For a focused English-language collection of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s ghost and paranormal fiction, start with The Devil’s Teacup and Other Ghost Stories, a 13-story anthology published by Fingerprint in 2024. For a broader literary selection that mixes uncanny stories with writing about people and nature, consider Orient BlackSwan’s Tales of the Natural and the Supernatural (2021), translated from Bengali by Debashish Sen.
Which English collection should you choose?
| Book | Best fit | Documented contents and edition | Translator information |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Devil’s Teacup and Other Ghost Stories | Readers looking specifically for ghost and paranormal fiction. | Fingerprint describes a 13-story anthology. Penguin Random House lists its Fingerprint edition as published January 25, 2024, at 192 pages, in paperback and ebook formats; ISBN 9789358566178. | The consulted Fingerprint and Penguin Random House listings do not name a translator. |
| Tales of the Natural and the Supernatural | Readers who want supernatural fiction alongside stories attentive to people and the natural world. | Orient BlackSwan’s 2021 English paperback has 15 short stories and an extract from a novel; 180 pages; ISBN 9789354420948. | Translated from Bengali by Debashish Sen. |
The two books offer different entry points, not a documented complete edition of Bandyopadhyay’s paranormal fiction. Their catalogs do not establish story-by-story overlap, so the titles and descriptions are the reliable guide to choosing between them.
What kind of supernatural fiction is in the collections?
The Devil’s Teacup and Other Ghost Stories
Fingerprint presents the book as an English translation of Bengali horror stories, with ghosts and paranormal events at the center. The publisher’s description makes it the more direct choice if you want a collection marketed expressly as ghost stories. The available catalog information does not provide a full contents list.
Tales of the Natural and the Supernatural
Orient BlackSwan’s selection is broader than ghost fiction alone. Its stories move among Calcutta, rural Bengal, and tribal areas near Jharkhand and Bihar, bringing supernatural elements into narratives about human life and nature. The publisher identifies haunted houses, haunted or accursed objects, insanity, guardian spirits, and lycanthropy among its uncanny motifs. It describes Bandyopadhyay as drawing on the tradition of haunted-house stories while also exploring these less usual subjects.
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How these stories fit Bandyopadhyay’s wider work
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (1894–1950) was a major Bangla fiction writer whose work extends well beyond the supernatural. Orient BlackSwan describes him as having written eighteen novels and nearly 250 stories; that is the publisher’s rounded biographical figure, not a count of paranormal stories. Its account of his writing emphasizes empathy for life and attention to the extraordinary within ordinary experience.
His short fiction appeared in multiple Bengali collections. His biography notes that the stories in Meghmallar were written before the book publication of Pather Panchali and that Meghmallar appeared in 1931. It also names collections including Janma o Mrityu, Kinnordal, Talnabami, Upalkhanda, Khshanabhangur, and Asadharan.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Finding the Bengali originals
Bibhutibhushan’s Bengali bibliography records numerous story collections and later thematic compilations, including a volume titled Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s Bhoutik Golpo. The bibliography says its list of 103 stories is incomplete, and it does not establish the current edition, availability, or contents of that thematic volume. Bengali readers should check the edition’s language and contents with a bookseller or library before relying on the title alone.
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Sources and edition details
- Orient BlackSwan: Tales of the Natural and the Supernatural — edition, translator, story count, and publisher description.
- Penguin Random House: The Devil’s Teacup and Other Ghost Stories — publication date, page count, formats, and ISBN.
- Fingerprint Publishing: The Devil’s Teacup and Other Ghost Stories — anthology description and story count.
- Bibhutibhushan biography — biographical details and Bengali collection names.
- Bibhutibhushan bibliography — Bengali collection listings, including the thematic Bhoutik Golpo entry.
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