Other Worlds

by Barbara Michaels

Overview

One foggy evening, the most famous crime specialists in the world meet in an exclusive club, their minds on murder. On the agenda: two tantalizing, unsolved cases of ghostly terror. New York Times bestselling author and unsurpassed master of suspense Barbara Michaels delivers a fireside story in the grand tradition with her latest work, Other Worlds. The smoky room glows with a mix of cigars, brandy, and genius. Those present include Harry Houdini, king of illusion; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, father of the modern detective novel; Dr. Nandor Fodor, a psychoanalyst of international acclaim; and an elegant writer who can rival them all with her sleuthing talent. These masters of mystery put their minds to a pair of gripping stories of families beset by poltergeistly pranks and bewitched by inexplicable horrors. Gripping puzzles, yes, but the terror is all too vicious and all too real. In the hollows of Tennessee, a family is threatened by a dire spirit whose predictions of despair and death come frighteningly true. In a small Connecticut town, a newly married widow and her children move into her second husband's home to find their lives possessed by an unimaginable demon.For the gathering at the club, a brilliant battle of wits is at hand. Were these villains phantoms from beyond or evildoers of flesh and blood? Each expert has a theory. Which of them is correct? Whether writing as Barbara Michaels or Elizabeth Peters, this author is a master chef crafting richly atmospheric, suspense-filled delights. Other Worlds is an up-all-nighter guaranteed to still haunt in the morning, a tale as chilling by daylight as it is by darkness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061945410
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/26/2009
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	415 KB

About the Author

Elizabeth Peters (writing as Barbara Michaels) was born and brought up in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. Peters was named Grandmaster at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986, Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar® Awards in 1998, and given The Lifetime Achievement Award at Malice Domestic in 2003. She lives in an historic farmhouse in western Maryland.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

The Scene is the smoking room of an exclusive men's club, familiar through film and fiction even to those who have been denied admittance to such precincts because of deficiencies of sex or social status. The lamplight glows on the rich rubbed leather of deep, high-backed chairs. Grave, deferential servants glide to and fro, their footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. The tall windows are draped in plum-red plush, shutting out the night air and the sounds of traffic on the street without the traffic, perhaps, of hansom cabs and horsedrawn carriages. For this is no real establishment; it exists outside time and space, in the realm of the imagination --one of the worlds that might have been.

A small group of men enters the room. They have the sleek, satisfied look of gentlemen who have dined well, and who are looking forward to brandy and a fine Havana and another pleasure equally as great -- conversation with their peers on a subject deeply engrossing to all of them.

One man leads the way, striding impatiently. His high forehead is wrinkled, his eyes narrowed. Mr. Frank Podmore calls himself "skeptic-in-chief" of the Society for Psychical Research. The spiritualist tricksters he has exposed, and many of his own colleagues in the SPR, consider him unreasonable and unfair. Those colleagues would recognize the expression on his face this evening. Podmore is on the trail again, ready to pour the ice-water of his doubt on another questionable case.

Behind him comes a man whose voice still retains the accents of his native Vienna -- Nandor Fodor, formerly director of the International Institute for Psychical Research, whoresigned in disgust when his colleagues objected to his "filthy-minded" explanations of certain cases. A practicing psychiatrist for many years, he has investigated almost as many purported "ghosts" as has Podmore.

The third member of the group is stocky and cleanshaven, with keen blue-gray eyes. Born Erik Weisz, son-of a Hungarian rabbi, he is better known as Harry Houdini. Many of the spiritualists he ridiculed claimed that he himself must have had psychic powers in order to accomplish his amazing feats.

One of his old antagonists, a burly bristling mustache and soft blue eyes, walks with him. Conan Doyle and Houdini broke off their friendship when Houdini attacked Doyle's faith in the survival of the dead. It would be pleasant to believe that in some other time and place these two good men have at last made up their quarrel.

A fifth person follows modestly behind the others. From his hesitant manner and the formal way in which the others address him, one might deduce that he is a guest, rather than a regular member of the group. He is taller and heavier than the others; his evening suit is a trifle old-fashioned and more than a trifle too small. He has very large feet.

They settle into their chairs. Topaz liquid swirls in the bell-shaped glasses and a fragrant fog of smoke surrounds them.

"Well, gentlemen," says Podmore, "are we ready to begin?" Typically, he does not wait for a reply, but continues, "Tonight's case -- "

Doyle raises a big hand. "Always impatient, Podmore. Don't you think we owe our guest a word of explanation first? He knows our purpose, but cannot be familiar with our methods."

"Oh -- certainly" Podmore turns to the stranger. "I beg your pardon, sir. All of us have investigated many cases of presumed supernatural activity, some as agents of the SPR and some, like Houdini, in a private capacity. During our evenings together we enjoy a busman's holiday, applying our combined expertise to the investigation of famous cases that have never been satisfactorily explained. Sometimes we agree on a solution; more often we agree to disagree."

"More often?" Fodor repeats, smiling. "I cannot remember an occasion when the verdict was unanimous, and I know none of you are going to agree with my solution to this case. The Bell Witch, is it not?"

"Correct," says Podmore. "And, as is fitting, we have selected our American member to describe this American ghost. No more interruptions, gentlemen, if you please; pray, silence for Mr. Harry Houdini."

Houdini has his notes ready. He gives the others a rueful smile. "This is worse than escaping from a sealed coffin, gentlemen. Book research isn't my style, and this is the first case I've investigated where all the suspects have been dead for over a century. But as Podmore would say, that just makes it more challenging. And what a tale it is! Dr. Fodor here has called it the greatest American ghost story I would go further; I would call it the greatest of all ghost stories. There is nothing to equal it on either side of the Atlantic.

"Over the years the true facts have become so encrusted with layers of exaggeration, misinterpretation, false memories and plain out-and-out lies that the result sounds like one of Sir Arthur's wilder fictions. Our greatest difficulty will be to figure out what really happened. I won't presume to do that; I will just give you the story as I have worked it out and let you decide what is important and what isn't. Ready? Then here we go."

Other Worlds. Copyright © by Barbara Michaels. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

What People are Saying About This

Phyllis Whitney

No one can match Barbara Michaels.

Mary Higgins Clark

A master storyteller.

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
The old-fashioned ghost story has never fallen out of style: Charles Dickens is still best remembered for A Christmas Carol, and Peter Straub, despite his many fine novels, found in the ghost story his most potent tale (Ghost Story, of course!). When Shirley Jackson wrote The Haunting of Hill House and Henry James wrote The Turn of the Screw, did they know they were creating their most-remembered works in the horror genre?

Barbara Michaels has written everything from outright horror (Ammie, Come Home) to horror cozies (The Crying Child), but her new one has more in common with Peter Straub's Ghost Story (without the violence) than with anything she's written before. As several men gather in a special club to discuss unexplained mysteries of the past, an aura of chilly darkness surrounds them.

The men are famous and the time is the past. In a London Club, Houdini, Conan Doyle, and other psychic investigators and debunkers gather to tell ghost stories. Their purpose is to tell the tale, and then each will pick it apart to try to find an explanation for the phenomenon in question. The first story is one of the most famous historical hauntings in U.S. history: the Bell Witch in Tennessee. The second is a moderately well-known haunting in Stratford, Connecticut, called, appropriately, the Stratford Haunting. Each tale is told, and then the guests gathered around the club describe their understanding of whether the hauntings are either fake or very real.

But an eerie edge begins to creep like fog into each tale,andalthough there is no Grand Guignol to Michaels's novel, there is a decidedly eerie — and yes, old-fashioned — feeling of dread. Imagine a séance with some of the best storytellers gathered around the table, or a fire at a campsite, or even the distinguished London club where these men congregate. Michaels captures this mood better than most, and she has a way of telling a tale that is never violent but features a mounting fear of the unknown that persists and becomes captivating.

Those unfamiliar with the Bell Witch and the Stratford haunting will enjoy hearing these stories as well as the various solutions proposed by the august assembly. In the second section of the novel, which deals with the Stratford haunting, a new guest joins the men's table to tell the tale, and in many ways Other Worlds becomes more thrilling as this one — a story of family madness and human experimentation from a previous century — begins.

When you pick this novel up — which you should — think Hawthorne, think Melville's short stories, and you'll definitely see the mastery of what I'd term a horror cozy that Barbara Michaels has at her fingertips. This novel is not for anyone who loves outright violence in dark fiction, but for the millions of readers who love a good ghost story, superlatively told.

Douglas Clegg is the author of numerous horror novels, including The Halloween Man and Bad Karma, written under his pseudonym, Andrew Harper. His recent Bram Stoker-nominated short story, "I Am Infinite, I Contain Multitudes," can be found in the anthology The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Volume 11.

—Barnesandnoble.com

A writer so popular the public library has to keep [her] books under lock and key.

Washington Post

Simply the best living writer of ghost stories and thrillers.

Marion Zimmer Bradley

A master storyteller.

Mary Higgins Clark

In an unusual blend of mystery, suspense and the occult, veteran suspense novelist Michaels (The Dancing Floor, etc.) recounts two classic American ghost stories: the Bell Witch of Tennessee and the Phelps haunting of Connecticut. A unique mix of historical and fictitious crime experts with an avid interest in spiritualism (and fakery)--among them Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, Frank Podmore of the Society for Psychical Research and a mysterious woman who may be the author herself--gathers over the course of two evenings to hear of the two legends, sift evidence and render judgment. As retold here, both hauntings boasted various manifestations, from frivolous to life threatening, over a period of many years--the Bell Witch in the early 19th century and the Phelps case in the 1850s. Both were observed and investigated by a number of persons outside the families that played host to the unwelcome poltergeists, and both had disastrous consequences for those families. This novel isn't a mystery by any strict standard, but Michaels's fans won't care, as the telling is adept, suspenseful and appropriately spooky. Most readers are likely to echo Houdini's opinion that the replay of the hauntings, though still shrouded in ambiguity, makes for "an entertaining evening." (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Using a plot device introduced by other mystery greats, including Agatha Christie, veteran novelist Michaels assembles a group of specialists to review unsolved puzzles of history in this supernatural mystery. Participants such as Harry Houdini, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and a practicing psychiatrist from Vienna named Dr. Fodor expound on their solutions. The first case, "The Bell Witch," is an American ghost story involving an actual haunting. Michaels recounts the story of a poltergeist and its effects on the Bell family in early 19th-century Tennessee. Afterwards, the experts present their specialized interpretation of the causes behind the haunting. In "The Stratford Haunting," Michaels describes the 1850 haunting of the family of the Reverend Dr. Phelps in Stratford, CT. The puzzles are fascinating, the conclusions less so. Buy where there is demand for Michaels's work.--Jill M. Tempest, Ocean Springs Municipal Lib., MS

Library Journal

YA-Crossing the boundaries of time, Michaels gathers together a group of experts to listen to two different stories dealing with poltergeists and paranormal experience. The participants include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Harry Houdini; Frank Podmore, member of the Society of Psychical Research; Nandor Fodor, of the International Institute for Psychical Research; and the Reverend Montague Summers, author of books on witchcraft and magic. First, they listen as Houdini recounts the early 19th-century haunting of the Bell family of Tennessee by what came to be known as the "Bell Witch." At the conclusion of the story, the experts put forth their own theories as to what really happened. The next night, an unnamed woman narrates the story of a family's encounter with poltergeists in Stratford, CT, in 1850. Again, each person offers a possible explanation of what might have occurred. Both of these tales can be found in many collections of U.S. folklore. Michaels imbues the retellings with atmosphere and details that give the supernatural events additional chill and portent. The characters are succinctly drawn, yet the story lines remain the focus of the novel. While this book does not exhibit Michaels's writing at its best, teens will enjoy reading about the odd occurrences and the thoughtful theories brought forth to explain them.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

A writer so popular the public library has to keep [her] books under lock and key.

The Washington Post

Barbara Michaels presents two vexing ghost stories in this exceptional treatment of the supernatural. Rosenblat expertly sneaks the listener into the the dark and shrouded library where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini and other noted friends offer their solutions to the ghastly and gripping tales of spirits haunting unsuspecting families. Rosenblat brings the stories themselves to life with her incredible sense of timing and ability to capture the hysteria that seizes each cast of characters. After each mystery, Doyle and company analyze clues and offer their own “solutions.” Whether telling the tale itself, or reading the dissection and possible conclusion for each, Rosenblat, through her lively and eloquent reading, will make you a believer. H.L.S. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

FEB/MAR 00 - AudioFile