Asian Ghost Short Stories

by Lee Murray (Editor), Kristy Park Kulski (Contributor), Yi Izzy Yu (Contributor)

A new collection of stories from submissions and classic literature offering the best and most incredible ghost stories from East, South and Southeast Asia, combining new and classic authors across the region.

Another deluxe edition of new writing and neglected perspectives. Asian ghosts – from India to Sri Lanka, China to Korea, Japan to the Philippines – can be both terrifying and comforting. Underpinned by strong cultural beliefs in the cycles of life and ancestor worship, the nature of Asian spirits differs from that of their counterparts in other areas of the world. The possibility is more instinctually accepted that ghosts remain with us, as part of the world, whether we can see them or not. Featured here are all kinds of stories from across East, South and Southeast Asia: classic weird tales by the likes of Pu Songling, Rabindranath Tagore, S Mukerji, Im Bang and Yi Ruk, Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki, are complemented by stories by Asian writers of today. An egui (the Chinese version of a 'hungry ghost') is exorcised, a vicious jiangshi (Chinese zombie-like revenant) is encountered in the night, a Bengali shakchunni (the ghost of an unsatisfied bride) poignantly seeks love with devastating effect, a family is haunted by vengeful Korean gwishin, and the iconic Japanese tragedies of Oiwa and O-Kiku are revisited.

The Flame Tree Gothic & Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Asia, Ghosts

432 pages, Hardcover

First published March 14, 2022

Reviews

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love ghost stories so I was really looking forward to reading this anthology. Including a blend of old and new stories from East, South and Southwest Asia, this should have been right up my alley.

The introduction had me hooked but the stories themselves didn’t give me the scares I was looking for. For me, part of the problem was the order the stories were told in.

While it seems logical to order an anthology alphabetically by author, it meant I was sometimes reading multiple stories by one author, one after another; some began to feel repetitive. I think I would have gotten much more out of the stories if they’d been grouped by country, with introductions exploring the cultural and religious significance of the particular types of ghosts I’d be meeting in each section.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the opportunity to read this anthology.

Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com

[Nisha Joshi (swamped, will review whenever possible) · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I requested this book, I guess I expected some The Ring level of horror. Instead, we are treated to some Panchatantra Tales (or Aesop's Fables) types of stories. In every Japanese story, there is a young woman pining away and dying for a guy most probably she hasn't even met. The Indian stories are from Bengal only and involve ghosts in trees who help or trouble people. The ones by Rudyard Kipling are written from an Englishman's POV and I'm not sure why they are included as a part of Indian stories.

Once, I was travelling overnight with a group of friends and the stories we told each other to keep awake were scarier than this set.

A tiny suggestion for the publisher to include the country of each story.

I read an ARC from Netgalley and the formatting was way weird with Strictly not for sale and Addressee only printed on every page between the text. It was distracting and in some places, I suspect, it also replaced the original text.

2 stars only.

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Asian Ghost Short Stories is a gothic story collection of stories and folk tales from across Asia dating back to more than a century ago. This in mind that cultures, morals, values and life normalities are very different from today added intrigue to this read. I've always had a fascination with old ghost stories from being a child and telling them/listening to them under a blanket with a torch in the dark! This was a great compilation and can be read at any starting point not just cover to cover. Some of the stories really gave me the chills. This would be a great book for discussions on the stories within a literacy group. I was initially drawn to this book by the cover and I'm really pleased I gave it a read!

[BlurbGoesHere · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Blurb goes here]

I enjoy ghost stories to no end. Unfortunately this anthology has a glaring formatting error in the advanced copy (Kindle version). You keep on reading in bold lettering, every few pages, "Strictly not for sale", "Addressee only", in between chapters or as part of a dialogue or a description. Try as I might, I couldn't finish it.

Still, as far as I got (some 50%,) it seemed to me that someone just copy/pasted these tales, not even taking the time to translate some of the words in the stories. If you're going to write 'haka' you might as well write "haka (graves)" or something...if indeed the word is in Japanese, and so on. There's not even a hint that an editor went through this early copy of the book.

