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Ghosts (Schwartz)
Do you believe in ghosts? Some people do. Singing ghosts and cat ghosts, toast-eating ghosts, and teeny-tiny ghosts. Here are seven spooky tales that will send shivers up your spine and tickle your funny bone, too.
63 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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431 people want to read
About the author
Alvin Schwartz
78 books735 followersAlvin^Schwartz
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Alvin Schwartz was the author of more than fifty books dedicated to and dealing with topics such as folklore and word play, many of which were intended for young readers. He is often confused with another Alvin_Schwartz, who wrote Superman and Batman daily comics strips and a novel titled The Blowtop.
For Batman - See: Alvin^^Schwartz https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Alvin Schwartz was the author of more than fifty books dedicated to and dealing with topics such as folklore and word play, many of which were intended for young readers. He is often confused with another Alvin_Schwartz, who wrote Superman and Batman daily comics strips and a novel titled The Blowtop.
For Batman - See: Alvin^^Schwartz https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
October 26, 2024
Well, I was hoping that Alvin Schwartz’ 1991 Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore would both textually and stylistically be not only descriptive but also sufficiently creepy and ghastly (as there are indeed quite a goodly number of horrifying traditional stories out there regarding ghosts and/or where the main protagonist of a fairy or folktale is having to face up to and even do actual battle with such terrifying entities like Death, the Devil, vampires, diverse monsters and the like). And yes indeed, the cover image and book title did certainly look appealing enough for me to read Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore on Open Library.
But my positive reading expectations regarding Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore quite majorly notwithstanding, I have unfortunately and frustratingly been absolutely and totally disappointed and frustrated with and by both Alvin Schwartz’ text (with his retold folklore ghost stories) and equally so with Victoria Chess’s accompanying artwork. Because in my humble opinion, NONE of Schwartz’ stories for Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore are even remotely uncanny and chilling enough for my tastes (and like ghost stories are actually and of course supposed to be) but are instead mundanely, tediously penned, with no descriptive flair whatsoever and imbued with words so simplistic and basic that Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore has not even once been in any manner somewhat thrilling (both for me as an adult reader and equally very much so for my inner child), a reading experience absolutely tediously yawn-inducing (and so much so that reading the 64 pages of Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore has in fact rather felt like I was needing to plough through some textbook containing nothing of reading interest whatsoever).
And with regard to Victoria Chess’ artwork, well, even though the illustrations are colourful, the actual pictures themselves, they appear majorly emotionlessly stagnant and the facial expressions of both the depicted humans and the ghosts are rigidly staring and with a visual ugliness that has been absolutely and utterly aesthetically off-putting, and so much so that I can only consider the combination of Alvin Schwartz’ ghost stories and Victoria Chess’s artwork both textually and visually grating and really massively horrible. Thus for me, Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore leaves almost everything to be desired and therefore of course and naturally only a one star rating (and indeed, that I do appreciate Alvin Schwartz’ short bibliography, this certainly does not change me absolutely despising both text and images of Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore and will also not ever induce me to up my rating, as I personally just cannot fathom more than one star for Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore).
But my positive reading expectations regarding Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore quite majorly notwithstanding, I have unfortunately and frustratingly been absolutely and totally disappointed and frustrated with and by both Alvin Schwartz’ text (with his retold folklore ghost stories) and equally so with Victoria Chess’s accompanying artwork. Because in my humble opinion, NONE of Schwartz’ stories for Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore are even remotely uncanny and chilling enough for my tastes (and like ghost stories are actually and of course supposed to be) but are instead mundanely, tediously penned, with no descriptive flair whatsoever and imbued with words so simplistic and basic that Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore has not even once been in any manner somewhat thrilling (both for me as an adult reader and equally very much so for my inner child), a reading experience absolutely tediously yawn-inducing (and so much so that reading the 64 pages of Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore has in fact rather felt like I was needing to plough through some textbook containing nothing of reading interest whatsoever).
