Two brothers inherit their father’s ‘ghost scope’, a spyglass that can’t really see ghosts, but can see through things. After their mother spends the family fortune on a fake medium, the brothers have established a fairly lucrative business out of using the ‘ghost scope’ for catching fraudulent mediums and then blackmailing them. It all works out pretty well … until they encounter a real ghost.
The Spirit of the Grift first appeared in Penny Dread Tales Volume IV.
It now also appears in The Best of Penny Dread Tales
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Reprinted in Blazing Uncanny Trails 2, April 2020, Knight Writing Press