The stories are shuffled around with no discernible logic, other than going by author, alphabetically. I mean, Is it too hard to put them in chronological order? Or maybe by country, or something? This rolodex-type order was a hindrance. Let say you are reading story 'A' by author '2', te following story, will most likely be one by author '2' and it will be eerie similar to the first one...almost identical.

Isn't the work of a curator to sort things like this out? To make the best of the tales you've got? There's a clear mixture between old tales and modern ones, something that turns into obstacles in your path while reading, making you trip over and over again.

I'm sorry to say that my excitement to read these ghost stories, soon washed away.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

[Rissa (rissasreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.6 - This was a really fun collection to read because of the mixture of old and new stories. They meshed pretty well together and at times I could very easily imagine these as movies. Some of my favorite stories in this collection were the ones about ghosts getting revenge and the ones about tree spirits. There was also one about a horny ghost looking to get her satisfaction and she could only get it through another woman, iconic.
This book has a wide collection of stories and so many of them featured women as the ghosts and sometimes they were given no dialogue. Other times throughout this the women were so often sold off for marriage. It really just reminds us of how women were (and still are) viewed as commodities and objects.
Highly recommend this collection

[Aria Harlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of Asian ghost stories that were filled with dark and disturbing gothic folklore and myth. They were well written and well executed and each story had me on the edge of my seat and biting my nails. Some of the stories were more enjoyable than others and some had me wanting to sleep with a light on. A really good collection.

[Bibliophileverse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Asian Ghost Stories is a collection of short horror stories translated from some famous works all over Asia. I had hopes for the book, but somewhere it lacks the basic thing. The stories are translated from their original language and that is where the problem starts. The translation is not so good, due to which the essence of the story got lost. Although, some of the stories are really good, but, the other stories are totally disappointing.

I could only give 3 stars to the book. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

Read more https://bibliophileverse.blogspot.com...

[Sofia · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many stories in this book, some I had heard before, others had a very bittersweet taste to them. I did enjoy a lot most of the stories in this book, in many, like in Grimm stories you have a plot and can draw a conclusion of the story.

the ARC that I was given, had many errors and a weird formation and that made me procrastinate while I was reading, so that made take twice long to finish reading.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC, I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sanchary Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asian Ghost Stories is a wonderful compilation of many old horror stories. Some terrifying, some funny, and some moody, they can be read at any point in time and in any order. Great job by the publisher, since it is a very gift-worthy book!

[Bookish Burnished Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

ASIAN GHOST SHORT STORIES – by K. Hari Kumar (Various Authors)

The introduction was a delicious look at traditional ghosts across different Asian cultures and over different forms of media; I ate it up. As usual with Flame Tree Publishing this collection is massive; not every story will suit every reader’s tastes, but I found the majority of them to be enjoyable or interesting. Some are fully fleshed out short stories, others are brief translations of folk-tales. Some aren't even ghosts as much as they are ghostly mythical creatures.

If you’re looking for thrills and chills, you probably won’t get it here – most are not that kind of ghost story. Many are about revenge & justice from the grave, or a sort of supernatural karma making judgement upon moral and immoral people.

(As a note: the cover is as gorgeous as usual from this collection. I read the ARC digitally, but am pre-ordering as soon as my next paycheque goes through.)

Supernatural x Ghost Stories x Myths/Folk Tales

QUOTES:
- Our ignorance and hubris had blinded us to the foul truth: kingdoms and principalities far older than our fledgling republic exist in the unexplored corners of the earth, ruled by sleeping gods whose mere presence poisons the land with malevolence and barbarity. (Juramentado by Joshua Bartolome)
- My mother’s family had a nanny with yin-yang eyes. Thus dirt roads that appeared empty to others sometimes looked crowded to her, and she observed many unusual things. (One Extra at a Wedding by Ji Yun, tanslated by Yi Izzy Yu and John Yu Branscum)
- The weather in India is often sultry, and since the tale of bricks is always a fixed quantity, and the only liberty allowed is permission to work overtime and get no thanks, men occasionally break down and become as mixed as the metaphors in this sentence. (The Phantom ‘Rickshaw by Rudyard Kipling)

