Stranger Than Fiction: Being Tales from the Byways of Ghosts and Folk-lore

Mary L. LewesProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.7
Word count
323K words
Chapters
33

Tags

English Originals Folk and Supernatural TalesFolk Literature Suspense ThrillerMysterious PhenomenaLegendary LivesMysterious VibeOdd TalesStory CollectionGhost StoriesOral TraditionFolk CustomsFolk Legend

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Stranger Than Fiction: Being Tales from the Byways of Ghosts and Folk-lore by LewesAuthor: Lewes, Mary L.,Language: English, Class: BF: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Psychology, Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Release Date: Jul 4, 2011

Editor's review

This book is a collection of ghost stories and folk tales compiled by Mary L. Lewes, a popular work in folklore and supernatural subjects. The author presents ghostly rumors and rural strange tales circulated in various places in a storytelling manner, not seeking theoretical argumentation but emphasizing the preservation of the atmosphere and details of oral narrative. For today's readers, its value is twofold: first, as samples of folklore records, it allows observation of how people in a particular period told of fear, death, and the unknown; second, as leisure reading, the pieces are short and independent with a brisk pace, suitable for browsing in fragmented time. It should be noted that the language and ideas in the book bear the marks of the era in which it was written, and some expressions may seem outdated to modern readers; it is better to read with an attitude of understanding rather than full acceptance. Overall it is suitable as an introductory reader for folklore enthusiasts or as material reference for literary writers.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read each piece independently; there is no need to follow order, and taking two or three at a time is enough.
  2. While reading, note recurring motifs such as omens and the return of the dead, to facilitate generalization.
  3. Cross-reference with introductory folklore materials to understand the social psychology behind the stories.
  4. Keep a sense of distance from outdated expressions, treating them as period texts rather than factual records.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33

FAQ

Is this book an academic research work? No. It is closer to a compilation and retelling of folk stories, emphasizing preservation of the narratives themselves and lacking the systematic annotations and theoretical framework of modern academic works; it is suitable as an introductory reader for understanding the strange-tale tradition.
Can I read it if my English is not good? This is the original English edition, and the language carries the expressive habits of the era in which it was written, posing a certain threshold for non-native readers. It is recommended to have at least intermediate English reading ability, or to read piece by piece with the help of dictionaries and auxiliary tools.
Is it suitable for children? It is not recommended to give it directly to young children. The book involves subjects such as ghosts and death, the atmosphere is rather eerie, and some ideas bear the color of an older era; parents should look through it themselves before deciding.
Why is it said to be like folklore material? Most of the collected pieces are strange tales circulated in rural areas, preserving the structure and details of oral telling. Such content is often used in folklore studies to observe group beliefs and narrative habits, and therefore has documentary value.

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About the author

Mary L. Lewes Author

Mary L. Lewes is an author about whom very little is known: her dates of birth and death, nationality, education and writing career cannot be traced in the available public records. Only one work by her is held in the collection, Stranger Than Fiction: Being Tales from the Byways of Ghosts and Folk-lore. Judging from the title and subtitle, the book gathers tales of the supernatural and folklore, drawing on ghost lore and the margins of popular tradition, and combining the collecting of strange stories with plain, engaging narration. Such material usually depends on atmosphere and narrative pacing, presenting rumours and beliefs in short-story form for readers interested in folklore and supernatural literature. Because biographical sources are so scarce, her career and wider influence cannot be assessed further, and this single work is the only window into her choice of subject and manner of telling.