GOTHIC GHOSTS

Anthology of 19 new ghostly tales, although few whomp up any sort of gothic atmosphere or induce shivers. The more effective tales: Brian Stableford's ``Seers,'' about an old woman imprisoned by the ghosts she sees even though they can't physically affect her; ``Unexpected Attraction,'' a rather waggish tale of a duped lover gaining his revenge upon a conniving ghost (Matthew J. Costello); and the one genuinely haunting piece here, Russell J. Handelman's ``And the City Unfamiliar,'' about the motives and perceptions of a ghost who, pathetically, doesn't realize that he is a ghost. Elsewhere the offerings are more or less standard: several who's-the-ghost variations, a woman saved from death by the ghost of a dog, evil children's ghosts trapped in fireplaces, a hotel resort fire, a vengeful stonecutter, a possessive homicidal house, storytelling ghosts, the ghost of an old woman's youth, a mother's ghost who seeks replacements for her own vanished children, a dominating mother, a sick joke that goes awry, a philandering father, and more. Except for the few noted above: a bland assortment without much range or depth.