Be of Good Chill! Hear a Ghost Story Written to Be Heard

You might know that there’s a growing movement to resurrect the jolly, old tradition of sharing ghost stories at Christmas time. The custom is typically associated with the Victorians — and they certainly put a fine sheen on it — but the history of telling chilling tales around a winter fire reaches back even before William Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale.

Wanting to do my part in this movement, I recorded a ghost story that was written to be read aloud. It’s Eben E. Rexford’s “Saved by a Ghost,” and I found it in an 1885 volume titled The Speaker’s Garland and Literary Bouquet, a charming collection of stories, poems, and other material intended for oratory, be it in the classroom, on the stage, or in the parlor.

It’s not an especially scary story. Certainly, it ain’t M.R. James. But it’s quaint and family-friendly and, well, under ten minutes. You can listen to it right here:

If you’d prefer to download the .mp3 and listen to it offline, right click here.

To all of you from all of me at Brom Bones Books, happy holidays, y’all!

— Tim