The Water Ghost and Others

American John Kendrick Bangs created a subgenre of modern literature -- Bangsian fantasy, it's called, a form fantasy set at least partly in the afterlife. Born in Yonkers, New York, he went to Columbia University (where he edited the school's literary magazine) and went on to work as an editor -- on "Life" magazine, and later at "Harper's Magazine," "Harper's Bazaar," "Munsey's Magazine," "New Metropolitan," and "Puck," which was then the foremost American humor magazine. Included in this volume are a number of Bangs's tales, including "The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall," "The Specter Cook of Bangletop," "The Speck on the Lens," "A Midnight Visitor," "A Quicksilver Cassandra," "The Ghost Club," "A Psychical Prank," and "The Literary Remains of Thomas Bragdon."