More Short & Shivery

Short & Shivery #2

by Robert D. San Souci

The sequel to Short & Shivery features contemporary and classic scary stories from around the world, complete with ghastly details, spooky endings, and black-and-white illustrations. By the author of The Hobyahs.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Childrens, Paranormal, Ghosts, Folklore

163 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Robert Daniel San Souci (October 10, 1946 – December 19, 2014) was a multiple award-winning children's book author, who resided in San Francisco, California. He often worked with his brother, Daniel San Souci, a children's book illustrator. He was a consultant to Disney Studios and was instrumental in the production of the film Mulan, for which he wrote the story. He studied folklore in graduate school. He died after suffering a head injury while falling from a high height in San Francisco in December 2014. He was only 68 years old.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Short & Shivery features 30 spooky tales from folklore and literature, retold by Author Robert D. San Souci. There are five Short & Shivery books. They are all great collections of scary folklore for kids. All stories are age appropriate and entertaining for middle-grade students. The illustrations by Katherine Coville and Jacqueline Rogers add a nice extra shiver to the tales.

More Short & Shivery offers up tales of terror from all around the world. Some of the tales are familar (like The Devil and Tom Walker) and retold for kids. In the back of the book is a list of sources for those who want to read the originals or discover more information about the stories and authors. I love the fact the book includes information on the origins of the stories! The source notes give a bit of background about the tale, the country it came from, and for some, the author that wrote the original story.

I love scary story collections like this. I read a lot of really, really heavy adult fiction and non-fiction and sometimes I just want some entertaining stories that allow me a night of peaceful, enjoyable reading. My favorite palate cleansers between more heavy reading are story collections like this one. Little shivery tales that always have a spooky surprise or creepy-cool ending. I loved these books when I was young....loved them when I read them out loud to my kids....and I still love them now. :) A story doesn't have to be gory, soul shockingly terrifying or violent in order to be creepy or scary. These tales chill to the bone without being too much. Great entertainment for camping, Halloween festivities or during sleepovers. I could also see these stories being used in the classroom for reading aloud, as an introduction to get students started on a creative writing project to compose their own spooky tale, or just as an entertaining book to enjoy during reading time.

This story collection includes:

Hold Him, Tabb!
The Witches' Eyes
The Duppy
Two Snakes
The Draug
The Vampire Cat
Windigo Island
The Haunted Inn
The Rolling Head
The Croglin Grange Vampire
The Yara
Me, Myself
Island of Fear
Three Who Sought Death
Sister Death and the Healer
The Mouse Tower
The Devil and Tom Walker
The Greedy Daughter
The Pirate
The Golden Arm
The Serpent Woman
Loft the Enchanter
The Accursed House
Escape Up the Tree
The Headrest
The Thing in the Woods
King of the Cats
The Dead Mother
Knock....Knock.....Knock
Twice Surprised

A great collection! Perfect for kids (and adults) who like entertaining, creepy stories. :)

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second installment in San Souci's famous Short & Shivery series. As per usual, San Souci shares his collections of folktales collected from around the world & presents to the reader stories that are bound to bring a chill to the bone. In this installment, there are multiple tales that involve deals with the Devil, black magic demons, and strange paranormal activity.

More Short & Shivery was the other book I had read back in the day, the other being the third book. Of this, I could only recall 3 tales: The Golden Arm, The Serpent Woman & Knock, Knock, Knock. Reading those three tales were a nostalgic trip back to my early interest in horror stories. I may have read a different variation of Sister Death and the Healer, as the plot is familiar but had tweaks from another one I recall of it. The illustrations, while not totally creepy, has an eerie presence, befitting of these folktales. I only wished every story included one illustration. Similar to the first installment, I found most of the stories to not be too creepy, but they definitely seem to play a more cautionary moral in them than others. I also enjoyed reading the author's notes at the back end explaining where he found these stories along with how he made his changes to differentiate from the originals, likely due to more mature themes that younger audiences may not comprehend. Reading some of these obscure tales makes you both feel like you're taking a trip to lands beyond & bound to at least check if something is behind you.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another well-remembered favorite from elementary and middle school. Many of these stories have stayed with me through the years (I'm a bit of a supernatural-folklore junkie), like a slightly more literary and less lurid "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark."

