tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post4472560231353231562..comments2024-03-27T06:42:26.250-07:00Comments on Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: Dreams and GhostsKatherine Langrishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-22532849776856281562016-04-30T18:42:00.199-07:002016-04-30T18:42:00.199-07:00The "chambre the mouche" story uses a ve...The "chambre the mouche" story uses a very popular "punchline" (I'm always surprised how close horror stories and jokes re to one another). I know plenty of stories that use "There isn't any..." as the stinger. Usually they're about a baby sitter tht calls the parents to ask whether she can cover up a creepy picture or statue, with the reveal that the parents have no idea what she's talking about. Sometimes it is something supernatural, but sometimes the creepy statue is implied or outright stated to be a serial killer, dressing up. I even know a version that conflates the story with the "Angles" from Dr Who.<br /><br />Ghost stories are fascinating, especially nowadays where regional legends, international influences and the media merge together. I can't even count how many "ancient" ghost stories - all tied to the village I lived in and its surroundings - turned out to be "Beyond Belief" episodes. Retellings of these episodes were told among kids (since not every kid was allowed to watch that show, so being able to talk about it meant approval) and over generationsbecameghost stories disconnected from the TV show. Just that among kids a "generation" is the kids from one grade, so the change happened very fast. However I agree that the most authentic stories are the ones that don't offer an explanation and don't offer that much detail... so naturally "Beyond Belief" offered the perfect material.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11593854763215902252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-68718401598186863222016-04-18T06:55:25.280-07:002016-04-18T06:55:25.280-07:00Indeed you must! There's some excellent Highl...Indeed you must! There's some excellent Highland tales in it, too.Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-4592303597916782362016-04-18T04:51:20.500-07:002016-04-18T04:51:20.500-07:00OOOOO--as the first woman ever to give the Andrew ...OOOOO--as the first woman ever to give the Andrew Lang lecture at St Andrews University (since 1927 when the lectures began) I collect Lang books but have never seen that one. MUST.. . go. . .searching when next in Scotland (end of May!)<br /><br />JaneJane Yolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16614445497209111557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-62230108240162753262016-04-18T00:43:29.915-07:002016-04-18T00:43:29.915-07:00Ah! Sorry, Maryom! I've been there myself and...Ah! Sorry, Maryom! I've been there myself and done that - and not wanted to turn out the lights...Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-41154113299631385132016-04-17T17:07:17.264-07:002016-04-17T17:07:17.264-07:00A great post - but I'm not sure that after mid...A great post - but I'm not sure that after midnight, when no one else in the house is awake, was a good time for me to read it! maryomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18265044617480788043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-26994278194706155752016-04-17T00:15:44.262-07:002016-04-17T00:15:44.262-07:00Wonderful post - and what a find, that Lang book! ...Wonderful post - and what a find, that Lang book! I've just agreed to write a series of re-told Japanese ghost stories - they are bizarre, and often unlike our ghost stories, but still the elements of detail and not-being-tied-down are the same.Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-41642360814341657362016-04-16T15:01:10.246-07:002016-04-16T15:01:10.246-07:00My friend is very practical, Katherine, a mother o...My friend is very practical, Katherine, a mother of four. I think she reasoned that a child ghost is still a child, perhaps one who doesn't know he's dead. So, she kept him entertained while she slept. Sue Bursztynskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-3973632970077031882016-04-16T14:54:15.853-07:002016-04-16T14:54:15.853-07:00I remember sitting and listening to Ted Hughes tel...I remember sitting and listening to Ted Hughes tell ghost stories many years ago - at a conference in Exeter. We all went off to our rooms in a group - too scared to do anything else!catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-36854309876807021302016-04-16T07:25:22.300-07:002016-04-16T07:25:22.300-07:00That's wonderful, Sue! How very practical.That's wonderful, Sue! How very practical.Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-74475420764712595452016-04-16T07:00:31.057-07:002016-04-16T07:00:31.057-07:00The thing about "ordinary" ghost stories...The thing about "ordinary" ghost stories is that those who tell them can be so casual about it, such as a friend of mine who wrote me a letter once complaining about being pestered all night by a child ghost, ending, "so I had to put a blanket on the end if the bed for him to play with." Being very un-psychic, I have thankfully never seen one, myself, though my nephew claims to have seen them in broad daylight and hated it. Sue Bursztynskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-13854511390719958742016-04-16T06:25:52.617-07:002016-04-16T06:25:52.617-07:00Your own ghost stories are excellent, Sue - 'N...Your own ghost stories are excellent, Sue - 'Nightcomers' for example. And I've also suddenly remembered Jan Mark's wonderful 'In Black and White'. Her story 'Nule' is a classic. Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-5705586009932140522016-04-16T05:54:28.116-07:002016-04-16T05:54:28.116-07:00Great post - I really enjoyed it. I enjoy 'tru...Great post - I really enjoyed it. I enjoy 'true' ghost stories very much too. I've based a few of my own stories on them.<br /><br />I love M R James, but I don't like too neat an explanation of a ghost. - I loved your mysterious cowled figure by the river.<br /><br />I once met a policeman who told me there was a street on his beat where, at night, a man was reguarly seen standing in a shop doorway. There was nothing notable about him: he was just an ordinary man in quite ordinary clothes. Everyone who walked that beat saw him (I was told.) You could see the figure from the street's other side, or from a distance, but if you approached, suddenly the figure wasn't there, though no one could be sure exactly where it had gone.<br /><br />There was no story attached to this, and of course, you could explain it as an optical illusion.<br /><br />Oh - and I went over to Amazon and downloaded the Lang book as a kindle. Thanks - I shall enjoy reading that. I might even get a few stories out of it!Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.com