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Ravenous Ghosts
Enter a world where a man can make birds fall from the sky...the future is found in the pages of a comic book...a thief picks the worst possible target...the written word can be used to draw blood...and the Pied Piper brings horror to a small town. Enter the world of RAVENOUS GHOSTS. Seventeen tales of mystery, madness, and monsters, by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Kealan Patrick Burke.
291 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2003
40 people are currently reading
336 people want to read
About the author
Kealan Patrick Burke
194 books2,328 followersHailed by Booklist as “one of the most clever and original talents in contemporary horror,” Kealan Patrick Burke was born and raised in Ireland and emigrated to the United States a few weeks before 9/11.
Since then, he has written six novels, among them the popular southern gothic Kin, and over two hundred short stories and novellas, many of which are in various stages of development for film/TV.
A five-time nominee, Burke won the Bram Stoker Award in 2005 for his coming-of-age novella The Turtle Boy, the first book in the acclaimed Timmy Quinn series.
As editor, he helmed the anthologies Night Visions 12, Taverns of the Dead, and Quietly Now, a tribute anthology to one of Burke’s influences, the late Charles L. Grant.
More recently, he wrote the screenplays for Sour Candy (based on his novella), and the remake of the iconic horror film The Changeling (1980), for producer Joel B. Michaels.
He also adapted Sour Candy as a graphic novel for John Carpenter's Night Terrors.
His most recent release is Cottonmouth, a prequel to Kin. The Widows of Winding Gale, a maritime horror novel set in Ireland, is due for release in October as a signed limited edition from Earthling Publications.
Kealan is represented by Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House.
He lives in Ohio with a Scooby Doo lookalike rescue named Red.
Since then, he has written six novels, among them the popular southern gothic Kin, and over two hundred short stories and novellas, many of which are in various stages of development for film/TV.
A five-time nominee, Burke won the Bram Stoker Award in 2005 for his coming-of-age novella The Turtle Boy, the first book in the acclaimed Timmy Quinn series.
As editor, he helmed the anthologies Night Visions 12, Taverns of the Dead, and Quietly Now, a tribute anthology to one of Burke’s influences, the late Charles L. Grant.
More recently, he wrote the screenplays for Sour Candy (based on his novella), and the remake of the iconic horror film The Changeling (1980), for producer Joel B. Michaels.
He also adapted Sour Candy as a graphic novel for John Carpenter's Night Terrors.
His most recent release is Cottonmouth, a prequel to Kin. The Widows of Winding Gale, a maritime horror novel set in Ireland, is due for release in October as a signed limited edition from Earthling Publications.
Kealan is represented by Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House.
He lives in Ohio with a Scooby Doo lookalike rescue named Red.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 11, 2022
A Wide Array of Tales!
When I first read his novel Kin, I knew I had discovered someone special. I've been reading his work ever since and I've never been disappointed.
This collection features a wide array of spooky, sometimes supernatural, sometimes fantastical, bites sized morsels of horror good-ness and I'm sad that it's over.
When I first read his novel Kin, I knew I had discovered someone special. I've been reading his work ever since and I've never been disappointed.
This collection features a wide array of spooky, sometimes supernatural, sometimes fantastical, bites sized morsels of horror good-ness and I'm sad that it's over.
July 28, 2024
A brilliant short story collection. Loved the range of stories, some of them really gave me the creeps!! KPB’s writing and creation of atmosphere is always flawless.
February 22, 2015
I really enjoyed this collection of dark and twisted short stories by the talented Kealan Burke. One thing I particularly liked were the introductions to each story by the author about what inspired him to write them. Highly recommended for horror fans.
September 5, 2016
Ravenous Ghosts, is a collection of 19 twisted tales of mystery, madness and horror. One interesting thing that Burke does, is to give a small introduction on what inspired him to write the story. Burke, demonstrates sheer terror, without any gore. A few of these tales from the dark side, would have made good episodes of The Twilight Zone. Two of my favorite stories from this collection are, Sparrow Man, what mysterious powers does a man have that can make sparrows drop dead from the sky like rain? The second is, Someone to Carve the Pumpkins, Joe and Todd think that the old lady sitting on the porch across the street, is a ghost. Can this be true or is it just an over active imagination of two young boys? I have enjoyed this collections and other collections by Burke. I highly recommend this book.
February 8, 2020
Ravenous Ghosts was Burke's first published book, so some of the writing isn't quite as nuanced and polished as his later, more well known works, but's it's still a very enjoyable collection of short stories. Many of them reminded me of the best of the old EC Comics stories, in which evil people met evil ends due to their being, you know, -evil-. Among my favorites were The Barbed Lady Wants For Nothing (which explains what they really keep in the back rooms of comics stores), Editor's Choice (an O. Henry-esque non-supernatural tale pointing out why you should never take your partner for granted), and They Know (a seriously creepy story that would have been a great, suspenseful Twilight Zone episode.) There are a few rough edges here and there in a couple of the stories, but overall it's a dark and delightful volume.
March 31, 2025
Nineteen haunting tales of insanity told in the gloriously gorgeous prose of KPB, are you feeling hungry?
