31 Days of Halloween - Day 16

Ghosts and Other Unpleasantries by C.S. Sahu

J.W. Sheahan & Company. 2016


Thirteen types of ghostly tales by Sahu are collected here. A tale of just desserts, revenge and vegetables, magic candles, la llarona, a rambling house, etc. There a couple stories here that are murder tales vs. ghost stories, making them the "other unpleasantries" of the title.

Sahu has a style that suggests these stories would be at home as part of a television anthology series. There's nothing particularly dark, or sinister about her presentation. They feel more 4:00 in the afternoon on a pleasant day than 2:30 in the morning on a stormy night. This is what catches you off guard. While there are a few tales here that are more charming than churning, many of them take a wicked turn and come to a truly dark finish. I'd never heard of Sahu before picking up this book, but I'm glad I found her.