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Bruce Coville's Book Of... #5
Bruce Coville's Book of Spine Tinglers: Tales to Make You Shiver
Coville's own spine tingler opens this deliciously scary anthology of thirteen shivery stories by well-known authors.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
About the author
Bruce Coville
336 books1,249 followersBruce Coville was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1950. His family lived in farm territory, about twenty miles north of Syracuse. Bruce grew up around the corner from his grandparents' dairy farm, where he spent a great deal of time as a child, dodging cows and chores to the best of his ability. As a young reader he loved Mary Poppins and Dr. Dolittle, and still has fond memories of rising ahead of the rest of his family so he could huddle in a chair and read THE VOYAGES OF DR. DOLITTLE. He also read lots of things that people consider junk (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and zillions of comic books). His only real regret is the time he spent watching television, when he could have been reading instead. (A mind is a terrible thing to waste!)
His first book, THE FOOLISH GIANT, was published in 1978. It was illustrated by his wife, Katherine, whom he had married in 1969. This was followed in 1979 by SARAH'S UNICORN, also illustrated by Katherine. After a long period of working separately, the Covilles began collaborating again with SPACE BRAT and GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE, both published in 1992.
Before getting published Bruce earned his living as a toymaker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly line worker, and finally as an elementary school teacher (second and fourth grades). He left teaching in 1981 to devote himself to becoming a full time writer - though it took another five years to achieve that goal!)
Bruce has published over 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER'S RING. In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children's and young adult literature.
His first book, THE FOOLISH GIANT, was published in 1978. It was illustrated by his wife, Katherine, whom he had married in 1969. This was followed in 1979 by SARAH'S UNICORN, also illustrated by Katherine. After a long period of working separately, the Covilles began collaborating again with SPACE BRAT and GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE, both published in 1992.
Before getting published Bruce earned his living as a toymaker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly line worker, and finally as an elementary school teacher (second and fourth grades). He left teaching in 1981 to devote himself to becoming a full time writer - though it took another five years to achieve that goal!)
Bruce has published over 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER'S RING. In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children's and young adult literature.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 3, 2015
Did you ever have a vampire scratching at your window, see or hear what other people couldn't, suffer a curse or get what you wished for? Did you ever feel that shiver go up your spine that lets you know everything is not all right?
What makes your skin crawl?
For me, it's a faceless being, the unknown and a certain ghost with long dark hair - that reaches down to her waist - wearing a white dress. The Kuntilanak who haunts river banks in search for her 'missing' baby.
Bruce Coville stated that fear is a personal thing. Some scary stories can reach down deep inside you and trigger a deeper fear. One of the short stories in this collection actually did rattled me and left me feeling goosebumps all over my arms (and I'm not a person so easily scared, mind you).
Thirteen horrors in one whole book.
And... You decide which one rattle your shackles.
What makes your skin crawl?
For me, it's a faceless being, the unknown and a certain ghost with long dark hair - that reaches down to her waist - wearing a white dress. The Kuntilanak who haunts river banks in search for her 'missing' baby.
Bruce Coville stated that fear is a personal thing. Some scary stories can reach down deep inside you and trigger a deeper fear. One of the short stories in this collection actually did rattled me and left me feeling goosebumps all over my arms (and I'm not a person so easily scared, mind you).
Thirteen horrors in one whole book.
And... You decide which one rattle your shackles.
January 6, 2021
Well, this is different. I found this in a thrift store recently and since I was at least aware of Bruce Coville, I blind bought it just for a fun departure. After like a couple months, i finally read it. This is part of a series of collections he sorta did, where he has one story and edits the thing but the rest are other authors. This is common, Stine has done at least one like. this and has even taken part in some. So let's go story by story and see how this fares.
The Thing in Auntie Alma's Pond (Bruce): A rather nice one to start us off. It builds to a twist you can see coming if you're as savvy as I am, since I've seen it so much but it's one I usually like seeing. It has good build up and everything makes sense by the end, making something more nice than scary per say, although overcoming fear is certainly part of it. Perhaps a bit long for the kind of story it is but it allowed me to get more into it I suppose.
