The Old Nurse's Story (E. Gaskell) and The Axe (P. Fitzgerald): Of the two stories you have read, which do you think is the most effective ghost story? Which story do you prefer and why?

English ghost stories became popular in 1855 when a tax reform brought about the withdrawal of duty on newspapers. This brought about a magazine boom that fed the large literate middle class who were thirsty for sensation. To satisfy their readers, magazines needed stories and promised "fiction of powerful interest". Charles Dickens owned one of the most popular periodicals of the time - All the Year Round, first published in 1859. Dickens filled the bumper Christmas editions …

…The Old Nurse's Story was that it had a point to it. There were real ghosts with real histories and reasons for haunting the old manor. While The Axe could have had a point, it was unclear as to what it was. At first, the enigma of the story was intriguing, but when most of the subtle hints came to nothing, it became irritating. For these reasons, I personally preferred reading The Old Nurse's Story.