Cornish Tales of Terror (1970) edited by R. Chetwynd-Hayes

Cornish horror fiction 1865-1970

Readers unfamiliar with Cornish Tales of Terror may wish to read my notes only after reading the anthology.

“The Roll-Call of the Reef” (1931) by Arthur Quiller-Couch

A tourist listens to a tale told by a quarryman about twin naval shipwrecks that occurred in 1799. The quarryman's father rescued a Marine drummer boy and a trumpeter from the Hussars, the only survivors: one from each ship. The two become friends, but eventually the drummer boy has to resume his duties in the Marines. Years later, the trumpeter has a vision of the drummer boy, who tells him that he has died. Together they visit the cemetery where all the dead from their shipwrecks were buried. There the final roll is called.

“The Misanthrope“ (1918) by J. D. Beresford

A tourist, out of curiosity, visits a misanthrope who lives as a hermit out on a coastal rock. The misanthrope tells the man that he has a condition that causes him to see people's true nature when he looks at them over his shoulder.

“All Souls' Night” (1945) …