Collectors edition of Irish Ghost Stories

A new ‘collector’s edition’ of Irish Ghost Stories has been issued by Flame Tree Press today.

Back in 2021 project editor Gillian Whitaker invited me to write the introduction to the first version, which contained a selection of ghost stories from Irish authors in the 19th and early 20th centuries. I dusted off my first master’s degree — on Irish 19th Century supernatural fiction — for a quick reminder of the field, and conducted ancillary research. It’s gratifying to notice how much appreciation has been given to this area since I wrote that MA.

Back in the Victorian/Edwardian era, Irish authors were considered among the leading experts at fashioning eerie fiction, and in recent decades the prowess of those writers has been highlighted in academic text as well as in the number of re-issued collections and anthologies.

Irish Ghost Stories was published in 2022 as a paperback edition, and has gone on to sell quite well.

I was pleased when Gillian reached out to me last year about updating my introduction to reflect the addition of a few extra tales for a plush new volume. It was a treat to reflect again upon the work of that era, for the Gothic and the Ghost Story will always have a special place in my heart.

This new deluxe edition is foiled and embossed, with gilded edges, and contains 416 pages with 3 illustrations. So if you fancy a pretty book of spooky stories by Irish authors of an older era, this is a great purchase. No doubt you’ll be able to buy this from online retailers, or even ask your local shop to order it.