What do you think?
Rate this book
Shudders
Contents:
Sweets to the Sweet -- Robert Bloch
The Waxwork -- A. M. Burrage
Used Car -- H. R. Wakefield
The Inexperienced Ghost -- H. G. Wells
The Whistling Room -- William Hope Hodgson
The Last Drive -- Carl Jacobi
The Monkey's Paw -- W. W. Jacobs
Second Night Out -- Frank Belknap Long
The Hills Beyond Furcy -- Robert G. Anderson
Floral Tribute -- Robert Bloch
Sweets to the Sweet -- Robert Bloch
The Waxwork -- A. M. Burrage
Used Car -- H. R. Wakefield
The Inexperienced Ghost -- H. G. Wells
The Whistling Room -- William Hope Hodgson
The Last Drive -- Carl Jacobi
The Monkey's Paw -- W. W. Jacobs
Second Night Out -- Frank Belknap Long
The Hills Beyond Furcy -- Robert G. Anderson
Floral Tribute -- Robert Bloch
212 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
1 person is currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Ross R. Olney
116 books2 followersRoss Robert Olney
Author, radio and TV talk show host, and newspaper photographer, reporter/columnist, has published more than 180 books, most with major New York publishers, and hundreds of magazine articles including several in Readers Digest. Also a prize-winning photographer who often illustrates his own books and the books of other authors, he has many photos in media such as book jackets and calendars.
His books cover a wide range of fiction and non-fiction subjects from astronomy and space travel to imagery, the law, magic, nature, automobiles and auto racing, sports and science, and include the best-selling DAREDEVILS OF THE SPEEDWAY and the multi-award winning OFFSHORE! His most recent books are on race driver Lynn St. James and on the history of the death penalty, for younger readers, and an adult biography on Lt. Col. Charles S. Hudson, the most decorated bombardier in WWII (COMBAT, HE WROTE!).
He is currently working on the only authorized biography of murdered race car driver Mickey Thompson with Thompson's famed sister, Colleen Thompson Campbell, who is world acclaimed as a victims' rights advocate.
Olney is a teacher of writing and publishing with periodic classes at various colleges in the area including UCLA, USC, UCSB, and both Oxnard and Ventura College, in the Southern California region, and he lectures upon request throughout the United States. His students have a remarkable record of publication, many of them publishing first books and some becoming full time writers.
Olney served six years in the United States Air Force, flew 100 combat missions in Korea, and was decorated several times. Copies of his works, references, and a more complete biography available upon request.
Author, radio and TV talk show host, and newspaper photographer, reporter/columnist, has published more than 180 books, most with major New York publishers, and hundreds of magazine articles including several in Readers Digest. Also a prize-winning photographer who often illustrates his own books and the books of other authors, he has many photos in media such as book jackets and calendars.
His books cover a wide range of fiction and non-fiction subjects from astronomy and space travel to imagery, the law, magic, nature, automobiles and auto racing, sports and science, and include the best-selling DAREDEVILS OF THE SPEEDWAY and the multi-award winning OFFSHORE! His most recent books are on race driver Lynn St. James and on the history of the death penalty, for younger readers, and an adult biography on Lt. Col. Charles S. Hudson, the most decorated bombardier in WWII (COMBAT, HE WROTE!).
He is currently working on the only authorized biography of murdered race car driver Mickey Thompson with Thompson's famed sister, Colleen Thompson Campbell, who is world acclaimed as a victims' rights advocate.
Olney is a teacher of writing and publishing with periodic classes at various colleges in the area including UCLA, USC, UCSB, and both Oxnard and Ventura College, in the Southern California region, and he lectures upon request throughout the United States. His students have a remarkable record of publication, many of them publishing first books and some becoming full time writers.
Olney served six years in the United States Air Force, flew 100 combat missions in Korea, and was decorated several times. Copies of his works, references, and a more complete biography available upon request.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 31, 2021
Shudders gathers 10 classic creepy stories by a mix of British and American writers. When I saw Robert Bloch's name in the mix twice, I knew I had to read this book! And I'm glad I did! I enjoyed every single story!
This book, first published in 1972 and re-printed in 1979, is out of print. But I did find a Nook ebook version with an updated cover for sale at Barnes & Noble, plus many used copies available online.
The stories included are:
Sweets to the Sweet by Robert Bloch
The Waxwork by A. M. Burrage
Used Car by H. R. Wakefield
The Inexperienced Ghost by H.G. Wells
The Whistling Room by William Hope Hodgson
The Last Drive by Carl Jacobi
The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs
Second Night Out by Frank Belknap Long
The Hills Beyond Furcy by Robert G. Anderson
The Floral Tribute by Robert Bloch
My favorite of the collection is a story I've read many times in one form or another and even seen adapted for television -- The Monkey's Paw. Great story! But...all the stories were good. I liked the fact that they were varied...no two stories are along the same theme. Everything from witches to sea monsters! Fun!
Very entertaining collection of stories!
This book, first published in 1972 and re-printed in 1979, is out of print. But I did find a Nook ebook version with an updated cover for sale at Barnes & Noble, plus many used copies available online.
