What do you think?
13 Scary Ghost Stories
This collection of thirteen scary stories from around the world is perfect for young readers looking for a frightening (but not terrifying) read.
Readers will meet thirteen ghosts, werewolves, skeletons, and other creepy characters in this spine-tingling collection of scary stories. In these tales no place is safe--a ghost could appear in a crowded swimming pool, a sunny beach, or right in your own backyard! Prepare to meet spirits from all over the world-- the enchanted bagpipes that long to be returned to their original owner, the haunted castle filled with angry ghosts, a ghost dog who comes back to life to save her pups, and more!
Readers will meet thirteen ghosts, werewolves, skeletons, and other creepy characters in this spine-tingling collection of scary stories. In these tales no place is safe--a ghost could appear in a crowded swimming pool, a sunny beach, or right in your own backyard! Prepare to meet spirits from all over the world-- the enchanted bagpipes that long to be returned to their original owner, the haunted castle filled with angry ghosts, a ghost dog who comes back to life to save her pups, and more!
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2002
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 14, 2020
As a part-time literacy tutor at a local public elementary school I get to read selected books with groups of 4-6 children. This book was selected for my fourth grade group. It was a good choice because it consists of short stories, each of which could be finished in the time allotted for my group's session – about a half hour.
As is always the case with short story collections, some of the stories were better than the others, but none were really all that interesting to me. I also got the impression that the fourth graders were less than impressed with them. As expected, all the stories were pretty tame, nothing to scare the little kids too much. But fun reads nonetheless.
As is always the case with short story collections, some of the stories were better than the others, but none were really all that interesting to me. I also got the impression that the fourth graders were less than impressed with them. As expected, all the stories were pretty tame, nothing to scare the little kids too much. But fun reads nonetheless.
May 7, 2026
A book I picked up at a Scholastic book fair approximately twenty years ago, comprised of thirteen scary stories that were originally published in Cricket magazine.
This was a difficult one to track down, let me tell you, but worth it. The stories were largely enjoyable, but also I'm already forgetting some of them.
That said, there were two stories in this book that have taken up residence in my brain for decades: "The Airi" by Deepa Agarwal and "The Man Who Sang to Ghosts" by Aaron Shepard.
"The Airi" is about a man traveling home through the forest at night, who encounters a woman with backwards-facing feet. I think about this story a lot. The atmosphere of the man walking alone in the forest and hearing the sound of a monster approaching in the darkness was really well done and held up very well.
"The Man Who Sang to Ghosts" is a retelling of Hoichi the Earless, and was my first encounter with the tale. When I tell you this story has stuck with me, it's an understatement. It famously appears as the third segment in the movie Kwaidan, which I watched for the first time somewhat recently. I was basically the Leonardo-DiCaprio-pointing-at-the-TV meme during the Hoichi the Earless segment. I highly recommend watching an older, dreamlike, foreign-language horror film that adapts a formative but half-remembered ghost story from your childhood. It was an unrivaled viewing experience.
While I love Kwaidan, and the Hoichi adaptation in the movie, I really think the story gains a lot by being told instead of shown. The twists pack way more of a punch, because for much of the story, we only experience what Hoichi does. When he discovers other characters can see things he does not perceive, it's truly shocking. Yes, being an adult who knows the story now, I can see how the first reveal was telegraphed pretty clearly. (The title, hello??) But it still walks a fine line between foreshadowing and not giving too much away.
I really enjoyed revisiting this one. Even though most of the stories didn't stick with me the same way these two did, most of them were solid, familiar, simple short stories.
Personal favorites:
"Bigger than Death" by Nancy Etchemendy
"The Airi" by Deepa Agarwal
"The Glashtyn" by Josepha Sherman
"The Man Who Sang to Ghosts" by Aaron Shepard
This was a difficult one to track down, let me tell you, but worth it. The stories were largely enjoyable, but also I'm already forgetting some of them.
That said, there were two stories in this book that have taken up residence in my brain for decades: "The Airi" by Deepa Agarwal and "The Man Who Sang to Ghosts" by Aaron Shepard.
"The Airi" is about a man traveling home through the forest at night, who encounters a woman with backwards-facing feet. I think about this story a lot. The atmosphere of the man walking alone in the forest and hearing the sound of a monster approaching in the darkness was really well done and held up very well.
"The Man Who Sang to Ghosts" is a retelling of Hoichi the Earless, and was my first encounter with the tale. When I tell you this story has stuck with me, it's an understatement. It famously appears as the third segment in the movie Kwaidan, which I watched for the first time somewhat recently. I was basically the Leonardo-DiCaprio-pointing-at-the-TV meme during the Hoichi the Earless segment. I highly recommend watching an older, dreamlike, foreign-language horror film that adapts a formative but half-remembered ghost story from your childhood. It was an unrivaled viewing experience.
While I love Kwaidan, and the Hoichi adaptation in the movie, I really think the story gains a lot by being told instead of shown. The twists pack way more of a punch, because for much of the story, we only experience what Hoichi does. When he discovers other characters can see things he does not perceive, it's truly shocking. Yes, being an adult who knows the story now, I can see how the first reveal was telegraphed pretty clearly. (The title, hello??) But it still walks a fine line between foreshadowing and not giving too much away.
I really enjoyed revisiting this one. Even though most of the stories didn't stick with me the same way these two did, most of them were solid, familiar, simple short stories.
Personal favorites:
"Bigger than Death" by Nancy Etchemendy
"The Airi" by Deepa Agarwal
"The Glashtyn" by Josepha Sherman
"The Man Who Sang to Ghosts" by Aaron Shepard
December 27, 2020
I have a very high scare tolerance, so this would be a good scare for upper elementary and middle school children. Many of the stories end in a positive manner, where the protagonist doesn't die or come in harm's way, so it isn't super gorey. I like because the book contains scary stories from different cultures, so that's a nice touch in bringing spookiness and cultural exposure to your next bedtime story!
October 24, 2023
A solid 3 and a half stars. The stories weren’t always scary and I had some that I liked more than others but a really good book for a younger audience that might not want a true scare. I liked how there were different cultures and a lot of variety in stories. Definitely interesting ghost stories.
December 10, 2019
Short but didn't grab my attention
March 15, 2019
it is a pretty good book for a 8 year old, but it got good for me at page 121 O_O
March 20, 2016
I was somewhat disappointed in this book as I had thought it was comprised of non fictional ghost stories before purchasing it.Several of the stories were entertaining and readable ,so it wasn't a waste but seeing as this is a kid's book, I must warn that there is a story included that involves a dog starving to death and I found that to be very sad,jarring and disturbing as an adult, so this book might not be suitable for many children.I don't think I would let a child of mine read it if I knew that beforehand.
September 17, 2009
This book is divided into 13 seprate stories, can be exciting at times,but it can easily become boring.Some of the stories can be susspenseful and some of them can be bland.Sometimes the stories can be not scray,some of the stories can get to a high point and some of them can stay low.Overall its really not what I call scary and thats why I gave it 2 stars and its not something I'd recommend to a friend.
September 27, 2011
i think that it was a fantastic because all the other books i've read i don't relly get a feeling but in this book i did.because it had more details then all the other books.when i got done i read it again.
April 10, 2009
This book was entertanment to me it is bacisally has 13 srories.BUT.ALL.ARE.SCARY.
July 24, 2011
13 Scary Ghost Stories very short and not so scary for young readers
September 19, 2011
AAAHHHHHH!!!
Read
January 27, 2013Ok
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews