Customer Reviews

Ghosts and more ghosts (A Windward book)

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I discovered this book when I was the perfect age for it, and I *still* enjoy it today. It's a collection of ten stories about ghosts and the supernatural with a little fantasy and science fiction (i.e., Time Travel) thrown in. Some of the stories are scary ("Footsteps Invisible", "The Rose-Crystal Bell") while others are funny ("Mr. Milton's Gift", "Don't Be a Goose") and yet others are best described as wistful ("The Wonderful Day", "The Marvelous Stamps from El Dorado"). This was one of my favorite books as a kid, and I still think it's very good.

I read this in 1974, in fourth grade, and the stories still give me the willies today! With the success of the Goosebumps series, and Robert Arthur's "Three Investigators" still in print, I am baffled as to why this is out of print. I guess that just makes it more of a treasure if you can find it! The moody illustrations added nicely to the macabre tone of the book - many fine, small details to pore over. Mr Arthur's writing reads much like an old time radio play would, which is not surprising...he wrote several scripts for the "Suspense" radio show towards the end of its' run. Also, if you like this book, try "Mystery and More Mystery" by the same author.

A rose crystal bell that beckons the beyond...a lazy dreamer finds that his dreams become uncomfortably real and force him to work...

...a radio host decides that camping out overnight at the local "haunted" house will boost his ratings only to find out that his show brings him into contact with the very real denizen of the swamp next door...

...postage stamps that give new meaning to the term "AIRMAIL"... these are all slight-fright stories in the spirit of the old TWILIGHT ZONE TV series...

I was never scared, only absorbed reading these chilly stories so long ago...just chilly irony for the young...nothing more.

I am a storyteller. I attend storytelling conventions and meetings here in Chattanooga, Tennessee and also in Georgia and Kentucky. I believe that storytelling is one of the last faint hopes of civilization, an antidote to much of the pap on television and the movies. I sometimes tell stories to children in churches, schools, and libraries. When I select stories for children, I look for two characteristics. They must be interesting, and they must be fairly family- friendly. It is not easy finding stories that have both characteristics.

But Robert Arthur's fantasy stories in _Ghosts and More Ghosts_ (1963) have that balance. They are interesting, entertaining, and appropriate for children. Most could be used (with a bit of revision) for children's storytelling activities.

There are ten stories in all: "Footsteps Invisible" (_Argosy_, 1940), "Mr. Milton's Gift" (aka, "The Man With the Golden Hand," _Bluebook_, 1953), "The Rose Crystal Bell" (_Amazing_, 1954), "Don't Be a Goose" (_Argosy_, 1941), "Obstinate Uncle Otis" (_Argosy_, 1941), "Do You Believe in Ghosts?" (_Weird Tales_, 1941), "The Stamps for El Dorado" (aka, "Post Marked for Paradise," _Argosy_, 1940), "The Wonderful Day" (aka, "The Miracle on Main Street," _Argosy_, 1940), "Mr. Dexter's Dragon" (_Weird Tales_, 1943) and "Hank Garvey's Daytime Ghost" (aka, "Garvey's Ghost," _Fantasy and Science Fiction_, 1962). Two of the stories, "Mr. Milton's Gift" and "The Miracle on Main Street," were reprinted in _Fantasy and Science Fiction_ in 1958 and 1960, respectively.

Two of the stories-- "Obstinate Uncle Otis" and "The Stamps for El Dorado"-- are Murchison Morks tales. Morks is a storyteller much in the vein of Jorgens or Harry Purvis. Arthur speculates that he may one day be beaten to death:

For, no matter what you have seen, Morks has seen something stranger. Whatever you have done, he has done something more thrilling. Wherever you have been, he has been there before you, and under circumstances of considerable more danger.
And whatever you may own, he has owned something rarer. (62-63)

But "no matter how he may exasperate you, you listen" (63) to his tales. The first is the one about why the most stubborn man in Vermont (and therefore the entire nation) was more dangerous than a hydrogen bomb. The second is about a missed chance to live in paradise. It reminded me a bit of Jack Finny's "Of Missing Persons".

"Mr. Milton's Gift," "The Rose Crystal Ball," and "Mr. Dexter's Dragon" feature that old standby of fantasy stories, the magic shoppe with presents that don't do _exackly_ what their buyers thought they would do. The effects are comic in the first tale and downbeat in the last two. "Mr. Milton's Gift" was originally written as a Murchison Morks tale. But this collection uses a revised version of the story with no mention of Morks at all.

"Footsteps Invisible," "Do You Believe in Ghosts?" and "Hank Garvey's Daytime Ghost" are all ghost stories. All are a touch predictable, but all stories feature an unusual twist or plot element that gives them some originality. The Hank Garvey story is the best of the three.

