A Curious Experience

Winter Tales continue through the twelve days of Christmas, until Epiphany, so we have a couple more to go! Our first post-Christmas tale is “A Curious Experience,” by Ellen Wood (1814-1887), editor and owner of Argosy magazine.

Johnny Ludlow accompanies his friend John Whitney, and John’s mother, to the seaside spa town of Pumpwater. It’s supposed to be a rest vacation for the sickly John to recover his health. But there’s something not right about John’s beautiful bedroom.

You can read “A Curious Experience” here.

The story is another selection from Ellen Wood’s long running Johnny Ludlow series; I shared a great Johnny Ludlow Halloween tale about two years ago. To quote myself from that blog post:

Johnny Ludlow is the narrator and attributed author of several stories that Wood wrote for the Argosy, starting in 1868; apparently she published anonymously to hide the fact that she was in fact the primary contributor to the magazine that she also edited. She acknowledged her authorship when she began to publish the stories in book form.

Reality or Delusion?

The trick or treat festivities may be curtailed for us this year, but that just leaves more time for reading! In time for Halloween, an All Hallows’ evening themed ghost story, by Ellen Wood (1814-1887), the long-time editor and eventual owner of Argosy magazine.

Ellen Wood (1814-1887) Source: Wikimedia

“Why, that,” said Harriet. “They believe that the dead are allowed to revisit the world after dark on the Eve of All Souls; that they hover in the air, waiting to appear to any of their living relatives, who may venture out, lest they should forget to pray on the morrow for the rest of their souls.”

Strictly speaking, Harriet is talking about the evening of November 1, not the evening of October 31, but if you interpret “Hallowe’en” to mean “All Hallows’ evening” rather than “All Hallows’ eve,” then we still have a Halloween ghost story, right?

• Read Reality or Delusion?: The story of a love triangle that doesn’t end well.

Ellen Wood first published “Reality or Delusion?” in Argosy magazine in December, 1868. The story was then recollected into her short-story-cycle novel Johnny Ludlow (1874), the first of six such novels/collections. Johnny Ludlow is the narrator and attributed author of several stories that Wood wrote for the Argosy, starting in 1868; apparently she published anonymously to hide the fact that she was in fact the primary contributor to the magazine that she also edited. She acknowledged her authorship when she began to publish the stories in book form.

“Reality or Delusion?” is a nicely told ghost story on its own, and also an inviting introduction to Johnny Ludlow, his family the Todhetleys, and the village of North Crabb. The story teases more anecdotes from Johnny’s life, and I do plan on checking out the full collection (maybe several of them). More tales from Ellen Wood may be forthcoming!

In the meantime, enjoy this tale, and have a safe Halloween.

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For more on Ellen Wood, see The Ellen Wood website.