Darkness Comes vs Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Horror, Fiction
Darkness Comes
“The next morning, the first thing Rebecca said to Jack Dawson was, "We have two stiffs."”
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A blizzard brings a city to a standstill-and ushers in an evil that defies imagination.
Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories
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This book is about stories that encounters with the ghosts of the dead and dying. The spirits of the dead reach out to the living, to pass on a message or to pursue a killer.
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Darkness Comes highest: Darkness Comes 3.9 · Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories 3.5.
- Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 6 for Darkness Comes.
- Darkness Comes has the widest readership — 24066 ratings behind its score.
- Darkness Comes runs the darker storyline; Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Darkness Comes | Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (24066) | 3.5 (702) |
| Hardcover | 5.0 (1) | 2.5 (2) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.0 (7) |
Reception
| Darkness Comes | Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 24066 | 702 |
| Editions | 35 | 44 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 9135 | 579 |
| Reading it now | 1829 | 80 |
| Written reviews | 832 | 75 |
| Wikipedia attention | 1012 | — |
| Pages | 352 | 67 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Darkness Comes or Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories?
Darkness Comes has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Darkness Comes 3.9/5, Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories 3.5/5).
Which is shorter to read: Darkness Comes or Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories?
Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories (67 pages, ≈ 1 h 14 m); Darkness Comes (352 pages, ≈ 6 h 31 m).
Which is harder to read: Darkness Comes or Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Darkness Comes: Moderate; Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories: Challenging.