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WHEN THE NIGHT FALLS

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‘I saw something—something horrible—a boy weeping in the forest—and he had no face!’
‘No face, Sir?’
‘No eyes, nose, mouth—nothing.’
‘Do you mean it was like this, Sir?’ asked the watchman, and raised the lamp to his own face. The watchman had no eyes, no ears, no features at all—not even an eyebrow!
True horror surfaces from darkness only when the night falls! This goose-bumpy collection introduces you to some of the most terrifying ghost stories ever told—old manor house hauntings; a couple on a remote island, condemned to a doom of unimaginable horror; a dying woman’s promise that she will be back to take her sisters when their time is up; a solitary walk through the woods in the evening and the terror it unfolds…
Each story is sure to send a chill down your spine. So, dive under the covers and get ready to be spooked by the wild elements of the night!

149 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2017

137 people are currently reading
150 people want to read

About the author

Ruskin Bond

681 books3,565 followers
Ruskin Bond is an Indian author of British descent. He is considered to be an icon among Indian writers and children's authors and a top novelist. He wrote his first novel, The Room on the Roof, when he was seventeen which won John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Since then he has written several novellas, over 500 short stories, as well as various essays and poems, all of which have established him as one of the best-loved and most admired chroniclers of contemporary India. In 1992 he received the Sahitya Akademi award for English writing, for his short stories collection, "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra", by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters in India. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 for contributions to children's literature. He now lives with his adopted family in Landour near Mussoorie.

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5 stars
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4 stars
38 (25%)
3 stars
35 (23%)
2 stars
13 (8%)
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4 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Profile Image for Barnali Chakraborty.
82 reviews6 followers
November 28, 2018
I feel consternated thinking of reading some horror stories.. The reason behind picking up this book is that it's a collection of short horror stories, which can perfectly cater my fondness for horror stories..🤓 🤓

The author @Ruskin Bond in his book " When the Night Falls" has selected and complied 10 different goose-bumpy horror mysteries written by various well known writers in a hope towards providing a spooky adventure to the readers. Now, as I have completed reading all of them, the hard work that the author has put into this book is really appreciable.
Honestly speaking, amidst all the stories, I particularly found a few of them to be really interesting and spooky. Awfully, all the stories are not by Ruskin Bond except this one- "A Face in the Dark" and trust me, this one is the most scariest one I found throughout the book😵😵.

Here's a few lines from this plot-
💀// I saw something -- something horrible -- a boy weeping in the forest and he had no face -- No face? Do you mean it was like this , Sir? asked the watchman -- The watchman had no eyes, no ears, no features at all- not even an eyebrow //💀

* My Opinion *
It was a good experience reading all the stories from this book as it hasn't failed to drive a sense of horror into the reader's mind, but again somewhere I felt it would have been better if few of them could be more devilish and haunting😉..
5 reviews1 follower
February 10, 2021
Ruskin bond is unequivocally a great story writer. I rate this book 3 stars though he carved all of the tales written by different authors so beautifully well. He percolated stories from the different authors which are spooky. Though some of them are not enough scary it's an interesting work of the author from among all of his works. Few are really spooky and spine chilling.
Profile Image for Wendell D'Costa.
150 reviews
November 4, 2019
When the night falls is an amazing book by Ruskin Bond.He has compiled many interesting ghost stories from around the globe by many famous authors in this collection of spooky tales.From old manor house hauntings to an old graveyard at Sirur who may be having a few visitors,dead visitors!.Well each story is brilliantly written to chill every bone in your body and mystify you into pondering about the occult.Once again picking a favorite would be next to impossible,but some stories which I liked were 'Caulfields Crime' 'The Voice in the Dark' 'The old graveyard at Sirur' and 'The Dolls Ghost'.But one story that truly intrigued and fascinated me was 'A Face in the Dark' by Ruskin Bond himself,even though it was a really short story it was brilliantly written, in just a span of 3 pages Ruskin Bond was able to spook and amaze me with this story of Mr.Oliver, a school teacher and his solitary walk through the woods at the dawn of night, and the frightening encounters he has.All things said it was an amazing book and definitely worth reading as it surely a Ruskin Bond classic.
Profile Image for Manoj Unnikrishnan.
219 reviews21 followers
May 15, 2024
When the Night Falls is not a short story written by Ruskin Bond, but rather a compilation of ghost stories from various authors, edited by Ruskin Bond. It includes one story by Ruskin Bond himself, along with tales from other writers known for their spooky tales.

The collection is meant to be enjoyed on a dark and stormy night, with each story offering a different flavor of horror and suspense. Some stories may be classic ghost stories set in old manor houses or graveyards, while others might offer a more modern take on the genre. The stories in this collection are:
1. The Three Sisters - W. W. Jacobs
2. They Never Get Caught - Margery Allingham
3. The Voice in the Night - W. H. Hodgson
4. The Doll's Ghost - F. Marion Crawford
5. The Story of Yand Manor House - E. and H. Heron
6. Haunted Villages - Lt. Col. W. H. Sleeman
7. Caulfield's Crime - Alice Perrin
8. The Aryan Smiles - J. Warton and N. Blenman
9. The Old Graveyard at Sirur - C. A. Kincaid
10. A Face in the Dark - Ruskin Bond

If you are interested in reading When the Night Falls, you can find it on Kindle Unlimited for free. Be prepared for a chilling reading experience!
Profile Image for dikhya mohanty.
37 reviews
April 20, 2022
“When The Night Falls” By Ruskin Bond- @ruskinbondofficial

“When The Night Falls” by Ruskin Bond is a beautifully written short story that talks about small ghost stories. Bond has compiled many 10 interesting ghost stories from around the globe by many famous writers.

