‘Above And Beyond’ (Charles Brameld) – A batty woman and hauntings in a modern residential block. My word, this is a nasty, shivering, sweat-producing, nightmare-creating, comfort-bereft story.’ I am inclined to believe that swopping places with a dead man is not a healthy pastime, and the practice of tossing the corpse into a dark bed of Kecksies (hemlock) should be avoided. Chetwynd-Hayes describes it thus in his intro: ‘In Kecksies by Marjorie Bowen we are back in Gothic Country again, that wind-swept realm where young esquires come riding from Canterbury, jolly and drunk, rolling in their saddles as they follow the winding road across the downs.
Very rich in atmosphere and characterisation. This supremely well written story is a classic of the genre and is understandably much anthologised.
‘Kecksies’ (Marjorie Bowen) – Two upper-classed gents behave abominably when seeking shelter at the modest home of Goody Boyle. You can tell this is the work of the writer of ‘After Dark’ from the previous collection – it’s a crisp, solidly written story that is full of stylishly brooding atmosphere. His stories stand out from the sometimes stale and overly traditional ones that are included. Tony Richards maybe a find in these latter Fontana books. People die soon after coming into contact with a man. ‘Streets Of The City’ (Tony Richards) – A ghost story set in the city. It’s just well told story, and straightforward in fashion. Meanwhile, the father is seeing his son’s teacher. ‘The New Old House’ (Robert Solomon) – A father and son move into an old house and the son becomes fascinated by the creepy basement. This is clear and enjoyable, haunting, and has a reasonable degree of characterisation. The neighbour tells the mother of his own boy who was killed in the war… So much better than this writer’s effort which appeared in the previous book.
‘The Summer House’ (Heather Vineham) – The mother of a young girl is horrified every time her daughter climbs over a neighbour’s fence and vanishes. The ghostly grey figure, clapping at the side of the green with gloved hands, adds the atmosphere. The story in itself is slight it’s the characters that give it its light – particularly the mild antagonism between father and daughter-in-law. This is the fourth story from this author in these collections and the first that I’ve liked. ‘Outside Agency’ (by Daphne Froome) – A man discovers a buried putter on a golf course which seems to have powers.
Here are the seven I would place into the ‘Very Good’ drawer:. How to give this an overall marking? Of all these collections this is the one that is most variable in quality – ranging from the excellent, to the bloody awful! Apart from one (Walter de la Mare’s fine enough ‘Bad Company’), all the others could easily be placed into one of two drawers, labelled ‘Very Good,’ or ‘Don't Waste Your Time.’ There are sixteen stories.
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