The earliest of Blackwood's collections according to Wikipedia, and I wouldn't say they're his best work. He's one of my all-time favorite horror writers, and these stories seem more like he's finding his style. Much of the horror comes from the psychological state of the narrator, and it seems like he's finding that here. Even if you don't like this collection, don't write Blackwood off until you've read "The Willows" and "The Wendigo."

"The Empty House" 2 Stars
It's a very standard haunted house story with some little psychological flourishes.

"A Haunted Island" 2.5 Stars
Neat, but not the most interesting.

"A Case of Eavesdropping" 3.5 Stars
There's a few of these crime horror stories in this collection, and the genre blend keeps things fresh.

"Keeping His Promise" 2.5 Stars
Another one that's pretty standard, though fleshing out the characters is a nice touch.

"With Intent to Steal" 3 Stars
Some nice moments with the narrator's doubt and trust wavering, but the dream sequences bring it down.

"The Wood of the Dead" 2.5 Stars
It starts fine with the old man, but by the end it's pretty stale.

"Smith: An Episode in a Lodging-House" 3.5 Stars
It's a cool little magical story, but it's become rather generic over time.

"A Suspicious Gift" 2 Stars
It's definitely a bit tired.

"The Strange Adventures of a Private Secretary in New York" 3 Stars
A really strong build to a really lame end.

"Skeleton Lake: An Episode in Camp" 4 Stars
The best story of the collection. One of Blackwood's strengths is in his exotic locales. The wilds of Canada especially. Desperation is scary.

This book starts when two people go to a house that had a murder that happened centuries ago the guy who committed the murder got The death penalty so they started walking around the house and they fought they saw a ghost of a girl but they decided their minds were just playing tricks on them but this wasn't the last ghost encounter they had A goat of an angry man came up to his face but even though they had bumped into several goals they kept on going up the stairs to the next floor and then the next The one thing I did like about this book they went into so much detail describing every little thing you felt like you were there this was okay but I did actually like it

Ah yes. Leprosy: the ultimate horrific punchline.
These stories do not hold up well to time! While some are better than others, the style of writing as a whole is not particularly spooky or scary.
It would seem Blackwood is just not for me.

Blackwood is high on my list of favorite ghost story writers. He's a master for creating a palpable sense of dread, the mental anguish of not knowing, where sitting in the dark on an island or in bed can be more horrifying than actually seeing a monster.
I enjoyed all of the stories in The Empty House and am looking forward to the next Blackwood in my stack. Some modern readers may find his writing style long winded; he can stretch a sentence yet doesn't waste words. I am a very visual person and find he creates a scene vividly in my head. I'm there in the dark, listening, waiting.
A note on this particular physical book-- I bought it, lured by the book cover depicting a path through bare, wintery trees. The format of this particular book is much like reading an Ebook-- the formatting is rough: no table of contents or forward, just the stories back to back with barely a break. Not even a new page for a new story. Buyers remorse on this particular publication. I'd have paid more for a more professionally laid out book with a bit of introduction about the author or SOMETHING... quite seriously, the first story begins on the first page, there are no first pages.