The stories included are:
Sweets to the Sweet by Robert Bloch
The Waxwork by A. M. Burrage
Used Car by H. R. Wakefield
The Inexperienced Ghost by H.G. Wells
The Whistling Room by William Hope Hodgson
The Last Drive by Carl Jacobi
The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs
Second Night Out by Frank Belknap Long
The Hills Beyond Furcy by Robert G. Anderson
The Floral Tribute by Robert Bloch
My favorite of the collection is a story I've read many times in one form or another and even seen adapted for television -- The Monkey's Paw. Great story! But...all the stories were good. I liked the fact that they were varied...no two stories are along the same theme. Everything from witches to sea monsters! Fun!
Very entertaining collection of stories!
October 3, 2008
Despite the "Whitman" imprint on the edition of this book that I read, none of the stories here were written for children, and the tone of most of them is decidedly serious and scary, often with a grim denouement. (One story, Bloch's voodoo yarn "Sweets to the Sweet," has a child character; but it would have fitted well as an inclusion in the Young Monsters anthology I reviewed earlier.) All but one of the stories are supernatural in nature; they include a number of acknowledged classics I've mentioned in connection with other collections: "The Monkey's Paw," "Second Night Out," "The Waxwork," and "The Whistling Room," featuring Hodgson's series character, Carnacki the Ghost-finder.
My personal favorite here is "The Hills Beyond Furcy," by Robert G. Anderson, a tale of Haitian voodoo magic in the context of a doomed romantic triangle. (If this story is fairly representative of Anderson's work --which I've not encountered elsewhere-- he's a writer worth knowing.) But Bloch's poignant "Floral Tribute" and Carl Jacobi's "The Last Drive" are also worth mentioning!
My personal favorite here is "The Hills Beyond Furcy," by Robert G. Anderson, a tale of Haitian voodoo magic in the context of a doomed romantic triangle. (If this story is fairly representative of Anderson's work --which I've not encountered elsewhere-- he's a writer worth knowing.) But Bloch's poignant "Floral Tribute" and Carl Jacobi's "The Last Drive" are also worth mentioning!
October 19, 2014
OMG i finally tracked down this book again! for years i had been trying to remember the name of this book and i finally saw it and got a decent copy. these are not children's stories, like you might think coming from whitman books, but when i was a middle school kid i got a copy of this and scared the heck out of myself. i was used to the other whitman young reader books, and the old alfred hitchcock for younger readers books, but this was the single most frightening book of my youth. it still creeps me out. the story 'used car' by h russell wakefield alone is one of the scariest creepy lingering ghost stories i've ever read, and this collection also has classics like 'the whistling room' and 'the monkey's paw' too, both of which were for me, unforgettable. what a trip back in time, i'm really glad i actually rediscovered this book. i had given up hope. the used book i got is actually pretty sturdy still, the binding has held up well, although most of the listings show some knicking to the covers, the book is worth a few dents or scrapes. published without a dustjacket, but a nice old fashioned looking illustrated cover instead. the bumping on the cover kinda adds to the over-all creepy factor too!
Read
October 19, 2020PLACEHOLDER REVIEW
H. Russell Wakefield's "Used Car" works as a nice counterpart to "The Dust Cloud" as an early exploration of the idea of the "haunted car". A British father buys a used car - an American Highway Straight Edge, originally brought over from Chicago - for his family, but they all soon begin to experience troubling events - glimpsed figures, a stain that won't come out, an odd smell - and sinister, repeated visions of being assaulted and attacked in the car. While the outcome may be obvious, this is a quite well done story - the horror of the hallucinations is nicely handled, nightmarish and invasive - and I like all the details one gets about the life of a family of this class, during this time period (the family dog, Jumbo, is almost another character himself - he doesn't trust the car, needless to say).
H. Russell Wakefield's "Used Car" works as a nice counterpart to "The Dust Cloud" as an early exploration of the idea of the "haunted car". A British father buys a used car - an American Highway Straight Edge, originally brought over from Chicago - for his family, but they all soon begin to experience troubling events - glimpsed figures, a stain that won't come out, an odd smell - and sinister, repeated visions of being assaulted and attacked in the car. While the outcome may be obvious, this is a quite well done story - the horror of the hallucinations is nicely handled, nightmarish and invasive - and I like all the details one gets about the life of a family of this class, during this time period (the family dog, Jumbo, is almost another character himself - he doesn't trust the car, needless to say).
August 21, 2025
Found this book in an old box from decades ago and decided to reread it. The most famous story in it is The Monkey’s Paw which surely has to be one of the best ghost stories ever written. I enjoyed all the stories in this from a child who literally becomes a witch after being called one too many times, a waxwork of a murderer which comes alive in the night when a reporter decides to spend a night alone in the museum for good copy (or does it?), a car which carries the reverberations of a murder committed in it, a race driver killed in a crash who can’t help but race one more time even if it’s his own hearse, a simian like entity that haunts a ship every second night out claiming a life each time .. this book is sold like a kids book but it certainly isn’t that!
