Ghostly and Ghastly

by Barbara Ireson (Editor)

Genres: Horror

365 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 1984

About the author

Barbara Ireson grew up on the South Coast, took a degree in Economics at Nottingham, and then worked in Paris at the British Embassy and UNESCO. She married a university lecturer, and his career took her to several university towns, where she become intensely interested in conservation and the restoration of old buildings. Her three children have inherited this enthusiasm, and her two sons run an antiques business at Tours in France. She and her husband also live in Tours, and she is able to lend a hand in the business whilst continuing with her own writing.

She is particularly well known for her work on children's anthologies, both poetry and prose, and she has edited a number of highly praised and popular collections.

1987

Reviews

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book collects thirteen very serviceable ghost stories, all featuring a child, though otherwise not especially child-friendly, despite this title being published under the Beaver imprint. As with all anthologies, this was something of a mixed bag, but the best stories (I particularly enjoyed the chilling Ray Bradbury's The Emissary, and The House of the Nightmare, by Edward Lucas White) were easily good enough to lift the effects of the worst (in particular Jack-In-The-Box, oddly also by Ray Bradbury, which was more of a sci-fi outing, and Oscar Wilde's amusing but tonally out of place The Canterville Ghost). Overall, an enjoyable selection.