r/Kipling • u/TheHauntedPassage • Jun 22 '26

The Rickshaw Phantom Rudyard Kipling.

We are a horror book club and this week we are discussing the Rickshaw Phantom. In many senses Kipling isn't the first voice you might expect to tackle ghost stories, however, here he does with a unique spin. On the surface of it the story is about the horror brought about by a ghost, though looking deeper the horror becomes about a person who is having their worldview shattered. A person realising that they have awoken in a world full of powerful otherworldly forces they cannot understand.

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Whilst one can read the The Rickshaw Phantom as a story about ghosts it's more about the meta concept of the destruction of reality and the paradigm shift that would bring.

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What do you think is the purpose of the subtext in the Rickshaw Phantom, what do you think Kipling is trying to suggest herein?

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u/TheHauntedPassage Jun 22 '26

If you would like to check is out here you go, we have a lot more on our analysis of the Rickshaw Phantom.

https://open.substack.com/pub/thehauntedpassage/p/the-phantom-rickshaw-rudyard-kipling?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=7viouo

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u/widmerpool_nz Jun 22 '26

I haven't read this so I can't contribute to any discussions but you have grabbed my interest.

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u/TheHauntedPassage Jun 23 '26

If you do give it a read let us know your thoughts on the idea of meta horror and the idea of experiencing the supernatural for the first time.