Editing Perceval Landon (section)

==Thurnley Abbey==
Landon's [[ghost story]] ''Thurnley Abbey'' was originally published in 1908 in his book ''Raw Edges''.  It is reprinted in many modern anthologies, including ''The 2nd Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories'', ''The Penguin Book of Horror Stories'' and ''[[The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings]]''. It is reminiscent of the stories of [[M.R. James]], who himself called it "almost too horrid".<ref>[http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pardos/ArchiveMRJLetter.html "An M.R. James Letter"]. Introduced and Annotated by Jack Adrian. ''Ghosts & Scholars'' magazine, Volume 8. Retrieved 18 August 2019.</ref> According to Neil Wilson, it ''"is ranked by some as one of the greatest ghost stories ever written. Landon's achievement is all the more impressive because of his use of well-worn subject matter. The tale's masterful development of atmosphere is a model of how even clichéd material can be given a new lease of life in the hands of a skilled writer."''<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Neil|title=Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950|date=2000|page=309}}</ref> [[Ramsey Campbell]] called the story "That most terrifying of English ghost stories". He reprinted it in his anthology ''Fine Frights: Stories That Scared Me'' (NT: Tor Books, 1988)

A man named Alastair Colvin is travelling on a boat with the narrator, and asks the narrator if he can sleep in his cabin, even though he has his own. The narrator is surprised by this but Colvin then narrates his tale which involves his travelling to Thurnley Abbey, recently inherited by Colvin's friend, John Broughton, who has recently taken ownership of the old abbey. A Mr. Clarke, the old retainer who had lived at the Abbey for many years, is reputed to have put about that a ghost haunts the Abbey, and seemed to have delighted in the fear that this had caused. Locals believe it, and though the new owner makes light of it, he seems not to be entirely convinced that it is not true, and after arranging for Colvin to stay overnight, asks him to "talk to it" <ref>{{cite web|url=http://gaslight.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/thurnley.htm|title=THURNLEY ABBEY|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050324074840/http://gaslight.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight/thurnley.htm|archivedate=24 March 2005|df=dmy-all}}</ref> if he sees a ghost.  Colvin spends the night in the house and encounters the ghost – an experience which changes his life. Henceforth he is afraid to sleep alone.

''Raw Edges'' also included the ghost story "Mrs Rivers's Journal" which [[Hugh Lamb (journalist)|Hugh Lamb]] has reprinted in his anthologies ''Gaslight Nightmares 2'' and "Gaslit Horror".