Discovered this darkly glittering wee gem of a ghost story in a battered copy of The Times Anthology Of Ghost Stories.A book first put together in 1975 and which was the result of a competition put together by the newspaper to collect thirteen stories for under this very banner. A competition which had as its judges Kingsley Amis, Patricia Highsmith and Christopher Lee.(Oh well, no pressure there, then.)The first prize of this competition went to Michael kernan and it merits such a distinction. I do not really like the idea of these types of competitions as the art form is so subjective. I have also discovered the results generally do not age well but in this instance the competition appears to have produced a very respectable crop.
The Doll Named Silvio would have stood out even if I had not known the results of the competition before starting reading it.Sure, it is the stuff of Henry James and even MR James;a governess
This is Fad gadget.Back in the day He performed a song called Saturday Night Special which I really liked."Every man should have the right to own a gun, Every man Should have the right to shoot someone." Very haunting song.
