Ghost Story Review: "A Night of Horror" by Dick Donovan pseudonym for James Edward Preston Muddock

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The narrator receives a letter from an old college friend named Dick who inherited a fortune and an estate. The friend says he’s newly married and living at a place called Bleak Hills Castle in a remote area of Wales. He’s an “unimaginative” sort and offers an invitation to visit. Bleak Hills Castle has a room reputed to be haunted and even though Dick say he’s sure it’s haunted by nothing more than rats, the narrator may find it interesting because of his belief in the occult. The castle also has a past. The wife and daughter of a former owner disappeared. The husband only said they had gone to London. He then went to London himself and never returned. Soon, odd stories surfaced. The house was shut up and none of the locals would go near it. No one did until the current owners bought it and refurbished it. The morning after his arrival, the narrator is given a tour. He finds the home wonderful, full of warmth and full of light. Dick waits to show him the haunted room last. On seeing it, he asks to spend the night there. What follows is not much of a surprise. At breakfast, the narrator looks like he’s been through the mill. But he’s determined to follow up on an open the door the ghosts indicated. Dick and a gardener come with him. The narration is straightforward and simple, the story told in utilitarian prose, happily avoiding as must bated breath and as many pounding hearted as possible. As the same time, a little more reaction would be nice: yeah, this is what we were expecting, but come on, a bit of surprise from the narrator on seeing bloody ghosts wouldn’t kill you, would it? I could not find an online version of this story. _____ Title: “A Night of Horror” Author: Dick Donovan pseudonym for James Edward Preston Muddock (1843-1934) First published:Tales of Terror 1899 Source: ISFDB