Horror stories have always been a favorite for many a reader. As if they were a ghoul they lure you into reading them, they trap you fast in their pages, they tangle you with the plot, they try to gore you but never succeed in doing so. They are just figments of imagination and remain as such.

Interested since his childhood in the ‘penny dreadfuls’ Charles Dickens showed a constant fascination for all eerie and uncanny matters but never losing a balanced and sensible sight on the point. At least, so they say.

The stories in this volume all come from different times and sources: ‘The Pickwick Papers,’ ‘Nicholas Nickleby,’ ‘Xmas Stories,’ and weeklies and annuals such as ‘House- hold Words,’ and ‘The Keepsake.’ The bleak view of society generally present in these major works does not escape the ghost stories, but they are seasoned with the odd and grotesque. Maybe reflecting the disturbing feelings aroused when his nursemaid used to tell him horror stories.

So what’s the itch that makes you go towards those spine-bound pages which can give your such a hard time? It must be the same that led these two ramblers of the story of the "Bride’s Chamber" to step into the house with the aim of spending a whole night inside and try to find out what was actually going on in there. I might be wrong but I’d swear I could find parallels with successful movies of the present day.

But if what calls your attention is what love has got to do with the queer you shouldn’t miss ‘The Queer Chair.’ When the prize is an eternal topic, the story can make us wonder who deserves it: the lucky traveler or the "...drawback to the beauty of the whole picture, ...," as it is depicted by Boz. I might say there is a lot to be discussed here if we want to speak about equality.

"The Signalman" is a story of today (if it weren’t for the ‘vapour’ of the train.) The rhythm is steady and nimble. Paced, if you want, by the schedule of the trains. We must admit the the ‘Did I ever see you before’? question is in need of further scientific research. Why do we think we met someone before? Just take a look at your own life. Some will pretend they never saw you before and others may keep pondering about it even when you have parted again. Did it ever happen to you? Try and check the story.

And don’t forget that all this is To Be Read at Dusk.

Despite the fact everybody knows ‘A Christmas Carol’ as the prototype of ghost story or ghost story, he wrote many more for Xmas. Another one included here.