Medium Rare: Ghostly Stories from Rare Books

By Meredith Mann, Specialist II
October 30, 2014
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

On Halloween, we pull back the curtain between real and unreal, reveling in the spooky, mysterious, and inexplicable. What better way to celebrate the holiday than communing with the spirits and ghosts who reach out to us from the pages of the Rare Book Division?

The Victorian spiritualists were fascinated by communicating with the Great Beyond, searching for unquiet spirits through writing, art, and photography. One such spiritualist, Miss Georgiana Houghton, claimed to channel ghostly artists for her drawings, which we have reproduced on lithographed cards. Her fellow medium Isaac Post communicated with famous deceased Americans, passing along timely abolitionist messages from founding fathers George Washington and Benjamin Franklin in his Voices from the Spirit World, published in 1852. These claims of otherworldly abilities did not go unchallenged: we also have an 1888 broadside poster advertising Kate Fox and Charles Starr, who promised to expose the tricks of "spirit rapping mediums" at New York's Lyceum Theatre.

A collection of spiritualist items from the NYPL Rare Book Division

A collection of spiritualist items from the NYPL Rare Book Division

If you're looking for ghost stories, why not start with the Bard himself? Shakespeare's Hamlet begins with Hamlet encountering the ghost of his father, who demands vengeance for his wrongful death. Eric Gill illustrates this scene in our 1933 Limited Editions Club copy, and his black-and-white wood engravings conjure an eerie mood. Or, you can turn to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who trades in the relentless logic of Sherlock Holmes for a flashlight and quavering voice, contributing a story to Dreamland and Ghostland, "an original collection of tales and warnings from the borderland of substance and shadow."

The ghost of Hamlet's father appears in this scene from Shakespeare's play

The ghost of Hamlet's father appears in this scene from Shakespeare's play

It's not surprising that our Beadle Dime Novel Collection includes some good ghost stories. These short, inexpensive volumes were the comic books of the nineteenth century, full of rollicking adventure, hair-raising danger, and feats of courage and heroism. For a spooky read, the collection includes Edwin Emerson's The Phantom Hunter, or, Love After Death.

The cover of Edwin Emerson’s The Phantom Hunter, Or, Love After Death

The cover of Edwin Emerson’s The Phantom Hunter, Or, Love After Death

If you would rather laugh than hide under your blankets, John Maddison Morton takes a lighter approach with My Husband's Ghost: A Comic Interlude in One Act, an 1837 play from the George Arents Collection of Books in Parts. In the play, a potential suitor attempts to woo a woman by impersonating the ghost of her deceased husband. After being commanded by the ghost to marry anew, the widow quips, "I was never obedient to a living husband — not likely I should be to a dead one." Things get even more complicated when the very same husband appears on the scene to reunite with his dear wife.

 A Comic Interlude in One Act

The cover of John Maddison Morton’s My Husband’s Ghost: A Comic Interlude in One Act

Whether you're in the mood for something seriously scary or fiendishly funny, we have you covered. Just open a book to channel a spirit of your own!