Publication Date: 15th July 2025
Genre: Paranormal, Folklore, Short Story Anthology
3.5 Stars
One Liner: An interesting collection
The book has a tagline of Otherworldly Tales of the Strange and Sublime and is a collection of twenty short pieces (as you can see, I didn’t say stories, as not all of them are fiction) written in the 19th and 20th centuries by famous authors. It contains tales based on Ireland’s rich folklore, modern stories with ancient and otherworldly elements, and tales of weird and macabre.
The collection is divided into the following categories:
• Folktales and Folk Beliefs (2 stories)
• Myths and Legends Reimagined (3 stories)
• Some Rural Ghosts and Uncanny Sounds (5 stories)
• Gothic Chills (3 stories)
• Strange and Dangerous Women (3 stories)
• Modern Horrors (4 stories)
The table of contents is followed by a detailed introduction that discusses the fascination with Irish mythology, how the culture (barely) survived through oral storytelling as Christianity did its best to wipe out paganism, the Celtic Revival, the political turmoil that lasted for decades, and more. This sets the tone for the book and explains how the works have been broadly classified with a bit of overlapping (inevitable).
Then, we have a publisher’s note about the language, attitude, etc., in the pieces that may not align with modern sensibilities. I love that the publisher highlights how they cannot be separated from their history. They say that only minor edits have been made to make the anthology feel more consistent in terms of style and sense. I appreciate this as I don’t believe in the idea of removing ‘problematic phrases’ from older works.
Each story is preceded by a detailed author bio (one page long), where the last paragraph provides a short insight into the story.
I usually prefer story-wise reviews for anthologies, but I realized that style may not work well for this one. So, I’m mentioning the ones that impressed me in some way.
• The Unquiet Dead by Lady August Gregory
• The Monks of Saint Bride by Herminie Templeton Kavanagh
• The Strange Voice by Dora Sigerson Shorter
• The Last of Squire Ennismore by Charlotte Riddell
• The Watcher O’ the Dead by John Guinan
• The Sea’s Dead by Katherine Tynan
• Julia Cahill’s Curse by George Moore (easily the best, though it is not a horror/ paranormal story)
• The Return of Niav by Dorothy Macardle
• The Rising of Elvira Tremlett by William Trevor
The writing styles need some time to get used to. It has outdated phrases and words that mean something entirely different today. Some of it has a thick Irish slang, and I did my best to wing it. Still, I prefer that the stories be read the way they were written rather than be toned down and rewritten for modern readers. They have a rustic and otherworldly charm, which goes well with the book’s theme.
To summarize, Uncanny Ireland is a well-put-together collection of classic stories dealing with paranormal, supernatural, and uncanny in some form. The editor’s efforts are evident in how well the book is structured and presented. If you try this book, I recommend reading only one or two stories per day.
Thank you, NetGalley and Trafalgar Square Publishing (British Library Publishing), for the eARC.
#NetGalley #UncannyIreland
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