Ghost Stories

What a truly mixed bag! I'm a little confused by this book - what inspired these particular selections? There are a LOT of magnificent public domain ghost stories out there, but Washington went out of his way to secure rights to some right clunkers, and some stories that aren't remotely ghostly. Why?

Anyway, high points were:

“The Body-Snatcher”
“Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad”
“The Open Window” (this made me round up to a 3-star rating)
“The Looking Glass”
“The Highboy” (the nicest surprise in the bunch aside from Saki)

Middling:

“The Monkey's Paw” is rightfully a classic, but not a ghost story.
“The Daughters of the Late Colonel” - disturbing account of a haunting without the need for any supernatural element
“The Happy Autumn Fields” - what's going on? somewhat intriguing and poignant, but didn't know where to go with the concept
“The Visit to the Museum” - highly effective weird tale that is not a ghost story

Painful:

“Clytie” - neither ghostly nor well written. Why does “depressing story about a strange family” read as “quality literature” so often, regardless of actual merit?
“The Circular Ruins” - akin to an acquaintance regaling you with their latest dream - both in content and tone, and in relevance or entertainment value
“Another Fine Mess” - not only entirely without plot or any engaging content, but more schmaltzy than a Chicken Soup for the Soul book. This may literally be the worst thing Bradbury ever wrote. It would put off even Rachel Bloom.