The stories, many with a humorous vein, are designed for ages seven or eight to adults. There is something for all ages in this collection, starting with a wryly humourous introduction by Alfred Hitchcock, the master of fear (Psycho, The Birds) and chiller-thriller mysteries (Rear Window, North by Northwest).
Fred Banbury adds to the well-written stories with suitably creepy yet humorous illustrations. Contributing writers include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Elizabeth Coatsworth, and Donald and Louise Peattie.
The Fear Factor in These Witty Stories
Each story has its own flavour, and parents can enjoy them as a throwback to simpler, less violent times right along with their children, who in today’s media and gaming world are subjected almost constantly to violent images and acts.
Though this is an older book, it is well worth discovering – or rediscovering. It is available at amazon.com.
A List of This Book's Haunted Contents
For those who still do not believe that ghost stories can be suitable for children, reserve judgment until reading brief descriptions of this book's contents. Alfred Hitchcock's wry British humour shines, both in his introduction and in the stories he picked for the contents.
Just so readers will know what they are getting, here is a rundown of the stories readers will encounter in this “haunted houseful.”
- “Let’s Haunt a House,” by Manly Wade Wellman. This is a lightly spooky story about some Boy Scouts who foiled a getaway attempt by criminals, though not without some haunting activity.
- “The Wastwych Secret,” by Constance Savery. Vaguely a story about witches, this is also a tale about how a pompous personality can put ideas into the heads of more innocent, even gullible, people. Like many stories in this book, there is a lesson to be learned here.
- “Jimmy Takes Vanishing Lessons,” by Walter R. Brooks. This is a humourous story about a young boy, his kind, hard-working aunt, and a happy-go-lucky ghost who scares rather easily.
- “The Mystery of Rabbit Run,” by Jack Bechdolt. This is a tale about three young travellers and a kind man named Captain Ben who had seen many adventures in his younger years. The three children work together to solve a not-so-menacing mystery.
- “The Forgotten Island,” by Elizabeth Coatsworth. This story begins with two young characters, Jane and John, getting their fortunes told. They both got the same fortune – that an adventure was ahead of them, involving “…something from far away and long ago.” Jane and John find a small house on an out-of-the way island and convince their parents that all the strange things they found there were real.
- “The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall”, by John Kendrick Bangs. This is the story of a silly, selfish woman who drowned herself and was doomed to return each Christmas Eve to her former home for one hour until everything around her was drenched. Finally, the master of Harrowby Hall had enough, and he came up with a plan he hoped would foil the ghost’s repeated visits, but not before having a comfortable chat with her.
- “The Red-Headed League,” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This story, from the creator of Sherlock Holmes, is, as one might expect, a Sherlock Holmes mystery in the classic form to be enjoyed by both children and adults, not only for its classical style but for intelligent, mesmerising storytelling.
- “The Treasure in the Cave,” by Mark Twain, is taken from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It starts when Tom has a “…raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.” Huckleberry Finn is along as Tom’s faithful and funny companion.
- “The Mystery in Four-and-a-Half Street,” by Donald and Louise Peattie, is a mystery in the classical sense. Chuck Ames, a young boy, took a job in a curiosity shop, and begins to feel wary and uncomfortable in the quaint, dusty old shop. After a week, he is ready to quit. Yet, he could not pass up a good mystery…
This classic book contains nine rich stories for the Halloween season (or summer reading when it is too hot to go outside, for that matter) filled with not-quite-spooky ghosts and witches and mysteries that get solved, but provide fun in the finding out.
Now, families can rediscover this collection of stories suitable for all ages. For parents, it might be a nostalgic visit back to their childhood, and for today’s children, it will be an introduction to good writing that is fun to read and timeless in its appeal.
And, as Alfred Hitchcock says in his introduction, “In the realm of the ghost story … I think the printed page has some advantages and I want you to discover them. When you read, you can be alone. You may begin wandering through our little tract of haunted houses. – No, I’m not coming with you. This is as far as I go.”
Source: Alfred Hitchcock’s Haunted Houseful, edited by Alfred Hitchcock, Random House, Inc., 1961.
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