Campfire Ghost Stories: Volume II. A.S. Mott. Edmonton, AB: Ghost House Books (Distributed by Lone Pine Publishing), 2004. 199 pp., pbk., $14.95. ISBN 1-894877-42-X. Subject Headings: Ghosts. Tales. Grades 7 and up / Ages 12 and up. Review by Meredith MacKeen. *** /4

excerpt:

Feeling guilty, tired and afraid, he flopped down nervously on the living room couch and turned on the TV and sat there until his uncle came home with a bucket of fried chicken 10 minutes later. The strange sounds continued to clatter throughout the house as the two of them sat down to eat, but luckily his uncle didn't seem to notice them. Luke's nerves had shrunk his appetite down to nothing, and it was all he could do to choke down a drumstick. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence at the table, he excused himself and went to his room, where the first thing he saw was that horrible poster. He lay down on his bed and closed his eyes and hoped that somehow everything would turn out all right.

His hopes were shattered when about an hour later her heard his uncle shout out with a voice full of disheartening anger.

A.S. Mott has collected 20 ghost stories to tell to audiences ranging in age from 8 to 80. The subject matters include a rock star who fulfils a lifelong dream to buy a castle only to find that it contains a dreaded hidden room which houses a starving woman who has lived there for 500 years; the ghost of a jealous high school prom queen who returns to avenge her own murder: a man who, toying with near death experiences, avoids death by befriending the grim reaper; a 34-year-old man who tries to convince his friends and family that a monster lives under his bed; and a young woman who, having used witchcraft to hurt her ex-boyfriend's new love, watches her plan backfire. The introduction includes advice for learning and telling the stories.

     Most stories are under 10 pages in length and gently surprise the reader without providing the gory details. Some versions follow familiar plot lines, and others are new stories. Pencil drawings by Aaron Norell have a surrealistic quality that add to the scare. These lightweight ghost stories are sure to please those always hungry for a new story.

Recommended.

Meredith MacKeen is a teacher-librarian at Glen Stewart School in Stratford, PE.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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