IN GHOSTLY COMPANY by Amyas Northcote

Wordsworth reprints several classic story collections by great horror writers of the past.  One such collection, IN GHOSTLY COMPANY by Amyas Northcote, was suggested to me by Amazon due to some previous purchases.  It mentioned him as similar to M.R. James, who is a favorite of mine.  I received it for Christmas this year and read it straight through.  The Introduction by David Stuart Davies that begins the book gives some background on Northcote.  Not an easy task, I’m sure, due to the obscurity of this writer.  Born in 1864, his father was Sir Stafford Northcote, lord of a manor and powerful politician.  I found it interesting Amyas attended Eton College the same time as M.R. James, although it is unknown if the two ever met.  This collection of ghost stories was his only published work.  It came out in 1921.  Unfortunately, Amyas died just eighteen months after its publication, making it difficult to promote and relegating him to obscurity.  He might have been forgotten altogether if Montague Summers hadn’t included one of the stories, “Brickett Bottom”, in his influential SUPERNATURAL OMNIBUS (1931).  It makes me wonder how many great writers have become lost to time because of similar circumstances.  While I wouldn’t put Amyas Northcote on the same level as M.R. James, I did enjoy these stories.  “Brickett Bottom”, “In the Woods”, “The Steps” and “The Governess’s Story” were personal favorites of mine.

1- “Brickett Bottom” (1921) – A vicar’s daughter spies a house on her way home she hadn’t noticed before.  Her nearsighted sister is unable to see it.  They plan to visit the following day, but the nearsighted sister injures her foot and can’t go.  When the other goes alone, she fails to return.

2- “Mr. Kershaw and Mr. Wilcox” (1921) – A business arrangement between two neighbors sours, leading to dark consequences in this tale of subtle supernatural underpinnings with a twist ending.

3- “In the Woods” (1921) – A lonely 17 year old girl finds herself enthralled by the woods near her home.  She spends her spare time there and begins to view the trees as her only friends.  She yearns to learn their mysteries and begins to sense the area observing her.  As she slips further from normal life to become more in tune with the woods, she starts to feel that although the woods have great beauty, it also hides powerful evil.

4- “The Late Earl of D.” (1921) – A solicitor witnesses a phantom reenactment of a violent crime.   

5- “Mr. Mortimer’s Diary” (1921) – The diary of a man found dead under bizarre circumstances tells of his being haunted by a diabolical ghost.

6- “The House in the Woods” (1921) –Two men are forced to spend the night in a secluded house in the woods.   

7- “The Steps” (1921) – A young woman is haunted by the approaching footsteps of a man whose love she spurned.  

8- “The Young Lady in Black” (1921) – An artist is approached by a young woman in black who implores him to paint her portrait but is unable to sit for him longer than a half hour.  He encounters her a few times afterwards, each under strange circumstances.

9- “The Downs” (1921) – A man traveling through downlands at night finds himself accompanied by a mysterious stranger.

10- “The Late Mrs. Fowke” (1921) – A man secretly follows his wife on one of her journeys out of town to find her partaking in occult activities.

11- “The Picture” (1921) – A girl becomes enthralled by the portrait of a dead Count in a manor house.

12- “The Governess’s Story” (1921) – A governess keeps hearing someone running and opening a window from a room above her every night.  These unearthly footfalls are tied to a grim family secret.

13- “Mr. Oliver Carmichael” (1921) – A man enters a shop to buy a handkerchief and meets an unattractive, female clerk.  When their eyes meet, he is filled with an inexplicable dread.  From that point on, he is haunted by her and begins to feel evil growing in his soul as it is tormented each night as he sleeps.  

Here’s the Amazon listing for this collection: http://www.amazon.com/Ghostly-Company-Mystery-Supernatural-Tales/dp/1840226439/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326598677&sr=1-1

Reviewed by Matt Cowan