Shades of Darkness: More of the Ghostly Best Stories

by Robert Westall

Another fine collection of short stories by the late British author. Westall's tales are spooky and eerie, rather than downright scary. He creates likable characters and effectively sets them in slightly supernatural situations. "The Haunting of Chas McGill," for example, is a gem of a tale, perfectly plotted. During the London blitz in 1939, a boy discovers that a deserting British soldier (or perhaps his ghost) is hiding out in the old school into which he has moved. He comes up with a way to save the soldier, but in a delicious twist, his scheme has a surprising effect on his own family. Most of the stories are equally satisfying. Five of them feature adult characters exclusively. They are excellent, but seem slightly out of place, especially since Westall created such memorable children. In stories like "Fifty-Fafty" and "The Red House Clock," the thoughts and feelings of the boys who narrate are fascinating. When supernatural elements subtly appear towards the end of these stories, they have a significant impact because readers are already so involved with the lives of the characters. Three of the eleven stories also appear in The Call and other Stories (Viking, 1993); one has not been previously published; some are from out-of-print collections. A treat for horror fans as well as for those who appreciate well-told short stories. (School Library Journal)
Contents:
3 • Woman and Home • (1989)
23 • St. Austin Friars • (1982)
53 • The Haunting of Chas McGill • (1982)
85 • In Camera • (1992)
113 • Fifty-Fafty • (1989)
125 • The Cats
147 • The Boys' Toilets • (1985)
177 • The Red House Clock • (1989)
207 • The Call • (1989)
224 • The Cat, Spartan • (1989)
246 • Blackham's Wimpey • (1982)

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Supernatural, Young Adult, Ghosts

312 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1994

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Robert Westall was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England in 1929.

His first published book The Machine Gunners (1975) which won him the Carnegie Medal is set in World War Two when a group of children living on Tyneside retrieve a machine-gun from a crashed German aircraft. He won the Carnegie Medal again in 1981 for The Scarecrows, the first writer to win it twice. He won the Smarties Prize in 1989 for Blitzcat and the Guardian Award in 1990 for The Kingdom by the Sea. Robert Westall's books have been published in 21 different countries and in 18 different languages, including Braille.

From: http://www.robertwestall.com/

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

That Westall’s books are generally confined to the YA category is such a disservice. His work is incredibly artful, emotional, and enthralling. I could almost describe his style as a literary equivalent of a comfort food, but one in which you think you’re eating junk food but it ends up being pleasantly healthy.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is curious to me that Robert Westall is remembered primarily as a writer of stories for children. While some of his writing fits into such a category, most that I have seen does not with clever tales of the supernatural and sometimes with great emotional depth. Perhaps he is remembered so because his style of writing is seemingly effortless, often written with simple prose which I suspect is actually difficult to accomplish.
In any case, we have here a collection of his stories, most of which are entertaining and several of which are excellent. In particular, I enjoyed his story "Blackham's Wimpy". Westall was known for his book "The Machine Gunners" about WWII bombers an area he had personal experience with. The story in this book is a supernatural tale about the same with a gripping sense of verisimilitude to what the experience was like.

[Michelle Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

After several disappointing stories, I skimmed the rest (why I'm not marking this as Read), and still nothing sparked. I didn't have high hopes anyway; my library sucks like no library has ever sucked in the history of time and didn't have any of the books I wanted to get me in the mood for Halloween, so I grabbed this when I stumbled across it. I never heard of it or wanted to try it; it was just there. I wish it had been a happy accident, but no dice.

[Kathryn McCary · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's something a bit odd about a book which consists of collected short stories from other books of short stories by the same author, although in fairness one of these 11 stories has never previously been published, and another was published only in an anthology. Still 'n' all. . .And, of course, as it turns out, the assay of excellence in this collection is only marginally higher than that of the original collections. But there are good stories here, among them my two favorite Westalls, "The Haunting of Chas. McGill" (which always makes think of "Come and Go," from Peter Dickinson's The Lion Tamer's Daughter also a tale of a London child evacuated to the country in WWII reaching out to a different time), and "The Call." And more than half the stories in this collection (including the one never published elsewhere) are ones I can read repeatedly with pleasure, which is a pretty high percentage for ghost story collections. So, all in all, worth keeping on the shelves. . .

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in the Library and it was a really good read - some stories where far better than others.

[Teddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beyond amazing !!!!!!!

It really makes u think, and I would recommend it to anyone!

If u r in need of a good book, definitely consider this!

-Teddy