Ramblings on The Old Maid in the Winding Sheet by Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) penned one of the best ghost stories from 1800-1849 when he published "The Old Maid in the Winding Sheet" in 1837. This story is included in The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849: a Classic Ghost Anthology with comments and story background. The scary story is truly chilling throughout and for that reason shines above "Lady Eleanor's Mantle," which I believe to be his second best ghost story.

Hawthorne, of course, was no stranger to the supernatural genre. "The Minister's Black Veil" is one of the fine tales found in The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology.

For the record, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Wilhelm Hauff are the only authors to have stories in each anthology.

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Nathaniel Hawthorne's - Lady Eleanor's Mantle

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was no stranger when it came to telling a scary ghost story. His "Legends of the Province House" was mentioned as being exemplary by H.P. Lovecraft and his 1835 story titled "Graves and Goblins" is quite good. But this post is about Lady Eleanor's Mantle, which floats in at the 16th spot in my countdown of scary ghost stories for the first half of the nineteenth century.

"Lady Eleanor's Mantle" is a ghostly tale of pestilence and because of that it draws certain parallels to Edgar Allan Poe's "Mask of the Red Death," which is included in my book: The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Ghost Anthology. Poe's horror was published seven years later, in 1842, and he might have gathered inspiration from Hawthorne. 

Without giving away too much of Hawthorne's scary ghost story, it contains an insane person and is well worth a read. Enjoy.

 

#ladyeleanorsmantle #hawthorneghoststory #nathanielhawthorne #bestghoststories #classicghoststory #victorianghoststory