The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women (Mammoth Books)

BOOK: The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women (Mammoth Books)
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Marie O’Regan
is a British Fantasy Award-nominated horror and dark fantasy writer and editor. She has served as the Chair of the British Fantasy Society, and has at times edited both their publications,
Dark Horizons
and
Prism
. In September 2009, Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books imprint published her anthology (co-edited with Paul Kane)
Hellbound Hearts
, a collection of short stories based on the original novella
The Hellbound Heart
by Clive Barker that inspired the movie
Hellraiser
. Marie lives in Derbyshire, England.

 

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The Mammoth Book of

 
Ghost Stories
by Women
 

Edited by

MARIE O’REGAN

 

 

 

 

Constable & Robinson Ltd

55–56 Russell Square

London WC1B 4HP

www.constablerobinson.com

 

First published in the UK by Robinson,
an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd, 2012

 

Copyright © Marie O’Regan, 2012 (unless otherwise stated)

 

The right of Marie O’Regan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

 

A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
is available from the British Library

 

UK ISBN: 978-1-78033-024-2 (paperback)

UK ISBN: 978-1-78033-025-9 (ebook)

 

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

 

First published in the United States in 2012 by Running Press Book Publishers,
A Member of the Perseus Books Group

 

All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions

 

This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher.

 

Books published by Running Press are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail
[email protected]
.

 

US ISBN: 978-0-7624-4594-3

US Library of Congress Control Number: 2011939124

 

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing

 

Running Press Book Publishers

2300 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103-4371

 

Visit us on the web!

www.runningpress.com

 

Printed and bound in the UK

 

 

 

 

For Jen, who loves the spooky stuff

Contents
 

Acknowledgements

Introduction
Marie O’Regan

 

Field of the Dead
Kim Lakin-Smith

Collect Call
Sarah Pinborough

Dead Flowers by a Roadside
Kelley Armstrong

The Shadow in the Corner
Mary Elizabeth Braddon

The Madam of the Narrow Houses
Caitlín R. Kiernan

The Lost Ghost
Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman

The Ninth Witch
Sarah Langan

Sister, Shhh . . .
Elizabeth Massie

The Fifth Bedroom
Alex Bell

Scairt
Alison Littlewood

Seeing Nancy
Nina Allan

The Third Person
Lisa Tuttle

Freeze Out
Nancy Holder

Return
Yvonne Navarro

Let Loose
Mary Cholmondeley

Another One in from the Cold
Marion Arnott

My Moira
Lilith Saintcrow

Forget Us Not
Nancy Kilpatrick

Front Row Rider
Muriel Gray

God Grant That She Lye Still
Cynthia Asquith

The Phantom Coach
Amelia B. Edwards

The Old Nurse’s Story
Elizabeth Gaskell

Among the Shoals Forever
Gail Z. Martin

Afterward
Edith Wharton

A Silver Music
Gaie Sebold

 

Biographies

Acknowledgements
 

Special thanks to Roland, Vivien and Portia Asquith; also Mike Ashley, Paul Kane, Stephen Jones and Duncan Proudfoot, for all their help and support.

 

Introduction copyright © Marie O’Regan 2012.

“Field Of The Dead” by Kim Lakin-Smith, copyright © 2012

“Collect Call” by Sarah Pinborough, copyright © 2012

“Dead Flowers by a Roadside” by Kelley Armstrong, copyright © 2012

“The Shadow in the Corner” by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, originally published in
All the Year Round
, 1879.

“The Madam of the Narrow Houses” by Caitlín R. Kiernan, originally published in
The Ammonite Violin & Others
(Subterranean Press, 2010). Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Lost Ghost” by Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman, originally published in
The Wind in the Rosebush and Other Stories of the Supernatural
(Doubleday, 1903).

“The Ninth Witch” by Sarah Langan, copyright © 2012

“Sister, Shhh . . .” by Elizabeth Massie, copyright © 2012

“The Fifth Bedroom” by Alex Bell, copyright © 2012

“Scairt” by Alison Littlewood, originally published in
Not One Of Us
#43 (Not One of Us, 2010). Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Seeing Nancy” by Nina Allan, copyright © 2012

“The Third Person” by Lisa Tuttle, copyright © 2012

“Freeze Out” by Nancy Holder, copyright © 2012

“Return” by Yvonne Navarro, copyright © 2012

“Let Loose” by Mary Cholmondeley, originally published in
Moth and Rust
(John Murray, 1902).

“Another One in from the Cold” by Marion Arnott, copyright © 2012

“My Moira” by Lilith Saintcrow, copyright © 2012

“Forget Us Not” by Nancy Kilpatrick, copyright © 2012

“Front Row Rider” by Muriel Gray, copyright © 2012

“God Grant That She Lye Still” by Cynthia Asquith. Originally published in
When Churchyards Yawn
(Hutchinson and Co., 1931). Reproduced by permission of Roland Asquith.

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