The overarching mood is of wonder . . . the stories occupy the reverie world our mind projects onto the backs of our eyelids, where the ordinary mingles with the supernatural Wall Street Journal
Lafcadio Hearn's (1850-1904) colorful life was matced by the range and variety of his output. Born on th eIonian island of Lefkada, he was abandoned by both his parents in succession, and spent his childhood in the guardanship of his great-aunt in Ireland and England. In 1869 he established himself as a journalist in the United States, first in Cincinnati and then in New Orleans, before moving to the French West Indies in 1887. He spent the last fourteen years of his life in Japan, and is now best remembered for his colleciton and translation of traditional Japanese ghost stories.
