Tales from the Shadows

by Devra Newberger Speregen

From back of book:

"Who knows what terrors lurk in the night shadows? Wander into the unlit wing of a hospital where strange experiments are underway. Enter a tiny bead shop with a secret curse. Or spend the night playing an unreleased version of your favorite virtual reality game. But don't expect anything to be the same in the morning!"

62 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Devra Newberger Speregen has written more than 100 books, including young adult fiction, non-fiction, puzzle books, activity books, and nearly 30 biographies for young people. Speregen serves as a regular contributor to Young Judea Magazine and BabagaNewz Magazine.

Reviews

[Jason Harlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology was very short but it made for an interesting read. The first story was decently intense and I enjoyed the ending. The middle few stories were not that fun, but the final story was pretty epic despite having a typical 90's middle-grade horror trope. Animal violence occurs as well, so trigger warning there. Check this out if you're looking for some decently entertaining short stories or need to pass some time. This gets a 3/5 for not being incredible but also not sucking.

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devra did three (potentially more) really short kids horror story collections, and this appears to be the most popular of them. The other two that I know of are called Tales from the Tomb and Scary Stories to Drive You Batty. This is one of the most niche middle-grade horror books out there, too. So is it any good? Well, it’s half-and-half. There’s 4 stories in this, all around 15 pages each, and there’s some nice highs but rougher lows. Devra’s writing is all-round good and the book doesn’t overstay its welcome, but each story is pretty different, but that quality is super inconsistent. Here are my ratings and reviews for each:

Me or My Shadow - 8/10.
Cool idea and good, fun execution. Nice tone and desolate atmosphere, just could’ve had a little more to chew on and this’d been utterly great. Still really good.

Going Bananas - 2/10.
Good set up, but that’s about it. This one was just stupid as shit and the ending didn’t make a lot of sense; I couldn’t tell if this was some simulation shit or just bad writing. Either way, dog crap.

Dangerous Games - 9/10.
Great for what it is. The idea is straightforward but I really liked this one, plus the VR-kids horror appeal—can’t go wrong there.

Unlucky Charm - 5/10.
It’s exactly what you’d expect and a waste of 17 pages First half was way too long, it’s trope-y as fuck, but had some darker moments/dark ending. ‘Tis mid.

Overall, 6/10. Good writing and some better stories, but weighed down by the weaker ones and their respective flaws. I haven’t anything else to say. Cheeseballs.

[Partridge Public]

Speregen, Devra N.