New Windmills: Ghostly Companions: Ten Stories of the Supernatural

by Vivien Alcock

One of a series offering classic and contemporary fiction for schools to suit a range of ages and tastes. This is a collection of stories of the supernatural, not always about ghosts, but spine-tinglers about inexplicable happenings.

Genres: Horror, Childrens, Paranormal, Short Stories, Fiction, Ghost Stories, Middle Grade

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Born September 23, 1924, in Worthing, Sussex, England; died October 11, 2003, in London, England. Author. Alcock was a bestselling author of mystery and fantasy fiction for young adults. Her early training and career, however, was in commercial art, and she attended the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Arts from 1940 to 1942. She left school to become an ambulance driver for the Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II; after the war, she held several different jobs, including as an artist for the duplicating firm Gestetner Ltd. from 1947 to 1953. This was followed by three years as an employment bureau manager; and from 1956 to 1964 Alcock worked as a secretary for Whiltington Hospital in London. Although she had enjoyed storytelling and novels since she was a child, Alcock was shy about trying to be a published author and was content to stay in the background behind her famous author husband, Leon Garfield. However, she did occasionally give him ideas for his books, such as the popular Smith stories. It was not until 1980, therefore, that she finally published her first novel for teenagers, The Haunting of Cassie Palmer. Alcock continued writing fantasies, ghost stories, and mysteries through 2001, many of which proved popular with teens and some of which were adapted to television as movies and series. She published almost two dozen books in all, including Travelers by Night (1983), The Cuckoo Sister (1985), The Monster Garden (1988), A Kind of Thief (1992), Time Wreck (1996), A Gift on a String (1998), Ticket to Heaven (2000), and her last book, The Boy Who Swallowed a Ghost (2001). Several of her novels were named notable books by the American Library Association (ALA), and The Monster Garden was named the best science fiction/fantasy book of 1988 by the ALA.

Reviews

[Sarah Brandel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been trying to find this book for about 25 years, since I originally read parts of it when I was 8-9 years old. I think I had picked out the best stories of the bunch to read and reread, and they stuck in my mind enough that I was able to describe them to the point where someone else could tell me what book I was looking for. (Thank you, ABE BookSleuth!) My two favorites were "A Change of Aunts" and "The Whisperer," though "The Sea Bride" and "The Masquerade" were also intriguing and creepy.

[Jason Harlow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate giving this such a low rating because the strange tales collected here were certainly unique. I just didn't really enjoy this that much at all. My biggest gripe with this was that it was pretty boring throughout. The story about the masquerade was my favorite, and the story about Aunt Millicent was probably a close second, and even during those stories I found myself wanting this to finally just end. You might want to check this out for those two stories, but otherwise this was a drag. This gets a 2/5 from me.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read: this was my favorite book in 4th grade. Everyone else's favorite book was The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe; mine was some weird book no one had ever heard of called Ghostly Companions. (I was an odd child.)

"A Change of Aunts" remains one of my favorite stories ever.

[Katrine Engelhardt Thomsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are few books in my life that I have hunted as passionately as this collection of cosy spooky tales.

I almost stole it from my local library as a child, but the thought of hurting the staff’s feelings prevented me.

I returned it and never saw it again.

It was never available and the one time I was on a waiting list my hopes were suddenly crushed when I was told the book was missing, presumed stolen. Someone else had been tempted and kept it.

So instead I waited and searched as many second hand bookshops as humanly possible. At last I found it.

To my amazement the stories still hold their magic and while reading them I once more become 10 years old, every bit scaring and thrilling me now as it did then.

This collection holds stories that meet in a curious blend of horror and cosy. Stories where you sometimes cheer for the maiden of the lake and not the adult claiming there is no such thing as ghosts. Where promises are kept beyond the grave, supernatural beings fooled by Halloween makeup and carnival masks might not come off again.

And so much more.

Yes, there are small elements that date the origin of the writing and perhaps haven’t aged elegantly. But none that made the stories loose their luster.

So with a childlike heart full of the joy of finding a long missed friend again, I highly subjectively give this book five stars.

