Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories

I love reading these stories. As a fan of horror fiction and films, I cannot say that these stories are going to keep you up at night. They are rather dated and often use vocabulary and structure that may not be casual to the modern day reader, but they are all creepy in their intent, and are well written. Most of the stories can be read in 30 minutes or less, which are great for those late night reads just before going to sleep.

Like others who should have read the item description more closely, I purchased this collection thinking it was a book of ghost stories that Roald Dahl had actually written himself. That was my fault. In my defense, however, I wonder why it couldn’t have been entitled “Ghost Stories collected by Roald Dahl”… Doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, does it?Dahl explains in his introduction that he had an idea for a television series back in 1958. He would use his writing prowess to write a screenplay for each episode based on an excellent ghost story. Dahl set out to find the best ghost stories for this project. He relates that by the end of a marathon reading session, he had read no fewer than 749 ghost stories. I’m pleased with his discernment.However awesome the ghost story television series could have been, it flopped. What we’re left with is a remarkable collection of 14 ghost stories that one of my favorite storytellers read and loved. You may have heard of some of these authors, such as Sheridan Le Fanu. Others were new for me: Rosemary Timperley, Cynthia Asquith, and Mary Treadgold. My favorite out of the whole crop is Timperley’s “Harry.”I feel that any fan of Roald Dahl’s short stories (the ones for grownups) will certainly admire this collection. Knowing that he recommended them tells me they’re going to be satisfying. As he remarks, “Good ghost stories are damnably difficult to write.” So let’s sit back and enjoy this spectacular little collection!

Contents:***Introduction by Roald Dahl......11***W.S by L.P. Hartley......21***Harry by Rosemary Timperley......33***The Corner Shop by Cynthia Asquith......47***In the Tube by E.F. Benson......63***Christmas Meeting by Rosemary Timperley......78***Elias and the Draug by Jonas Lie......81***Playmates by A.M. Burrage......90***Ringing the Changes by Robert Aickman......115***The Telephone by Mary Treadgold......146***The Ghost of a Hand by J. Sheridan Le Fanu......154***The Sweeper by A.M. Burrage (Ex-Private X)......162***Afterward by Edith Wharton......179***On the Brighton Road by Richard Middleton......210***The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford......214__________ __________ __________ __________ __________ _________A great collection of very interesting ghost stories to be read and then re-read again and again!It seems to me a better recommended reading age would be something like 13 yrs and above.Originally, I thought that this was a book of stories all written by Roald Dahl himself... that was the impression I got from the title.Anyway, I recommend this to you!

These were decent to read but overall not that scary

Im having a blast reading this! The Introduction is a MUST read. Finding out how Roald Dahl came about putting this book together is fascinating!

The tales in this book are very well constructed, well versed and scary but not in the typical way. Kept me very entertained, I savored each and every story. I could have finished it very quickly but drew out the read by reading one story each evening. Would like to have seen these become a television series like Roald Dahl intended.

I love these! I am pleased to have found this as I’ve not read any of these in my Victorian meanderings.

I won't speak for the contents of the book; I don't want to spoil any of the treats you're in for. I will say that they are imaginative and original. Which is a tough quality to find in a collection of ghost stories. So you're going to enjoy what you read. But will it scare you? I don't know. It depends on your terror threshold. The book came in brand new condition and is everything you'll expect as far as the physical presentation of the book. But the contents within are great and I myself enjoy it immensely.

Varied stories that'll make you ponder

Lovely book and well worth the money.

Roald Dahl es el maestro de los relatos cortos. Inquietantes, cargados de humor. Uno no puede morirse sin haber leído algo de él.

There are quite a few stories in the book and they are all well written and scary. I bought this book for my daughter and she's loving it.

Awesome book!☺️❤️ A GEM IN THE WORLD OF HORROR FICTION!