This volume collects the first two compilations of ghost stories written by H. Russell Wakefield
(They Return at Evening
and
Others Who Returned)
and six stories published in
Weird Tales
. Wakefield represented the end of the original 'antiquarian ghost story' authors, staying true to form while many others transitioned to more ghoulish or Lovecraftian horrors.
"The ghostly influences at work in these stories are all malignant, powerful. One seeks in vain to escape the sinister fate that they bring. Wakefield does not dispel the ghastly atmosphere by explaining as natural phenomena, his ghosts. He leaves them there, ghosts to the end. They are horrible and fantastic, and fearsome." (1928 review)
"These are stories of lasting quality, stories which should go on the library shelf, to be read or reread on dark Winter evenings. They are far superior in plot to many of the so-called classics of the Victorian era, and every bit as finely written." (1929 review)