Victorians! discussion

Links to “Was it an Illusion?”

Project Gutenberg: https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/060...

Librivox: https://librivox.org/short-ghost-and-...

YouTube (excellent version after a short introduction by the reader): https://youtu.be/qfooxWUxgj8?si=OENzt...


Trigger Warning: This is not something I typically do, but I found the details of this story particularly grisly after the draining of the lake. It’s all very Victorian in its sensitivities, but also fairly disturbing.

Summary of “Was it an Illusion?” :

Was it an Illusion? (A Parson’s Story)

The narrator, Frazer, opens by telling us that the events occurred 17-18 years ago, when he worked, traveling throughout the country, as a Provincial Inspector of Schools. On this occasion, he was traveling, by railway then horse, from Drumley to Pit-End. However, once in the cart, he decided to take a “shortcut” on foot and, not surprisingly, lost his way in the fog.

At a fork in the path, Frazer first came upon a silent limping figure, then a lad with a fishing pole. Eventually, he makes his way to Pit-End and learns that the local squire has recently returned to BlackWater Chase after a 5 year absence. Frazer recalls that he knows the squire from their college days, and sends his card the following day.

Later, he walks up to the schoolhouses and finds a plaque stating that they had been rebuilt by the squire. Soon the lame schoolmaster, Ebenezer Skelton, appears, but denies that they met in the fog the previous day. In spite of his suspicions, Frazer finds the students well instructed and the men begin a discussion of the improvement of a playground. However, Inspector Frazer becomes distracted by the shadow of a third person, who does not appear to exist. Again, Skelton denies seeing the shadow, although he seems increasingly frightened, insisting that the shadow is a mere illusion.

On his return to the inn, the narrator finds his old friend, the squire, who convinces him to delay his next inspections so that they can enjoy some time together. Their respite includes riding, hunting, and exploring the squire’s coal mines.

The hunting goes well, but the lake has flooded into the mines during the night, and they must be pumped out. After breakfast, Frazer and Wolstenholme walk over to observe the workmen and the young lad with the fishing pole crosses their path. However, the squire denies seeing him and, once again, it seems Frazer is under an illusion. Soon they are able to view the exposed bed of the vanished lake, and the terrible sight which has also been exposed… an unburied corpse with a fishing rod.

The rest of the story is told through a letter from Wolstenholme to Frazer. After reading the details of the investigation and the fate of the murderer, the narrator echos the final words found in the letter. “Was it an illusion?”


How does the author draw us in and encourage the suspension of disbelief?

I think I may be a hardened ghost stories reader for this take - but this one didn't make the grade for me.

As always, love her writing style, but I feel like she really could have fleshed out the encounters more in this one. It all felt so after the fact. Or made him a bit more paranoid (?) that no one was believing what he was seeing. It came off as 'meh, that happened.'

This, of all so far, seemed a pay per word-er and a lesser carbon copy of the others. Hm!

She did drag this one out more than seemed necessary. The whole first section could have been pared down significantly.

Another enjoyable story, although also with some structural problems. These are fun reads that feel as if they were dashed off by the author, so I’m trying to enjoy them as just that (not easy to do). It’s somewhat like comparing a gourmet meal to something simple and home cooked - both can be nourishing in the right context.

This story seemed a little like a combination of the first two stories that we read. Getting lost on spooky, desolate moors occurred in the first one whilst there was an apparition drawing attention to a murder in the second.

If Amelia Edwards was writing these stories to appear in magazines, she would have to guarantee so many words to fill the column space required so maybe that is why she went to town on setting out the scene. It did leave the story unbalanced with the providential draining of the lake and revelation of the culprit racing though at the end.

The Inspector didn’t like the Uriah Heep like teacher from the start but the details and ‘confession’ ( again similar to story two) came quick and easy once the body was found.

Nevertheless the story kept my interest to the end.

You’ve put your finger on it, Trev. The opening scenes seemed dragged out because the ending was so rushed. It put the overall story out of balance. But I’d still have gotten goosebumps if listening around a hearth fire.

I liked the description of his journey through the desolate moor, but agree that the ending was a bit rushed. I enjoyed it.

Definitely one of the grislier stories, but I am impressed by how well Edwards evoked the place and atmosphere.