Kate Culhane: A Ghost Story

by Michael Hague (Illustrator)

Michael Hague has crafted some of his most haunting paintings to date in this splendid retelling of a spellbinding tale from Irish folklore. It all begins one fateful evening when young Kate steps on a freshly dug grave. She is powerless to refuse when an unearthly voice commands her to dig up his coffin...but the worst is yet to come. How can Kate free herself from the evil spirit and save the life of the one she loves?
One of America's most beloved painters of fantasy presents a rousing ghost story for older picture book readers, perfect for campfires, sleepovers, and Halloween storytelling.

Genres: Picture Books, Ghosts, Halloween, Horror, Childrens, Irish Literature, Folklore

40 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2001

About the author

Michael Hague is renowned as the illustrator of many children's classics, including editions of The Wizard Of Oz, Peter Pan, The Hobbit, and The Velveteen Rabbit. He also illustrated The Book of Ghosts, Where Fairies Dance, The Book of Wizards, and The Book of Fairy Poetry as well as wrote and illustrated the graphic novel in The Small. Michael lives with his wife, Kathleen, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, scary story. I could see this tale appearing in a collection of ghost stories for adults just as easily, although the pictures were good and definitely added to the ambiance.



If you're getting this for a child who has any tendency to be frightened of graveyards, imagine things that go bump in the night, or refuse to eat oatmeal, you should probably read it first to make sure it isn't too intense.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a clever but impoverished young woman named Kate Culhane steps upon a freshly-dug grave, she finds herself caught up in a terrifying adventure, forced to dig up the dead man therein, and procure human blood for his oatmeal. But brave Kate manages to fool the malicious spirit, escape her own untimely demise, and win her love in the process...

This traditional Irish folktale, originally recorded as The Blood-Drawing Ghost in Jeremiah Curtin's nineteenth-century collection, Tales of Fairies and of the Ghost World , is a genuinely horrific story. Michael Hague, whose illustrations usually tend more towards the heart-warming, here delivers a convincingly eerie visual landscape that is a fitting accompaniment to the tale. Highly recommended to folktale lovers, but beware! This is not for the faint of heart - you may never want to eat oatmeal again...

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more gruesome of the Irish folktales!

[Monique · Rating 2 out of 5]

Knocking books off my TBR list real fast as this summer is one of reading firsts--and I needed a Ghost story. Alright so Kate Culhane is a young Irish girl who has become smitten with a local boy out of her league. With her mind on a doomed romance and not on the steps ahead of her as she visits her deceased mother she mistakenly steps on a grave...and the story takes off from there as a Ghost appears and makes his demands on her. I preface this by saying this was from a middle school library so what the Ghost makes her do and eat is a little graphic as to make food for the Ghost he requires the blood of all three boys in the house, including Kate's crush. With a little quick thinking and ingenuity Kate manages to .....ha no spoilers LOL ; a little dark, ghoulish and evil but also short and forgettable in the long run...Very quick read that will be great around Halloween---ooh spooky ghosts out the grave LOL...Next

[Reading For Sanity · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://readingforsanity.blogspot.com/...

[Sandra Turton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Updated review from *2.5* after 2nd read.

[Kristin King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveted the kids with spooky illustrations and creepy narrative. Perfect for Halloween and for our trip to Ireland as Michael Hague retells this old Irish ghost story. The gravestones look like those we saw in the church yards. The ruins and cliffs like many we drove past. Only downside, my eldest now thinks he shouldn't ever have to eat oatmeal again. Kate gets the best of the ghost in the end making this a ghoulish tale that ends on a happy note for the younger set. Appropriate for age 7 and up depending on how easily your child scares.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate Culhane has bad luck but it gets even worse the day when she has an encounter with a zombie and must do his bidding. This book is extremely creepy and the dark, detailed, macabre illustrations add to frightening tone of story. Perfect book for Halloween for those who don't get scared too easily.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, spooky ghost story with suitably creepy paintings by Michael Hague--not for the faint of heart. A note at the beginning of the book tells credits Jeremiah Curtin for collecting this Irish folktale.

[carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended Ages: grades 4 and up

After disturbing a dead man in his grave an Irish girl nearly pays with her life, but thanks to her cleverness and bravery she finds love and riches instead.

[Terry Grignon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully adult ghost story!

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up in a library, over a decade ago, and it has stuck with me, in my mind all that time. The story is strange, frightening and dark, and teetered right on the edge of too scary for a ten year old. But it uses gothic images and strange Irish folklore to tell a very good story that feels like a fairytale. I particularly enjoyed the way the young woman, Kate, had to face evil directly in the face, participating in the ghost's dark rites but also ends up freeing herself and others.
A very good read for anyone interested in fairytales or creepiness or irish folklore

[Cailyn L]

I read this book in 2nd grade. It terrified me and I always remembered the illustrations. I just recently found the story through an essay about mythical husbands in a different piece of media. I had no idea this had been my first exposure to Hague’s work (I always thought it was “The Book of Fairies”). The way the world seems to come full circle sometimes is very interesting.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

As horror stories go, it's probably a really good one, but not being a big fan of horror, I can't say I "really liked it." Although it's a picture book, I wouldn't recommend it for children. The illustrations are quite well executed and properly haunting, and the story comes full circle in a satisfying way.

[Boxofdelights · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought it for the Michael Hague illustrations. The ghost story is creepy, and Kate Culhane is smart and brave.

[Otto]

A

[Always Forever Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captured by the title and the cover, this book seemed interesting to me. But after read the description, I checked it out at the library. Upon receiving this book, I immediately read it.

Based on an Irish tale, a Ghost Story will make its readers cringe, think aloud, and think twice about being in a cemetery or eating oatmeal. When reading this Irish folklore, I instantly liked Kate Culhane because she is strong, mentally and physically. She proves this when she accidentally stumbles upon a ghost's grave.

Before even revealing itself, this ghost quickly starts making demands. He orders Kate to do things such as open his grave, carry him to a house on her back, and get him items while in the house. As I read this, I said aloud, "He sure is a bossy ghost, and she needs to tell it to do these things himself." Remember, he is dead. However, I was really through with this demanding phantom when he orders Kate to eat the special oatmeal. I said, "He has lost his mind; I hope she passes on this meal!" Now, why he chooses to do what he does with the oatmeal is beyond disgusting.

When it is time for Kate to carry this obnoxious spirit back to his grave, he inadvertently reveals two things that he should have kept to himself. Then he tries to make Kate keep these secrets by taking her to his grave with him.Will Kate lose this battle with the pushy ghost? Will she ever find happiness? What does the ghost do to the oatmeal? Read this story to find out.

Book Recommendation
For an adult, this book is a quick read. For a child, I definitely recommend read this story before letting him or her read it.

[Kami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not fabulous pictures hence minus one star--sorry I always include pictures on my rating scale when rating children's books. But the story was perfectly spooky, got to love that!

[Kasper · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending didn't match the tone of the rest of it, but it was quite a creepy little story and I enjoyed that.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retelling of "The Blood Drawing Ghost" from Jeremiah Curtin's TALES OF THE FAIRIES AND OF THE GHOST WORLD.

[K]

Should super creepy stories like this be left in the past?
Do stories like this just terrorize the female population?

I wanted to read a ghost story for Halloween. The illustrations looked retro and I loved the introduction explaining it was preserved Irish folklore. So this ghost story creeped me out sufficiently to qualify as a ghost story experience, but the feminist in me wonders if maybe we should let these stories fade into the past.

What do you think?

[Cheryl]

Ah, I just don't care for ghost stories. So far they all seem silly to me. What disturbs me is what live ppl do to one another... since spooks aren't real, so what. I do like Kate's courage and cleverness, though.

Won't rate cuz I'm not the audience.