Ghost Story Review: "The House in Half Moon Street" by Hector Bolitho

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Michael Stranger was born and raised in a small house outside Reading in Great Britain. When he turned 21, his Uncle Benjamin Grinling, who ran a “counting house” in London sent for him. Childless himself and long widowed, the elderly man wanted to bring young Michael into the business. In part because he reminded him of his deceased wife and in part because he was a decent young man, he genuinely likes his nephew. The two men would, happily, become great friends. The first night young Michael is in London, a country bumpkin overwhelmed with the city, he spends Christmas dinner with his uncle. Afterward as he’s leaving for his rented rooms, he notices light streaming from the open door of one house on the street. The light is not that of candles, but that of the sun; inside the house it’s a lovely spring day despite the snow outside. On the wall hangs a print of the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1839—but it’s 1832. He sees a man bent over a woman with red-gold hair, strangling her. Shocked, he runs back to his uncle’s house. When he looks over his shoulder as the house where the door was open, he sees the house is shut up with a “For Sale” sign hanging in front of it. He discusses this with his uncle, who promptly pooh-poohs it and, when Michael is out of earshot, tells the servants nor to be so quick to refill his wine glass. Yet, years later, when he sees the woman again, he knows her. And he falls in love with her. He’s long decided that business on his first Christmas in London was a dream. But he vows that any man who dares harm the woman he loves will suffer for it. Although this was written in the 1930s, this story has a strong Victorian/Charles Dickens flavor. And while a bit of it is predictable, I honestly did not see the end coming. I like surprise endings that are in character with the rest of the work. This was perhaps a bit slow-going, but it was rich in details, discussing the transition from Regency to Victorian England. It also follows that main character from childhood into adulthood. I like this story even with its sadness. I’m unable to find an online copy of this novelette. ______ Title: “The House in Half Moon Street” Author: Hector Bolitho (1897-1974) First published: in Nash's Pall Mall Magazine, March/April 1934. Source: ISFDB