This collection includes nine stories in the genre of mystery and horror by Elizabeth Gaskell, and among them is the classic work of the 19th century gothic genre “The Gray Woman.” Ghosts that haunt the living. Legendary Witches and Warlocks of New England. Mysterious portraits and manuscripts, powerful curses, vengeful doubles and strange disappearances... Charles Dickens, who himself willingly and talentedly worked in the Gothic genre, admired Gaskell's stories. Some of them are serious, others are ironic. Some are leisurely and poetic, others are seriously frightening. However, every single one of them is distinguished by a fascinating plot and a sense of mystery, located very close to the usual, everyday life...