Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder is a collection of supernatural detective short stories by author William Hope Hodgson. It was first published in 1913 by the English publisher Eveleigh Nash. In 1947, a new edition of 3,050 copies was published by Mycroft &amp; Moran and included three additional stories. The Mycroft &amp; Moran version is listed as No. 52 in Queen's Quorum: A History of the Detective-Crime Short Story As Revealed by the 100 Most Important Books Published in this Field Since 1845 by Ellery Queen.

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Carnacki, the Ghost Finder

Not as good as his  House on the Borderlands , but enjoyable and worthwhile nonetheless. These stories improve in quality as the book progresses, beginning with the hackneyed gothic claptrap of "The Thing Invisible" and ending with stories of true cosmic terror.   Carnacki himself is an interesting transitional figure, an eccentric bachelor in the Holmesian mode, who--although relying on his intellect and expertise--yet seems, at bottom, lonely and filled with self-doubt in the wake of his uncanny experiences. A professional ghost hunter who possesses his own tools--revolver, camera, elaborate electrical devices--he relies on them desperately, only half-believing in their efficacy.   If the stories have a noticeable flaw, it is that Carnacki talks continually to his captive audience of dinner guests about the detailed workings of his technology and the precise gradations of color and texture produced by the alteration of the psychic atmosphere, repeating every few paragraphs the phrase "Do you understand?" Although I found this to be irritating at first, I came to realize that these narrative conventions are an expression of Carnacki's isolation and desperation. He is, after all, a 19th century style ghost hunter trying to survive and understand an increasingly chaotic 20th century world--a world whose strangeness is reflected in the best of these tales--which are very good indeed--such as "The Whistling Room" and "The Hog."

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