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lucianagrimm's review against another edition
3.0
I love a good ghost story and this book delivered a series of hauntingly authentic thrillers. The feel of each story resonated with a realistic accompaniment and each story rounded off with a satisfying conclusion. The vocabulary in this book was quite complex and the language is very much from a different century and so I did struggle with exploring a lot of the finer details. Overall it was an enthralling read and fulfilled my love of the supernatural.
samarakae's review against another edition
3.0
Some of the stories I loved, I’ll probably re-read some of them closer to Halloween.
orndal's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Some great ones (the sweeper, harry, elias and the Draug) some ok ones (corner shop, w.s., ringing the changes) and some naff ones (afterward, the ghost of a hand, the telephone) all in all a very decent collection if you jsut skip roalds mysogynistic foreword all together
rachelhelps's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this collection of ghost stories, but I didn't find them as chilling as Dahl talked them up to be. I found them more literary than scary.
aidanfordays's review against another edition
3.0
Some great spooks in this compilation, but the ones that were not great- yeaaah. Pretty meh.
Elias and the Draug, Playmates, and the Upper Berth were da faves.
Elias and the Draug, Playmates, and the Upper Berth were da faves.
monsterful_alex's review against another edition
4.0
Contrary to what some people might believe, this book is NOT written by Roald Dahl, but just compiled by him - it is a series of his favourite 'ghost' stories. They don't all feature ghosts, but rather the inexplicable, the supernatural; and they are, each and every one, thrilling in their own way. It is an enjoyable, exciting read, especially late at night, at the light of a very dim lamp (or even a candle, if you are, like me, taken to such fancies) and I am grateful to Roald Dahl for introducing new authors to me, authors that I now want to read. My favourite story was Ringing the Changes by Robert Aickman (who is now on my reading list), which reached the best balance between peculiar folklore and psychological thrill (two newly-weds decide to visit a town at a time when it is not quite safe to go outside and the bells are tolling ominously). Elias and the Draug was interesting, as it brought a bit of Scandinavian flavour to the mostly English-centred landscape (it all happens at sea, in Norway and it features, unsurprisingly, a Norwegian mythological creature). And the Corner Shop was the story with the happiest ending (a very peculiar antique shop appears on a rainy day). I think I would have liked it if Dahl would have included the years when these stories were written, but that is mostly because I am fascinated by literary context. A recommended read for fans of psychological thrillers and gothic literature.
nadinebean's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
lukija's review against another edition
3.0
More mysterious than scary. I wish I had not read Dahl's introduction as he seems to claim that women are good writing children's books and ghost stories but not so good writing novels or short stories in general...nor write classic plays...nor compose...nor paint. Know your HIStory. Otherwise a wonderful collection!
mrears0_0's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
disappointing - none of these were particularly scary (and I scare easily)