The Thing at the Foot of the Bed

by Maria Leach, Kurt Werth (Illustrator)

A collection of ghost stories originating in folk tales told the world over.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Horror, Childrens, Middle Grade, Ghosts, Paranormal

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1959

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book as a child. And I still have it!

"Where's my golden arm? Where's mmyyy gooollldddennn aaarrmmmmm?"

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading some cute spooky stories by Maria Leach in another story collection, I went looking for more by her. I found this out of print book on OpenLibrary and thoroughly enjoyed reading it! The book is split into sections: Funny stories, scary tales, true stories, ghost games, witch tales and Do's & Don't's about ghosts. So entertaining!

I love reading vintage children's books -- especially spooky/scary ones! This copy available to read on OpenLibrary definitely looks like it was read and enjoyed many times. I'm glad I got a chance to read this story collection!

The first section (Funny Ones) has six stories. I loved every single one! Some of the stories I enjoyed in the prior story collection I read. My favorite in this section is Wait Til Martin Comes (which is a classic spooky story I've heard variations of since I was a child), but all of them were cute!

The second section is titled: Scary Ones. There are 8 stories in this section. One of them -- The Golden Arm -- I read in a prior story collection and also heard variants around campfires and with friends with a big jump scare at the end (of course). It never fails to get me! My favorite in this section is No Head. I can't imagine what I would do if I faced the same situation as the farmer in the story!

On to section three: Real Ones. There are 9 tales in this section and each story is different and interesting. Even lyrics for two spooky ballads! My favorite tale from this section is Aunt Tilly.....she came to visit family. One last time.

After tales of fright, this collection adds in some fun - Ghost Games! These 3 stories outline some pretty
cute ghostly shenanigans...spooky games that kids can play. One is a mix of hide & seek and tag. Then there's Old Roger - a singing game. Then another variation of tag called Ghost.

Next up - three scary Witch Stories! All three were good, but I enjoyed a tale called Witch Cat the most. Sometimes people are not always what they seem to be!

And, last but not least, the final section gathers five tales of ghostly do's and don'ts....advice on how to tell if ghosts are about, how to charm ghosts, how to see ghosts, and what never to do in the presence of ghosts. Ending the book is a last bit of advice - never kick a ghost.

Following the stories are several pages of Author's Notes and a bibliography. Great information about where the story ideas came from and information on folklore from around the world.

All in all a very enjoyable collection of stories! I loved the illustrations and cover art by Kurt Werth. I'm glad I got a chance to read more by Maria Leach!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorites since I was in elementary school! I checked it out of the school library, and me and my friends would act out the stories at recess! :)

I just now remembered about it when I saw a post on facebook to a medieval zombie story: ( http://io9.com/medieval-manuscripts-d... , because in the book there is a story about a guy who kicks a skull on the side of the road and it talks to him and has an important warning for him.... !

[J.H. Moncrieff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a friend, who claimed it was quite spooky. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read it as a child, but there were a couple creepy-as-hell stories that surprised me, as most of the tales were quite mild.

There's an unusual section near the end that details how to summon ghosts, and one of the suggestions was playing music a deceased loved one enjoyed, and this gave me chills, for that exact thing once happened to me.

So maybe there's more truth to this book than one would believe.

[Theediscerning · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here the only mysterious element of the unexplained is, why so many people seem to remember this book with fondness? Coming to it for the first time as an adult I found it stultifying – only three of the pieces work, several are eminently guessable at the halfway mark, and a lot just don't work. Mostly this is down to a blatant curtness, that only works with the dead-pan tale of a man kicking a skull along the road (as you do). The blatant curtness comes down to the author being an awful children's writer – whatever her prowess at anthologising folktales, and being a Grimm-type story gatherer, so much of what she writes is just a single page in length, and has no room to create any effect. To such an extent I am literally surprised how children could be expected to enjoy this stuff, let alone their adult equivalents. Completely unsatisfying.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had this book as a kid and loved it. when I saw that Dover had republished it I just *had* to read it again. It is a collection of ghost stories from around the world, though mostly English, Canadian Maritime and African-American in origin. And not just stories (which are usually only a few paragraphs long) but there is poetry, games, songs and even a Newfoundland sea shanty. The tales are written in a story-tellers voice and meant to be told aloud, some even have instructions for the storyteller. A lot of the stories are humorous and this is reflected in Kurt Werth's wonderful comic illustrations. Maria Leach was born in the USA of Nova Scotian parents but then retired to Nova Scotia herself in the fifties when she began to write.