Night driving turns endless, a late night comic book store visit, a return to childhood, a torturous bind, a pickpocket’s latest score, when the sparrows fell, Gramma’s story time, the quiet guy at the diner, the ultimate rejection, who pays back the piper, the cold embrace, sometimes they don’t stay dead, a Halloween haunting, undead problems, the problem of overeating, vigilante justice, proof from beyond.
A collection that does not disappoint, unnerving, creepy and heartbreaking. Someone to Carve the Pumpkins made my heart hurt!
Night driving turns endless, a late night comic book store visit, a return to childhood, a torturous bind, a pickpocket’s latest score, when the sparrows fell, Gramma’s story time, the quiet guy at the diner, the ultimate rejection, who pays back the piper, the cold embrace, sometimes they don’t stay dead, a Halloween haunting, undead problems, the problem of overeating, vigilante justice, proof from beyond.
A collection that does not disappoint, unnerving, creepy and heartbreaking. Someone to Carve the Pumpkins made my heart hurt!
June 20, 2025
Terrifying and Unique!
An outstanding collection. I enjoyed all these stories, but my favorites were "Haven," "The Binding," "Symbols," "Editor's Choice," and "Haunting Ground." If you love great horror, you can't go wrong with anything Burke releases. Highly recommended!
An outstanding collection. I enjoyed all these stories, but my favorites were "Haven," "The Binding," "Symbols," "Editor's Choice," and "Haunting Ground." If you love great horror, you can't go wrong with anything Burke releases. Highly recommended!
March 16, 2016
4.5 stars.
June 28, 2016
An excellent book of short stories. A very strong collection of different styles, both terror and horror. Some I liked a lot, others I really loved!
April 21, 2023
I lost this book when I only had one story to read so I’m counting this as finished. I found out about Burke through the very low budget horror short “ Peekers” and picked this collection up.
It’s his very early work so I would describe the writing as a bit rough. Burke kind of reminds me of Clive Barker at times, where the writing is pulpy and corny but the concepts are so fascinating that you stick around. There was one standout story about a man encountering a child double of himself in the home he grew up in which I felt was the best metaphor for trauma I had read in a while
It’s his very early work so I would describe the writing as a bit rough. Burke kind of reminds me of Clive Barker at times, where the writing is pulpy and corny but the concepts are so fascinating that you stick around. There was one standout story about a man encountering a child double of himself in the home he grew up in which I felt was the best metaphor for trauma I had read in a while
October 24, 2018
Ravenous Ghosts, as the title suggests, the dead do not rest easy in these stories. Each of the 19 tales contains some version of horror; human, natural, supernatural, even a tongue in cheek story that made me smirk. Two stories were also in Dead Leaves but I still read them this time around as I figured I could glean a bit more and gain a different perspective. With the stories in Dead Leaves, I was more focused on the autumnal ghost story, with Ravenous Ghosts I wanted to focus on the restless souls (if that makes any sense). A stand out story for me was The Man who Breaks the Bad News. While reading, it appears to be humorous but thinking about it afterwards, the implications are much more dark and sad. It's a story about love and loss and grief but with a twist. Oh there's always a twist!
June 28, 2019
3-3.5 stars.
Finally my first Burke, and I didn't even know it was his first book. That explains some awkwardness in the writing style at times, and knowing this actually makes me appreciate those stories even more.
So, there are 19 stories in this book, and it took me a while to get into it, if I'm being honest; I struggled with the style, and couldn't bring myself to read more than 2 stories at a time.
It isn't a bad book, far from it, sometimes it just takes time. There wasn't a single story I straight out disliked; some were good, and others were close to great.
When it comes to compilations, I always struggle; Oates is probably the only author I actually look forward to reading short stories from.
So I don't hold it against Burke and I'm looking forward to the next book I'll be reading from him.
Finally my first Burke, and I didn't even know it was his first book. That explains some awkwardness in the writing style at times, and knowing this actually makes me appreciate those stories even more.
So, there are 19 stories in this book, and it took me a while to get into it, if I'm being honest; I struggled with the style, and couldn't bring myself to read more than 2 stories at a time.
It isn't a bad book, far from it, sometimes it just takes time. There wasn't a single story I straight out disliked; some were good, and others were close to great.
When it comes to compilations, I always struggle; Oates is probably the only author I actually look forward to reading short stories from.
So I don't hold it against Burke and I'm looking forward to the next book I'll be reading from him.
February 18, 2022
A nice collection of 19 short stories and the majority of them hit the bullseye.
Ravenous Ghosts is a fairly quick read and a welcome breath of fresh air after trudging through a few novels with so many characters it was impossible to figure out who was who. Burke never clogs up a tale with insignificant characters or details and he never pads anything to make it longer for no reason. It's all straight to the point with just enough detail in setting, plot, and characterization to take you where he wants you to go.
You could do a helluva lot worse than spending a few evenings with this anthology. I'd recommend it highly.
Ravenous Ghosts is a fairly quick read and a welcome breath of fresh air after trudging through a few novels with so many characters it was impossible to figure out who was who. Burke never clogs up a tale with insignificant characters or details and he never pads anything to make it longer for no reason. It's all straight to the point with just enough detail in setting, plot, and characterization to take you where he wants you to go.
