Ghost Story Review: "The Haunted Mill" by Jerome K. Jerome

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Mr. Coombes knows how to keep his audience in suspense. He begins a tale about his brother-in-law, Joe Parkins, who leased an old mill in Surrey that was said to have belonged to an old miser who had died there three years earlier. And of course, misers have treasures hoard over their lifetimes and they hide on their property— His listeners lean in, eager for him to continue, waiting quietly for the rest of the story while he cleans the dottle out of is pipe. Who needs a treasure map? The spirit of the miller will lead you … right? Never mind that no one else has found a hint of treasure after all this time. Come to think of it, no one saw a hint of treasure while the old miller was alive, either. Brother-in-law Joe doesn’t pay much attention to the stories of hidden treasure, that is, until he wakes one night to see the specter standing at the foot of his bed in an old-fashioned pigtail and knee-breeches. He then decides the ghost wants to show him where its wealth has lain hidden all these years. He gets up in the moonlight and follows it downstairs. It enters the kitchen, “glide[s] over and [stands] in front of the hearth, sigh[s] and disappear[s]” The next morning, Joe has the stove pulled out and the chimney torn down. Nothing is found. That doesn’t keep the ghost from coming back the next night, waking Joe up and leading him into the kitchen. He stops in the middle of the floor this time, sighs again and disappears just like the first night. How long does Joe keep looking? What does he find? And what does he end up with? This is a cute little ghost story that starts out with an idea that goes back to classical times—a ghost appearing to a living person and leading him to a spot of some significance then disappearing—and gives it a humorous, deadpan twist. This is quite chuckle-worthy, best read with a cup of hot chocolate (peppermint schnapps optional) by a roaring fire. Perhaps best remembered now for his book, Three Men in a Boat, a novel based on a boating trip on the Thames River published in 1887, author Jerome K. Jerome was also an actor, a journalist and a playwright as well as a novelist. His works are imbued with humor, as is this one. The story can be found in the collection Tales Told after Supper, available from Project Gutenberg and as an audiobook from Librivox. ___ Title: “The Haunted Mill” first published in Tales Told after Supper (collection) 1891 Author: Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) Source:ISFDB _____ *An earlier version of this review was originally posted at another site. It has been updated and expanded for its inclusion in myLot.*