Letters from Camp (Al Sarrantonio): This is presented just through a kid's letters to his parents, basically a reverse P.S. Don't write back but only the letters. It's a neat different way to frame it, reminds me of Weenies in a way. Outside of that it's kind of a generic camp thing but the camp is run by robots yet that's not a big deal I guess. The twist of why he was sent there is good though and the final note is creepy with the idea. Rather confusing when you think about it though. So kinda mixed but interesting and short enough to be passable.
Vampire for Hire (Patrick Bone): Have mixed thoughts in places but I generally like it. The core idea is amusing and I like how they build up to it, although the twist was obvious but still decent. Just felt a bit sloppy as far as the construction goes a I guess but the ending was satisfying. It reminded me of How to be a Vampire in some ways which is a good thing. Also, the parents were awful and the third person narrator was not impartial like they should be lol. So, mostly fine but who names their kid Cuthburt?
One Chance (Charles de Lint): This one didn't tingle my spine at all, instead it ripped my heart out, geez. Like, I don't wanna give anything away but it worked really well as a short version of the theme of what would happen if you got the chance to escape your life. The ending is really effective and well done. Hardly fits the spooky theme but still really good and the decisions the two characters make do make sense. Slightly annoying of use of parenthesis aside, I like it but man, two especially awful dads in a row.
Grendel (Mary Frances Zambreno): A pretty quick to the point one that was fine. Too quick to even review beyond that's a simple setup and payoff that was cute. And it's basically a Beowulf reference that is spelled out for you. Well okay then.
Jenny Nettles (Debra Doyle and James Macdonald): At first I wasn't into this one but it grew on me. It's basically an old school sea yarn about a ship named after a woman where strange things happen. The writing wasn't my style so at points I was kinda lost but the general feel made it work by the end. Although this whole story feels out of place in this otherwise kid friendly book, since we got "Damn", a mention of a wooden figure's breast, and an especially dark moment near the end. Regardless of who this aimed for, it has its charms.
Those Three Wishes (Judith Gorag): At 4 pages, there's not too much here which is fine but the ending a bit weird. I like Melinda's whole personality of being witty but clearly a bitch and trying to get more wishes. It's just the punchline was a bit confusing, although if the final line means what I think, boy is that deliciously dark. Also, this time it's "damned". Not sure about this one.
What's a little fur among friends? (Sherwood Smith): Despite what the title implies, this isn't a weird furry awakening story. Instead it's a 29 page tale about a girl who is starting to drift apart from her friends, especially her best friend Erica and she also suspects something odd is going on. I really liked this, it has room to breathe with a lot going on, some interesting ideas and even some hearts. I can honestly see this as a full length book if it was fleshed even further. It did work as it is though with a solid ending, but something is slightly left open for me which would make more sense in a full book. Sherwood should think about expanding this someday but as it is, it's pretty good.
The Sight of the Basilisk (Lois Tilton): Back to quick ones and this one worked. A simple bit of a poor slave boy going down into some place to get treasure guarded by a basilisk. It's quick, to the point and satisfying. Not much to say.
The Teacher Who Could Hear (Paula McConnell): As opposed to every other teacher. Okay, they mean she can basically hear the future and since it's usually bad, she is rather reclusive. This one is weird, has a good hook and gets a bit weird. The ending is decently...even if I had no idea what it all really means. Still creepy with a good "the cycle continues" type ending. I think I like it, even if I don't quite get it.
Life with a slob (Gordon Van Gelder): Hey who wrote a story about me? Jokes aside, this one is just fun. It ends up being a odd idea done in an amusing way and ends up being comeuppance for a jerk-y character. Perhaps a bit mean but generally not in the too cruel way. It's just meant to be weird fun and it is. Another one that could fit in Weenies.
Campfire (S. Anthony Gardener): Another very quick setup and payoff here, with a campfire setting. It works fine, just too basic and not detailed anything super memorable but for what it is, it doesn't bug me too much.
Past Sunset (Vivian Vande Yelde): We end of a solid and chilling tale of a street in old timey france being haunted a mysterious ghostly woman. A bit long for what it is but has a good setup and an urban legend feel to it that I liked. The ending was mostly good, one detail was a bit odd to me, I didn't predict the exact note this would end on at least, even if I figured one aspect of it. Still, a good one to end on.
Overall, this was pretty good. This being longer and having 13 stories meant there was more room to play around with the page space and not either force itself to reach a certain count or be constrained by too few. There was decent variety and consistent quality. I couldn't pick a least favorite since even the lesser ones didn't bug me too much given what they are, even if some do have their kinks.
