Edward Frederic Benson (1867 – 1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist and short story writer, best known as the true master of the gothic ghost story.

The Other Bed tells the tale of a hotel guest who is allocated what appears to be a very fine first floor room at a highly reasonable price. There are two beds in the room and even on the first night, the weary traveller develops an inexplicable horror of one of these beds. This, together with several other odd happenings, such as the waiter who repeatedly appears bringing a bottle of whisky which has not been ordered, makes him suspect that there is something very wrong with the room. As the week goes on, the other bed reveals its true horror...