Should Christians spurn the cult of the dead which seems to possess millions of people in the weeks leading up to Halloween? If so, should they also spurn anything creepy on All Hallows Eve? Should they boycott Halloween altogether, keeping their eyes focused on the great feast of All Hallows on the following day? These [...]
William Gilmore Simms When it comes to stories that make your hair stand on end everyone’s mind understandably goes to master of macabre Edgar Allan Poe. But what did Poe himself consider the best ghost story? Of William Gilmore Simms’s short story “Grayling, or Murder Will Out,” Poe wrote “it is really an [...]
At the same time that writers were bringing depth of character to the gothic setting in the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe revitalized the genre in mid-century America. Suddenly Tales of Horror had a distinctly American flair and a surprising psychological depth. This nuance captivated readers then and still does today. Two hundred and fifty [...]
The ghost story was the perfect vehicle for Russell Kirk to extend his own sense of awe-filled wonder to a wider audience. He was keenly aware of the need for romance and mystery in everyday life—and how hard it was to achieve it in America. He created for his readers one of those places in [...]
I have to admit that I did not immediately warm to Karen Ullo’s novel. This was due to my own prejudice against both historical fiction and women’s romance. I was mistaken. Ullo won me over, and I came to admire and root for her protagonist, a tough but tender Frenchwoman. In my continued trawl through [...]
Tales and stories are an elementary wonder because they touch the nerve of the ancient instinct of astonishment. Wonder and astonishment can prepare our minds and hearts to receive truth just as soil receives seed; one such truth-bearer is Lois Lowry’s “Gathering Blue.” According to G.K. Chesterton, tales and stories are an elementary wonder because they [...]
As a novelist, Hilaire Belloc was prolific though not always particularly adept. The one notable exception is his "Belinda" of 1928. Subtitled “A Tale of Affection in Youth and Age,” Belloc believed that this late novel was the one work of fiction with which he could feel satisfied. Hilaire Belloc was one of a rare [...]
What do the films of Frank Capra (It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, You Can’t Take it With You, Lady for a Day, Lost Horizon, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Meet John Doe, etc.), the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein (The Sound of Music, The King and I, Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific, [...]
The door slammed shut. The doors could close themselves with a button, but she slammed it shut anyway. She walked around to the driver's side of the door. The boy sat in the backseat with his seatbelt so tight that he had to squirm his belly to loosen it up as he slobbered on a [...]
“Since that night, I have a fire within me, which I cannot quench. I tried knowing God through reason. But now I must share the truth and the certainty that God has confirmed in my heart. I never thought a sense of peace and the passion of fire could reside in one’s heart simultaneously.” The [...]
With the publication of "An Ocean Full of Angels," Peter Kreeft is proving that he can emulate C.S. Lewis in writing great apologetic fiction, as well as non-fiction. Indeed, of all the novels written this century which I have read—and I have read many—this stands alongside the best. An Ocean Full of Angels, by Peter [...]
Daniel McInerny’s novel is a fine effort and an absorbing and satisfying read. But does he meet the challenges facing the writer of modern Catholic fiction: to somehow tiptoe around the masters, but still stand on their shoulders; to avoid the story being pastiche or preachy, while still allowing the tabernacle lamp to glow in [...]
Beauty is there, if only we would heed its call. In the midst of the earthly city, with all its problems, we need to heed the call of the Heavenly City which is right there in front of us. My advice to everyone (writers included): go to church, discover beauty, discover God. Alexander Lucie-Smith [...]
I asked the old priest about what is called “Quietism.”A friend had given me an old copy of Molinos’ Spiritual Guide, and I knew that the writer had been condemned and imprisoned for life, and yet I could not understand in what lay his crime. “It is difficult to put into words,” said the priest, [...]