[Dr Janice Flux]

this book totally and completely fucked me up for forever.

what's worse, the cover of the edition i had as a child

(i couldn't get the photo html to work ... sigh)

[Bruce Gargoyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a digital copy of this title from the publisher via Netgalley.

Ten Second Synopsis:
A collection of traditional ghost stories with information on their purported origins.

This is a selection of traditional ghost stories ranging from mildly humorous to reasonably tedious, plus a bizarre collection of beliefs about ghosts and ghostly behaviour and some ghostly games to play. I wasn't aware on reading this that it was originally published in 1959, so the old-fashioned feel to the format and narratives isn't so much old-fashioned, as contemporary for the time! The stories are split into sections - scary tales, funny tales and real ones (although how the "real" ones differ from the others is unclear) - and each of the tales is linked to its supposed origins, as far as they are known. This is quite a quick read, with most of the stories only taking up one or two pages each, along with an illustration.

It may be that Bart Simpson was correct when he posited that perhaps people were just easier to scare in "the olden days" but I found nothing even remotely scary about the stories contained in this book. Also, the narrative style is so abrupt and unlike most writing for children today that I can't imagine many younger readers will be particularly frightened by the stories either - which I suppose could be a good thing, if you're a natural scaredy cat.

This book was a spectacular disappointment for me overall. I can forgive some of the flaws given that it was published in a different era of reading, but the style of never kick a ghostwriting didn't seem to lend itself to scary stories in my opinion. One of the problems I had, that is peculiar to vintage texts, is that I had recently heard or read some of the stories contained here in much more interesting formats. There were a few stories that I enjoyed - Milk Bottles and Wait 'Til Martin Comes being the standouts - but otherwise I didn't find much to crow about. Unless you are specifically looking for traditional ghost stories told in a narrative style common in the 1960s, you might be disappointed with this collection.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun collection of ghost stories that never got too graphic, but certainly didn't shy away from decapitations and things like that. The book divides into sections about "real" ghost stories, funny stories, and even a section just about witches. It's not a deep dive, but if you're looking for some creepy reading, then it's a good one for sure!

[Erin Hatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Goosebumps of my mom's childhood, she recalled this book and we found a copy of it on Amazon. This collection of ghost and witch stories come from regional and international folklore. The notes section in the back was interesting as well, briefly introducing other variations of the stories in the book.

[Kim S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the notes and bibliography at the end

[Susan Haines · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book from the library because I was recently reminiscing about how my friends and I read the book over and over, would bring it to our slumber parties, and basically used it as a ghost guide for our little gullible selves.

As often happens, the book does not stand the test of time. I am surprised by the sheer number of beheadings and think it was weird that I was reading that as an 8-year old LOL! The stories are actually written very poorly "Once there was a man had a woman for a wife named Elvira, and this woman had a golden arm." (Awful grammar but that's probably my favorite story of the bunch.) And the section on Games--well, let's just say if I saw any kids playing those creepy games today (like Devil in the Dishes) I would probably keep my distance. But I don't think any of this can diminish how much I loved this book as a kid.

If you do plan on reading it, the introduction to the book reveals the surprise of every story with a twist, so don't read that.

