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Aficionados, it's that time again-time to nominate some books for our December Group Reads! As this will probably be a busy month for everyone, this month's group read will be short stories. And in the grand tradition of the Victorians, the theme is GHOST (SHORT) STORIES! M.R. James loved telling ghost stories at Christmas and so shall we! Please remember nothing we've read in the last 6 months is eligible and authors may not nominate their own books!

Please remember that books that have more than 1 nomination are more likely to make it into our final poll.

Are you looking for a short story nomination or a collection?

John wrote: "Angel Manor by Chantal Noordeloos."

A 400 page short story...

Whisper by Michael Bray

Pete wrote: "Whisper by Michael Bray"

short story honey.

James wrote: "Are you looking for a short story nomination or a collection?"

just 1 short story, we will have the main read and a runner up read and if people want to read some of the others, they can set up buddy reads.

Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad, M.R. James

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
The Willows by Algernon Blackwood
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P. Lovecraft

I'll second The Willows by Algernon Blackwood

Congrats Latasha on setting up your first Group Read. I like the ghost story idea.
Let me see what I can find. :)

Big fan of themed monthly reads!

No recommendations from me but I'm looking forward to what people post.

I'll "third" The Willows, which I already have loaded on my Kindle.

Thank you Wendy and Randy!

A Haunting Tale: A Short Ghost Story by Bill Stokes

How about something from Joe Hill's like the title story from it: 20th Century Ghost

GREAT job, Latasha!!

I will fifth "The Willows" :)

How about a short novel/ghost story? Slade House by David Mitchell

Painted Devils: Strange Stories by Robert Aickman

The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce.

I sixth The Willows because I have heard it's very spooky. Something about drifting along in a boat whilst the willow trees on the bank start acting strange.

I love The Willows but I wouldn't really categorise it as a ghost story. My suggestion is The Collected Ghost Stories of E.F. Benson. As for a particular short story: The Bus-Conductor, which was adapted into a Twilight Zone episode entitled Twenty Two in 1961. It contains the famous line, "Room for one more, honey."

Great suggestions so far! Some I've heard of, some I haven't. Ohhhh Rob! I love, love, love Ambrose Bierce!

I'll second 20th Century Ghost and Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad.

I'll nominate Alice Baker from Susan Hill's new collection The Travelling Bag , At Chrighton Abbey by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, and/or The Room in the Tower by E F Benson.

Yes, Ambrose Bierce is great, so underrated, but I love M.R. James, too, and I'm intrigued by The Room in the Tower...

I would second E.F. Benson's The Room in the Tower. Big fan of Bierce, too.

Any shout-outs for Guy de Maupassant. The Horla is a great short story, of which Lovecraft said, "this tense narrative is perhaps without peer in its particular department."

I'll second The Horla by Guy de Maupassant, because I finally found a collection that includes it about a year ago. I just haven't had a chance to read it yet.

So many ghost stories.....so little time....Bierce, Blackwood and James are all excellent. Maybe something by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu?

Jon Recluse wrote: "So many ghost stories.....so little time....Bierce, Blackwood and James are all excellent. Maybe something by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu?"

HI!! :D

Kasia wrote: "Jon Recluse wrote: "So many ghost stories.....so little time....Bierce, Blackwood and James are all excellent. Maybe something by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu?"

HI!! :D"

HI!!! :D

I love them all!

Ah, as a Dubliner I feel terrible for not mentioning Le Fanu! :)

I'll "third" Benson's THE ROOM IN THE TOWER. (I have the collected works edition, too...) And, THE HORLA, by Guy de Maupassant--I haven't read that one in years!

"The Upper Berth, F. Marion Crawford,
The Whistling Room, William Hope Hodgson

How about Gillian Flynn's The Grownup:

I'm new to this group, so I wouldn't know if you've read them already, but the shining or Carrie? (Both Stephen King)

I'll seventh The Willows. Early modern horror, free on kindle, old creepy ghost story? Sounds awesome :)

Yeah, I'll eighth the willows

Trinity, the theme is short ghost stories. We have read the shining but it was years ago.

Ok thank you, I wasn't sure

I'll say The willows too since I noticed it's pretty cheap as an e-book.

Monica wrote: "I'll say The willows too since I noticed it's pretty cheap as an e-book."

Often you'll be able to find a copy of these older tales for free on Amazon.

Here's a list from my brother's opinionated horror and weird fiction blog:

Thomas Ligotti
Gas Station Carnivals

MR James
Martin's Close

Clive Barker
Jacqueline Ess: Her Will And Testament

Ramsey Campbell
The Brood

De Maupassant
The Horla

Stephen King
The Reach

Koji Suzuki
Watercolours

Franz Kafka
The Burrow

Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Yellow Wallpaper

TED Klein
The Events at Poroth Farm

Arthur Machen
The White People

HP Lovecraft
The Whisperer in the Darkness

Simon Kurt Unsworth
The Elms

F. Marion Crawford
The Upper Berth

The Whisper in the Darkness is amazing. Though my favorite Lovecraft has to be The Thing on the Doorstep

My favorite of his is the shadow over innsmouth.

Latasha wrote: "My favorite of his is the shadow over innsmouth."

That one is my favorite, too!

Kimberly wrote: "Latasha wrote: "My favorite of his is the shadow over innsmouth."

That one is my favorite, too!"

Mine is The Haunter in the Dark or The Outsider (which was the first one I read age 14 and it blew my mind haha).

This whole thread makes me smile.

I'm so glad to hear that Jonathan!