And with regard to Victoria Chess’ artwork, well, even though the illustrations are colourful, the actual pictures themselves, they appear majorly emotionlessly stagnant and the facial expressions of both the depicted humans and the ghosts are rigidly staring and with a visual ugliness that has been absolutely and utterly aesthetically off-putting, and so much so that I can only consider the combination of Alvin Schwartz’ ghost stories and Victoria Chess’s artwork both textually and visually grating and really massively horrible. Thus for me, Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore leaves almost everything to be desired and therefore of course and naturally only a one star rating (and indeed, that I do appreciate Alvin Schwartz’ short bibliography, this certainly does not change me absolutely despising both text and images of Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore and will also not ever induce me to up my rating, as I personally just cannot fathom more than one star for Ghosts! Ghostly Tales from Folklore).
June 7, 2021
For folk tales and scary stories, especially ones taken from legends that have been making the rounds for many years, Alvin Schwartz is always my guy. He proved his ability at shaping and retelling tales of terror in his Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark trilogy, crafting versions of legends that still give me goosebumps no matter how many times I've read them, and he's almost as good at writing scary stories for even younger kids, those making the transition from picture books to chapter books. As with In a Dark, Dark Room, Alvin Schwartz in Ghosts!: Ghostly Tales from Folklore has managed to conjure up a little bit of that hair-raising sensation from his books for older kids, despite the fact that these stories are generally only a few pages long and never use more than three or four simple sentences per page. In truth, I can't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy this book.
Ghosts! opens with "The Haunted House", a pithy tale derived from an English humor bit that floated around in the 1970s. What could have been told as a scary story is instead framed comedically, and gets things started for younger readers with the assurance that this book won't be too frightening for them. Next comes "Susie", which for my money is probably the best story of the whole lot. A surprise awaits a young girl named Nan and her mother as they find a nice little cat they want to buy from a pet shop. Purchasing that particular cat, however, isn't as simple as it seems. After this is a story with a definite old United Kingdom feel to it, "A Little Green Bottle", which hearkens back to Gaelic legends about troublesome ghosts who harass the same person in death as they did when they were alive. In this case the victim is a boy named Joe, who seems fated to be bothered by the ghost of a former classmate for the rest of his life. That is, until he comes up with an idea that could get him off the hook...
"The Umbrella" is a somewhat odd interlude about a man who receives an unexpected small gift while doing a good deed in a graveyard one day, only to pay it forward in surprising fashion many years later when the right time has come. "Three Little Ghosts" is just a single page in length, but its poetry is charming and funny, and the accompanying illustration is a good addition to the text. "The Teeny-Tiny Woman" is a "jump" story for the younger set, a scaled-down version of "Mi Ti Doughty Walker", "The Big Toe", "The Attic", and a hundred other stories designed to provide that "jump" moment right at the end of the narrative. The final tale in the collection is "Ghost, Get Lost", which isn't as much a story as it is the relation of a short incantation said to banish any unwanted ghost if put into use. The book concludes with a brief rundown of where each basic story was found, and whether or not it was changed for the purposes of this book.
No one can hold a candle to the illustrations done by Stephen Gammell in Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories trilogy, but Victoria Chess does a nice job in her own right for Ghosts!, subtly bringing out the scariness of each story without making it too intense for the youngest readers. I especially liked her drawing of the sunset over the graveyard on the final page opposite the "Where the Stories Come From" section, the orange beams of the setting sun softly illuminating a headstone with the words "THE END" engraved on it, a laurel wreath laid respectfully on the grassy mound in honor of the person resting in peace below. Even as this surprisingly touching scene demonstrates that there really is nothing to fear in a graveyard, it's just a place for us to remember and honor our loved ones who can no longer be here with us, we're also reminded that the preceding stories have all been about the idea that death isn't always "THE END", that there's humor and adventure and discovery associated with it and not necessarily anything to fear. Victoria Chess imparts all this in a single sweetly wistful illustration, which is an accomplishment.
I'm a fan of Alvin Schwartz for life, and I know I'm going to be back at it with this book many more times in the future, enjoying the stories on my own and with others at the Halloween season or anytime, for that matter. We lost a lot when Alvin Schwartz passed away in 1992, but I will never forget his profound contributions to children's literature, and I hope others remember as well. Ghosts! is yet another solid storytelling effort from one of our best children's folklorists, and I could easily be persuaded to give it two and a half stars.
