling through the permeable windows, the shadows of candles painting monsters on the ceiling and so on. Every child who only got such a candle to go to bed at these times must have been horrified by such phenomena.
I remember an episode of my childhood very vividly. My parents and I were at the house of my paternal grandparents. It was an old timber framed house, had electric light but a very cold garret. The winters in this region were cold, there was no heating under the roof and we had very thick and heavy feather beds. But most frightened me that there was a cellar of natural stone only lightened by a tiny light bulb. I was anxious after they told me to go into the cellar and fetch something.
But back to my question. Do you like reading horror and ghost stories?
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