Weird women Classic supernatural fiction by groundbreaking female writers: 1852-1923

Review by Booklist Review

Morton and Klinger refute the popular misconception that the early horror genre had few female writers--in reality, as they show, women writers were forerunners of the genre, often supporting their families through their work and gaining fame, only to be allowed to drift into obscurity and out of print. The two editors bring these authors back into the spotlight here. Many of the stories dig deeply into motherhood and society's expectations of women: two spinsters living a happy life are nevertheless haunted by dreams of a baby, a woman and her illegitimate child are turned out into the cold by a cruel patriarch, and the ghosts of children and mothers feature prominently in this collection. These tales were written by women with streaks of independence--some of them writing under pen names, some of them queer--and their rebellion shines through the subtext, from the strong butch farmer in Charlotte Riddell's "Nut Bush Farm" to the beautiful lady in carnations in Marie Corelli's "The Lady with Carnations." Feminist and horror-genre readers will jump on this compelling and spooky collection, to where Louisa May Alcott writes of seeds found in a mummy's chamber and where gorgeous women werewolves and mad scientists haunt these pages.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Library Journal Review

This enchanting book contains 21 short stories in the horror supernatural genre all written by women. Previous horror anthologies rarely included works by female authors, and editors Morton and Klinger (Ghost Stories) seek to remedy this gap with this compilation. Perusing old periodicals, library archives, and other anthologies, they create a collection that celebrates authors such as Louisa May Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Ellen Glasgow, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Each entry begins with a brief author biography, with stories exploring topics as varied as banshees, ghosts, mad scientists, mummies, raising the dead, and werewolves. Themes include haunting dreams, human sacrifice, murder, and psychosis, subject matter typically considered "unsuitable" for women at the time the stories were written. The pieces also illustrate vanished eras with depictions of old San Francisco, remote mining towns, antiquated social customs, and marked class distinctions. One anticipates a second volume to complement this excellent first set. VERDICT A feast of entertaining (and often scary) reads. Highly recommended for those interested in literature of the horror and supernatural variety.--Erica Swenson Danowitz, Delaware Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Media, PA

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