GOOD READS: Charles Dickens Wrote More Than One Ghost Story

 “Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world’s best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.” (Wikipedia)

Since readers seemed to appreciate my post about William Shakespeare, I decided to share a short post about another famous British writer, Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870). Unlike Shakespeare, hardly anybody challenges or questions whether Dickens is the true author of any of his works.  He is known by almost everyone as the man who wrote “A Christmas Carol“.  This novel is a literary masterpiece that has been adapted to film numerous times and has become part of the holiday tradition.  Every Christmas people want to see those ghosts! The popularity of this original work has overshadowed the fact that it wasn’t the ONLY ghost story Charles Dickens ever wrote.  Dickens had a fascination with supernatural phenomena and the existence of spirits or ghosts.  Because of his avid interest, he wrote several ghost stories. Enough to have them compiled into one volume for your reading pleasure.  That’s if you like a good ghost story!

Wordsworth Classics: “Complete Ghost Stories” by Charles Dickens

Original source

THE 16 GREATEST CHARLES DICKENS NOVELS

K-Drama Review: Delivery Man (2023)

Scriptwriters for Delivery Man get A+++ for their creativity.  A taxi service for ghosts?  What an unusual storyline.

A taxi service for ghosts? Seo Young Min (played by Yoon Chan Young), is a cab driver who discovers that he can see and hear ghosts. These wandering souls are unable to leave this world because when they departed this life, they had some unfinished business. He starts a service where he picks up these lingering souls, and helps them finish what needs to be done so that they can be delivered into the afterlife.

It proves to be a profitable business endeavor. Only …? His first ghost passenger is Kang Ji Hyun (played by Minah). Her problem is not so easy to solve because she has no memory of who she is and why she ended up in his taxi cab. But she does prove to be a valuable assistant and with her help, Seo Young Min can help his other ghost passengers pass on to the next world.

This series was released in 2023 and is only 12 episodes. Viki viewers rated it 9.3 out of 10 stars.

Read full review at PopGeeks: Delivery Man | Viki Original Korean Drama Series

Book Suggestions for Those Who Love to Read Ghost Stories

Do you love to read ghost stories?  

If so you might appreciate these suggestions.

PETER ACKROYD

Peter Ackroyd is an award-winning writer. He’s a poet, a biographer, a historian, and a mystery writer. He is prolific.  He even writes ghost stories!  The English Ghost: Spectres Through Time is one of his most popular writings.

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CHARLES DICKENS

Almost everyone knows "A Christmas Carol" is the most famous ghost story written by Charles Dickens. But did you know he wrote lots of other ghost stories?

"Throughout his literary career, he wrote more than two dozen ghost stories, many of which appearing as smaller tales tucked into larger novels, including The Pickwick Papers, Bleak House, and Nicholas Nickleby."  (Source)

The publishers of Oldstyle Tales Press describe their blog as "The Classic Horror Blog".  They published a list of "7 Best Ghost Stories by Charles Dickens (Not Including 'A Christmas Carol')".  But none on this list were buried inside another story.  There is one Dickens' tale that is credited with inspiring Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart.

• Charles Dickens Was a 'Fascinated Skeptic' of the Supernatural | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine
• Complete Ghost Stories of Charles Dickens (Wordsworth Classics)

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SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is beloved for his the fictional sleuth he crested, Sherlock Holmes. But he also published ghost stories. Much like Dickens he had a fascination with the paranormal or supernatural.  Unlike Dickens he is recognized by many as "the writer of one of English literature's best ghost stories".  He has even written "true" ghost stories, i.e. "supernatural non-fiction by Arthur Conan Doyle: "The Ghost of The Moat" & "A London Ghost".

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Read these ghost stories ny time/ Don't wait for Halloween.