Classic Victorian and Edwardian Ghost Stories (selected by Rex Collings)

The second half of these stories was vastly better than the first half, the stories from the early-mid 19th century were either very formulaic and dull or not very funny parodies. Besides a few of the classics, a lot of the stories in this book are not very often anthologised, so it was interesting to read them. Several of the stories from late in the period were some of the best ghost stories I've ever read, my favourites were 'Eveline's Visitor' by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, 'Markheim' by Robert Louis Stevenson, 'A School Story' by M. R. James and of course the funniest and the best, Oscar Wilde's 'The Canterville Ghost'. There was also a very funny story early about a ghost that persistently steals trousers, 'The Spectre of Tappington' by Richard Harris Barham. While I loved those individual stories, the book as a whole isn't too impressive a collection.