Gespensterbuch
German-language anthology in seven volumes with horror stories, edited by August Apel (vols. 1-6), Friedrich August Schulze and Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué (vol. 7), published 1810-1817
The Gespensterbuch (literally 'Ghost Book' or 'Book of Spectres') is a collection of German ghost stories written by August Apel and Friedrich Laun and published in seven volumes between 1810 and 1817. Volumes five to seven were also published under the title Wunderbuch ('Book of Wonders'). The final volume was published after Apel's death, with stories by his friends Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué and Carl Borromäus von Miltitz. Laun, Fouqué, Miltitz, and Caroline de la Motte Fouqué followed up on the series by publishing another book of ghost stories Aus der Geisterwelt ('From the Spirit-World') (1818).
Stories
Development
According to Friedrich Laun's memoirs, Laun had stayed a week at Apel's family estate at Ermlitz, near Schkopau. A few stories were told about ghosts that appeared there at and after dusk, from the times when a high court was located nearby. These stories made such an impression on Apel and Laun, that when they returned to Leipzig they recounted them to their friends over tea. This proved very popular, and they started to hold Gespensterthee ('ghost tea') evenings from time to time, where ghost stories were told, and which led Apel and Laun to write the Gespensterbuch.
Apel and Laun included stories both with and without ghosts, but also those where the question is left open – an innovation that was later expanded on by other authors.
They tried to add variety to the first volume by adding two comic fairy tales: "König Pfau" (Apel's retelling of Madame d'Aulnoy's "La Princesse Rosette") and "Das Ideal" (an original tale by Laun), but the response to these stories was negative, and they did not include fairy tales in later volumes.
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