Public-domain ebook
Language: en4,994 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Short Stories·Crime, Thrillers and Mystery
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #23432.
The volume gathers a selection of short, mystic‑humorous tales that hover between the rational and the uncanny. Its opening story, “May‑Day Eve” by Algernon Blackwood, begins with a weary doctor trekking through a moon‑lit moor to visit an eccentric folk‑lore scholar. The narrative weaves a vivid, almost cinematic description of the landscape, gorse‑bushes, mist rising from valleys, sudden shifts from calm to storm, while the protagonist’s inner skepticism is challenged by a fleeting, shadowy figure who points the way. This encounter sets the tone for the anthology’s blend of atmospheric description, subtle dread, and a wry, almost playful tone that undercuts the supernatural elements. The contents list further promises works by such names as Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Guy de Maupassant, each selected for their “high‑rank” mystery qualities and a touch of humor.
The prose reflects the late‑Victorian and Edwardian fascination with the borderlands of science and the occult, employing a measured, descriptive style that balances detailed natural observation with a slightly ironic narrator. Readers who enjoy richly rendered settings, a gentle satirical edge, and stories that tease the boundary between rational explanation and eerie mystery will find this collection rewarding. It appeals especially to those who appreciate classic genre writers experimenting with humor amid ghostly or speculative scenarios.
The opening · free to read
There is an intermediate ground between our knowledge of life and the unknown which is readily conceived as covered by the term mysticism. Mystery stories of high rank often fall under this general classification. They are neither of earth, heaven nor Hades, but may partake of either. In the hands of a master they present at times a rare, if even upon occasion, unduly thrilling--aesthetic charm. The examples which it has been possible to gather within the space of this volume are offered as the best of their type.
The humorist, thank heaven, we have always with us. Spectres cannot afright him, nor mundane terrors deflect him from his path. He takes nothing either in earth or heaven seriously, as is his God-given right. Some of the best examples of what he has done in the general field of mystery are presented here for the first time in any collection.
JOSEPH LEWIS FRENCH.
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