Edited by Deborah Shine with illustrations by Reg Gray Haunting Ghost Stories proved to be a very enjoyable read, a really entertaining compilation published by Octopus Books. I very much had the feeling the cover of on this bumper collection of yarns once looked down at me from a high shelf in Harry Halls back in the eighties (Sigh, over forty five years ago? Oh, Mathusaleh.) The book was one of a themed collection, the others being Thrilling Detective stories and Memorable School Stories ( No kidding.) I wonder if the others had covers as striking as this one? Straight off a poster for an Amicus portmanteau horror anthology movie. Which this book in many ways resembles. There are thirty two pieces of work tucked between its joyfully lurid covers. The illustrations by Reg Gray echo this theme, very much feeling like a former world now passed away. This is an eclectic and even eccentric collection of bits and pieces, some of which has made it into other anthologies while some are quite forgotten. Inside you will find stories by Ambrose Bierce, Walter de la Mere, MR James, Oliver Onions and others. Not bad at all for va collection you could have picked up in a Woolworths shop with the air filled with the smell of pic n mix and unneccessary plastic objects. Ah, happy days.
