Gespensterbuch

The Gespensterbuch (literally 'Ghost Book' or 'Book of Spectres'[1]) is a collection of German ghost stories written by August Apel and Friedrich Laun and published in seven volumes between 1810 and 1817.

The final volume was published after Apel's death, with stories by his friends Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué and Carl Borromäus von Miltitz.

These stories made such an impression on Apel and Laun, that when they returned to Leipzig they recounted them to their friends over tea.

[2] The first volume also included "Der Freischütz", a story written by Apel about a hunter making a pact with the devil.

[4][5] Some characters in the stories may have been based on personal acquaintances, such Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Wagner (1770–1813), a police actuary, who may have inspired "Aktuarius Wermuth" in "Die schwarze Kammer".

[8][9][10] For the fifth volume, they decided to expand the scope from ghosts to anything that could not be explained by the laws of nature, and gave the series a second title: Wunderbuch ('Book of Wonders').

In another attempt to add variety, they decided to invite other authors to contribute, which led to Apel's friends Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué and Carl Borromäus von Miltitz writing stories for the final volume of the Wunderbuch.

[e] Some of these stories were also translated directly from the German, including Thomas De Quincey's "The Black Chamber" (1823),[f] and Robert Pearse Gillies' "The Sisters" and "The Spectre Bride" (1826).

[l] Several more Gespensterbuch stories were translated individually, mostly in magazines and annuals: "The Raven: A Greek Tale" (1823),[m] "The Lamia: Greek Tradition" (1824),[n] "The Spectre Unmasked" (1824),[o] "The Dance of the Dead" (1824),[p] "New Year's Eve: The Omens" (1824),[q] "Death Tokens" (1825),[r] "The Veiled Bride" (1825),[s] "Head Master Rhenfried and His Family" (1826),[t] "The Bridal Ornaments" (1826),[u] "The Piper of Neisse" (1829),[v] "The Spirit's Summons" (1835),[w] "The Silver Lady" (1837),[x] "The Two New Year's Nights" (1839),[y] "Fatal Curiosity" (1845),[z] and "The Night-Mare" (1845).

[aa] In addition to these translations, some authors adapted Gespensterbuch stories for an English-speaking audience, such as Walter Sholto Douglas' "The Three Damsels" in Forget-Me-Not for 1827 (1826), based on part of "Die Bräutigamsvorschau", and J. E. Preston Muddock's "The Dance of the Dead" in Tales of Terror (1899), based on "Der Todtentanz".