My favorite has to be One Chance, followed by What's a little fur among friends. The former was really effective and the latter was nice and well fleshed out. Most were at least alright and I'm surprised this was consistent given the different authors but I will say more really standout ones would have raised the rating, since mostly were merely fine.
Still, I'd call this good and wanna read the others now, so I'd recommend it. Also, this review would have come out sooner if my keyboard didn't screw up on me, ugh.
The Thing in Auntie Alma's Pond (Bruce): A rather nice one to start us off. It builds to a twist you can see coming if you're as savvy as I am, since I've seen it so much but it's one I usually like seeing. It has good build up and everything makes sense by the end, making something more nice than scary per say, although overcoming fear is certainly part of it. Perhaps a bit long for the kind of story it is but it allowed me to get more into it I suppose.
Letters from Camp (Al Sarrantonio): This is presented just through a kid's letters to his parents, basically a reverse P.S. Don't write back but only the letters. It's a neat different way to frame it, reminds me of Weenies in a way. Outside of that it's kind of a generic camp thing but the camp is run by robots yet that's not a big deal I guess. The twist of why he was sent there is good though and the final note is creepy with the idea. Rather confusing when you think about it though. So kinda mixed but interesting and short enough to be passable.
Vampire for Hire (Patrick Bone): Have mixed thoughts in places but I generally like it. The core idea is amusing and I like how they build up to it, although the twist was obvious but still decent. Just felt a bit sloppy as far as the construction goes a I guess but the ending was satisfying. It reminded me of How to be a Vampire in some ways which is a good thing. Also, the parents were awful and the third person narrator was not impartial like they should be lol. So, mostly fine but who names their kid Cuthburt?
One Chance (Charles de Lint): This one didn't tingle my spine at all, instead it ripped my heart out, geez. Like, I don't wanna give anything away but it worked really well as a short version of the theme of what would happen if you got the chance to escape your life. The ending is really effective and well done. Hardly fits the spooky theme but still really good and the decisions the two characters make do make sense. Slightly annoying of use of parenthesis aside, I like it but man, two especially awful dads in a row.
Grendel (Mary Frances Zambreno): A pretty quick to the point one that was fine. Too quick to even review beyond that's a simple setup and payoff that was cute. And it's basically a Beowulf reference that is spelled out for you. Well okay then.
Jenny Nettles (Debra Doyle and James Macdonald): At first I wasn't into this one but it grew on me. It's basically an old school sea yarn about a ship named after a woman where strange things happen. The writing wasn't my style so at points I was kinda lost but the general feel made it work by the end. Although this whole story feels out of place in this otherwise kid friendly book, since we got "Damn", a mention of a wooden figure's breast, and an especially dark moment near the end. Regardless of who this aimed for, it has its charms.
Those Three Wishes (Judith Gorag): At 4 pages, there's not too much here which is fine but the ending a bit weird. I like Melinda's whole personality of being witty but clearly a bitch and trying to get more wishes. It's just the punchline was a bit confusing, although if the final line means what I think, boy is that deliciously dark. Also, this time it's "damned". Not sure about this one.
What's a little fur among friends? (Sherwood Smith): Despite what the title implies, this isn't a weird furry awakening story. Instead it's a 29 page tale about a girl who is starting to drift apart from her friends, especially her best friend Erica and she also suspects something odd is going on. I really liked this, it has room to breathe with a lot going on, some interesting ideas and even some hearts. I can honestly see this as a full length book if it was fleshed even further. It did work as it is though with a solid ending, but something is slightly left open for me which would make more sense in a full book. Sherwood should think about expanding this someday but as it is, it's pretty good.
The Sight of the Basilisk (Lois Tilton): Back to quick ones and this one worked. A simple bit of a poor slave boy going down into some place to get treasure guarded by a basilisk. It's quick, to the point and satisfying. Not much to say.
The Teacher Who Could Hear (Paula McConnell): As opposed to every other teacher. Okay, they mean she can basically hear the future and since it's usually bad, she is rather reclusive. This one is weird, has a good hook and gets a bit weird. The ending is decently...even if I had no idea what it all really means. Still creepy with a good "the cycle continues" type ending. I think I like it, even if I don't quite get it.
