Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories »

Kids and adults alike love Roald Dahl s deliciously wicked books. Loved for their gleefully evil villains and their often mischievous sensibility, Dahl s books introduce us to fantastic creatures and bizarre places -- and encourage our imaginations to run wild.

Who better to investigate the literary spirit world than that supreme connoisseur of the unexpected, Roald Dahl? Of the many permutations of the macabre or bizarre, Dahl was always especially fascinated by the classic ghost story. As he realtes in the erudite introduction to this volume, he read some 749 supernatural tales at the British Museum Library before selecting the 14 that comprise this anthology. "Spookiness is, after all, the real purpose of the ghost story," Dahl writes. "It should give you the creeps and disturb your thoughts." For this superbly disquieting collection, Dahl offers favorite tales by such masterful storytellers as E. F. Benson, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Rosemary Timperley, and Edith Wharton.

Introduction Roald Dahl

W.S. L. P. Hartley

Harry Rosemary Timperley

The Corner Shop Cynthia Asquith

In the Tube E. F. Benson

Christmas Meeting Rosemary Timperley

Elias and the Draug Jonas Lie

Playmates A. M. Burrage

Ringing the Changes Robert Aickman

The Telephone Mary Treadgold

The Ghost of a Hand J. Sheridan Le Fanu

The Sweeper A. M. Burrage (Ex-Private X)

Afterward Edith Wharton

On the Brighton Road Richard Middleton

The Upper Berth F. Marion Crawford