A Ghost Story Omnibus Volume Two (Collected Ghost Stories) Paperback – August 16, 2020

…it takes the brightest of days to cast the darkest of shadows…” ~~~ from “The Bread Oven.”H. E. Bulstrode is a remarkable storyteller extremely well-versed in British history and folklore with a special emphasis upon the macabre. His sole novel (to date), UPON BARDEN MOOR (2018), begins much like a mystery but builds up to be “a shocker of occult terror and death with near cinematic strength” as I stated in my review of the book. Currently, Bulstrode has two volumes of ghost stories available. Volume One is only available on Kindle, but the tales are available in print copies in a number of short books. With A GHOST STORY OMNIBUS VOLUME TWO (2020), the author has made the anthology available both in a print and electronic version. In the book’s Introduction Bulstrode comments the collection contains “nine supernatural tales” [seven of which are original to this volume], “spanning the ages from the ninth century to the present day. Some are of a darkly humorous and satirical nature, and others of a rather more sinister, and disturbing, hue.”Bulstrode can be relied upon to give his readers a well-written tale filled with atmosphere, true-to-life characters, and diverse settings. What readers won’t find is much gore as one will often encounter in many modern tales of horror. Like famed M. R. James, Bulstrode’s work gets under the reader’s skin and creates goosebumps without the graphic which can leave readers looking over their shoulder more than the grisliest of stories.Past and present collide in a cloud of irony in “Epitaph,” the first story in the collection. A pompous lecturer from the University of Kent, Dr. Owen Maserfield, finds his witticisms and remarks about seventeenth-century Sir Henry Sinderby’s life and his wife’s devotion to her husband much more entertaining than does his audience. He is even more disgruntled when a couple in costume, obviously reenactors of the historical period, dare to challenge and cite shoddy research on the learned man’s conclusions, saying he is sullying a great man’s reputation. The price of arrogance and obstinacy proves to be great by the story’s most rewarding conclusion and Bulstrode also takes a delightful poke at decisions made by university management in today’s politically correct world.Bulstrode wastes no time in showing his diverse approach to ghost stories by highlighting a Chinese curse involving a rare and pernicious Japanese dog in “The Fighting Cheribatsu.” Spanning generations from the 1800s to World War II, this chilling, dark tale can best be summed up as a warning not accept gifts from a known enemy who also suddenly smiles once the gift is accepted. The Cheribatsu proves to be far more deadly and certainly more supernatural in both the range of time and distance of its effectiveness than the hound which wanders the moors in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous novel. The story ends with a nasty, lethal, ironic twist.“Equal Shares” is a cautionary tale. If one successfully seduces a person for their money and also unwittingly receives their undying love, that love can come at a very high price—especially after death.Bulstrode utilizes his best folklore-telling skills in “The Cross at Crickmead,” the longest story in the collection. It is a chilling tale with roots in events “almost a thousand years ago during an age far less enlightened than our own age of dark superstition and ignorant credulity.” A surveyor, Abel Symonds, encouraged by both the town’s Reverend Foothill and the Crickmead Corporation (with a new railway system about to be constructed nearby), is hired to improve traffic flow through the town by removing a cross, “an old block of stone.” “Some sixteen feet or more in height, it has long… stood… in the marketplace… proving an hinderance to traffic.” The cross also has a rather gruesome history and was moved once before, being rapidly put back in place. With both the telling of the ancient history of the cross and the events which take place in more modern times, Bulstrode outdoes himself in both creating a very well-told, detailed, eerie story, but also in forming a connection between the supernatural and sexual abandon. There is no escaping fate in the tale’s quite blood-curdling and highly visual conclusion.Lucky is the person who hasn’t experienced a family vacation from hell, but it is unlikely anyone has had quite the encounter as do the Rich and Helen Philips and their children Liv and Josh in “The Bread Oven.” What appears to be a simply unexpected discovery in their French gite leads to revelations about the cottage’s history with something from that past making a horrifying return.Greed, lust, and selfishness lie at the heart of “Lord Guthlac’s Wife.” With echoes of a Poe-like tale of terror, Bulstrode summons up some shocking images and foul deeds in this story of murder and revenge which ends with justice served from beyond the grave in a most blistering and unanticipated fashion.Of all the stories in A GHOST STORY OMNIBUS VOLUME TWO, “The Recovery Man” may be laced with the most sardonic black humor as Carl and Liz are given a ride home by a most insolent and sarcastic truck driver with their demolished car in tow following an automobile accident.It isn’t a question as to whether or not a person can go home again, but a question of should they in “Levelling.” Dr. Geoffrey Meadham takes his wife, Jennifer, and his son, Gary, to the “unspoilt” Somerset wilds of his boyhood which he has not visited for a generation. Besieged by long-forgotten, buried and unspoken memories, it is Meadham’s son who unknowingly brings the truth and tragedy to the fore.Bulstrode’s final tale is a treat, his most comic one, although sad if one thinks about it for long. “Eileen of the Aisles” will leave grocery shoppers, especially those who go to Alpi, keeping an eye on their shopping cart more than usual.It is difficult to say enough about Bulstrode’s writing. It is intelligent and very literary. One can tell each story has been fashioned by a fastidious author whose vocabulary, sense of pace, and inclusion of detail matches his incredible imagination and knowledge of his homeland’s legends, people, art, culture, and history. “The Fighting Cheribatsu” and “Eileen of the Aisles” are narrated in first person which gives the stories and characters a slightly different point of view from the other tales, but still the author’s ability to cast shadows and create an ominous atmosphere with a mere turn of a phrase is striking. There is diversity to the tales and not a weak one in the collection. Be it comical or bone-chilling or a combination of both, Bulstrode proves his comprehension of human nature and superb story-telling skills. Thus, A GHOST STORY OMNIBUS VOLUME TWO is one to admire, enjoy, and treasure.

Classic old-style ghost stories with a twist. Brilliantly composed and written. I will be saving some of the tales to read on Halloween. H.E. Bulstrode runs a number of Facebook groups that I highly recommend for those that are drawn to stories of things beyond the veil and the macabre.

got as a present for someone. They absolutely loved it.

Essentially good stories marred by prolixity and gratuitous bursts of bigotry. Such a shame.