Ghosts I Have Met and Some Others

In Short

This collection of humorous ghost stories follows a narrator whose encounters with the supernatural are defined less by terror than by exasperating inconvenience. From a spectral thief who uses phantom riches to mask a real-world burglary to a vengeful cockney ghost trapped by a high-powered electric fan, the book subverts traditional gothic horror through deadpan comedy. Set against the backdrop of late nineteenth-century American and British society, the narrative satirizes literary ambition, social etiquette, and human gullibility. It has endured for its lighthearted wit, clever situational comedy, and sharp subversion of classic hauntings.

The Story

The narrative begins on an agonizingly hot July night in New York City. Seeking relief from the heat, the narrator retires early, only to experience an intense and inexplicable chill. Expecting a sudden change in the weather, he layers on blankets and winter clothing, only to discover that the drop in temperature is caused by a terrifying phantom standing in the corner of his room. Shortly thereafter, on Christmas Eve, the narrator stays up late to display a brand-new solid silver service under the tree for his wife. He is interrupted by a dark figure who claims to be a ghost from realms beyond mortal knowledge. The entity entrances the narrator with tales of the pure gold and silver vessels used in the Elysian Fields until the clock strikes three, at which point the spirit vanishes down the back stairs. The following morning, the real silver is missing, and the narrator later identifies the supposed apparition in a Rogues' Gallery photograph as a master sneak-thief.

Later, after ordering a hundred cigars for a political meeting at his home, the narrator leaves the remaining twenty-four in an open box while his family spends a month in the mountains. Upon returning, he discovers the box is empty and suspects his caretaker, Barney O'Rourke, who uncharacteristically blushes and claims to have quit smoking.

During a trip to London for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, the narrator finds himself caught in an aggressive crowd on Trafalgar Square. Pushed violently against a small cockney man in front of him, the narrator tries to hold his ground, but the man threatens to haunt him until his dying day. True to his word, the cockney ghost invades the narrator's transatlantic voyage and later tampers with his literary career, writing bizarre, oversized poems under the narrator's name and submitting them to editors. To end the harassment, the narrator eventually leases a New York office and installs a ten-foot electric fan inside a hidden closet. When the ghost appears, the narrator turns on the machine, trapping the spirit against the back wall in a perpetual blast of wind for years.

In subsequent tales, literary anxieties take center stage. A stressed author named Thurlow is tormented by an evil, materialized double of himself that halts his writing progress, only to receive a masterwork manuscript from a mysterious stranger that presents a agonizing moral dilemma. Meanwhile, an author named Dawson flees to a cottage to finish a book, only to be struck by a strange force that makes his hair and his servant's pigtail stand completely erect. Finally, the collection explores darker territory during a trip to Keswick, where the narrator and his friend encounter Carleton Barker, a man haunted by a malevolent doppelgänger who commits awful crimes in his likeness. The saga ends dramatically when Barker stands in a room as his evil double is executed on the gallows elsewhere, fading into nothingness at the exact moment the twelfth bell tolls.

How It Unfolds

The phantom's chill Driven to bed by a oppressive heatwave, the narrator experiences a sudden, bone-chilling cold that no amount of blankets can warm. He soon realizes the freezing draft is caused by an appalling apparition standing in the corner.

The Christmas thief While setting out a new silver service beneath the Christmas tree, the narrator is distracted by a ghost boasting of the treasures in the Elysian Fields. The spirit vanishes at three in the morning, taking the actual silver service along with him.

The missing cigars Returning from a month in the mountains, the narrator finds his library cigar box completely empty. He confronts his caretaker, Barney, whose sudden decision to quit smoking and rare blush reveal his guilt.

A curse at the jubilee Wedged in a dense London crowd during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the narrator accidentally crushes a small cockney man. The aggrieved stranger vows to haunt the narrator for the rest of his life before vanishing into the throng.

The tormenting phantom The cockney ghost haunts the narrator aboard a steamship and later ruins his literary reputation by forging ridiculously long poems under his name. The narrator eventually traps the spirit in a room using a massive ten-foot electric fan.