Some stories are typical ghost stories like old manor house hauntings or an old graveyard ghost story. All the authors have brilliantly written to chill every bone in your body.
Personally, I enjoyed some of the stories like ‘The Voice In The Dark, ‘Caulfields Crime’, ‘A Face In The Dark’, and ‘The Dolls Ghost’. Rest stories weren’t that spooky but the writing amazed me.

This is the first Ruskin Bond book of mine, and honestly, I am not that thrilled to read this. It may be because the book is not written entirely by Bond. I will recommend this book who like to read short stories. This book is good for ghost readers but not an intense one. Some stories are written very simply, while some can confuse you a bit.

Pages – 142
Genre- Short Horror Stories
3 reviews
January 4, 2026
"They never get caught, that kind. They're too dull, too practical, too unimaginative. They never get caught."- Margery Allingham
When the Night Falls is a compilation of horror stories collected by Ruskin Bond. There are 10 stories in this book entailing unexpected plot twists, diverse characters and endings that will leave you staring at the wall. The stories, alongwith the scary element, contain important lessons like in the first two stories which show that the things one does will surely come back to haunt them. The book has vivid descriptions of the characters' feelings, allowing the readers to experience it with them.
In the end, there is a story by Ruskin Bond himself which was just 3 pages long but was as impactful as the others.
I personally, did not feel the stories were particularly frightening. And some of the stories seem to be written in old English so I had some trouble understanding a couple of words. But nonetheless, it was a good read
Profile Image for Kaustubh Dudhane.
650 reviews49 followers
February 16, 2021
"Experience goes to prove that ghosts have a cunning habit of choosing persons either credulous or excitable to experiment upon."



Well, the above gif is creepier than all the stories combined in the book. The stories are compiled and not written by Ruskin Bond. There were just a couple of stories which were borderline eerie. One of them was The Voice in the Night, and the other, The Doll's Ghost.

However, the best of the lot was a shortest short story by Ruskin Bond himself because someone had told me this story when I was a kid and it still spooks me to this day.

In short, this book is for younger audiences. And it is free on Kindle and don't download it if you are looking for an exceptional experience.
Profile Image for Sayantani Roy.
38 reviews
November 28, 2018
A collection of short stories edited by Ruskin Bond, this book consists of spooky tales which are bound to give you the chills in broad daylight. This book has everything which your worst nightmares are made of.

Special mention to Caulfield's Crime by Alice Perrin and A face in the Dark by the editor himself.
Profile Image for Sindhu .
219 reviews3 followers
April 22, 2019
This is a collection of short stories. Some were good and some were hard for me to get into. I pushed myself really hard to finish all the short stories. Some stories was creepy but definitely not scary.
Profile Image for Bhavyarao.
9 reviews2 followers
October 26, 2020
This book is a compilation of different stories claimed as fiction but mostly drafted from Ruskin bond's real life experiences. The stories are short, easy read and interesting. Was a very fun read. Would recommend to read when in need of relaxation from deep and complex reads.
Profile Image for Disha Ray.
24 reviews8 followers
July 11, 2019
A good collection of classic horror short stories. Some are good some are okayish. Overall, a light read.
Recommended for beginners.
Profile Image for Rohit Debnath.
30 reviews2 followers
September 23, 2019
Not Best but overall Good....it is a story book of several writers including Ruskin Bond himself....all of those stories are based upon English ruled India
Profile Image for Titirsha Bhattacharya.
143 reviews2 followers
October 5, 2019
This is a collection of short horror stories. The stories are by various authors and compiled by Ruskin Bond. There are 10 stories. All of them although not entirely bone chilling... Some of them are really terrifying. Stories like "The three sisters", "The story of Yand manor house" and "The face in the dark" are quite scary. While the other stories like "The Doll's Ghost" "Claufiled's Crime" and "they never get caught" are stories that has more depth to it rather than just being a scary ghost story.
I'm not a much of ghost story person but the stories were quite good so it was hard to put down.
I would recommend this book to anyone who like to read short stories. And to them who want to read ghost stories but not intense ones. Go ahead and have fun it's october gotta get on with it before halloween comes.
Profile Image for literacyineverycorner .
25 reviews1 follower
December 13, 2023
Who need a Halloween month to read spooky books. Well here I am one of the example....
This book has a collection of different stories every chapter written by various authors. Some are not that spooky but are thrilling while others are soo spooky that sends chills down your spine.
Overall if your into horror go get this booook.. And an advantage of this is that all the stories are short and will definitely be one of your favorite quick read....
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews

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