Customer Reviews

Ghosts: A Treasury of Chilling Tales Old and New

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I have had this book for 20 years, and I always go back to it to read my favorite stories. This is a collection of old, classic, better known stories and more modern ones you might not have heard of before. There is a section on ghost hunting, and a list by state of the "most haunted" houses. A nice collection of spooky stuff if you like ghost stories.

"Ghosts" is one of those anthologies, like Weird Tales: Seven Decades of Terror and H.P.Lovecraft's Book of Horror, that I just happened to stumble upon and is now a favorite. I love ghost stories of all kinds, and in this book author and editor Marvin Kaye (editor of H.P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror) has assembled a collection of the best.

In the introduction, Kaye talks about childhood memories of being a child on the cusp of the 1950s, when ghosts and other supernatural horrors were ushered back into their dark corners by the bright lights of the Atom Age and science fiction. In his childhood, the "ghost" as a motif was rare, and considered old-fashioned and outdated. The scientific and spiritual revolution that gave rise to agnosticism and atheism seemed to leave no room for creatures of the afterlife. Those bright atomic fires dimmed as well, however, and lurking in the shadowing corners the ghosts were still there, ready to come creeping back into our collective psyche.

For this anthology, Kaye assembled only "ghost stories," no witches or monsters (although he admits a vampire or two did sneak in, but figured that since they are reanimated corpses he would let them in on a technicality.) There are fifty-five stories in total in a book spanning over six-hundred pages, meaning that while the stories vary in length most run the length of ten pages or so. Most of the stories are collected from previously published sources, although Kaye says he did commission a few original pieces for this collection.

There are authors here whose names would be familiar to almost anyone. Isaac Asimov and Frederik Pohl (Legal Rites), Robert Louis Stevenson (The Body Snatcher), Charles Dickens (The Tale of the Bagman's Uncle), Oscar Wilde (The Canterville Ghost), Fritz Leiber (Four Ghosts in Hamlet), Washington Irving (The Tale of the German Student), H.G. Wells (The Red Room) and Helena Blavatsky (The Ensouled Violen) are all represented. Some stories are more familiar than the authors, and I was surprised when I read "Minuke" by Nigel Kneale, as it clearly seems to have at least partially inspired the first Poltergeist film, including the house collapsing in on itself at the end.

One does notice that several of the more famous horror authors are missing. There is no Poe, no Lovecraft, no Hawthorne. I didn't mind these, as I have complete collections of those authors and it was nice to read some more obscure stories.

The copy I have is not the cool leather-bound version seen in the picture, but a faded hard cover with a dust jacked by Edward Gorey. The Gorey pictures are neat but I am a bit envious of the leather-bound version and might need an upgrade.

A further note: Kaye offers a warning at the beginning that "Ghosts: A Treasury of Chilling Tales Old and New" is best not read straight through like a regular book, but instead pulled from the shelf every now and then to read a story. The tales lose their power, he says, if read one after another. I don't normally like an editor telling me how to read my book any more than I like a chef telling me how to eat my food, but this is sound advice. This is a book to be savored a piece at a time rather than devoured.

I am a big fan of ghost stories, so when I saw this book in the local bookstore I was immediatley attracted to it. I got the book for Christmas and started reading it immediatley. It has a lot of ghost stories in it that are scary, creepy, and funny. This book will leave you scared with delight. So if you know someone of any age who loves ghost stories, this would be one of the best ghost story books you could get for them.

What a delightful anthology of ghostly tales! I was especially impressed with the embossed leather binding of this edition (mine is black and gold with a ghost and tombstone on the front and spine!), gilded pages, and the sewn in ribbon bookmark. Each story has an introduction regarding the author and interesting thoughts about the story. It's a treat to savor each offering, whether during seemingly calm daylight hours or a stormy dark night by candlelight!

This certainly is a most worthwhile addition to anyone's library. In fact, by the time I got to the fourth story, SMEE by A. M. Burrage, I promptly ordered a second copy for my brother! It's an excellent volume to own. You won't be disappointed. Ghosts: A Treasury of Chilling Tales Old and New (Contemporary Bonded Leather Fibers Series)

I first came across this book when I was 14 years old. Somehow between moving here and there, it became lost. The stories stayed with me although the name of Marvin Kaye did not. So it was many years before my mother came across this book again and bought it for herself. Somehow she managed to misplace it, but not before I had reaqquainted myself with its wonderful stories. I searched high and low, but without the name I couldn't find it. Twelve years from when I first laid eyes on it I finally own a copy. It's fantastic, and I love it. Especially 'The Lady of Finnigan's Hearthe'. Buy this, buy this now :)

I first found this book in the Sitka, Alaska library and it brightened many cold, rainy days. After I moved, I searched for this book for years, but didn't see it again until 20 years later, while walking through my child's middle school library. Such serendipity!

There are many wonderful collections, but this one surpasses them. I think it has something for everyone.

The stories in this book are Ok but its nothing out of the ordinary. The book itself is gorgeous like all leather bound book it looks great in a shelf. The shipping was great got it on time and the book cam in one piece no scratches or dents.