I Read Stories: Radcliffe Hall by Miyuki Jane Pinckard

 

Radcliffe Hall by Miyuki Jane Pinckard in Uncanny

In 1908 Tomoé Kikuchi arrives at Norcross College in America, where she will stay in Radcliffe Hall. Her father has travelled across the world, and she with him, so she feels as much at home here as in Japan – which is to say not much.

But it’s not just foreign and racist – as is revealed the founder of Radcliffe Hall specified no jews or negroes – it’s also haunted. The reason there’s a space in the Hall for Kikuchi is that a student died. The granddaughter of the founder is a student who leads a clique that is also an occult society, which is somewhat-more-than-proto-fascist in it’s intentions. She is intrigued by Kikuchi, theorising that her Japanese descent might make her more susceptible to spirits.

So there’s a mystery and friends to be made and enemies and rivals, and a ghost to put down, and maybe there’s even space to grieve and fall in love. This is a long novella that takes its time, building layers of atmosphere and character.

Read This: An old-fashioned spooky story with modern insights and concerns
Don’t Read This: You don’t like ghost stories so a long one is very bad