April 1 - "An Indian Ghost in England"

“An Indian Ghost in England”
by Rudyard Kipling
Tales of Horror & Fantasy (2008)

* * * (Good) Supernatural

A weary man on horseback decides to spend the night in a small town not far from his destination. After his meal he turns in to bed only to hear the not-so-distant wail of the ghost said to haunt this very village.

Kipling does a great job, in some fine and rambling sentences, of describing the setting of the story. In fact, aside from a few key actions, this story is essentially a painted picture of rural England in the chill and breeze of February. There is beautiful imagery, but not enough narrative. I’ve come to assume the twist ending, but this ending fell flat. You come expecting a ghost story – the setup and description and atmosphere promise as much – and you walk away with something…less. Grumbling aside, I thought the second paragraph – the one with the abundance of dashes (which I love to use and see) – was a treat. Following the meandering flow of the sentences was its own kind of grammatical adventure.