Book Review: "Phantoms of Kernow" ed. by Joan Passey

Full Title: "Phantoms of Kernow: Classic Tales of Haunted Cornwall" edited by Joan Passey

Don't be surprised that this is yet another review of a British Library Tales of the Weird collection. I live for this collection. If you have read some of my stuff in the past, you'll see that sometimes I can overhype these collections for myself and that means that they can (though rarely) fail to meet my expectations - but that's on me. More than often though, they are the perfect answer to a cold rainy night, or a sweaty summer night where you can't sleep because of the heat. If you want to read a comprehensive account of my favourite anthologies in the series, then click here for more.

The editor has selected stories from the 1860s to the 1950s and shows us the weird things that go on in the dark in the depths of Cornwall. This is definitely a sort-of sequel to Cornish Horrors: Tales from the Land's End which is edited by the same person. I would say though this anthology was definitely intriguing, the first one felt a lot more original and out-there. That's probably because I now know what to expect instead of being shocked into something peaking my interest.

One thing I enjoyed about this anthology which is definitely an advantage in its precursor too, is the way in which the horrors of Cornwall often tie into the folklore that comes from that area. The Spectre Ship of Porthcurno definitely plays with that idea. Opening the anthology we have a ship that is normally seen at nightfall, sailing into the coast like a spectre. There's a dark story behind it, a wonderful atmosphere surrounding it - it feels all dark and eerie and the writing is fantastic. If you want to read something that feels like there's an eerie sense of dread creeping around then I recommend starting with this collection.

But if you'd rather have something that feels more like a ghostly version of the Pirates of the Carribean franchise then you probably want to look forward to reading The Wrecker and the Death Ship - which was another story I enjoyed. It's got everything. It has a backstory which is dark and weird, the involvement of pirate ships and some creepy folklore to make it all, yet seem quite authentic. There's not just that though, there's also exorcists, priests and the devil himself. This one was incredible and probably my favourite in the whole anthology. If you want to be seriously creeped out then you just have to read the language that is used to tell this story. Yes, it feels a lot older than it actually is - but I think that might be the whole point.

The Man Who Coined his Blood into Gold feels like it could be a Grimm's Fairy Tale because of the way it is written. It's about...well, exactly what the title states. It begins with a man begging to get out of his poor state and hopefully, come upon some money - but things don't always go your way when you beg for money. We learn about similar themes in stories like The Monkey's Paw by W.W Jacobs - but this story has the language of a folk tale instead of a horror story. I'm honestly not sure which is more frightening. Also, this story has a lot of dialogue so, if I enjoyed it even though there's tons of dialogue, you know there's something worth reading in there.

Themes of ghost ships, haunted coast lines, the mines and more, Phantoms of Kernow presents the reader with reasons to probably take their domestic travel summer beach trip somewhere else. With raw, intense atmospheres and folklore which could honestly be real for all we know, the ghosts of this anthology seem to have been around for centuries. From inspirations for Stephen King's stories to a writing by Daphne Du Maurier, from E.F Benson to Hugh Walpole - Joan Passey has put together some great writers within and aims to scare the wits out of the reader with things that haunt the beautiful British coastline. Cornwall is such a fascinating place. Even though I expected things this time around, I would happily read another Cornwall-based anthology.