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Shudders in Dark & Carnival of Terror
Welcome to Rupa's carnival of terror, where even taking a warm bath at night could give you more than you bargained for.
330 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Ruskin Bond
731 books3,648 followersRuskin Bond is an Indian author of British descent. He is considered to be an icon among Indian writers and children's authors and a top novelist. He wrote his first novel, The Room on the Roof, when he was seventeen which won John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Since then he has written several novellas, over 500 short stories, as well as various essays and poems, all of which have established him as one of the best-loved and most admired chroniclers of contemporary India. In 1992 he received the Sahitya Akademi award for English writing, for his short stories collection, "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra", by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters in India. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 for contributions to children's literature. He now lives with his adopted family in Landour near Mussoorie.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 27, 2018
Yesterday's thunderstorm and lashing rain had induced me to pick up this book edited by the Grand Master himself. My daughter had predicted that I wouldn't find the book too attractive. The girl IS perceptive, and her assessment turned out to be somewhat correct. The stories WERE good, but not exactly terrifying. But...
Let me lay it bare before you.
This is a back-to-back book, with two parts therein. They are:
A) The Rupa Carnival of Terror~
It contains the following stories:
1. H. Spicer's "The Bird Woman": A hallucinatory experience, nothing more.
2. A.E.D. Smith's "The Coat": Good one, but have read it in too many places.
3. Bram Stoker's "The Squaw": Again, a good story which has been over anthologised.
4. A.E. Coppard's "The Tiger": Nothing special.
5. Philip Lindsay's "Hunger": Nah! Nothing to see here.
6. E.H.W.Meyerstein's "The Bath": Rather pedantic and pale, I'm afraid.
7. Margery Allingham's "They Never Get Caught": A slow-burning classic, but NOT one to generate any frisson.
8. W.H. Hodgson's "The Voice in the Night": A stunner, that ensures a shuddering read.
9. F. Marion Crawford's "The Doll's Ghost": A chilled indeed! Alas, it goes on & on & on... unlike King's immortal "Chattery Teeth".
10. Mary Frances McHugh's "Encounter at Night": A horrific story that would leave some unpleasant thoughts.
11. Jerome K. Jerome's "The Skeleton": A routine story which might have frightened someone a century ago. Not now.
12. T.F. Powys' "A Suet Pudding": One of the most brutal and unforgiving stories that I have read!
13. Marjorie Bowen's "Florence Flannery": Ah! Finally a story that can horrify even a jaded reader like me, with its grim imagery & violence!
14. Robert E. Howard's "The Man on the Ground": Forget the supernatural. This is a cracking read from a master.
15. W.H. Hodgson's "The Finding of the Graiken": One of the finest rip-roaring adventures against the backdrop of the mysterious waters, this one alone justifies the price of the book.
Ruskin Bond's "Eyes of the Cat": A pleasant read.
B) Shudders in the Dark~
This one was much better, with an emphasis on the uncanny & subtle instead of the "in your face" kind of thrills attempted in the other book. It contained:
1] Stacy Aumonier's "The Perfect Murder": A brilliant story of comeuppance. If, like me, you are encountering this jewel for the first time, you would love it.
2] Edward Fitz-Gerald Fripp's "The Last Match": A story of desperate fight between nature and a woman. Who wins? You have to read to find out.
3] E. & H. Heron's "The Story of Yand Manor House": One of the better, and more gothic stories of Flaxman Low, the occult detective.
4] Frederick Marryat's "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains": Plain boring and overlong.
5] Ruskin Bond's "Gone Fishing": Soft, and dusty. Didn't like it.
6] H.R. Wakefield's "The Frontier Guards": A classic! If you are yet to read this dark gem, rectify the situation A.S.A.P.
Overall, for a price of Rs. 295/- you get to read a lot of good stories. Some of them would bore you, some would horrify you, while some would haunt you.
And you are still waiting?!?
Recommended. Go, get it!
Let me lay it bare before you.
This is a back-to-back book, with two parts therein. They are:
A) The Rupa Carnival of Terror~
It contains the following stories:
1. H. Spicer's "The Bird Woman": A hallucinatory experience, nothing more.
2. A.E.D. Smith's "The Coat": Good one, but have read it in too many places.
3. Bram Stoker's "The Squaw": Again, a good story which has been over anthologised.
4. A.E. Coppard's "The Tiger": Nothing special.
5. Philip Lindsay's "Hunger": Nah! Nothing to see here.
6. E.H.W.Meyerstein's "The Bath": Rather pedantic and pale, I'm afraid.
7. Margery Allingham's "They Never Get Caught": A slow-burning classic, but NOT one to generate any frisson.
8. W.H. Hodgson's "The Voice in the Night": A stunner, that ensures a shuddering read.
9. F. Marion Crawford's "The Doll's Ghost": A chilled indeed! Alas, it goes on & on & on... unlike King's immortal "Chattery Teeth".
10. Mary Frances McHugh's "Encounter at Night": A horrific story that would leave some unpleasant thoughts.
11. Jerome K. Jerome's "The Skeleton": A routine story which might have frightened someone a century ago. Not now.
12. T.F. Powys' "A Suet Pudding": One of the most brutal and unforgiving stories that I have read!
13. Marjorie Bowen's "Florence Flannery": Ah! Finally a story that can horrify even a jaded reader like me, with its grim imagery & violence!
14. Robert E. Howard's "The Man on the Ground": Forget the supernatural. This is a cracking read from a master.
15. W.H. Hodgson's "The Finding of the Graiken": One of the finest rip-roaring adventures against the backdrop of the mysterious waters, this one alone justifies the price of the book.
Ruskin Bond's "Eyes of the Cat": A pleasant read.
B) Shudders in the Dark~
This one was much better, with an emphasis on the uncanny & subtle instead of the "in your face" kind of thrills attempted in the other book. It contained:
1] Stacy Aumonier's "The Perfect Murder": A brilliant story of comeuppance. If, like me, you are encountering this jewel for the first time, you would love it.
2] Edward Fitz-Gerald Fripp's "The Last Match": A story of desperate fight between nature and a woman. Who wins? You have to read to find out.
3] E. & H. Heron's "The Story of Yand Manor House": One of the better, and more gothic stories of Flaxman Low, the occult detective.
4] Frederick Marryat's "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains": Plain boring and overlong.
5] Ruskin Bond's "Gone Fishing": Soft, and dusty. Didn't like it.
6] H.R. Wakefield's "The Frontier Guards": A classic! If you are yet to read this dark gem, rectify the situation A.S.A.P.
Overall, for a price of Rs. 295/- you get to read a lot of good stories. Some of them would bore you, some would horrify you, while some would haunt you.
And you are still waiting?!?
Recommended. Go, get it!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews