Haunted Trail Tales: Paranormal Stories From The Woods

by Amy Kelley Hoitsma

Everyone loves a good ghost story, and Haunted Trail Tales will make the hairs on your neck stand on edge. A collection of beloved contemporary and classic ghostly tales, this anthology is sure to spoke even the most unrattled. Featuring twelve stories from a variety of well-known authors, this is the perfect book to read aloud from by the campfire. Contributors include H. G. Wells, Victor Sawdon Pritchett, T.V. Olsen, Ambrose Bierce, and more.

136 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2012

Reviews

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Haunted Trail Tales, is just a bunch of urban legend garbage even though it was listed at our library as non-fiction. We were expecting locations so we could actually hike the places where the stories originated. There were no details given- some not even mentioning the region. Completely disappointing.

[Peaches · Rating 2 out of 5]

***Spoilers included***
I feel it inappropriate to rate each story as I do with other anthologies mainly because this book was falsely advertised and some, if not all, of the authors wrote for different purposes other than being included in this haphazard "collection." I'm not sure how renowned authors such as H.G. Wells would feel knowing that they were shoved in to this assortment that has no actual theme.
I got this book off Zulilly and thought it would be great to read aloud with my fiancé while he drives us on trips (I hate driving and he hates reading on his own. Clearly, we're destined to match). He loves the outdoors and I tolerate activities out of my devotion to him, but I do love how naturalism influences a text. The title and description led us both to believe that the stories would be about the woods and have a "campfire vibe," possibly with urban legends, but at least involve outdoor settings. Unfortunately, most of the stories were neither! Our biggest horror was definitely wondering how this book got published with a fake theme and premise.
I liked "On the Bright Road" since walking on the road was like a purgatory where you kept dying different ways forever, but it had nothing to do with the woods. "The Girl and the Ghost" at least had Indian elements and involved the woods, plus the skeleton baby under the blankets was cool, but, again, it wasn't really about nature. Plus, they sent their kid off to a land they never asked the name of?! That was probably the best story, even though it reinforces that mothers are insufferably nosy and can't be trusted with their grandchildren...My fiancé seemed to like "The Story of Don Juan" with the El Diablo bird and "The Tower" where she will never get down the best. "Yuki-Onna" was sad and confusing. So, if the kids ever get mad at their dad for discipline, the snow woman will come back and kill him?! She wasn't very specific. The most disappointing for me was "The Red Room." Sorry, but "fear" being what haunts the house was a cop out.
Anyway, if you want a random assortment of stories that involve some sort of "suspense," here you go, but don't think you're getting what the title and the description present.

[Msoneworld4me · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I thought it was, I thought it would be actual stories of camping, hiking, outdoor adventures with the paranormal or at least “urban legends” type stories. It was more like a middle school collection of short, classic (read old), ghost stories, mostly taking place in the UK. So if you are not familiar with the horror of overgrown hedges or abandoned manor houses it won’t really scare you. Some of the stores were well written, but not any more frightening than normal ghost stories you would tell around the camp fire. I’m donating the book to a school library.

[Amanda "Coffin Critiques" · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, just as a base review for now, the stories were mostly fine, but most weren't really woods themed or on trails at all. Some, yes, but I think my expectations were unmet reading this overall.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these stories were really, really good, others were just ok. Most of them were older. Overall, I enjoyed this book.

[Sami Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting stories in here. My personal favorites were The Girl and the Ghost and The Open Window. Not a bad collection of spooky stories.

[guernsey-island · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorites: stories 3, 10, 12, 13.
Oddly none of the stories were about haunted trails...

[Ted Manahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining enough; some of the stories are worthy campfire reading.

[Christopher Keating · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful collection of short stories just ripe for bedtime reading. The Open Window, by Saki, is one of my favorites from this book and The Tower, by Marghanita Laski, is a very well crafted horror story in the classic tradition of H.P. Lovecraft. The other tales are all very enjoyable. If you like a good horror story, this short collection is something you're sure to enjoy.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I thought it was, when I requested it from the library I thought it was a book about actual hauntings, but it turned out to be fiction. That being said, I really enjoyed reading these short stories. The short stories are all by well known classic authors,like H.G. Wells, and Lafcaido Hearn, and were really quick engrossing reads. Normally I won't get a book like this, since I don't really like fictional ghost stories. However, I'm glad this one snuck in, I really loved reading it.

[Lauren Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too PG-rated for my taste with some of the stories being a bit too complicated for younger readers, so I am not sure who the target audience is for this book. For me, only a small handful of the stories held my attention (The Red Room, The Girl and the Ghost, The Strange Valley, etc.). Still, this will serve as a good jumping off point to investigate the authors I did enjoy.