This is an excellent collection of traditional ghost stories. The stories are pretty straightforward ghost yarns, but Wilkins tends to focus on women protagonists which is uncommon in the genre for the time, even when a woman was penning the tale. Her women are intelligent and clever (the men are mostly peripheral, but range from skeptic to outright foolish). She also has fairly developed characters for the era. And Ms. Freeman can get particularly eerie, especially in the title story, The Southwest Chamber, and The Vacant Lot.
Each one is as much psychological horror as it is the conventional ghost story most Victorians would have written. The titular tale in particular is a chilling portrayal of gaslighting before the term was even adopted. Luella Miller is technically some kind of psychic vampire yet also works as a metaphor for narcissism and toxic relationships. The interplay between characters is overall so realistically done that the terror and confusion of the paranormal is only heightened. "The Southwest Chamber" especially was downright reeling – imagine looking at wallpaper you've seen almost everyday and suddenly it's . . . wrong.
Contents
The wind in the rose bush — The shadows on the wall — Luella Miller — The southwest chamber — The vacant lot — The lost ghost.
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