Showing results by author "Oliver Onions" in All Categories

Step into the whimsical world of George Oliver Onions, a celebrated British author known for his diverse body of work, including over 40 novels and captivating story collections. In this delightful social comedy set in late Victorian England, we meet Rollo Butterfield, the epitome of the compleat bachelor. Through Rollos affectionate and gently humorous observations, we are invited to explore the quirks of family and friends, all wrapped in Onions masterful storytelling. - Summary by Wikipedia and David Wales

Dive into the eerie world of Widdershins, a masterful collection of ghost stories by Onions, with its standout novella, The Beckoning Fair One. This tale follows an unsuccessful writer who retreats to an isolated house, seeking solitude to reignite his faltering creativity. As he delves deeper into his seclusion, his sensitivity and imagination blossom, but at a harrowing cost‚his art, his only companion, and his sanity unravel before our eyes. The narrative unfolds as a haunting exploration of possession by a mysterious feminine spirit or as a chilling account of a psychotic breakdown ...

The Beckoning Fair One stands as the most renowned and widely anthologized work of British author Oliver Onions. This haunting novella, part of the 1911 collection Widdershins, delves into the eerie and the unknown. A contemporary reviewer from The Athenaeum described it as a successful ghost story that weaves together imagination, horror, and an enigmatic atmosphere. The titular Fair One teeters on the edge of reality, leaving both the protagonist, Oleron, and the reader questioning his sanity. Set against the backdrop of a crumbling old house that may harbor its own sinister intentions, the ...

A man, a house, a ghost, and a murder. This whimsical tale that leads lyrically to a terrible undoing is consistently rated one of the best ghost stories ever written. The twist at the end is wholly unexpected and the listener is left guessing whether, Paul Oleron, a failing novelist is the victim of an evil succubus that haunts his house and his dreams, or he is guilty of a terrible betrayal.

At first blush, Widdershins is a conventional haunted house story involving an unsuccessful writer who moves into an empty house in hope that isolation will help his failing creativity. His sensitivity and imagination are enhanced by his seclusion, but his art, his only friend, and his sanity are all destroyed in the process. It can be interpreted as narrating the gradual possession of the protagonist by a mysterious, possessive feminine spirit, or as a realistic description of a psychotic outbreak culminating in catatonia and murder, told from the psychotic subject’s view.