Victorian ghoulies and ghosties

Illustration by Hablot Knight Brown in J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Ghost Stories and Tales of Mystery, (1851)

Victorians were avid readers of ghost stories.  Many novels and short stories of the time period touch on the supernatural, mystical, the Gothic, and the occult.  From “A Christmas Carol” to “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” some of the most famous supernatural tales in literature date from the Victorian period.

To get into the Halloween spirit, Special Collections is exhibiting collections of ghost stories by well-known and lesser-known Victorian authors in our reference area, starting October 14, 2011.  Highlights include a Rudyard Kipling story collection printed in India, a ghost story written by six authors (including Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and Elizabeth Gaskell), and the adventures of a ghost-hunting psychic detective.

Looking for more ghost stories?  One great resource is the “Guide to Supernatural Fiction” by Everett Bleiler, which can be found in Humanities Reference on level 5 of the library.  You can also do a genre/form search in the library catalog for “ghost stories” to find examples of stories and novels across the library’s holdings.