Safe Return Doubtful

English Ghost Story – Published 1912

This gothic tale of ghosts written by EF Benson in 1912 is worthy of a short review by way of recommendation. I don’t usually review short stories unless they are a bit special, and likely to stay in the mind. I’m a big Benson fan, having read his collected Ghost Stories, and listened to the excellent audio version, read by Mark Gatiss.

Charles Linkworth is a prisoner condemned to be executed who stubbornly refuses to requests by the prison chaplain that he confess to his crimes before his imminent demise. The execution is carried out without any confession. The next day, however, the telephone in the prison hospital rings and it is a voice claiming to be Linkworth begging to speak to make his confession to the chaplain.
Benson creates an atmosphere that few other writers in the genre can do, even when if given any serious thought the plot may be dubious.

Linkworth waits until it is too late for his confession to have any impact on his soul. It’s good for the story of course, but less so for him. And it’s with some mirth that one can imagine where, in the land of the soulless dead, he would find a phone in order to call the hospital…

My GoodReads score 4 / 5