Ghosts! opens with "The Haunted House", a pithy tale derived from an English humor bit that floated around in the 1970s. What could have been told as a scary story is instead framed comedically, and gets things started for younger readers with the assurance that this book won't be too frightening for them. Next comes "Susie", which for my money is probably the best story of the whole lot. A surprise awaits a young girl named Nan and her mother as they find a nice little cat they want to buy from a pet shop. Purchasing that particular cat, however, isn't as simple as it seems. After this is a story with a definite old United Kingdom feel to it, "A Little Green Bottle", which hearkens back to Gaelic legends about troublesome ghosts who harass the same person in death as they did when they were alive. In this case the victim is a boy named Joe, who seems fated to be bothered by the ghost of a former classmate for the rest of his life. That is, until he comes up with an idea that could get him off the hook...
"The Umbrella" is a somewhat odd interlude about a man who receives an unexpected small gift while doing a good deed in a graveyard one day, only to pay it forward in surprising fashion many years later when the right time has come. "Three Little Ghosts" is just a single page in length, but its poetry is charming and funny, and the accompanying illustration is a good addition to the text. "The Teeny-Tiny Woman" is a "jump" story for the younger set, a scaled-down version of "Mi Ti Doughty Walker", "The Big Toe", "The Attic", and a hundred other stories designed to provide that "jump" moment right at the end of the narrative. The final tale in the collection is "Ghost, Get Lost", which isn't as much a story as it is the relation of a short incantation said to banish any unwanted ghost if put into use. The book concludes with a brief rundown of where each basic story was found, and whether or not it was changed for the purposes of this book.
No one can hold a candle to the illustrations done by Stephen Gammell in Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories trilogy, but Victoria Chess does a nice job in her own right for Ghosts!, subtly bringing out the scariness of each story without making it too intense for the youngest readers. I especially liked her drawing of the sunset over the graveyard on the final page opposite the "Where the Stories Come From" section, the orange beams of the setting sun softly illuminating a headstone with the words "THE END" engraved on it, a laurel wreath laid respectfully on the grassy mound in honor of the person resting in peace below. Even as this surprisingly touching scene demonstrates that there really is nothing to fear in a graveyard, it's just a place for us to remember and honor our loved ones who can no longer be here with us, we're also reminded that the preceding stories have all been about the idea that death isn't always "THE END", that there's humor and adventure and discovery associated with it and not necessarily anything to fear. Victoria Chess imparts all this in a single sweetly wistful illustration, which is an accomplishment.
I'm a fan of Alvin Schwartz for life, and I know I'm going to be back at it with this book many more times in the future, enjoying the stories on my own and with others at the Halloween season or anytime, for that matter. We lost a lot when Alvin Schwartz passed away in 1992, but I will never forget his profound contributions to children's literature, and I hope others remember as well. Ghosts! is yet another solid storytelling effort from one of our best children's folklorists, and I could easily be persuaded to give it two and a half stars.
June 5, 2017
Fabulous!!! My students couldn't get enough of this book...they fought over it during independent reading time. Not to scary for first grade, but yet offers some chills. There's stories about a ghost bully and a ghost cat. I wish this author would write more ghost stories for this age. My first class earns campfire stories once in a while and we sit around a fake campfire and read tales and eat smores ..this book is perfect, and it is very hard to find scary tales appropriate for first grade.
September 28, 2008
This is a good book, but there is one part where a school bully gets sick and dies (and then turns into a ghost.) I thought that was a little too much for a book which is written for young children.
January 10, 2014
The ghost stories in this book are short and to the point without being too scary. Great for a beginning reader to gain confidence reading!
July 24, 2020
Complied by the author of Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark, these tales are creepy good. The illustrations are as good as the stories.
November 11, 2011
dumb--
January 9, 2015
not too scary but not too entertaining either.
April 24, 2019
This book is very dated and the pictures were scarier than the stories. I probably wouldn't recommend this book to any one.