(I received a free copy of this through NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review)

[Zana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great collection of stories by Flame Tree Publishing.
This massive collection features over two hundred gothic stories from different parts of Asia.
The stories in this collection explore Asian myths and folklore from East, South and Southeast Asia.
I really appreciated the foreword which included a lot of history on the origins of many Asian traditions, myths and legends. It gives the reader a lot more insight before diving into this collection of stories.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

2.5

I'm not going to lie, I really struggled with this one. Anthologies are usually a mixed bag, but I feel that especially true here because this book is around 430 pages and has like 100 stories in it and several of the stories are only a page or two long. Additionally, this collection contains classics like Pu Songling and there are even a few from Rudyard Kipling, as well as modern stories.

I tended to prefer the more modern stories and the ones that were slightly longer, but I might have enjoyed the shorter ones more if I had taken them a lot slower.

I appreciated the inclusion of stories from all over Asia, not just the usual countries. There were a lot of stories from China, India, Japan, and South Korea, but there was also one from Sri Lanka and some from Pakistan and the Philippines and more. I also found the introduction explaining the context of the book to be really fascinating.

Some highlights for me include:
-Juramentado
-Little Bone Collector
-Devil on the Night Train
-His Dead Wife's Photograph
-The Boy Who Was Caught
-Last Train Onwards
-The Spirit of the Lantern

[xyZeereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: anthologies are a mixed bag. On one hand, you have a collection written by the same author, and on some occasions, they all work. On the other hand, you have more than a handful of authors, with different writing styles (and in some cases from different eras!), which makes it very difficult to sum them all up into a mere rating for the ever-devouring masses.

I grew up loving ghost stories, the kind that you bring with you to bed where you end up either not sleeping or having nightmares. I've never had nightmares as a result of spookies, but I've spent many nights not sleeping after hearing an earful! (perfect opportunity to read, albeit a completely different genre!)

This anthology of short Asian ghost stories is not one you can (or should) read in one go. This is mainly because the difference in writing style between the numerous authors disrupts the flow; why the editors decided to compile them alphabetically according to authors is beyond me. A few written by familiar names, like Lefcadio Hearn and Rudyard Kipling, makes you wonder if their inclusion was intended to appeal to the Western reader, despite the subject matter's Eastern focus. I often question the credibility behind these choices, although one editor did mention that writers like Hearn spent most of his life translating works from the Japanese to English, so I suppose the issue lies more towards accessibility rather than fanfare.

Some of the writing’s old timeyness by certain authors were a bore to read. I skipped all the stories by Pu Songling and a few others, because they seemed repetitive and somewhat copies of stories written by other authors.

Another thing is that there are probably more than 200 stories in this book (phew!) but because I got the ARC, they didn't actually show up numbered or format friendly on my Kindle.

However, here are a few Notable stories for me:
… Qian Xian by Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito
… The Fortune of Sparrows by Usman T. Malik
… Devil on the Night Train by Samuel Marzioli
… Jaded Winds by Rena Mason

Yes, I only liked these out of the whole lot! Again, this could be due to the oversaturation of superfluous stories by an author or five, but I still gave it a high rating because it's a good collection to have if you're a fan of ghost stories.

Many thanks to Flame Tree Press for the ARC!

[Paulina M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyment: 3.5
Total rating: 4

It is always hard to review an anthology, but this one literally has a story for everyone. I loved the own voice of Asian horror, and I was very unnerved at times. Some stories weren't up my alley, but they were all well written and well translated. I thought that the editors did a fantastic job collecting stories from modern horror to folklore-inspired and utterly original.

I'll be checking out other Flame Tree Collections.

Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to the publishers and NetGalley for providing a copy of Asian Ghost Short Stories.

[Farida Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of ghost stories from famous writers as well as contemporary new writers from all over Asia.
Firstly, I think creating a volume of ghost stories is a great idea. Who does not have some great ghost stories to share handed down from family and friends?

