Haunted House-party
DON’T like a thriller to start as a ghost story and end as a farce, That was why I got a little restless towards the end of "The Queer Affair at Kettering," by Max Afford, heard from 4YA in an NBS production which made the most of the somewhat "different" style of dialogue. It began auspiciously with a
house-party in an ancient country mansion,, mentioned a strange room whence people unaccountably disappeared, worked up a splendidly ghostly atmosphere (a difficult thing to do on the radio) and, having disposed of a couple of members of the party in a murderous manner, there-
upon blithely proceeded to explain the whole thing away as an elaborate practical joke plus the famous absconding financier, This sort of thing seems a mix‘ture of the detective novel and the supernatural folk-tale; let’s have one or the other, but don’t spoil the style by trying to weld them into one, No good ghost story writer would be guilty of such an anti-climax. For examples of ghost stories which remain true to their medium, see Oliver Onions’ famous tale, "The Beckoning Fair One," Wilde’s "The. Canterville Ghost," or, indeed, anything by Algernon Blackwood.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19450329.2.17.8
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 301, 29 March 1945, Page 9
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198Haunted House-party New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 301, 29 March 1945, Page 9
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
Copyright in the Denis Glover serial Hot Water Sailor published in 1959 is owned by Pia Glover. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this serial and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the Listener. You can search, browse, and print this serial for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Pia Glover for any other use.
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