The casebook of John Bell, a 'professional exposer of ghosts', who solves mysteries in haunted houses.

The name L T Meade, a pseudonym for Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith, rarely brings a sign of recognition.Although she wrote mainly for young girls she also wrote across many genres including sensational, religious, historical, adventure and romances. In all, her credits add up to over 300 titles.Born in Brandon, County Cork in Ireland in 1844 she began her prolific career as a writer when she was a mere 17 years of age and was first published in 1872.In 1879 she mar...

Writing can be a lonely art. Distractions and writers block are just two of the many impediments to a burnished stream of prose. But sometimes two heads really can be better than one. When one author decides to team up with another, either occasionally or full time, their new creations seem to amplify and encourage the words and ideas of each writer, helping to create narratives that are both new, and perhaps beyond the scope of just one of them. Collaborating and sounding off of one anoth...

In this series we turn the pages of classic short stories to put together the literary building blocks of how a particular genre or theme began, how it built its foundations to become the well-loved and well-worn genre that it is today.Do authors have the same ideas at more or less the same time? Or can they sniff out an opportunity as to which way the tastes of an audience are moving.Success undoubtedly builds success and in literary terms we can more politely say that imi...

An author’s talents may seem obvious and indisputable as they move words and ideas into gathered phrases and stories.But where do these ideas and stories come from? A lonely thought that suddenly gathers form? An inspiration from a Muse? A suggestion from an everyday event?Perhaps in the case of their darker, more malevolent stories, other forces are at work. They help to nourish single words into sentences and paragraphs that ease themselves from the shadows and are sudden...

A Master of Mysteries is a collection of six seemingly impossible (supernatural?) cases narrated by Mr. John Bell, the well-known ghost-hunter who seeks to debunk and expose the truth behind ghosts and haunting.In his own words, Bell “proposes to relate the histories of certain queer events, enveloped at first in mystery, and apparently dark with portent, but, nevertheless, when grappled with in the true spirit of science, capable of explanation.""The Mystery of th...

The name L T Meade, a pseudonym for Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith, rarely brings a sign of recognition.Although she wrote mainly for young girls she also wrote across many genres including sensational, religious, historical, adventure and romances. In all, her credits add up to over 300 titles.Born in Brandon, County Cork in Ireland in 1844 she began her prolific career as a writer when she was a mere 17 years of age and was first published in 1872.In 1879 she mar...

It so happened that the circumstances of fate allowed me to follow my own bent in the choice of a profession. From my earliest youth the weird, the mysterious had an irresistible fascination for me. Having private means, I resolved to follow my unique inclinations, and I am now well known to all my friends as a professional exposer of ghosts, and one who can clear away the mysteries of most haunted houses....I propose in these pages to relate the histories of certain queer events, envelope...

An author’s talents may seem obvious and indisputable as they move words and ideas into gathered phrases and stories.But where do these ideas and stories come from? A lonely thought that suddenly gathers form? An inspiration from a Muse? A suggestion from an everyday event?Perhaps in the case of their darker, more malevolent stories, other forces are at work. They help to nourish single words into sentences and paragraphs that ease themselves from the shadows and are sudden...

In these more welcome days of equality between the sexes we usually forget that the often cited ‘Gentler Sex’ can have dark and disturbing trains of thought that are more than the equal of their male brethren. Indeed, they can manipulate words in a matter of lines from comforting and loving to dark, foreboding and utterly terrifying. These femme fatales really do create stories that leech vile characters into dark and disturbing quite horrific narratives.

The stories typically involve a protagonist detective or amateur sleuth who confronts various enigmatic situations, such as mysterious disappearances, puzzling crimes, or perplexing occurrences. As the narrative unfolds, readers are presented with clues and red herrings, leading them on a journey of deduction and suspense as they attempt to unravel the mysteries alongside the protagonist.Robert Eustace and L. T. Meade were skilled storytellers who specialized in crafting engaging and suspe...

The name L T Meade, a pseudonym for Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith, rarely brings a sign of recognition.Although she wrote mainly for young girls she also wrote across many genres including sensational, religious, historical, adventure and romances. In all, her credits add up to over 300 titles.Born in Brandon, County Cork in Ireland in 1844 she began her prolific career as a writer when she was a mere 17 years of age and was first published in 1872.In 1879 she mar...