"Don't Be a Goose" is a clever time travel tale that shows that even geese can change the course of history. In apropos of nothing, it seems that Arthur had a tendency to name slightly shrewish women characters "Martha". And "The Wonderful Day" is a marvelous tale of wish fulfillment, figurative language, and just desserts in a small town in Illinois. Wouldn't it be something if there were more days like this one? Wouldn't it be something?

Recommended for young and old readers alike. There is an excellent cover by Irv Docktor with tombstones and ghosties and such.

In the spirit of the season, I'm pulling many of my spooky books from the shelves for a bit of re-reading. The featured volume tonight is "Ghosts and More Ghosts" by Robert Arthur.

This is a collection that was published in 1963, containing ten tales that were first published in the years from 1940-1962. The title is a bit of a misnomer, since the majority of these are not in fact ghost stories. Rather, they're more generalised fantastic/spooky tales of the sort that would be perfectly in character if they had been adapted as episodes of the classic "Twilight Zone" television series.

Robert Arthur was a big part of my childhood, as he worked on several Alfred Hitchcock anthologies for young people, and he was also the author of the early entries in "The Three Investigators" mystery series that I liked so very much. The stories in this book are a lot of fun; creepy and slightly horrifying and comedic in turn. ("The Wonderful Day" really is marvellous!) This is a great introduction for juvenile readers to tales of the fantastic. If you should happen across a copy of this at a library sale or charity shop---or here on Amazon!---by all means pick it up and share it with any young people of your acquaintance. Recommended.

My copy is a slightly oversized hardcover with chapter heading illustrations by Irv Docktor. It has illustrated boards with a classic vintage spooky design that I find very appealing; I've uploaded photos of the front and back covers here on Amazon.

I read many of these stories in other compilations when I was but a wee lad, and I really enjoyed picking up this anthology, over thirty years hence.
The lead story, "Footsteps Invisible," is a nice scary story with a rather surprising ending.
I bought this one largely on the basis of my foggy memory of "The Rose-Crystal Bell," which I had thought was a retelling of the classic "The Monkey's Paw."
It turned out to be pretty good, but lacking the truly chilling punch of the other story, which is a true masterwork to keep you up at night.
"The Wonderful Day" injects some real humor as a great "what if" story.
The other stories found here are also really good.
If you have a nostalgic streak, you can't go wrong here.

Like the other reviewers here, I read this as a child, but never owned it. Years ago -- pre-Internet -- I did an extensive search for this out of print gem, but was unsuccessful. Recently it popped back into my head and I got a used copy here via Amazon. Was delighted to re-read stories like "The Rose Crystal Bell" and "The Wonderful Stamps of El Dorado," and surprised to find that other stories I remembered vividly also came from this book! ("Mr. Milton's Gift" is one.) Very chilling and well written, it's been such a pleasure to re-read this 30 years on and still enjoy it.

When you read anything by Robert Arthur, remember that he wrote in the 1940's, and was commenting extensively--and incisively--on American society as well as on the myths and legends that have survived to this day. Technically, this is written for children--yes, and children can enjoy Gulliver's Travels, too, but it still has some rib-jabbing comments that adults can appreciate. Along with the chills you'll get a barrel of laughs, as Robert Arthur expertly sends up Oriental, Egyptian, Roman, and European legends (ancient and medieval), popular "dare danger" radio plays, and the quirks of American rural and urban society of ca. 1940. And he is indeed an expert--you'll have to look sharp to follow some of his point-of-view shifts, and in one case (buy it and you'll find out) figure out what really happened, as opposed to what various scientific and police authorities think happened (but still can't explain completely).

And one more thing: the reason Mr. Arthur could see Americans as outsiders see us is that he was an outsider himself--a British expat, as some of his idioms make clear.

So sit back, turn out the lights, and prepare, not for mindless entertainment, but for thought-provoking self-examination.

I first encountered the short story, "The Marvelous Stamps of El Dorado" reprinted in my sixth-, seventh-, or eighth-grade reader, and it has been returning to my thoughts occasionaly ever since. When it did so most recently, I did some research, found that it was in this volume, and tracked down a copy. It was as good as I remember it, and the other stories in the volume are on a par with it, and they all seem to be potential "Twilight Zone" fodder.

While it was originally marketed as a children's book, it holds up well for readers of all ages.

This is a book I grew up with! It was given to me by a distant relative whom I haven't seen since the evening he gave me this copy of Ghosts and More Ghosts. I have a 1st revised edition, Copyright 1963 hardback copy. (No I won't part with it) I remember my dad reading these to me at night (I'm 26). To quote Alfred Hitchcock from the reviews in the front of the book, "A choice blend of ghostly gooseflesh and ectoplasmic entertainment."