Publisher: Farrar, Straus, Giroux

Copyright Date: 1984

Edition Date: 1993 Release Date: 10/01/84

Pages: 235 pages

ISBN: Publisher: 0-374-51868-8 Perma-Bound: 0-605-36467-2

ISBN 13: Publisher: 978-0-374-51868-4 Perma-Bound: 978-0-605-36467-7

Dewey: Fic

LCCN: 83048662

Dimensions: 21 cm.

Subject Heading:
Ghost stories, English.
Ghost stories, American.

Language: English

Reading Level: 8.0

Interest Level: 5-9

Who better to investigate the literary spirit world than that supreme connoisseur of the unexpected, Roald Dahl? Of the many permutations of the macabre or bizarre, Dahl was always especially fascinated by the classic ghost story. As he realtes in the erudite introduction to this volume, he read some 749 supernatural tales at the British Museum Library before selecting the 14 that comprise this anthology. "Spookiness is, after all, the real purpose of the ghost story," Dahl writes. "It should give you the creeps and disturb your thoughts." For this superbly disquieting collection, Dahl offers favorite tales by such masterful storytellers as E. F. Benson, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Rosemary Timperley, and Edith Wharton.

W.S. / L. P. Hartley
Harry / Rosemary Timperley
The corner shop / Cynthia Asquith
In the tube / E. F. Benson
Christmas meeting / Rosemary Timperley
Elias and the Draug / Jonas Lie
Playmates / A. M. Burrage
Ringing the changes / Robert Aickman
The telephone / Mary Treadgold
The ghost of a hand / J. Sheridan Le Fanu
The sweeper / A. M. Burrage (ex-private X)
Afterward / Edith Wharton
On the Brighton Road / Richard Middleton
The upper berth / F. Marion Crawford.