The Heart Is a Determined Hunter

Short Story by Thomas Smith
Read for Tales to Terrify #51 by Drake Vaughn

A man returns to the resort where his wife died in a terrible fire.  This is basically a classic ghost story with creepy hotel and a ghost-wife who wants her husband to stay with her forever.

It's a bit predictable and dull overall but eventually comes around to the theme of being hung up on the past that is central to most ghost stories, but done in a more interesting way.  Then it over-explains everything.  There is an interesting take on ghost stories here, hidden among a story I swear I've read 20 times before, but it's explained to death in a way that robs the story of much of its mystery.

Quite a bit like a much a less-poetic, less unusual version of Ramsey Campbell's "Above the World".

2.5 Ghost Wives out of 5.