A finger against the inside of a mirror. A wood where the trees look back. A basement door blocked by a brick wall so thick, it stifles the screams from below. This original collection of chilling poems and tales contains the only true ghost stories in existence (as the book itself will tell you). Accompanied by striking illustrations and building to a truly spine-tingling conclusion, this haunting book will consume the imagination and keep readers of every age up long past their bedtimes.
This collection of ghost stories will most certainly send chills up and down your spine. I had to read it in chunks because it gave me the creeps. The stories cover typical ghost story situations, but the format itself is very clever, with an unexpected 13th story. While most of the stories will frighten you, I was especially repulsed by The Widow in Black, and am actually shivering while writing this and remembering the story!
The format of the book is fabulous. A tactile cover features dimensional footprints leading up to a slippery ghost-like figure. Opening the book, you are treated to very 1960s-ish, dark, blotchy, and suggestive illustrations enhancing the text. The introduction features two boys sneaking out of their camp (of course) to trek across a marsh (what else) to hear ghost stories from Old Man Blackwood (who else). The stories he tells vary from narrative to verse and all are shivery masterpieces.
A little research uncovered the origins of this book in a kickstarter campaign by Illustratus, a design studio owned by Jeff and Kit Turley. The illustrations were done by Chris Sasaki, who designs for Pixar Studios and has worked on Monsters University and Inside Out. The original stories and poems were written by Jesse Reffsin and Blaise Hemingway. No matter how this book ended up published, it is just plain beautiful. Creepy, but beautiful. Get your hands on a copy, lower the lights, and prepare to be spooked!
Publication Date: August 2019
Published By: Chronicle Books
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