Arrow Book of Spooky Stories

by Edna Mitchell Preston (Editor)

A book of ghost stories for children, edited by Edna Mitchell Preston.

Genres: Fiction

90 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[C. (Comment, don't blank click reviews). · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love paranormal books. Little-known collections spell valuable classics to me! I have a few “Arrow Books” and was thrilled recently, to come across “Arrow Book Of Spooky Stories” from 1962. My “Scholastic Books” copy hails from 1972, my birth year. It easily earned four stars, for a wide range of metaphysical phenomenon and country contributions. It balances splendidly in spookiness, soberness, and funniness. It is edited by beloved award-winning children’s authoress Edna Mitchell Preston. Her selections furnish the integral impact. Drawings by award-winning child prodigy artist, Erwin Hoffmann are successfully atmospheric and whimsical.

This assortment of paranormal tales makes easy reading, not only because they are excellent and culminate in 90 pages. The balance I referred to, from funny to spooky, keeps shifting the mood and maintaining interest avidly. Their size varies too, permitting us to breeze past short vignettes and to settle in and invest in larger stories. The writing is excellent whatever the size and rich. Age added a benefit just naturally. With words, situations, and styles now a generation away from us: the contents of this collection feel original and new.

Decades before “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, Elizabeth Ireland wrote a world reversal: a ghost family’s son was too happy to know how to haunt. I love the spunk Maria Leach packed in one page, about a sceptical farmer fleeing a ghost: “Never Mind Them Watermelons”. Elizabeth Yates’ story is the dearest of all, without involving a spirit after all. “The Friendly Ghost” is about a sweetheart horse eating apples from a girl’s window. My favourite quote is from Natalie Savage Carlson’s “The Ghostly Fishermen”: “What do you mean stamping around on my horses’ food? How would you like it if my horses jumped up on your table and tramped around in your soup and salad?”

[Canavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

✭✭½

I managed to locate and re-read this slim book because it was one of the earliest that eventually led to a life-long interest in tales of the supernatural. It’s a little hard to objectively evaluate these stories, having initially read them decades ago through the eyes of 7- or 8-year-old. (This book was one of a number I owned as a youngster that was procured from Scholastic Book Services.) I was actually quite surprised by how well I remembered them. The editor, Edna Mitchell Preston, seems to have fancied herself a folklorist of sorts — the bulk of the contents have the feel of urban legends drawn from various cultures. Lupe de Osma’s “The Dancing Jug”, for example, is drawn from The Witches’ Ride, and Other Tales From Costa Rica ; Cyril Birch’s “A Shiver of Ghosts” comes from Chinese Myths and Fantasies ; and Natalie Savage Carlson’s “The Ghostly Fisherman” (the collection’s closer and best story) was taken from The Talking Cat and Other Stories of French Canada . The stories which entertain the least are the too-short thumbnail sketches that barely qualify as campfire-type recitations (I’m thinking here especially of the several entries by Maria Leach). These weaker entries are to a degree offset by others such as the aforementioned Carlson story and by Moritz Jagendorf’s humorous “The Stubbornest Man in Maine”. I wouldn’t recommend this book to any serious student of the supernatural looking for scares; the chills provided are at most mild ones as befits the intended audience. On the other hand, I won’t deny that re-visiting these tales provided for a pleasant and diverting stroll down memory lane.

“Horace the Happy Ghost”, Elizabeth Ireland (1951) ✭✭½
“Never Mind Them Watermelons”, Maria Leach (1958) ✭✭
“The Tinker and the Ghost”, Ralph Steele Boggs & Mary Gould Davis (1936) ✭✭✭
“The Lucky Man”, Maria Leach (1959) ✭½
“The Stubbornest Man in Maine”, Moritz Jagendorf (1948) ✭✭✭
“Here We Go!”, Maria Leach (1959) ✭✭
“The Friendly Ghost”, Elizabeth Yates (1949) ✭✭✭
“The Dancing Jug”, Lupe de Osma (1957) ✭½
“The Strange Visitor”, Joseph Jacobs (1890) ✭✭
“A Shiver of Ghosts”, Cyril Birch (1961) ✭½
“The Ghostly Fisherman”, Natalie Savage Carlson (1952) ✭✭✭½

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just reread this book after finding it in a thrift store, an original printing from 1962. I remembered owning/reading it as a child. My favorite story in the collection is Horace The Happy Ghost. It's a really cute & fun story (but not spooky).
The title of the book is a little misleading- yes, a few of the stories are spooky but none of them are scary at all. Maybe it's just because I'm an adult with a grown-up perspective, maybe people were more easily scared in generations past, or maybe it's a combination of those. But honestly I can't see even my grandkids being very spooked by any of these stories, though they might be entertained and even laugh at the humorous ones.

[Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read this back in grade school almost 50 years ago. I remember that I loved it back then. I was amazed how much I still remembered when I reread this book. The pictures were exactly the way I remembered them. Stories didn't seem to be so scary anymore. LOL

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was in third grade. It is best read with a flash light in a tent with your girl friends or with your Girl Scout troop. Lots of fun.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was published in 1961 and is definitely out of print. Used copies are available online. I opted to use OpenLibrary to read this book so I could review it. Amazon has listings for used paperback copies at normal prices, but be careful to avoid listings from "collectors'' who try to charge ridiculous prices.

I love spooky short story collections that feature new-to-me storytellers, especially vintage ones with illustrations. The cover first attracted my attention. The artwork by Erwin Hoffman is awesome! There are also illustrations for each story as well. Love it!

Stories include:

Horace the Happy Ghost by Elizabeth Ireland. Very cute story about a ghost who can't moan or clank correctly, which annoys his parents. I tried to find more information on this author, but came up blank. My research just pulled up this story and a re-release of the story as "How Horace Learned to Moan" in 1977. Enjoyable tale of how a ghost learned how to ghost better...in a cute way.

Never Mind Them Watermelons by Maria Leach. Very short, but cute story! Maria Leach was an American writer best known for writing and editing books on folklore from around the world.

The Tinker and the Ghost by Ralph S. Boggs & Mary Gould Davis. Boggs is famous for his writings on folklore. Mary Gould Davis was a librarian, author/editor, publishing mostly story collections for children. This is a great story - so entertaining to read!

The Lucky Man by Maria Leach. Another short selection with a cute conclusion!

The Stubbornest Man in Maine by Moritz Jagendorf. Bill Greenleaf was stubborn -- alive or dead! Wonderful story! Moritz Jagendorf was an Austrian-American folklorist who wrote stories and plays for children based on American, European and Asian folklore.

Here We Go by Maria Leach. A cute story about a boggart. Longer than her other offerings in this collection, this tale of a family's woes caused by a mischievous spirit is my favorite in this collection!

The Friendly Ghost by Elizabeth Yates. A girl visits relatives for her first trip away from home and gets a slightly spooky surprise! Cute story! Elizabeth Yates was a Newbery Award winning American writer.

The Dancing Jug by Lupe De Osma. Spooky story about a miserly man who pays a price for his love of money. Lupe De Osma was famous for sharing folklore and stories from Costa Rica.

The Strange Visitor by Joseph Jacobs. I have heard variations of this story many times. This version was fun to read! Joseph Jacobs is known for writing folklore and fairy tales.

A Shiver of Ghosts by Cyril Birch. Birch is famous for writing about and teaching about Chinese literature, myths and folklore. This selection is 3 Chinese ghost stories. All 3 are varied: A man tricks a ghost at the marketplace, a very strong man takes on the chore of ridding a rich man's house of a spirit, and a friend allows a visitor to sleep in his haunted library. Loved all 3 stories!

The Ghostly Fishermen by Natalie Savage Carlson. Carlson is known for writing many children's books. This story is a French Canadian ghost tale about a ghostly fisherman.

I enjoyed every single story in this collection! The fact that all of the writers are well known for writing and teaching about folklore or literature for children makes this an excellent grouping of spooky/unusual tales for kids (and adults, too!).

I love the fact there are avenues to read some of these long out of print Scholastic, Weekly Reader, and other great books for children. It brings back memories of those awesome days when I got to order books at school and bring home a stack of stories like this to enjoy! School book orders really started my love of books and reading!! I think that is why I still love reading these books, either online or when I come across lucky thrift shop/used book shop finds!

[Ryan Lieske · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual star rating: 2 and a 1/2.

This is a book for kids, and I imagine kids will find it fun. I'm sure I did when I was little, but I don't remember. (I read so many of these kinds of books that most of them have blended in my memory.) None of the stories are all that grim, but there's a little bit of violence here and there.

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copyright 1962.
Picked up at a yard sale for 10 cents.
I enjoyed this little book, it reminded me of school days and ordering books from Scholastic once a month from the flyers the teacher passed out.

[Brian Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another childhood classic and favorite of mine.