[Claire Cray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made such an impact on me as a child writer, and it still blows me away every time I open it up. The mood in these stories is so consistently eerie and beautiful, and the spin Alcock puts on classic myths is fresh and quietly innovative. Like "Siren Song," which is written as a transcript of a nine-year-old boy's tape recorder diary—found footage horror before it was cool! It includes some of the loveliest, spookiest little poems as sung by the unseen children outside our diarist's window:

"Don't you love me any more?
I'm as pretty as before.
(Hooo, hooo,)
Though my roses all are gone,
Lily-white is just as sweet.
Stars shine through me now, not on
Flesh that's only so much meat."

Gosh, I love it! Alcock's writing is so evocative and lovely, with exquisite attention to atmospheric details: an old sheet of newspaper tumbling along the pavement, dandelions growing among neglected roses...

The characters, too, though drawn in simple strokes, somehow seem full of feeling. And the ghosts, even at their spookiest, have such a lonely sweetness to them. They yearn for connection and companionship, often hopelessly...it just squeezes my soul!

There's just something so hauntingly special about this book. If you like lovely, melancholy spookiness, you really must track down a copy.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want more creepy, surreal short horror stories.

[Christin Singstad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hva sier du til en gallionsfigur som får de merkeligste ting til å skje? Eller et lappeteppe som ikke er laget av menneskehånd? Og hva med en mann som blir forfulgt av sitt eget speilbilde?! Disse og andre spennende og uforklarlige ting kan du lese om i denne boken med nifse spøkelseshistorier. Historier som kan få deg til å gå kaldt nedover ryggen på de fleste - men kanskje ikke på deg?!

Jeg brukte litt tid på denne boken, i tanke på at jeg startet på den midt under OL. Jeg fokuserte på OL og boka ble lagt litt til side. Dette var ikke en av de beste bøkene jeg har lest, men heller ikke av de dårligste. At dette er ei spøkelsesbok, det skjønner jeg ikke. Jeg ble ikke akkurat skremt eller noe av den, og forstod ikke helt hva det skumle skulle være. Det eneste som gjorde meg litt nervøs, var i slutten på et kapittel. Bortsett fra dette, var ikke boka særlig skummel for min del. Jeg skjønner jo at dette er ei bok for de litt yngre, og det forstår man fort når man begynner å lese. Hadde det ikke vært for at hodet mitt bare må fullføre noe, så hadde jeg muligens ikke fullført denne boka.
Den er helt grei, men ikke noe mer enn det.

[Ryan O'Pray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many details have become dated but there is enough variation in the collection to create piquancy: in Patchwork, a nice little bit of magic realism; variations of ‘identity horror’ and curse-placing in The Strange Companions, The Good-Looking Boy, QWERTUIOP, A Change of Aunts; in The Sea-Bride, The Whisperer and Siren Song (and probably The Masquerade, too), the book harkens softly to the popular British horror themes of the decade before its publication (1970’s). There’s enough going on to keep it interesting but you will unlikely be blown away.

For an adult, like with many child readers, the real lasting appeal of the book will be its verisimilitude in setting; A Fall of Snow does this particularly well and some of the descriptions in The Masquerade are nice. It’s a nice little ghost story book with UK flavour I’d probably rate ‘two stars’ if not for its variety.

[McKinzey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to listen to this audiobook on cassette repeatedly as a kid. I started trying to remember the title a few years ago, but could only remember vague details about two of the stories until I finally stumbled on a lucky google search. The stories held up! Not as scary now as they were 15-or-so years ago, but still imaginative and just a little spooky.

[Oda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been googling for this for so many years, and I finally found it! A favourite from when I was 8-9, this contains weird little ghost stories with fun twists. None of them are very scary.

[Lena White · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I have to say about this book My Favorite.💕💕💕💕love this book.

[Redfox5 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think books for kids are much better written nowdays. Most of these old ones I've been picking up have been alright but nothing special. The same goes for this one. A book of short ghost stories, this book is anything but scary. I liked 'The Sea Bride' best and 'A Fall Of Snow' least.

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten stories of supernatural events.

[Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

several of the short stories are quite interesting. but the rest are far below par.

[Kerry Vandenhengel]

Favourite childhood read.