I particularly enjoyed the Forward by K. Hari Kumar in which he writes;

''This takes me back to my grandmother's story about the Mohini (female enchantress) that preyed on 'unsuspecting' men in the woods because the questions that haunt my mind remain unanswered. Why did those men venture there in the first place? Most importantly ..What was their intention?'

and the introduction by Dr Luo Hui

'The ghost therefore always returns, unexpectedly from a-once buried past. In Asian ghost stories, ghosts are not merely dead, or literary devices - they are corporeal, sensual, visceral, and they are best treated not as specters, but real characters. They are not just a fragment of the human imagination - many of them once were, and some of thm still want to be, human.'

I look forward to buying this book as Asian Ghost Short Stories would make a great volume to keep or gift.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 creepy, haunting, scary-bedtime-stories stars~

Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press, Flame Tree Collections for providing a digital ARC for review!

This as a HUGE collection of Asian ghost stories - it was almost like a compendium of scary bedtime stories. They are all varying lengths, covering different subjects throughout. There is a handful of vocabulary that may be confusing to the reader without definition/knowing the words previously, however these terms are usually explained within the story. They are not always so easily understood, so there is some potential confusion with some of these stories.

However, still an amazing and intriguing collection of short creepy stories! Some of them, I felt, explained some of the classic/old lore of certain locations in Asia - such as why locals rumor certain suspicions or warn tourists about certain areas..!

This would be a great coffee table book to keep around for reading spooky bedtime stories!

[Eva · Rating 2 out of 5]

I requested this book on Netgalley in return for an honest review

I never like DNF-ing a book, but when I set certain expectations (which maybe I shouldn't) it's always such a shame when the book doesn't meet them. Giving this collection of short ghost stories 2 stars is not because the stories are bad. They drip of Asian culture which is interesting, but I am a sucker for more scary/horrorish stories and this just wasn't it.

I was rating every single story and when I rated some 1-2 stars I just couldn't feel the urge to continue reading. I had a feeling they would all be stories about ghosts, but not persé scary. I guess it's my fault for thinking that ghost = scary, but in the Asian culture there are a lot of good ghosts apparently. So, even though the stories weren't bad it was just NOT what I expected and therefore it could nog keep my interest at all. Normally I would give DNF's 1 star, but again... it's not the stories, but the hope of reading a lot of scary Asian stuff (maybe I was thinking of The Ring too much?).

[Anjana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not know what compelled me to give this a shot, but I am glad I did. I have mentioned often that I am not a big horror fan, and this book was more than just the stories themselves.
I foolishly tried to track the chapters and give individual reviews like I do for other short stories until I realised the futility of such an endeavour. The stories range from a page to multiple pages long, and there are almost more than a hundred of them! The range of the collection is vast, the authors are both local and foreign, and the stories are from a variety of years. The style and content give some hints as to when and where the authors were based, but the book comes with a little bit of detail regarding the individual authors if the reader wanted to go down that rabbit hole.
A couple of stories were familiar, but the majority of them were not. I think I enjoyed the foundation of the folklore and societies of the time and place more fascinating than the actual 'ghosts' (although they were there in every chapter).
I may not be rating this very highly, but it is a unique collection. For the historical horror aficionado (or someone who thinks they might be), this is a good place to start.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

[chix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please don’t hate on me. But, as much as I loved scary stories all over the world, I think that Asian Ghost stories are the best! Asia is so diverse in cultures which makes them more interesting. Of course, some stories make your eyes roll so hard but it’s still interesting how and why this story was created anyway. This is a good introduction to the different cultures in Asia. This book is not all about ghosts, more like supernaturals and not all of them are scary. But all in all, I enjoyed it and I finished it in 2 days.

Thank you Netgalley & Author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Dean Asquith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Asia is home to some of the most horrifying horror stories and creatures on the planet and this collection of stories brings them into the public eye! Some great horror reads here for fans of the genre!

[Keith Chawgo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asian Ghost Story is another winner for Flame Tree Press. Collecting another excellent short story collection is another feather in their well-rounded literary hat.

There are over 200 stories that deal with original, folklore and some interesting takes on the ghost story from another culture. There is some repetitiveness but with all ghost story collection this is to be expected. Personally, I love this collection and great to have a collection that lends itself to ‘J’ Horror that I come to love since the 90’s.

There is a series of dread and like all great stories from this land, they haunt and pick at your cerebral vortex long after you read each story. The book is not one to be read in one sitting but to read a story a night before bedtime will fully give you the haunts and scares that will crawl beneath your skin and haunt you to morning.

I loved everyone and cherished each and every story and although it has taken me some time to get through this collection, I will read and re-read again and again. This is a great collection to add to any horror collection and to any reader of great fiction. This is a prize-winning selection.

[Micah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a MASSIVE book of Asian ghost stories and legends. Not only does it have easily over 50 one-to-three page stories, but the forewards include a lot of history on the traditions and origins of many Asian myths and legends and some major areas of Asian folklore so that the reader has a solid base of reference before reading the stories. Not all are scary, some are mysterious, some are tragic, and some are just reflections on morality or ways to live (or die). It is a huge compendium of Asian lore and history from many different countries and traditions that give you a very good look at Asian culture while being delightfully spooky at the same time.

I truly enjoyed reading this book and the stories and legends contained within it. This is a wonderful book for a rainy day or stormy night; a book that takes you to a very ethereal and moody place that is full of mystery and eerie happenings. If you have a love for Asian culture and yokai, or if you just love a good thick anthology of brief but creepy stories, you will probably enjoy this book!

I want to thank the publisher for the free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. My reviews are honest and not in any way influenced by my receipt of a review copy of the book. I'm happy to be able to share my thoughts and opinions with others, and gladly give this one a five out of five stars.

[Steph]

I’ve always enjoyed the anthologies from Flame Tree Press and I own several of the hard cover editions. This one intrigued me as I’ve also been a huge fan of Asian horror in book form and film.

This was a monster of a book with so many stories. Lots of little fables and folklore. Then some larger sized stories as well. Took me a while to get through it. I would put it down, pick it back up and read a few. I enjoyed all the different types of stories, from modern day to classics.

The formatting was off, which took me out of the story. Every few pages there would be some text that didn’t belong. But I was able to read past it.

[Nati Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I think there's alot of racism in the comments right now apparently Asian horror has to be like the Ring? What the heck is wrong with ya'll?

[Siobhain · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first introduction to The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy was their Japanese Myths collection. When I knew they were presenting another deluxe edition of new writings and neglected perspectives focusing on Asia I was more than a little excited.

Collecting tales of terror and supernatural spirits from India to Sri Lanka, China to Korea, Japan to the Philippines this volume showcases how sometimes ghosts can be comforting as well as scary. Showcasing the numerous cultural beliefs in cycles of life and death as well as ancestor worship, this collection helps to highlight how Asian spirits differ from counterparts in other areas of the world and even from different countries on the continent. We see how the possibility of ghosts and spirits that remain with us, as part of the world, whether we can see them or not is explored and highlighted. Featured here are all kinds of stories from across East, South and Southeast Asia: classic weird tales by the likes of Pu Songling, Rabindranath Tagore, S Mukerji, Im Bang and Yi Ruk, Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki, are complemented by stories by Asian writers of today. An egui (the Chinese version of a 'hungry ghost') is exorcised, a vicious jiangshi (Chinese zombie-like revenant) is encountered in the night, a Bengali shakchunni (the ghost of an unsatisfied bride) poignantly seeks love with devastating effect, a family is haunted by vengeful Korean gwishin, and the iconic Japanese tragedies of Oiwa and O-Kiku are revisited.

I have grown used to anthology collections sometimes letting themselves down with at least some of the stories contained within. So far both The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy series have not hit this problem, at least in the ones I have read. This is no different. A few of the tales are rather harder to get into and invested in, of course, but generally there is a wonderful selection that offers insight to the beliefs and superstitions of each country. The stories are all tightly woven. I will definitely be getting a physical copy to add to my growing collection and will be re-reading a lot of the tales in. A fantastic way to find out more about different cultures, literature and beliefs in a beautifully collected anthology.

The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I finally finished reading Asian Ghost Short Stories. I don't mean that in a bad way. This is a big book with a lot of stories, mostly very short at 3 or 4 pages, but also some that are longer. Most of the stories are more like anecdotes, more like a little tale you might mention to your co-workers--if you happen to talk to your co-workers about ghosts. Not exactly the three-act-structure. I'm guessing this is due to being ancient and from various parts of Asia, though I'm no expert. There are some more modern stories that are closer to what current readers are used to. Though there is nothing wrong with the very short ghostly anecdotes. I learned a lot about past societies in Japan, China, and India.

The main problem with so having so many stories is that a few of them seemed quite a bit alike Beautiful teenage girl is a ghost or a demon or a fox. Not foxy like Jimi Hendrix' Foxy Lady but a literal fox. There are a bunch of stories where lovely teenage girls are either dead, demonized, or a fluffy little canine. Most of the girls are marriage material which gives it an ick factor, but these are old stories set in old times. Many are written by Western writers or translated by Western writers although there are Asian authors.

A shout out to my favorite, The Silence of Farewells by Yelin Wang. I also really enjoyed Ghost Fire by Emily Teng.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flame Tree for allowing me to read and review an eARC of Asian Ghost Short Stories.

[Hana Baldwin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is very disorganized. It would be better if they put the country of origin in the header of each story, because figuring it out from context clues when there are 109 short stories in this book is an unnecessary task. It also is organized by alphabetically by author, instead of by region or type of ghost. 16 of these stories are written by the same author who was English. In the beginning there is a paragraph about “orientalism and the colonial gaze” in which the author seems to defend the use of white authors and stories with clear condescension towards Asian ghost stories/traditions by saying “it is equally important to be aware of our own biases and limitations. We must also bear in mind that, even in the original Asian contexts…”. This defense explains why whoever compiled this book felt no issue with a significant portion of the book being written by white people, and probably thought this one little paragraph perfectly addressed why they couldn’t be assed to look for actual Asian authors. This book was awful, dont read.

[☽｡⋆ Shells (jlreads_) · Rating 3 out of 5]

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆-𝒂𝒓𝒄.

.

As much as I want to love this book and give this a much higher rating, I'm afraid I won't be able to do so.

Upon finding this book, I'm excited to read this as I'm having fun with this genre and of course, I wanted to know more about Asia especially.

This book had my eyes and brain hurting because of the formatting and also the way it was presented- each story was presented.

Aside from that, I would have enjoyed it more if the country was stated in most of them since after the first story (I think), the country that the setting took place was vague in a sense that most of the time, I had to play a guessing game and that just put my enjoyment off or I could have missed it while reading because of the way how it was presented? I don't know, I struggled with the writing.

Overall, this was kind of a saddening book.

[Laura Newsholme · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a really comprehensive look at ghost stories from the Asian continent, with inclusion from countries such as China, Japan, India, Sri-Lanka and the Philippines, to name a few. I appreciated the wide number of different voices present in this collection, but I did feel that there was a bit too much emphasis on western voices telling Asian stories, particularly those from Japan. I also felt that the collection felt quite repetitive at times and wondered whether it would be better arranged thematically rather than by author, so that there weren't numerous stories of the same voice in a row. Overall, this is an interesting collection, but it didn't blow me away.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a so-so one. It says on the title Asian Ghost Short Stories but mostly it contains stories from East Asia. I found only one Filipino story, which was great. There were stories by Rabindranath Tagore and Lal Behari Dey. They were awesome and the latter's stories were the ones I grew up with. They were nostalgic. Lafcadio Hearn's Japanese tales were good. But I hated how they included Rudyard Kipling's stories. It seems the editors accepted anyone's stories so long as the contents were set in Asia. That's it. Not a great collection. Not a bad one either. Hence, I give it three stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Flame Tree Press, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.