The author's double Overwhelmed by deadlines, an author is haunted by an evil manifestation of himself that disrupts his work. A mysterious stranger delivers a brilliant manuscript to help him, forcing the writer to confront a severe crisis of conscience.

The Keswick mystery While traveling in Keswick, the narrator meets Carleton Barker, a man plagued by a sinister double who commits crimes under his name. Barker visits a friend's room and vanishes into thin air at the exact moment his double is hanged.

The People

• The Narrator: A dry, practical gentleman and writer who approaches supernatural occurrences with annoyance rather than terror. He wants to maintain his comfort, protect his belongings, and keep his literary reputation intact, but he is constantly hampered by absurd hauntings that force him to resort to inventive countermeasures.
• The Cockney Ghost: A former London cab-driver who dies and vows to haunt the narrator after being squished in a crowd. Petty, boastful, and vulgar, he seeks to ruin the narrator's peace and writing career until he is finally trapped by an industrial electric fan.
• Barney O'Rourke: The narrator's caretaker who is left in charge of the home during the summer. Though meant to guard the estate, he gives in to temptation and steals the narrator's remaining luxury cigars, revealing his guilt through an uncharacteristic blush.
• Mr. Thurlow: An anxious author struggling under the pressure of a looming publisher deadline. He is tormented by a terrifying phantom that takes his own likeness, leaving him unable to write until a strange benefactor offers him a stolen masterpiece.
• Dawson: A writer who retreats to the quiet Dampmere cottage to finish his major work. He wants total tranquility, but his plans are ruined when a mysterious aura turns his hair straight up and fills him with unexplainable dread.
• Carleton Barker: A troubled, pale man whose life is destroyed by an evil double committing atrocities in his name. Desperate to be free of the burden, he meets his final end when his ghostly counterpart is executed on the gallows.

In Its Own Voice

"I had retired at half-past seven, after dining lightly upon a cold salmon and a gallon of iced tea--not because I was tired, but because I wanted to get down to first principles at once, and remove my clothing, and sort of spread myself over all the territory I could..."

The narrator prepares to face an unbearable midsummer heatwave in his New York home before the sudden supernatural chill arrives.

"Next morning every bit of that silver-ware was gone; and, what is more, three weeks later I found the ghost's picture in the Rogues' Gallery in New York as that of the cleverest sneak-thief in the country."

Reflecting on a Christmas Eve encounter, the narrator realizes his ghostly visitor was nothing more than a living burglar with a convincing act.

"'In two minutes more,' he whispered, 'the rope will be adjusted about his neck; the black cap is even now being drawn over his cursed features, and--'"

Carleton Barker frantically counts down the final moments of his evil double's execution before vanishing into thin air.

What It's Really About

Beneath its comedic ghost stories, the book explores the anxieties of modern nineteenth-century life, particularly the fragile nature of personal identity and reputation. The stories repeatedly question the boundaries between the real world and the imaginary, exposing how easily people are deceived by clever tricksters or their own internal fears. Through double figures, fraudulent specters, and forged manuscripts, the text examines the terror of losing control over one's own name and creative work. It also pokes fun at the domestic vulnerabilities of the middle class, where home security, social status, and personal comfort are constantly threatened by outside intruders or domestic betrayals. Ultimately, the book lightheartedly suggests that the most haunting presences in life are often the absurdities of human nature and society.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy Victorian humor, classic ghost stories, and satirical comedy will find this collection thoroughly entertaining. Instead of focusing on graphic horror or dark gothic dread, the narrative delivers a charming blend of deadpan comedy and absurd situations that make the supernatural feel oddly mundane. The experience of reading it feels like listening to a witty storyteller in a cozy parlor, casually recounting the time he had to fight off a pestilent ghost with an electric fan.

The book does present a few minor challenges for contemporary readers. The nineteenth-century pacing can feel slightly relaxed, and the prose occasionally uses localized slang, British dialect, and dated cultural references from the 1890s. Additionally, minor characterizations—such as the brief inclusion of a Chinese servant spoken of through period stereotypes—reflect the unexamined racial attitudes of its time. However, for those interested in classic American humor and early supernatural fiction, the book remains a delightfully clever subversion of traditional ghost stories that leaves readers smiling at the sheer absurdity of its haunted encounters.