Eerie Narratives: A Collection of Supernatural Short Stories

This collection features five captivating supernatural tales, each delving into themes of mystery, tragedy, and the unexplained.

1. The Faithful Ghost: A Tale of Unrequited Love

This story is about a child who lives in a house haunted by a ghost named Johnson. When Johnson was alive, he was deeply in love with Emily. However, he was poor and she was rich, so he decided to travel to Australia to earn his fortune. Upon his return to the house, Emily and her family were no longer there. He died in that very house, never having found her. Johnson was perpetually weeping, and the family living there decided to construct a fake grave to keep his mournful spirit from haunting the house.

2. Meeting Mrs. Dumoise: A Doctor's Tragic Journey

This story is about Dr. Dumoise, a physician living in Meridki with his wife. He leaves his work, but after an epidemic emerges, he returns to his duties because his wife has passed away. Overwhelmed by grief, he decides to go on holiday to the hills of North-East India with his servant. There, his servant claims to see the Memsahib (Mrs. Dumoise). They return to Meridki, where Dr. Dumoise receives a telegram stating he is urgently needed in Nuddea. He travels there, where he ultimately dies, rejoining his Memsahib in the afterlife.

3. The Ghostly Bridegroom: A Tale of Deception and Love

A Baron has a daughter whose marriage was arranged with Count von Alterburg. On the very day the Count and the Baron's daughter were to be wed, the Count tragically died. He was en route with a good army friend when a robber attacked and killed him. The Count's friend, Herman von Starkenfaust, is asked to go to the castle. Upon his arrival, everyone mistakes him for the bridegroom and offers him to stay overnight to marry the Baron's daughter the next day. Herman refuses, cryptically telling the Baron that the true bridegroom will die that very night. Eventually, a letter arrives at the castle, explaining the Count's supposed death. Later that night, the Count appears in the garden, seen by the bride and terrifying her aunt. Afterward, the girl disappears, leading everyone to believe a goblin has taken her. However, the truth is she was with Herman von Starkenfaust, and they were secretly married.

4. The Haunted Doll's House: A Miniature Horror

Mr. Chitten purchases a doll's house at an unusually low price. When he goes to sleep, everything within the miniature house comes alive. Feeling terrified, Mr. Chitten decides to stay with Mr. Dillet, the seller. While staying with him, Mr. Chitten explains the unsettling phenomena of the house. Subsequently, Mr. Dillet discovers that everything Mr. Chitten witnessed in the doll's house had, in fact, happened before. A family once lived in the house depicted by the dollhouse; the lawyer father brutally murdered his wife and his two children. After this horrifying revelation, Mr. Chitten and his wife decide to throw the cursed doll's house into the sea.

5. Man-Size in Marble: A Halloween Tragedy

A man named Jack and his wife, Laura, resided in a quiet village. The villagers urged them to vacate their house on Halloween night, but they chose to remain. On Halloween, Jack took a walk to the church. Upon his return, he discovered Laura had been tragically killed by the stone knights within the church.

The author finds "Man-Size in Marble" to be the most compelling of these tales due to its genuinely frightening nature. The other narratives, in comparison, are perceived as too predictable in their unfolding events.