You could do a helluva lot worse than spending a few evenings with this anthology. I'd recommend it highly.
December 6, 2018
Not a single story rated under 4/5 for me! Averaged out to 4.5, rounding up to 5 for Goodreads. I'd list my favorites, but my list is basically half of all the stories. Biggest standouts: Editor's Choice (gave me a giggle), Symbols, Familiar Faces (this one honestly scared the sh*t out of me), and The Room Beneath the Stairs. Reading the afterword and finding out that this is actually Mr. Burke's first published book kind of blew my mind. It's not til finding this out that I could notice the "roughness" in retrospect. I've yet to read a KPB that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed.
October 28, 2025
As always in an anthology of short stories some please more than others and this book is no different. Kealan Patrick Burke has a very special way with words. Words that linger in the back of your mind and come out when you least expect it. Loved The Wrong Pocket and Sparrow Man but they weren’t the only ones.
And that’s why this author manages to make you fall… with poetic words that give you the chills… Like :
“Dewdrops glistened and dangled from black thorns like poison from the fangs of serpents.”
Ps: can you please put numbers in the pages??
And that’s why this author manages to make you fall… with poetic words that give you the chills… Like :
“Dewdrops glistened and dangled from black thorns like poison from the fangs of serpents.”
Ps: can you please put numbers in the pages??
November 3, 2019
Thoughtful, Chilling Collection
I always love Kealan Patrick Burkes writing. I read "Kin" and have been hooked ever since. This is a great collection of short stories. A couple of them gave me the willies! My favorites were, "Symbols," " The Man Who Breaks Bad News, " and "Sparrow Man." The writing is well done, very descriptive and colorful. I have Kindle Unlimited , but this is one of the authors I really like, so I buy his books to give him the support he deserves.
I always love Kealan Patrick Burkes writing. I read "Kin" and have been hooked ever since. This is a great collection of short stories. A couple of them gave me the willies! My favorites were, "Symbols," " The Man Who Breaks Bad News, " and "Sparrow Man." The writing is well done, very descriptive and colorful. I have Kindle Unlimited , but this is one of the authors I really like, so I buy his books to give him the support he deserves.
September 18, 2017
After reading this collection, I'm surprised Kealan Patrick Burke is not bigger in the horror genre. The quality was consistently high and managed to pull off some effective twists. There was even a healthy dose of humor in a number of the stories. My favorites in the collection were "Someone to Carve the Pumpkins", "From Hamlin to Harperville", and "The Barbed Lady Wants for Nothing".
September 21, 2019
One word from me 'Wow!'
Plenty of short stories to read and I can say I loved them all. Some of them are too good to not to read. Wish I read that book before...
Total 5 from me...
Plenty of short stories to read and I can say I loved them all. Some of them are too good to not to read. Wish I read that book before...
Total 5 from me...
October 14, 2020
the way the rounded average of all the stories cant even reach a 1.5 😭😭😭 there was only like one or two in here that i was like alright not too bad
April 22, 2025
Review to come.
June 29, 2021
This was a really good collection of short horror stories. I appreciated the little notes before each story on what inspired the story or where it came from. My favorite story in the collection was The Room Beneath the Stairs but I also really loved (in no particular order): The Barbed Lady Wants for Nothing, The Binding, Sparrow Man, Symbols, Editors Choice (not scary but very funny), and The Defenseless. There really wasn't a story in here that I didnt like...so honestly this was a fun read and I would read it again. Free on Kindle Unlimited.
August 13, 2011
This is my first novel from Kealan Patrick Burke, and I'm definitely going to be checking out his other offerings. I usually hate short stories because I like to get to know the characters and feel like I'm living in the world created by the author. This was a really good short story collection and that's saying a lot for just one author working on it. Usually I like 1 or 2 from a collection and there were only 1 or 2 that I didn't like. Horror is a tough subject to nail and not having 300+ pages can make it hard to build up suspense. This guy will have you checking your shadows and doorways in 5 pages or 20. If you are a fan of short stores/twists/eerie novels then I recommend this to you good sir!
April 12, 2013
The premise of this book involves characters that are diverse and dark, with the book containing nineteen twisted tales in all. They are fast paced and intriguingly mysterious, as the author plays with the force of his words and sucks the reader in. Another interesting add is that Burke gives an anecdote beforehand about what was going through his mind when he wrote the tale. This gives the reader a sense of him being present, brooding in the background. No wonder he has a following and was awarded the Bram Stoker award for his work. Recommended read for those who enjoy things that go thump in the night, or ladies that pop out wearing coats of snakes.
February 12, 2016
This is a warning.
My death will be the true beginning of the end.
So-so read. There were a number of good ones but the majority didn't really creep me the hell off.
My death will be the true beginning of the end.
So-so read. There were a number of good ones but the majority didn't really creep me the hell off.
May 24, 2011
Only my first foray into Kealan's world and it won't be my last.
June 23, 2011
"The Binding & Sparrow Man" are my Favorites. :)
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews