[PW] Shortest ghost story in the world?

[Bye, Dan J]

In: The Kingfisher Treasury of Ghost Stories, ed. Kenneth Ireland. London: Kingfisher, 2005 (1st published 1992), appears:

The Shortest Ghost Story Ever Told (Traditional):
"He woke up frightened, and reached for the matches, and the matches were put into his hand."

The same book also includes "The Second Shortest Ghost Story Ever Told", also "Traditional", but I can't see it in Amazon's preview.

It is also referred to by Katharine Mary Briggs in her "British Folk Tales and Legends: a sampler " (2002), p.198, but with no further information.

Earliest date I've found is its appearance in Percy Lyon's 1933 book, "The Discovery of Poetry".


Dan
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org 
> [mailto:project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org] On 
> Behalf Of Bill Davis
> Sent: 23 October 2007 16:05
> To: list at project-wombat.org
> Subject: Re: [PW] Shortest ghost story in the world?
> 
> 
> This is shorter:
> 
>          "The King died, returned as a ghost, and the Queen 
> died of fright."
> 
> Bill Davis
> 
> 
> At 07:00 AM 10/23/2007, you wrote:
> 
> >Hello, all.  I'm looking for the shortest ghost story in the world, 
> >which is one sentence long and goes roughly:  "Utterly alone in a 
> >pitch-black room, the man wished for a light...and one was 
> handed him." 
> >While I have the gist of it, I'm looking for the actual 
> version.  I'm 
> >not talking about the one where someone is alone after a 
> nuclear attack 
> >wiped out civilization and hears a knock at the door.  I think the 
> >first one is much creepier!  Thanks for your help.  Carole
> 
> 
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