Three more mini reviews from Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories, edited by Roald Dahl. I enjoyed all three!
“The Corner Shop” by Cynthia Asquith
A man goes into a corner shop on a foggy night and finds warmth and kindness from two sisters. So much so that he wants to go back. When he does, the shop is closed, but he finds a mysterious old man who lets him in. He purchases a small object with some curious consequences. This was a good one.
“In the Tube” by E. F. Benson
Just some quotes on this one:
Time indeed! There’s no such thing as Time really; it has no actual existence. Time is nothing more than infinitesimal point in eternity, just as space is an infinitesimal point in infinity. At the most, Time is a sort of tunnel through which we are accustomed to believe that we are travelling. There’s a roar in our ears and a darkness in our eyes which makes it seem real to us. But before we came into the tunnel we existed for ever in an infinite sunlight, and after we have got through it we shall exist in an infinite sunlight again.
Say that a man commits some crime of violence, can we not, with a good deal of truth, say that he really commits that crime when he definitely plans and determines upon it, dwelling on it with gusto? The actual commission of it, I think we can reasonably argue, is the mere material sequel of his resolve; he is guilty of it when he makes that determination. When, therefore, in the term of ‘before’ and ‘after’, does the crime truly take place? There is also in my story a further point for your consideration. For it seems certain that the spirit of a man, after the death of his body, is obliged to re-enact such a crime, with a view, I suppose we may guess, to his remorse and his eventual redemption. [ ] Perhaps he may have done his deed blindly in this life; but then his spirit recommits it with its spiritual eyes open, and able to comprehend its enormity. So, shall we view the man’s original determination and the material commission of this crime only as preludes to the real commission of it, when with eyes unsealed he does it and repents of it?
“Christmas Meeting” by Rosemary Timperley
An older woman and an aspiring young author keep each other company at Christmas. Good, and only 3 pages!