Life with a slob (Gordon Van Gelder): Hey who wrote a story about me? Jokes aside, this one is just fun. It ends up being a odd idea done in an amusing way and ends up being comeuppance for a jerk-y character. Perhaps a bit mean but generally not in the too cruel way. It's just meant to be weird fun and it is. Another one that could fit in Weenies.
Campfire (S. Anthony Gardener): Another very quick setup and payoff here, with a campfire setting. It works fine, just too basic and not detailed anything super memorable but for what it is, it doesn't bug me too much.
Past Sunset (Vivian Vande Yelde): We end of a solid and chilling tale of a street in old timey france being haunted a mysterious ghostly woman. A bit long for what it is but has a good setup and an urban legend feel to it that I liked. The ending was mostly good, one detail was a bit odd to me, I didn't predict the exact note this would end on at least, even if I figured one aspect of it. Still, a good one to end on.
Overall, this was pretty good. This being longer and having 13 stories meant there was more room to play around with the page space and not either force itself to reach a certain count or be constrained by too few. There was decent variety and consistent quality. I couldn't pick a least favorite since even the lesser ones didn't bug me too much given what they are, even if some do have their kinks.
My favorite has to be One Chance, followed by What's a little fur among friends. The former was really effective and the latter was nice and well fleshed out. Most were at least alright and I'm surprised this was consistent given the different authors but I will say more really standout ones would have raised the rating, since mostly were merely fine.
Still, I'd call this good and wanna read the others now, so I'd recommend it. Also, this review would have come out sooner if my keyboard didn't screw up on me, ugh.
February 12, 2020
A collection with some well-written tales and some mediocre ones.
“Jenny Nettles” by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald had the feel of a yarn one might hear an old sailor tell in a pub an evening by the crackle of a fireplace (at least the sort of pub one might read about in a Victorian-era adventure story) but seemed a little less geared to the child audience between the slow build and lack of child characters.
“Life with a Slob” by Gordon Van Gelder was delightfully fanciful and the character “Mess” reminded me of the whimsical living rubbish in China Mieville’s “Un Lun Dun.”
“Past Sunset” by Vivian Vande Velde was quite eerie and well-written.
Bruce Coville’s “The Thing in Auntie Alma’s Pond” was compelling as well. The little details, like the girl having nightmares about the pond and waking up to find pond water on her bedroom floor, definitely made the story.
I read this collection for the story titled “Vampire for Hire” by Patrick Bone, but was rather disappointed by it. The title suggested a story that could be quite interesting and possibly a moral lesson of sorts for the character(s) involved, but instead it was the ‘ol “scary window something is spying on you,” and “here’s a creepy book that you shouldn’t open,” and it felt sort of as if the author finished it up without much detail as if he had run out of material.
In all, not bad for a collection.
“Jenny Nettles” by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald had the feel of a yarn one might hear an old sailor tell in a pub an evening by the crackle of a fireplace (at least the sort of pub one might read about in a Victorian-era adventure story) but seemed a little less geared to the child audience between the slow build and lack of child characters.
“Life with a Slob” by Gordon Van Gelder was delightfully fanciful and the character “Mess” reminded me of the whimsical living rubbish in China Mieville’s “Un Lun Dun.”
“Past Sunset” by Vivian Vande Velde was quite eerie and well-written.
Bruce Coville’s “The Thing in Auntie Alma’s Pond” was compelling as well. The little details, like the girl having nightmares about the pond and waking up to find pond water on her bedroom floor, definitely made the story.
I read this collection for the story titled “Vampire for Hire” by Patrick Bone, but was rather disappointed by it. The title suggested a story that could be quite interesting and possibly a moral lesson of sorts for the character(s) involved, but instead it was the ‘ol “scary window something is spying on you,” and “here’s a creepy book that you shouldn’t open,” and it felt sort of as if the author finished it up without much detail as if he had run out of material.
In all, not bad for a collection.
October 21, 2008
This is the kind of book I would have loved in upper elementary/middle school. 13 short stories with a scary theme. I though 9 of the 13 were good to excellent. The best were Letters From Camp by Al Sarrantonio which is a series of letters by a camper to home in which kids keep disappearing, Those Three Wishes by Judith Gorog about a girl who has all her wishes come true, Past Sunset by Vivian Vande Velde about a ghost that haunts a street after Twilight (don't look into her eyes), and One Chance by Charles de Lint where an abused boy and his friend, a girl who is poor and gets made fun of, get a chance to go to a different, better world.