[E Vikander · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thing at the Foot of the Bed and Other Scary Tales was originally published in 1959. It is a short collection of folk tales involving ghosts and a few witch stories. I was especially fond of Sweet William’s Ghost. All stories are brief—perfect for short attention spans. I had read this book as a child and found it frightening, as an adult I find it quaint. Some of these stories I had heard during childhood sleepovers and scouting campfires. The illustrations are simplistic and suit the book quite well. I believe that this would make a good starter book for children who are interested in such stories, because most are straight forward, they aren’t overly scary, and there was no gore.

[Lindsey Lawntea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so this was originally published in 1959, and it is basically an early (and tamer) version of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. When I requested this I was not aware it was a reprinting, so I was sorely upset that it felt like a knock-off of Alvin Schwartz’s work, but it actually is interesting that others were doing this work before Alvin and probably inspired him a bit. I guess Leach walked so Schwartz could RUN. Many of the stories are similar in nature, but they aren’t as spooky as Scary Stories and the illustrations are MUCH less creepy.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

[Joanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just re-read this in honor of Halloween it's every bit as good as I remembered! I had forgotted (blocked out!) the "Singing Bone" story-still gave me the creeps!


I loved this book of ghost stories as a kid. I still remember a few of them vividly, like the one where a man is staying in an abandoned house and these cats keep sticking their paws in his food and saying "Sop doll, sop" (or Sop something anyway) and he finally gets fed up and cuts off the paw of one of the cats and when he get home he finds his wife in bed with a fever and a hand missing-totally freaked me out! I think I really was messed up as a kid-I would read these scary books and then totally freak myself out!

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of ghost stories (humorous and scary). This, along with Arrow Book of Spooky Stories which included some of the stories, was one of my favorite books growing up. Looking back at it, it seems a little repetitive at points, and the section on games is skippable. It is now however interesting to read some of the footnotes in the back of the book as to the origins of the ghost stories which have a wide range of history to them.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very intresting. Lots of information.

I liked this books.I really like the stories in this books. I think all older or younger kids kids would like this books. This book is a quick read and quite intresting. (Even if the stories are exagerrated.) So if you like short ghost stoires read these books

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a reread from the last time was 2013. When I was growing up, I would always request it from the bookmobile at Halloween and read it. It was so scary back then. It took me a while to find a copy of it for my permanent children's book shelf.

[Aric Cushing]

Ah childhood memories! One of those great covers that got me hooked on the genre as a kid!

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I should have read when I was a kid. Preferably when if it was dark out, there was a campfire, and it was being read out loud. That would be pretty creepy!

[Sarah Coller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ordered this and read it for the first time in about 35 years. I'm doing a study this month on the stuff that scares humans and why ... I remember being really freaked out and weirded out by the stories in this book when I was a kid. Reading back through it last night, there was nothing scary and I realized it's more of a folk lore study than an actual attempt to scare someone. I'll be keeping it for my reference library.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had heard these stories retold many times before, but I didn’t realize how old some of these classic horror tales were. I definitely recommend it for your kids. It’s well put together, simple, and easy to look through to find your favorite story and retell it at a campout, Halloween party, or to your younger siblings. 😀

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my absolute favorite books when I was a kid. I read this book so much it literally fell apart. Over 35 years later and I still remember the stories, one of them nearly word-for-word. A must-read and I look forward to finding this book for myself again one day.

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still such a fun book. More juvenile than I remembered - about on par with Schwartz's In a Dark, Dark Room. Still, good to have that information as I'm going through the shelves to see which ones my tiny human may enjoy.

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently people think you can defeat ghosts with firearms; I'm here to tell you that you can't.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book when I was a kid. On the same level as the Scary Stories trilogy, in many respects.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite book from my childhood, and still a favourite as an adult.

[Jerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite ghost stories since I was young. Took my kids every year to the cemetery n read it before trick or treating......now,it's my grandkids turn

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my favorite book as a child. The beginning of my live of ghost stories. Just had to reread it to see how much I remembered.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read to see if granddaughter would like it. It is very cute and not "scary" at all. The illustrations are a sketchy fun style.