Dangerous Ghosts

A collection of particularly scary ghost stories follows the adventures of people who have been harmed by ghosts, from a headless woman and a cannibalized sailor in bloodstained bandages to a spirit dog that bites.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7. Legends, folklore, and even the files of the Society for Psychical Research are the sources for these 17 tales of wicked spirits and curses. Most of the stories originated in England and Scotland with just two taking place in the United States and one in Italy. Unlike those in many ghost-tale collections, these spirits seem to be able to cause physical harm to the living who encounter them. After a warning introduction, the first story tells of a couple who each pledge to return after dying to reveal death's secrets. Then, when the husband fulfills his promise, he tries to choke his wife for putting him in hell. Other equally gruesome chapters include a vengeful child ghost who horrifies a night nurse and worsens the patient's illness, precipitating her death and subsequent ghostly existence; the spirit of a murdered and cannibalized sailor who seeks revenge on his killers; a cloaked figure who waits in the shadows for a card-cheating soldier; and a woman who was driven to suicide by a spirit. Cohen lightens the mood in the last story. These selections are not for those who enjoy a slight thrill. For readers who find other ghost stories much too tame and are not prone to nightmares, however, this collection will be just the thing for which they've been searching the shadows.?Ann G. Brouse, Big Flats Branch Library, NYCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5^-7. This collection of 17 ghostly tales will appeal more to youngsters interested in ghost folklore than to those looking for chilling horror stories. Cohen reports these stories as matter-of-factly as if they were ordinary daily occurrences, and because many are interwoven with actual historical events, readers are left with an impression of reality lacking in most supernatural tales. However, this realism comes with a price: Cohen's straightforward approach lends an air of believability, but it also tends to lack suspense. In fact, many of these stories simply aren't scary. Still, there is a place for this collection--middle-school libraries with an audience that has tired of the usual far-fetched ghost tales. Lauren Peterson

About the Author

Daniel Cohen is the author of numerous nonfiction books on ghosts and other paranormal phenomena. He lives in Mt. Kisco, New York.

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