June 22, 2025
BOOK REPORT
Referenced this book in another Book Report today and found that--much to my chagrin--I had never logged it on Goodreads.
I guess because I first ead it something like 50 years ago?
Such a great horror compilation for a young person. And not too bad when you're older and go back and reread it.
Referenced this book in another Book Report today and found that--much to my chagrin--I had never logged it on Goodreads.
I guess because I first ead it something like 50 years ago?
Such a great horror compilation for a young person. And not too bad when you're older and go back and reread it.
August 4, 2012
Man,I read the bejeezus out of this book back in grade school. The first time through,it scared the crap out of me, but I loved it.
"Sweets for the Sweet" is classic Bloch--all about the punchline. It's a helluva punchline,and it made my blood run cold the first time I ever read it.
"The Waxwork" is a great suspense classic--pure atmosphere, all the way. The inevitable ending is incredibly contrived, but this is one of those stories where you KNOW what's going to happen by the end--arriving there is the fun part.
"Used Car" is a bit of a cooldown from the one-two punch of the opening stories, and it treads territory that "Second Night Out" and "The Last Drive" cover in their own ways (hellish visions, creepy travels). It's predictable, but entertaining.
"The Inexperienced Ghost" is Wells in full-on charming form. Very Jamesian.
"The Whistling Room" is classic Carnacki material, and it's suitably horrifying.
"The Last Drive" is claustrophobia through and through--think "The Waxwork" on wheels. Great material.
"The Monkey's Paw" is, well, "The Monkey's Paw."
"Second Night Out" is a true classic of the weird tale--this was one of my first exposures to the decadent pulp style, and it frightened me thoroughly.
"The Hills Beyond Furcy" is solid and creepy,although I didn't care for it much at the time.
"Floral Tribute" ends the collection on a calmer note, and a poignant one.
"Sweets for the Sweet" is classic Bloch--all about the punchline. It's a helluva punchline,and it made my blood run cold the first time I ever read it.
"The Waxwork" is a great suspense classic--pure atmosphere, all the way. The inevitable ending is incredibly contrived, but this is one of those stories where you KNOW what's going to happen by the end--arriving there is the fun part.
"Used Car" is a bit of a cooldown from the one-two punch of the opening stories, and it treads territory that "Second Night Out" and "The Last Drive" cover in their own ways (hellish visions, creepy travels). It's predictable, but entertaining.
"The Inexperienced Ghost" is Wells in full-on charming form. Very Jamesian.
"The Whistling Room" is classic Carnacki material, and it's suitably horrifying.
"The Last Drive" is claustrophobia through and through--think "The Waxwork" on wheels. Great material.
"The Monkey's Paw" is, well, "The Monkey's Paw."
"Second Night Out" is a true classic of the weird tale--this was one of my first exposures to the decadent pulp style, and it frightened me thoroughly.
"The Hills Beyond Furcy" is solid and creepy,although I didn't care for it much at the time.
"Floral Tribute" ends the collection on a calmer note, and a poignant one.
December 9, 2015
This was a very entertaining book. It contained lots of cool scary stories that creeped me out! One was about a little girl that was abused by her dad and he called her a witch... So she became one. She started making a voodoo doll out of her dad so she could get back at him. He starts getting pains all over her body so he calls his brother and tells him about it then he finds out about the voodoo doll. Then he calls his brother again and has him come over. His brother tries to get the doll but all the girl says is "Its not a doll its just candy." She bites off the dolls head and the brother hears a scream from upstairs and the girl runs off. This book definitely gave me "shudders." I liked that it contained lots of stories instead of just one. My favorite one was "The Whistling Room."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2014
I don't remember if I've read all of the stories or not, but I do remember "Sweets to the Sweet" creeping me out, and even as an adult, I find this tale a scary good time. WARNING! Don't read late at night, whilst all alone! I think I still have my old copy around somewhere, but I'm not sure. One of these days, I'll have to find a copy in better shape, though, since my hardcover copy has long ago started disintegrating.
Read
February 28, 2015I had this book as a child, and it scared me to pieces. I'm pretty sure this was the one I kept hidden behind my door for a long time... Two of the creepiest stories I've ever read are here: "The Monkey's Paw" and "The Whistling Room." I was not happy when I had to re-read "The Monkey's Paw" in 8th grade, but when it showed up on a college syllabus, I flat out refused to read it. When I gave the professor an accurate synopsis, he granted my wish and gave me a pass on it.
October 9, 2012
A strong contributor to how I got hooked on horror - my first encounter with Robert Bloch, and "The Monkey's Paw. When I finally had the honor and priveledge of meeting Mr. Bloch in the 1980's he signed my copy, which I cherish to this day.
April 12, 2016
A great collection of spooky stories, including the classic "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs and two by Robert Bloch. I remember reading The Waxwork years ago and it gave me the same chills second time around.
April 9, 2012
Enjoyable tales of horror and the supernatural. Highlights were The Whistling Room and Second Night Out.
September 15, 2012
My Sister and I read as kids. We loved it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews