REVIEW OF BRIAN J. SHOWERS “NO. 70 MERRION SQUARE”

Brian J. Showers.    No. 70 Merrion Square. 2 parts.  Dublin: Swan River Press. 2006.

(ISSN 1932-9598)

            This tiny two volume set of chapbooks with the single ghost story “No. 70 Merrion Square” serves as a companion to Shower’s tour of Gothic Dublin.  It is a delightful present day ghost story that is a tribute to Le Fanu.  Character names—one McCormack after premier Le Fanu scholar W. J. McCormack—and titles of  current popular ghost story collections—Reggie Oliver’s The Dreams of Cardinal Vittorini—give a delightful humorous irony to the tale.  And Showers’s plot is quite good; it echoes Le Fanu's unique voice.  It is well-written and atmospheric.

            Brian Showers, an American who lives in Dublin, Ireland, is a new figure in the presses of modern-day ghost stories.  One can sense his enthusiasm and intelligence and humor in everything he writes.  I won’t give away the plot of the story, but it is highly recommended to anyone interested in Le Fanu or the ghost story in general.

Gary William Crawford