A Night on the Moor & Other Tales of Dread (Wordsworth Mystery & Supernatural)

book: A Night on the Moor & Other Tales of Dread (Wordsworth Mystery & Supernatural) | Robert Murray Gilchrist

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A Night on the Moo...

	A Night on the Moor & Other Tales of Dread (Wordsworth Mystery & Supernatural) Robert Murray Gilchrist Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 2006 - 192 pages average customer review:based on 1 review view larger image
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Robert Murray Gilchrist (1868-1917) is perhaps best known for his interest in topography, and for his stories set in Derbyshire's Peak District. But he was also a master of mystery and horror, as this richly varied collection shows. If you are looking for a conventional horror story, in which the supernatural element is paramount, try The Crimson Weaver, Dame Inowslad, Witch In-Grain, or A Night on the Moor. If you are more taken with the psychology of the participants, often allied to a fascination with the killing of friends or lovers, then Francis Shackerley, The Noble Courtesan, Althea Swathmore, and My Friend will be right up your street. For humour we are offered the Peakland comedy of The Panicle or A Witch in the Peak. And when it comes to love, there are the tragic and poignant tales we might expect (The Return, The Lost Mistress. The Madness of Betty Hooton), but also the engaging and unusual Bubble Magic - a story of romantic betrayal which hints at a happy ending.

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terrible writing style

I didn't want to rate this book with only a single star, as I am quite grateful to the Wordsworth folks for offering all these volumes of relatively obscure supernatural writing. However, despite being a touch of a scholar of the Victorian and Edwardian period, I couldn't muster the strength to make it all the way through this little volume.

The problem -- Gilchrist's writing style is awful. It conveys a quality of stilted indirection that is quite unendurable. For example, chosen at random, "My heart sank now at the thought of times apart from her; but I strove to wile the hours with a lute I found ..."

It is most unfortunate, but the worst horror found in the book is Gilchrist's assault on the English language.

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