Illusions of Precence: Lost Christmas Ghost Stories (British Library Hardback Classics) [Mains, Johnny]

Author: Johnny Mains

As clanging bells break the winter calm, a restless procession of spectral visitors draws near.

Eminent anthologist and seeker of forgotten tales Johnny Mains has once again delved into the archives of newspapers and long-lost periodicals to unearth "new" works of supernatural fiction from the Victorian and Edwardian eras, the golden age of the classic ghost story.

Filled with otherworldly messengers, rattling chains, the occasional mischievous phantom, and mounting suspense, this collection revives voices from the past and restores them to the present. A rich and atmospheric offering, it is essential reading for lovers of the ghostly and the Gothic.

Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
Published: 10/13/2026
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780712355933

About the Author

Johnny Mains is an award-winning editor known for uncovering lost and overlooked stories from literary archives. In recent years, he has focused particularly on recovering work by female authors, many of which have appeared in the Black Shuck Books anthologies A Suggestion of Ghosts and An Obscurity of Ghosts.

He has also edited collections showcasing the best of contemporary British horror and co-edited the Dead Funny anthologies of short stories by contemporary comedians with Robin Ince.