The Surly Sullen Bell: Ten Stories and Sketches, Uncanny or Uncomfortable, with a Note on the Ghostly Tale

Writing from his haunted house at Mecosta, Michigan, one of the most isolated places on earth, Dr. Kirk takes you on eerie trips to visit deconsecrated churches, the drawing room of a poisoner, ancient cellars, Scottish castles, deserted houses off lonely roads, and the great nearly uninhabited wilderness. There is the chilling speculation of a major thinker behind each of these tales, and the vengeful ghosts of Russell Kirk select their contemporary victims with proper morbid care. In his forward, Dr. Kirk says, "More of the outer darkness than of the twilight zone, these tales are unabashedly Gothick. In them the reader may find hints of M.R. James, Henry James, and even Jesse James. I have no theory to account for ghosts: I merely recognize the existence of such phenomena...if I am asked whether I have ever perceived a ghost, why, I would be a poor dull creature if I hadn't, considering the places where I have gone and the stock I come from."