From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.
One of the very first ghost stories I read - and that was in a forest rest house, where it is a bit scarier - was by M.R. James. He is one of the pioneers of ghost stories. And the book was called 'Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary.'
Ghost stories and Sherlock Holmes mysteries were great. And I had a major soft spot for those 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books.
[We should] suspend our belief of every tale that deviates from the laws of nature and the character of man.
As a girl, I sat awestruck at the feet of Harriet Ne, author of 'Tales of Molokai'. It was she who used to say, 'I myself have seen it,' after telling a particularly hair-raising ghost story - a phrase that I borrowed for one of my titles.
Combine two words, Myth and History. What do you get? Mystery.
I read a lot fewer thrillers than I think people assume I do.
A myth is a religion in which no one any longer believes.
I always loved ghost stories and haunted house stories, whether they were done in a fantasy way or done in a realistic way.
I love ghost stories. I remember when I was about 12, I read M. R. James' 'Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary' under the covers, way too young to fully understand what was going on with those stories, completely terrified but absolutely loved them.
A sad tale's best for winter. I have one of sprites and goblins.
I remember telling ghost stories with my cousins when I was four, five, six-years-old. I've just always loved it. But I think you're drawn to things you're terrified of.
My mother is an immigrant from China, and she filled my head with stories about ghosts and fighting monks in China, so the world of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' was a very familiar one.
Ghost stories are always listened to and well received in private, but pitilessly disavowed in public. For my own part, ignorant as I am of the way in which the human spirit enters the world and the way in which he goes out of it, I dare not deny the truth of many such narratives.
I have to say my favorite stories are ghost stories. I don't like to see these made-up monster films or scary films with ghosts. It doesn't do anything to me. But a real ghost story that someone tells me, that I like.
