Well, as mentioned in the monthly reading thread, I've been going through a lot of the work of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, one of the originators of the classic ghost story, and also one who wrote several classic mystery novels in the mid-19th century (in fact, in modern terms, he may have invented the "locked-room" sort of mystery tale).
Le Fanu is one who, though he seems to be ever gaining more recognition, went through a long period of eclipse following his death in 1873, partly because many of his best stories were published anonymously in various magazines, and partly because of the shift within a few years to a more modernist approach; Le Fanu's style was decidedly of the more laconic, relaxed, old-fashioned prose sort which accumulates detail and builds an atmosphere slowly... but all the more effective for that, as he uses it to (appropriately) creep up on you, gradually taking you from a leisurely, almost chatty beginning to some of the nastiest concepts to be encountered in supernatural fiction; and even there, it may take several readings to get the full depth of the diabolism of what he has in mind, so that his tales grow with each reading.
For example... one of his most famous tales, "Green Tea" left me somewhat cold on first reading, but nowadays is one of my personal favorites, as with each reading, the ghastliness of the situation grows, and the implications of the view of the universe within that story become more and more appalling as each layer surfaces upon a new reading. He's a subtle, but very powerful writer, and this concentrated reading of his work has caused my respect for him to grow by leaps and bounds. He is also one of the few writers who can blend a sly, homely humor with the truly horrific, and use the tension between the two to greatly increase the effect of his tale, constantly unsettling what your preconceptions are on how such a thing should work. In that way, at least, he's a surprisingly modern writer.
At any rate, I thought, for those who are interested, I'd also post some links to some of his work, and certainly I encourage anyone who appreciates a well-told tale, and some truly chilling ideas and imagery, to look him up. I don't think you'll be sorry you did...
http://www.horrormasters.com/Collect...S_Col_Fanu.htm http://www.horrormasters.com/Collect..._Col_Fanu2.htm Browse By Author: L - Project Gutenberg
Enjoy!