The illustrations here are slightly less masterful than the ones in the first volume, and San Souci's love of authenticity leads to some rather dubious and unnecessary dialect work (probably directly transcribed from his sources). But if you're a lover of worldwide spooky stories, this is still worth picking up.

[Sara Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert D. San Souci was a huge part of my childhood. From Mulan to Short & Shivery I enjoyed and loved many of San Souci's retellings of tales from around the globe. The first Short & Shivery collection of scary tales began my love of scary stories.

I know that sometimes revisiting things from childhood can be disappointing in adulthood but that's not the case here. I find I still enjoy these scary tales as an adult. They have that timeless fairytale quality to them.

[Joyce Jacobo · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Short & Shivery, retold by Robert Sans Souci, features a collection of thirty folktales from around the world. It belongs to the same literary tradition as works like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, aimed at drawing in younger audiences through spooky twists and turns. They offer clever ways to enchant children with the wonders of reading by gently terrifying them.

Among the collection are selections such as “The Vampire Cat,” which tells of a demonic feline who takes the place of a Japanese prince’s love, and “Hold Him, Tabb!” about a haunted house in Virginia. Common themes include unexpected encounters with mysterious beings, as in “Two Snakes,” to misdeeds punished by otherworldly forces, evidenced by “The Mouse Tower.”

However, all these stories are just as enjoyable for adults to read as children. Each one gives glimpses into various cultures and mythologies, only taking a few minutes to complete–which makes for fun, light reading in-between other tasks. They are also brilliant examples of the fact that works of horror do not need to be particularly gruesome or graphic to send a delightful chill down the spine. They relate veiled warnings about dangers present in our world, where monstrous creatures represent threats that are usually far more human in nature.

Whether read quietly by children, read aloud to them by adults, or savored by the adults themselves, More Short & Shivery is a welcome addition to the shelves of folkloric treasures through the ages.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of folklore, an interesting collection of stories that allows the reader to get a glimpse into the variety of cultures and the stories they use to teach morals. It seems in this book that there are more stories that are aimed at teaching a lesson or more along the lines of a fable than a horror story even though they are quite spooky themselves. A good read well put together. The author has a knack for creating a complete story in just a few pages.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection, just like its predecessor. Fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark will find a lot to enjoy here (if they're reading for the stories and not just Stephen Gammell's nightmare illustrations!

[Sara Coley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brings my childhood back to life!

I love this book series! It still holds up over 20 years later. The author includes sources and the selection of tales is wonderfully diverse. I recommend this for kids from 1 to 100 years of age.

[Jake Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frightening and fearinducing for all ages!

[Malin · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.9 stars. I think someone younger might like it better.

[Erin Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another fun short story collection. Nothing spectacular but still enjoyable

[Am Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told fairytale-style, these tales were mainly lighthearted and amusing, and fun to read. If you like your fairytales with a touch of deviousness, this is the book for you.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun to reread these stories that used to scare the hell out of me for my son. He's thankfully too young to get spooked by them...I hope.

[Rick Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Pirate" story scared me the most.

[Tandava Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt less like horror stories and more just like folktales with supernatural elements, so it's a decent collection but not particularly satisfying.

[Zea Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is another installment in the series of the Short and Shivery books. The stories in this book really lived up to its name. The tales are short and indeed creepy. I liked the way the author told the stories in a very kid-friendly manner. Even though the stories are scary, there is some element of fun in them. I had always loved reading scary and haunted stories even when I was a child, so this book was perfect for me! After reading this book, I’ll certainly look for other books by the same author - Robert San Souci.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG this is the book I read when I was like 6!!! I remember our whole class kept borrowing this from our schools library and when I got it finally I freaked the flip out upon reading the story about the woman who kept a slip of ribbon around her neck.....

[Shamima · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is my childhood! Great stories to read around a campfire, during a sleepover, or even alone at night. It has about 30 scary short stories from around the world; these are the kinds of things you would read before creepypasta.

Its the second book in the trilogy.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary stories for older kids. A little too scary for young ones. Austin (7) liked them.

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aimed at kids, it was a quick read with interesting scary stories from multiple characters. Good enough, for $1, but I'm taking it back to the book store now to get something better.

[Jamie Wyatt Glover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read. A collection of "scary" stories aimed at kids. I liked the fact that the stories were from all over the world.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun collection of folklore from around the world.

[Terrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable short spooky tales that are fun to read before bedtime, or lunch break.