August 5, 2024
Omg this book was one of my favorites from childhood! I reread it on a whim and was instantly transported back to the 90s.
The stories I loved most (5 stars) were:
One Chance - a boy with a hard home life has a key that may take him somewhere else (I rarely cry while reading but this one still makes my eyes water)
Grendel - a sea monster is dead! But is the threat over? (I love creature stories!)
Life With A Slob - two words: sentient mess (such as weird story but it still makes me smile)
Past Sunset - a ghost haunts a particular street, wandering back and forth during the night, but no one dares to meet her gaze! (A poignant story that perfectly ends the collection)
I remembered all but the last one vividly. The rest are also fun, creepy, tense, and weird; some of which I remembered and others it was like reading for the first time. I also love the illustrations done for each story. The sketchy black and grey images are a nice, sometimes eerie, touch.
I highly recommend this book to young (and young at heart) horror enthusiasts.
4.25/5 stars (rounded to 4 stars)
The stories I loved most (5 stars) were:
One Chance - a boy with a hard home life has a key that may take him somewhere else (I rarely cry while reading but this one still makes my eyes water)
Grendel - a sea monster is dead! But is the threat over? (I love creature stories!)
Life With A Slob - two words: sentient mess (such as weird story but it still makes me smile)
Past Sunset - a ghost haunts a particular street, wandering back and forth during the night, but no one dares to meet her gaze! (A poignant story that perfectly ends the collection)
I remembered all but the last one vividly. The rest are also fun, creepy, tense, and weird; some of which I remembered and others it was like reading for the first time. I also love the illustrations done for each story. The sketchy black and grey images are a nice, sometimes eerie, touch.
I highly recommend this book to young (and young at heart) horror enthusiasts.
4.25/5 stars (rounded to 4 stars)
September 17, 2014
Goodreads Review #1
The book Book of Spine Tinglers: Tales to make you shiver by Bruce Coville is a horror book full of several stories to scare you. The main story in the book was “The Thing in Auntie Alma’s Pond” In this story, A girl named Margaret hated water. She hated it. When she was little she was fine with it but now she hates it. She is staying at her Aunt’s House for no reason that she is aware of but does not question it. She gets in a fight with her aunt and somehow her aunt disappears. She hears whispers from her Aunt’s pong: “The only way out is in! The only way out is IN!”. She gets very scared and gets pulled in. Just when she thought it was over, She is stuck in the water...
This book was very good. I wanted to read a book that would entertain me and this did the trick very well. If you enjoy mystery and books with lots of suspense where you need to be patient then I recommend this book to you. Not to mention there are a few other stories in the book.
The book Book of Spine Tinglers: Tales to make you shiver by Bruce Coville is a horror book full of several stories to scare you. The main story in the book was “The Thing in Auntie Alma’s Pond” In this story, A girl named Margaret hated water. She hated it. When she was little she was fine with it but now she hates it. She is staying at her Aunt’s House for no reason that she is aware of but does not question it. She gets in a fight with her aunt and somehow her aunt disappears. She hears whispers from her Aunt’s pong: “The only way out is in! The only way out is IN!”. She gets very scared and gets pulled in. Just when she thought it was over, She is stuck in the water...
This book was very good. I wanted to read a book that would entertain me and this did the trick very well. If you enjoy mystery and books with lots of suspense where you need to be patient then I recommend this book to you. Not to mention there are a few other stories in the book.
October 27, 2011
2011
Still love these books.
2020
Some of these stories really do send shivers down my spine, even after all of these years. Others are now history lol. It’s kind of fun to see how much life has changed since I was a kid.
Still love these books.
2020
Some of these stories really do send shivers down my spine, even after all of these years. Others are now history lol. It’s kind of fun to see how much life has changed since I was a kid.
June 29, 2007
Classic Bruce Coville story collections... I'm biased form having grown up on these.
March 17, 2011
enjoyed it...
April 22, 2016
some truly great ones here. most are sadder than they are scary. standouts include:
-the thing in auntie alma's pond
-letters from camp
-one chance
-life with a slob
-past sunset
-the thing in auntie alma's pond
-letters from camp
-one chance
-life with a slob
-past sunset
August 26, 2018
Mix of really good, fine, and solid stories. The opener and closer are some of the best I've ever read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews