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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
Is it terrible to say the best part of this book is the introduction? But then, I am a Roald Dahl fan. And, the stories within this compilation are not by Dahl. Rather they are the best of some 700+ ghost stories Roald Dahl read. There are several that are magnificent and a few that....well, could be shorter. For the reader looking for a selection of short stories to frighten and entertain, this is a good volume to pick up.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Weird and rambley old man introduction aside, this is a great collection of creepy short stories -- mostly from the 1950s, but with some intriguing earlier stories as well. My personal favorite was the one written by one of the only authors in the collection that I knew beforehand, "Afterward" by Edith Wharton. "The Telephone" by Mary Treadgold and "The Sweeper" by A.M. Burrage were also pretty great. It would be perfect to follow up reading these stories with a late-night viewing of Crimson Peak...
Roald Dahl shows himself to be a pigheaded sexist in the foreword (don’t even bother reading it) but some of the stories are great
Perfect book for the spooky season! These stories are of the literature variety, which I always think of as 'highbrow horror', and very good. I couple are a little wordy, especially the last one, but mostly worth it! Great book for October.
A great series of stories to curl up with before Halloween. From imaginary friends that aren't as benign as they appear to drownings at sea, this book has a wide variety of creepy stories.
The only catch: these are EDITED/COLLECTED by Roald Dahl. He didn't write any of them. The writers also have an older style of writing that can be hard for the modern reader. If you aren't comfortable with 19th century writers, this ISN'T the book for you.
Otherwise, settle in and be prepared to get spooked
The only catch: these are EDITED/COLLECTED by Roald Dahl. He didn't write any of them. The writers also have an older style of writing that can be hard for the modern reader. If you aren't comfortable with 19th century writers, this ISN'T the book for you.
Otherwise, settle in and be prepared to get spooked
finished it a while ago but kind of didn't feel like i REALLY finished it. i skipped all of the stories about the war because i just didn't care. wwii=blah. the rest of the stories are nothing short of amazing, though. kind of sad i finished them. someday i'll have to be a completist and read the war stories and the novel "my uncle oswald" and then i think i might be able to say i've read everything by him that's still in print.
This book is the result of a project Dahl began for a TV series that went unmade. He read some 749 ghost stories in order to find 24 that he felt were good enough to become episodes of this anthology TV series in 1958. This collection contains 14 of those stories.
It’s very difficult to frighten or surprise me but I’d say about half of these stories were excellent. The others might have been creepy to people in the 50s but didn’t do much for me.
I stumbled upon this book quite by accident and I’m glad I did. Overall it was a very entertaining read. I should say that Dahl’s introduction is almost the best part. He was a fascinating character.
It’s very difficult to frighten or surprise me but I’d say about half of these stories were excellent. The others might have been creepy to people in the 50s but didn’t do much for me.
I stumbled upon this book quite by accident and I’m glad I did. Overall it was a very entertaining read. I should say that Dahl’s introduction is almost the best part. He was a fascinating character.
Most of the stories were really good, but there were two that I found my mind wandering during.