The Ghost Pirates

Rating:
Summary: pretty good ghost story
Review: a ghost story of the classical style. strange things starts happening on a ship. is it haunted? are there ghost pirates trying to take over? it is well written. well worked. but somehow, the real horror escapes.

Rating:
Summary: Creepy and Effective
Review: A profoundly effective horror tale. Hodgson writes with a command of the language and has a seemingly thorough understanding of what it takes to raise the reader's gooseflesh. It surpassed my expectations, in terms of the thematic implications of the story that there are dark forces lurking below our perceptions of reality, forces that can and will strike without notice. Well-written and very effective in terms of the scares it provides, it will resonate with you long after you've read it, despite the fact it's an old fashioned ghost story. Those of us who are familiar with Lovecraft will readily detect the influence that Hodgson had on Lovecraft. Highly-recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The Devil in the Deep Blue Sea
Review: Seaman Jessop doesn't believe the stories about the Mortzestus being haunted, attributing them to the usual superstitions sailors develop. But from the time he signs on board the merchant vessel and departs from port in San Francisco, nothing aboard the ship seems right. Shadows appear to board from beneath the sea at night, and leave the same way, without a trace. Indistinct figures stalk the masts, and sails inexplicably come loose to knock men to their death on the deck. Voices are faintly heard, whispering conspiratorially. And eventually, ships even seem to be sighted - beneath the surface of the water. No one believes Jessop, at first. But one by one, as occurrences aboard the haunted Mortzestus become more difficult to explain away, the doomed crew start experiencing the apparitions themselves - and fearing for their very lives.

This book is a masterpiece of maritime menace. Nothing is ever overtly seen, but always hinted-at and suggested. There is the constant feeling of something malignant always just out of sight, ready to pounce on the unwary bystander when he least expects it. Author William Hope Hodgson was a merchant marine himself, between the ages of 14-22, at the turn of the last century, and his characters and dialogue are fully authentic as a result - he makes the reader feel the salt spray, and the roughness of the rigging as sails are secured. H. P. Lovecraft was heavily influenced by Hodgson's works, and it shows.

It's wonderful to see this long-neglected horror classic back in print. There is another edition out as well, combining this excellent (though short) novel with Hodgson's "Carnacki the Ghost Finder" stories.