August 21, 2019
This was the book that led me to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and then those led me to Goosebumps and then those led me to adult fiction, horror. I remember reading this book, borrowed from the library, over and over when I was in 4th grade. All I could remember about it was a story about ghosts with buttery feet. After about an hour of searching online I found a copy on Amazon and for 3.99 I relived another piece of my childhood.
November 25, 2021
I didn't realize that this was an "easy reader" when I requested it through InterLibrary loan. So, I guess you could say that I was a bit surprised by what showed up on the holds shelf. Even so, I decided to read it and was delighted by the stories I found. They were all spooky, but not scary, and Victoria Chess's charming illustrations really pulled the collection together. This is a great little book to introduce children to ghost stories without making them too scared to enjoy it.
June 25, 2023
I grew up on Alvin Schwartz' step into reading book, In a Dark Dark Room. I loved that book. Would read it over and over again because I loved the odd stories and the dark and disturbing illustrations of the original edition (buyer beware of the newer editions that use different illustrations that are way tamer and not as much fun). Ghosts! is a weaker book with tamer short stories. not a fan. My rating - 1/5
July 30, 2020
Great book for young kids and the stories have nice light chills while also being funny. The words are great for early readers and there’s a good variety in the stories to keep a kid interested. The kids I read it to love the Teeny-Tiny Woman story, and spent hours acting it out. The characters are animated and alive in the illustrations.
July 12, 2021
Re-reading this book is a real treat. I vividly remember the illustrations from my childhood and still find them enthralling. The stories are a bit on the mediocre side of things, but that's maybe not the point. I know my nostalgia is partly the reason I have such a positive view of this work, but I also think there is a value in exposing children to folklore.
January 11, 2023
Picked this up to put towards my folklore studies and otherworld research in folk narrative. Schwartz compiled a provoking collection from legends around the world… bound to stay with you. Some stories left you wanting more. The eerie and captivating illustrations by Victoria Chess was the cherry on top!
October 17, 2017
Scary stories geared for an even younger audience. I love that he immediately sets the mood that these are meant to be enjoyed and that being scared can be fun! He also cites where the stories come from.
November 8, 2023
Alvin Schwartz has assembled and edited several collections of scary stories for various audiences, this one being for youngest readers (AR 2.7). This is a good collection for younger kids, easy to read and a fairly soft introduction to spooky stories.
January 15, 2025
Las ilustraciones de victoria chess me hipnotizan, quiero ver todas y cada una de los dibujos que ha hecho!
Este libro me marcó desde niña pero es tiempo de soltarlo así que se lo regalé a otros niños esperando los marque también, vivan los fantasmas tiernos!
Este libro me marcó desde niña pero es tiempo de soltarlo así que se lo regalé a otros niños esperando los marque también, vivan los fantasmas tiernos!
May 31, 2018
Out of all the collections of spooky folktales by Alvin Schwartz—this one is probably the silliest and least spooky.
Very fun for new readers, but not as good as In a Dark Dark Room.
Very fun for new readers, but not as good as In a Dark Dark Room.
October 12, 2018
This was a really cute ghost story book for young kids. I remember reading it as a child. I really enjoyed a lot of the lines in the book. I'm glad I decided to re-read it.
December 11, 2018
GHOST GHOST GHOST
January 29, 2021
My nephew chose this book because he likes ghost stories that aren’t too scary. We read this together. He enjoyed it.
April 7, 2021
Far more whimsical than his scary stories to read in the dark titles.
Less horrifying art too.
Son enjoyed the stories, but none were especially memorable.
Less horrifying art too.
Son enjoyed the stories, but none were especially memorable.
July 29, 2022
i read this over and over as a child. it made me who i am today i think
October 17, 2022
Several spooky tales are in this anthology and the all are spooky and fun.
October 24, 2022
Spooky, funny, creepy, kooky...if you have small children and love ghost stories, start them off with this collection of happy hauntings!
Read
June 13, 2024The ghost illustrations are Rubenesque and I love that.
September 24, 2024
Not as good as In A Dark, Dark Room but still cute.
Read
June 15, 2025still great
October 17, 2025
Six-year-old me would've loved this
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews