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Catch Your Death
Imagine yourself at school feeling alone, cut off, not wanting to join in the general fun, but drawn instead to another loner; and then feel the shock of discovering that both of you exist only in the land of ghosts!
Or see the world through the eyes of Black Shuck, the huge ghost dog that roams the country lanes; the village believes he brings death to whoever sees him, and one day two children encounter him face to face...
These are just two of the nine riveting ghost stories in John Gordon's haunting collection; and Jeremy Ford's cool and sinister illustrations compliment the stories perfectly.
From the author of the highly regarded 'The Giant Under the Snow'
Or see the world through the eyes of Black Shuck, the huge ghost dog that roams the country lanes; the village believes he brings death to whoever sees him, and one day two children encounter him face to face...
These are just two of the nine riveting ghost stories in John Gordon's haunting collection; and Jeremy Ford's cool and sinister illustrations compliment the stories perfectly.
From the author of the highly regarded 'The Giant Under the Snow'
122 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
About the author
John Gordon
38 books28 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Gordon was an English writer of adolescent supernatural fiction. He was the author of fifteen fantasy novels (including The Giant Under The Snow), four short story collections, over fifty short stories, and a teenage memoir. For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gor...
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Gordon was an English writer of adolescent supernatural fiction. He was the author of fifteen fantasy novels (including The Giant Under The Snow), four short story collections, over fifty short stories, and a teenage memoir. For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gor...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 29, 2013
A fine collection of subtle, carefully-crafted ghost stories. The subject matter is approached from what I suppose must be called a "traditional" perspective, but the writing is very skillful, and an atmosphere of the weird is deliciously sustained. The best (and most horrific) story is "The Pot of Basil", a tale strongly reminiscent of M.R. James.
As with the weird fiction of Robert Westall, this book was marketed as "children's fiction", and likely never received the attention from connoisseurs of the weird to which it is entitled. My copy has a truly unfortunate cover showing some kids with a large dog––a scene from one of the stories, but likely to convey to the casual browser the idea that this is a doggie book for kiddies. It isn't.
As with the weird fiction of Robert Westall, this book was marketed as "children's fiction", and likely never received the attention from connoisseurs of the weird to which it is entitled. My copy has a truly unfortunate cover showing some kids with a large dog––a scene from one of the stories, but likely to convey to the casual browser the idea that this is a doggie book for kiddies. It isn't.
October 14, 2025
I'm not going to write a long review here but just want to say that the Black Shuck story here is one of the best I have ever read: catches the ambivalence beautifully and passionately!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews