Mostly Ghostly

by Steven Zorn (Adapted by), John Bradley (Illustrator)

Eight shivery stories written by some of the world's most imaginative ghost story writers. Unearthly tales by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Washington Irving, Ambrose Bierce, and others are adapted for young readers.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Paranormal, Supernatural, Halloween

56 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 1991

Reviews

[Irma Pérez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Debí de leerme este libro unas 10 veces cuando era pequeña. Recuerdo pasarme las tardes en la biblioteca con él o llevármelo a casa para leerlo por las noches. Estaba bastante obsesionada, para qué mentir. De niña ya me encantaba el género de terror y recuerdo el miedo que me daban las historias reunidas en este volumen y, especialmente, las ilustraciones. Madre mía, si hasta tenía que pasar rápido las páginas para evitar la ilustración de los niños de Corazones perdidos de M. R. James... Hace poco más de un año encontré este mismo libro en una librería de segunda mano y me lo compré sin dudarlo ni un segundo. Ahora, con él en las manos, me doy cuenta de que este libro fue una de mis primeras tomas de contacto con escritores de la talla de Edith Nesbit, Ambrose Bierce, F. Marion Crawford o mi queridísimo M. R. James. Podéis imaginaros el cariño que le tengo.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are some decent adaptations of ghost stories by everyone from Washington Irving to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle's was hilarious but the one by E. Nesbit is my favourite and the creepiest. She is so good. Seviah and I found this at the used book sale at the library and she wanted it for reading in the blanket fort that she created for herself to celebrate spring break. This was a good choice of stories. It would make a great kick off to Halloween as a family read aloud as the illustrations are terrific, if a bit intense for some younger ones.

[Elenareader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro me trae muy buenos recuerdos, ya que me lo leí en el instituto, a una amante del miedo y del terror le encanta leer relatos de miedo, sobre todo en halloween, es una de los pocos libros que mandaron el instituto y me lo leí entero, le he puesto tres estrellas porque me gustaría que fuera mas largo, pero por lo demás me gustan los cuentos y las ilustraciones son magnificas

[Garrett Munz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Mostly Ghostly. As a kid, my grandfather would take my siblings and I into the attic and read from this book. The stories were spooky, and the illustrations added to the spooky atmosphere. I forgot the name of this book, and for years I searched for it. A las, I finally found it, and when I did, I took my grandfather into the attic and read to him.

[Jamie Wesner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a throwback for me. I’ve had this book since it came out in 1991 when I was 11 years old. I have always loved the macabre and I’ve always loved scary stories, so when I had the opportunity, it felt right to reread this book. My favorite from the selection has always been The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but Rose Rose has a special place in my heart too.

[Lu]

"Le pregunté a mi mayordomo si le importaba darse muerte él, o asesinar a alguien, a fin de conseguir el ansiado fantasma. Pero mi proposición no le hizo ninguna gracia."


mhmm thats what im talking about

[Alex]

This book randomly popped into my head this morning and I immediately had to look it up on here. I remember devouring this book every year in October as a kid, and I’d love to re-read it someday!

[Kasey Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made an excellent spooky read allowed for my kids

[Pao9091 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fue un buen libro que leí para la escuela tiene relatos muy buenos y otros no tanto, esta bien pero esta bien

[Noe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐ Es un libro que me mandaron leer en el insti y que, sorprendentemente, si me gustó. Y no sé porque nunca lo había puesto en el goodreads, me olvidé de él

[Geeky Katya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of short spooky stories, perfect for the fall season!

[TomiLobito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo recomiendo para empezar a leer, en su día me ayudó muchísimo a meterme en la lectura.

[DaShannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good light halloween stories for the season, Mostly Ghostly can be read in a sitting to kick off the season. A nice review of some classic stories are included.

[Yael Herrera · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has to be for kids a little older than Julia but every once in awhile she gets in the mood for a scary story or two (usually when she happens to notice a book or movie) so when we found this at the library we borrowed it.
There are 8 stories included and some are better than others of course.
The first story, 'On Brighton Road' by Richard Middleton was okay and I could see how it could be scary for a kid.
The second story, 'Selecting a Ghost' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was more humorous than scary in our opinions and I didn't care for some of the text, the way that things were said, in a very old manner. A hard to understand manner for most kids I'd assume.
The third story, 'A Creature of Habit' by Ambrose Beirce was very short, the shortest included here I think, and borderline scary. The illustrations for a lot of the stories, including this one, are sometimes the "scariest" part.
Next comes 'Man-size in Marble' by Edith Nesbit and this story was one of the better ones we both agreed.
The fifth, 'Rose Rose' by Barry Pain was the only one we didn't totally agree on. Julia liked it more than I did. It's not a bad story, just not one of the best in my opinion while Julia put it in her top 3 (in this book).
The sixth story, 'The Upper Berth' by F. Marion Crawford was one of the scarier ones. I didn't like some of the "sea speak" but it was needed and I dealt with it. It's definitely one of the three scariest in this book though.
The seventh story, 'Lost Hearts' by M.R. James was the best in my opinion and it's in Julia's top 3 too. (She couldn't make up her mind if she liked this or the last the best.)
The last story is 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' by Washington Irving. Julia's always been interested in the Headless Horseman so I think that alone pulled her in with this one. I wouldn't mind finding a kids book but a little more in depth about this - I know Julia would love it.
I want to note for future reference that we read these as bedtime stories, one or two each night for a few nights, as opposed to the shorter books we read during the day.

[Seth Lebaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could be used in k-3, but the teacher would have to read the book. The level of the book would be to high to read. 4th and 5th may be able to read the book by themselves. This book could be usesd around the time of Halloween and just be enjoyed by the listener, maybe they would like to write their own ghost stories and share them with the class.

[Emily Mellow · Rating 5 out of 5]

We own this book, and bring it out every Halloween, but this is the first year we've devoured every story. They are great, and they have fantastic illustrations that the kids find hilarious. Glad the kids are into it this year!

[Carfig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely little book with great illustrations and some wonderful ghost stories. Includes "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," which was the only story I'd read previously. Other writers include Arthur Conan Doyle, Edith Nesbit and Ambrose Bierce.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

the most amazing illustrations ever!

[Clare K. R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has the creepiest, and best, illustrations in the world.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyed the illustrations. Even though the stories were by famous authors, I think the selection could have been better.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely spooky tales collected into a great book for kids who want to get some thrills around Halloween! I would have LOVED this book as a kid - I loved it as an adult too!

[Ana Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh, it's just a meh.