that as far as I knew there was no such thing in existence as a book of
Irish ghost stories. Books on Irish fairy and folk-lore there were in
abundance--some of which could easily be spared--but there was no book of
ghosts. And so I determined to supply this sad omission.

In accordance with the immortal recipe for making hare-soup I had first
to obtain my ghost stories. Where was I to get them from? For myself I
knew none worth publishing, nor had I ever had any strange experiences,
while I feared that my friends and acquaintances were in much the
same predicament. Suddenly a brilliant thought struck me. I wrote out a
letter, stating exactly what I wanted, and what I did _not_ want, and
requesting the readers of it either to forward me ghost stories, or else
to put me in the way of getting them: this letter was sent to the
principal Irish newspapers on October 27, and published on October 29,
and following days.

I confess I was a little doubtful as to the result of my experiment, and
wondered what response the people of Ireland would make to a letter which
might place a considerable amount of trouble on their shoulders. My mind
was speedily set at rest. On October 30, the first answers reached me.
Within a fortnight I had sufficient material to make a book; within a
month I had so much material that I could pick and choose--and more was
promised. Further on in this preface I give a list of those persons whose
contributions I have made use of, but here I should like to take the
opportunity of thanking all those ladies and gentlemen throughout the
length and breadth of Ireland, the majority of whom were utter strangers
to me, who went to the trouble of sitting down and writing out page after
page of stories. I cannot forget their kindness, and I am only sorry that
I could not make use of more of the matter that was sent to me. As one
would expect, this material varied in value and extent. Some persons