Strangely Enough

by C. B. Colby, David Lockhart (Illustrator)

Phantom ships ... ghostly people ... a vanishing city. Eighty incredible tales to fascinate and intrigue you.

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Short Stories, Paranormal, Mystery, Ghosts, Middle Grade

80 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1940

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the first books I owned as a child. It is full of interesting, easy to read, amazing stories about ghosts and lost treasures and strange events ("The Painting In The Cavern", "The Balls of Clay" and "The Whistle" are particular favorites). It also teaches you about the world and different places and different times. I bought it from the bookmobile in, probably, 1976 or so. It was one of the most influential books on my young life. It is what lead me to reading a cranky and forgotten writer from the 1930's like Charles Fort in 4th Grade. I just recently found a replacement copy for my long lost original.

STRANGELY ENOUGH! broadened my horizons, filled the world with wonder, and frightened and awed me at the same time. I think it may be one of the greatest books to give a child who is just discovering the joy of reading. I am dead serious!

[Dachokie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long Lost Treasure …

I’m finding that having kids of my own often satisfies a nostalgic yearning for my own childhood. As a Generation X’er, born in the late 60’s, I had the luxury of experiencing my elementary school years in the glorious, care-free, child-friendly 70’s. In lieu of video games, electronic gadgetry and cable/satellite, we had Wacky Packages, Sears Christmas Wish Books, Koogle Peanut Butter Spread and a choice of three television channels to choose from (actually, five … if you could adjust the ears for a UHF channel or two). We also had those wonderful Scholastic Book Fairs back then that offered awesome books like STRANGELY ENOUGH.

While appearing somewhat dated (originally published in 1940), STRANGELY ENOUGH reads as good now as it did so many years ago. The book is comprised of a multitude of chapters that each represent a short tale. What makes the book so great is that the stories only average about two-and-a-half pages each … meaning there are a lot of stories. The sheer number of stories allows a broad range of topics to be covered: chilling tales (“The Whistle” has remained vivid in my memory for almost 40 years), UFOs (“The Cigar in the Sky”), history (“The Disappearing Army”) and a myriad of other provocative subjects. The stories are short enough to maintain interest and detailed enough to be thought-provoking … perfect for kids (and adults). I remember teachers reading some of the stories to us after lunch and the entire class would sit spellbound as we listened to every detail. Those simple readings prompted most of us to urge our parents into buying a copy of STRANGELY ENOUGH (in addition to another book: “Strange but True”).

While the stories remained with me for decades, the name of the book that housed them eluded me until recently. Now, I am sharing the same creepy, adventurous and thought-provoking stories to my children and notice the book’s spell-binding quality hasn’t dissipated after so many years. My re-discovery of STRANGELY ENOUGH is like finding some lost treasure from my childhood. Now … if I could only stumble upon a copy of an old Dynamite magazine …

[Rod · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I read over and over when I was a kid, basically an anthology of strange/weird/creepy, supposedly-true-but-I-mean-c'mon-really? tales, all very short and succinct, usually no more than two pages, sometimes just one. Many of the stories creeped me out and kept me up late at night with my head under the covers. I've still got a copy of it, but hadn't thought about it for years until recently when my wife and I were talking about the books that we used to order as kids through the Scholastic Book Service when the teacher would pass out the little order forms. It was always such a big deal, and when the books arrived it was a major event. Anything dealing with ghosts, UFOs, or weird/unexplained phenomena was what I went for first. This is the one book I have the strongest memories of.

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

I read this book over and over again when I was a kid. It introduced me to all the oddities of the world: UFOs, ghosts, strange disappearances, historical mysteries, monsters, ESP, etc. It served as a launching point for delving into each of these other topics more fully. I still have that copy, lovingly preserved.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

creepy stories of hauntings, ufo's, etc.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the first books of my childhood that I remember really intrigued me. (It was old when I read it in the late 80's.) It's a bunch of short stories that detail "true" mysterious events and legends. I re-read it recently to go down memory lane and it did not disappoint. The writing quality, though not the best, was perfectly written to capture 11-year-old me's interest. Wish I could get a copy for myself but out-of-print + needing a certain cover+ high price = I'll borrow it from the library again sometime. :)

[Fiona Robson · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Strangely Enough” is a collection of unusual tales, "good yarns" and stories of the supernatural, collected by writer C. B. Colby, who, according to the book's preface, used to run them in his newspaper column, "Adventure Today."

I inherited this from my cousin, so thought I’d better read it. Some of it was rather quaint, and it was a quick read.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers will find eighty strange tales inside this collection. Some will make you wonder, some may make you scoff but all are intriguing.

[Brenton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got the modern (90s) edition of this book through one of those Scholastic bookfair deals in grade school. Of all my old bookfair picks, this one was my favorite for years. I can't even guess how many times I re-read it throughout my young life. It terrified and fascinated me. The simple ink drawings accompanying many of the short chapters added to the atmosphere.

Reading it now as an adult, most of it is pretty tame, and a good handful of the stories that are supposedly based on real events are either exaggerated or were debunked decades ago, but it was like visiting old friends I hadn't seen in years. It's as close as I can get to peering back at my ten-year-old self lying on the floor of my bedroom after school in Lakewood, CO, book in hand...

The one that gave me the most chills as a kid was "The Whistle". Still gives a tingle!

[Anthony Aiello · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best collection of (maybe) true and not true short stories I've ever read. Each story is no more than 3 pages long, and almost all 80+ stories come with an illustration that is just enough to provide your imagination with a setting to sit in for a few minutes.

I read this book back in the 90's, when my father gave it to me when I was still small. Having since lost it for many years, I searched bookshops for years to no avail. Finally, a girl I met found and bought it for me and I read it all over again with the same delight as when I was a child.

