Even More Short & Shivery: Thirty Spine-Tingling Tales

Thirty spine-chilling stories from around the world provide plenty of shivers in this spooky collection.  Curl up with old friends like Washington Irving's "Guests from Gibbet Island" or Charles Dickens' "Chips."  Or make the aquaintance of "The Skull That Spoke" and "The Monster of Baylock"--but beware of spectral visitors like "The Blood-Drawing Ghost." This exciting mixture of classic and contemporary tales from Mexico, China, Poland, Nigeria, and other lands near and far is perfect for hair-raising reading!Twenty deliciously eerie illustrations by Jacqueline Rogers highlight this companion to Robert D. San Souci's earlier collections of scary stories, Short & Shivery and More Short & Shivery, which School Library Journal called "an absolute delight."

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up-As in previous volumes of th is popular series, selections represent a wide variety of cultures and include a mix of familiar and exotic tales. Sophisticated readers will enjoy the mythological resonance of "Dicey and Orpus," a traditional African-American tale that parallels the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Others may be inspired to read some of the longer works from which tales have been extracted, such as Washington Irving's "Guests from Gibbet Island" or Hans Christian Andersen's "The Rose Elf." Younger children will simply appreciate San Souci's ability to condense a scary story without softening its impact or sacrificing the flow and tone of the text. Rogers's black-and-white illustrations of scary images enhance the book's appeal. Extensive notes on the origins and incarnations of the stories are included. This well-written collection will satisfy patron demand and provide the opportunity to experience and enjoy quality literature. Young readers will gobble up these 30 thrilling snacks and beg for more.?Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of PittsburghCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5^-8. San Souci groups together 30 tales that not only read well but also work as splendid choices for oral telling around a campfire, on a trip, in school, or at a sleepover. The volume has a multicultural flavor, with tales originating in Iceland, Ireland, France, China, Nigeria, Martinique, and in different parts of the U.S. Most are folktales, but some selections have been adapted from the work of great writers such as Washington Irving, and one is a popular urban legend. A few of the stories actually may be more familiar in other versions. As usual, San Souci provides good source notes, a boon for storytellers looking for variants of a particular story. Karen Morgan

From the Publisher

"...Thirty tales that not only read well but also work as splendid choices for oral telling around a campfire, on a trip, in school, or at a sleepover." --Booklist"Young readers will gobble up these 30 thrilling snacks and beg for more."--School Library Journal

From the Inside Flap

-chilling stories from around the world provide plenty of shivers in this spooky collection. Curl up with old friends like Washington Irving's "Guests from Gibbet Island" or Charles Dickens' "Chips." Or make the aquaintance of "The Skull That Spoke" and "The Monster of Baylock"--but beware of spectral visitors like "The Blood-Drawing Ghost." This exciting mixture of classic and contemporary tales from Mexico, China, Poland, Nigeria, and other lands near and far is perfect for hair-raising reading!Twenty deliciously eerie illustrations by Jacqueline Rogers highlight this companion to Robert D. San Souci's earlier collections of scary stories, Short & Shivery and More Short & Shivery, which School Library Journal called "an absolute delight."

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The graveyard was three miles away, but Kate was a brawny girl with a fast stride, so she came to the place sooner rather than later.  The moon lit the marble tomb at the center; she found the blackthorn with no problem.But she had barely put her hand on it when a soft voice called from the vault, "Come and open the tomb for me."Kate began to tremble and was very much afraid.  But even as she tried to resist, a force compelled her to unwind the chain that sealed the double doors of the tomb.Descending a short flight of steps, she found a casket resting upon a marble table."Take the lid off," commanded the voice from the casket.Unable to help herself, she did as she was told.  Inside lay the body of a man who had died months before.  His eyes were open, but unmoving--yet somehow Kate felt them watching her.  His dead lips were drawn slightly apart, and the voice came from between them, though the mouth moved not at all."Lift me out of here," the corpse commanded, "and take me on your back."

About the Author

Robert D. San Souci is the author of Short & Shivery and More Short & Shivery, which School Library Journal called “an absolute delight.”From the Trade Paperback edition.

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