"I heard one cry in the night, and I heard one laugh afterwards. If I cannot forget that, I shall not be able to sleep again" M.R. James.
Scary but comforting, ghost stories old and new play an important roll in blending our familiar with something supernatural that we can not explain. Nonchalant characters creating melacholic atmospheres, bizarre sumnambulatory visions and solemn apparitions, all inextricable. "The aim of a good ghost story is to make the blood freeze, pleasurably," M.R. James. The English writer, godfather of ghost stories mixes archaeological artifacts and old mythology in a lot of his stories. All subjects I like to touch on with the designs here at London T-Shirt Company.
From the sci-fi tinged supernatural writings of H.P. Lovecraft including The Call Of Cthulhu, to Edgar Allen Poe, the originator of detective stories, ghost stories are a great tradition. A regular feature at Christmas are the BBC adaptations of various stories, all done superbly including the freaky 1970's The Ash Tree, which signifies the love of the weird and psychedelic during that era.
Recently there has been various ghost story collections published which offer a chance to read different, often lesser known authors chilling stories. A favourite is The Tales Of The Weird series of books by The British Library. The legendary author of Brighton Rock Graham Greene, has a fantastic eerie story in the Mortal Echoes edition. Prior to reading this compilation, I had no idea Graham Greene wrote ghost stories. It can also add to my fasination when the setting is familiar, often in parts of London I've haunted.
Check out our unique one of a kind tops inspired and informed by my love of so many ghost stories.
A few of my favourites are:
Lost Hearts M.R. James
A Warning To The Curious M.R. James
Casting The Ruins M.R. James
The Signalman Charles Dickens
The Willows Algernon Blackwood
Kiss me, Again Stranger Daphne Du Maurier
A Little Place off the Edgware Road Graham Greene
The Last Laugh D.H. Lawrence