Highly recommend this book to any kind of story enthusiast.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was a kid. It'a a compilation of weird/crazy incident and tales, mostly "unexplained," which are purported to be true. The stores were compiled and published in the 1950s. Reading it now adds a new twist: many of the incidents described in the book are addressed online, and many of these "unexplained" tales now have an explanation, or additional information which explains them in a more conventional way. A fun, quick, easy read, and Google-searching some of the stories after reading them is interesting.

[Travis Brown]

One of my favorite collection of ghost and treasure hunting stories from when I was a kid. The stories are only a few pages long, but stick with you for years afterward. It's questionable how much of it is true, but it stays grounded in reality the entire time. A perfect book for putting beside the bed to finish a few pages before sleeping. Recently bought another copy for myself and I'm loving it all over again!

[Elizabeth Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strangely Enough is a fun yet spooky collection of over eighty stories ranging from one and a half to two pages long. This allows you to gobble up stories or read them at your leisure.
Carroll's stories include ghosts, strange lights, UFO's, historical and science mysteries. In my opinion, Strangely Enough is appropriate for older elementary students but held my interest as an adult.

[Kirby Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first bought this Scholastic paperback in grade school during the 1960s. Its short tales of mystery and the supernatural never cease to move and entertain, and since it was drawn from a newspaper column in the '50s and '60s, the low-key writing style remains fresh and effective. I wish I could find the original edition; this Scholastic paperback is somewhat abridged.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's sort of nonfiction, but there is a lot of speculative elements. It's written for younger readers. I really enjoyed it when I was a kid.

[Vicki Gooding · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delicious collection of weird and engrossing stories of mysteries in the unknown

[Patrick Broderick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A flashback to my youth. This collection of very short stories of supposedly true extra-normal experiences was a great book to excite the imagination of a 12 year-old. While it doesn't resonate that same way now, it's still a fun book to read.

Roughly 80 or so stories, all 2 pages (with a couple of 3 pagers thrown in) deal with ghosts, mysterious disappearances, lost lost treasures, UFOs (especially the tales of flying craft in the 19th century - decades before Roswell & the flying saucer craze of the 1950s), curses and eerie legends.

In this age of Snopes and 'fake news', when there were enough specifics in a story, I did a little on-line searching and found some legitimacy to a couple of them. About half were more obscure in terms of location or date so I couldn't attempt any verification. And some sounded like more famous urban legends - perhaps the initial source of the current version?

A very quick read but fun nonetheless.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Around the 1950's and 60's, C.B. Colby wrote a newspaper column about strange stories, unexplained phenomena and so on. Strangely Enough collects eighty of those stories. Colby's writing style is suitable for his intended audience of young or casual readers. He's entertaining and gets right to the point. There are ghosts, haunted houses, haunted castles, phantom ships, Fortean phenomena, and several tales of lost treasures.

A few of the stories have aged badly, revealing some of the prejudices of Colby's day. However, in general, they are just enjoyable capsule tales of oral history and spooky folklore from a variety of times and places.

[Rex Libris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 1950's Colby had a newspaper column that related ghost stories, lost treasures, and other unexplained phenomena. Legends and myths most likely, but it is a fun little read.

The book brings to mind a comment a friend once may about the Ripley's Believe it or Not tv show: Ripley's used to be a newspaper cartoon feature that illustrated stories such as Colby's collection. You could chose to believe them if you wish, or not, as the case may be. Then with the TV show they showed many of the phenomena ad the mystery was lost. There it was right before you, and all the fun was taken away.

[Shannon Yarbrough · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably would have enjoyed the "scary" stories in this book much more back in grade school when this book was no doubt a bestseller at the Scholastic book fair. Each story is very short (less than two pages) so it's a quick read. It's mostly about unexplained disappearances - missing ships, lost treasure, etc. There are a few ghosts and mysteries but nothing you haven't read or seen in some other form.

[The Busta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what the world is missing nowadays. Absolutely clears Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark. Every story is absolutely made up but I feel like the modern world is missing a lot of the intrigue and mystery that this book provides. This book absolutely scared the piss out of me when I was a kid, long before Google was a thing. 9/10, would give myself nightmares again.

[Les Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories about unexplained phenomena like ghosts, buried treasure, weather anomolies and more. Each story only a few pages long. Some of the stories are legends, others are well documented in respected journals. All are a lot of fun to read. An excellent book to stash on a camping trip to read around a campfire.

[Justin Dillehay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to read this book in elementary school, and finally tracked it down after forgot ring about it for many years. Some of the stories I’m not sure I ever actually read. But others, like the painting in the cavern or cigar in the sky or footprints in the snow have stuck with me through the years. A quick google search will show that many of the stories are totally legend, but it’s still fun.

[Nadim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this through a high school book club membership - I recall it was quite cheap but I also recall what good value it was as it contained so many creepy stories.. My copy had the big eyeball on the cover. I'm getting a spooky feeling of nostalgic purchase coming on..

[Kevin Zwiefelhofer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have been a 5 if it had held up to my recollection of it as a kid, but no. There are a few interesting ghost tales but mostly mysteries of treasure unknown. More a Ripley Believe it or not.

[Kirby Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this in grade school. I've repeated the process many times over the next 50 years. I have one wish: that I could find the unabridged version and see what tales Scholastic decided to exclude.

[Michele G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little book which I found when cleaning out our attic. I have had the book since 1989. Most of the stories are completely fabricated or have been debunked, but some do hold a little weight. Enjoyable, entertaining read.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another one from my childhood bookshelf. Probably should have left the memory of this one alone.

[Canavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

✭✭✭

[Toni Wyatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hodgepodge of interesting myths and stories about lost treasure.