*Title: ‘The Haunted Orchard’ by Richard Le Gallienne
Date Read: 06 October 2010
Available Online?: YES (Doc format)
Briefly: Escaping the confines of city life in order to enjoy the onset of Spring in a rural setting, the narrator takes up the rental of an empty New England farmhouse. A month later, while reposing in his orchard, something strange begins to happen.
Afterthoughts: Le Gallienne’s literary style is very much akin to that of the old romantics, and so this story stands as more sentimental than shocking. This is no bad thing of course and the beauty of Le Gallienne’s prose – which to me is close in resonance to that of Maupassant’s most romantic stories – is employed to great effect in showing that not all ghostly hauntings have to a threatening element to them. The real triumph of this story for me however, hasn’t got anything to do with the supernatural. Rather it’s Le Gallienne’s sublime opening description of a city awakening to Spring. Not relevant I know, but wholly memorable.
Notable Quote: Then I suppose I must have fallen into a dream, though it seemed to me that both my eyes and my ears were wide open, for I suddenly became aware of a beautiful young voice singing very softly somewhere among the leaves. The singing was very frail, almost imperceptible, as though it came out of the air. It came and went fitfully, like the elusive fragrance of sweetbrier—as though a girl was walking to and fro, dreamily humming to herself in the still afternoon.
Rating: 
*Story read as part of my 31 Shots of Shock reading challenge.
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