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In the late 1950s, Roald Dahl started collecting ghost stories. He was looking for the best of the best, the cream of the crop, with the intention of making a television series based on these stories. The series died after the pilot episode, but it left Dahl with an appreciation for the difficulties in finding truly good ghost stories:

The best ghost stories don't have ghosts in them. At least you don't see the ghost. Instead you see only the result of his actions. Occasionally you can feel it brushing past you, or you are made aware of its presence by subtle means. [...] If a story does permit a ghost to be seen, then he doesn't look like one. He looks like an ordinary person.

In preparation for the ill-fated television series, Dahl read over 700 ghost stories. He published this collection almost 25 years later, adding a few stories he hadn't included in his original list, and removing some others. The result isn't the scariest book ever. You can't pick up this book expecting to be scared out of your boots. Many of these stories are, to be honest, not very scary. But they are all well-written, and many of them were quite successful at making me feel fairly unnerved. A few positively rose the hairs on the back of my neck. I still think, for example, of Harry by Rosemary Timperley with a chill and a shudder. Others are just clever; for example, W.S. by L. P. Hartley and Playmates by A. M. Burrage. The bulk of the stories are from the first half of the 20th century, so the writing style may not be to everyone's liking, but overall, the stories are fairly entertaining and interesting, and it's a fairly worthwhile read.

These aren't stories by Roald Dahl but the top fourteen short stories that he thought were the spookiest ever written. Now, most people would read a few dozen well-known stories and choose a few for their anthology but Roald Dahl says that he read seven-hundred and forty-nine stories to find these good ones -- and they are fantastic!

The first that really got to me was Harry by Rosemary Timperley. This story has the uncertainty and menacing aspects of a good ghost story. A young adopted girl makes an imaginary friend but her mother is not so sure that the friend is all that made-up. Maybe having a young child right now makes this story scarier because nothing is worse than the fears you have for the safety of your children.

The next story that I loved was The Corner Shop by Cynthia Asquith. This is one of those ghost stories with a warm and fuzzy ending -- which happens to be my favorite kind. I have always liked benevolent ghosts. In this story a man enters a curio shop at two different times and is met by extremely different proprietors. Through the story you aren't entirely sure which is the ghostly scenario.

In the Tube by E.F. Benson focuses more on spiritualism and "ghosts versus astral projections" and that sort of thing. It's a very well-written story and it gives you the chills at the end.

One of the best in the book is A.M. Burrage's Playmates. It deals with how a non-believer comes to terms with the regular existence of harmless ghosts. The next one I liked a lot is by the same author and is called The Sweeper. This one is the exact opposite type of story in that it is about people who have no doubt as to the existence of a certain ghost and are sure of his ability to wreak vengeance. I would like to find out more about Burrage as I really enjoyed his stories.

All of the stories in the book are good and creepy and they are each so different from the other that it's a very interesting read. I strongly recommend this if you are looking for some good spooky reading.

http://webereading.com/2008/09/beginn... ( )

Short Stories (with my rating of 1 to 5 ★’s)

W.S. by L.P. Hartley
Writers of fiction must have some talent for creativity, but what happens when an author is too talented and inventive. ★★★★

Harry by Rosemary Timperley
Imaginary friends are common playmates for lonely children. Harry is a little bit different and a lot more rare – at least I hope so. ★★★★

The Corner Shop by Cynthia Asquith
In any town you are bound to come across at least one of those musty old antique shops. Have you ever wondered though, what else you may find besides bric-a-brac and hidden treasures. ★★★★★

In The Tube by E.F. Benson
Contemplations on time, space, responsibility and remorse take place between two friends sitting before a roaring fire. But there is an over-powering chill in their bones. ★★

Christmas Meeting by Rosemary Timperley
A lonely, older lady spending a solitary Christmas with nothing but memories for company, receives an unexpected visitor to share some tea. ★★

Elias and the Draug by Jonas Lie
Seamen have always found boats and oceans to be a welcoming home away from home, but for Elias, a dedicated sailor, the sea and what really lives there will become his worst nightmare. ★

Playmates by A.M. Burrage
Everton, an well-off older bachelor, takes on the care of an orphaned child. More as a social experiment to examine the development of children, than out of any feeling of compassion. But he quickly learns to care for his ward and her unusual playmates. ★★★★★

Ringing The Changes by Robert Aickman
A couple go on holiday to a seaside hotel, but they arrive to the sound of non-stop ringing of bells. And although they can smell the fresh sea air, it is nowhere to be found. ★★

The Telephone by Mary Treadgold
Being a second wife can be a difficult experience, but being the second wife to a widower presents a whole different set of problems. ★★★

The Ghost of a Hand by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Tile House is haunted by a ghostly hand, connected to a phantom that for some reason goes to elaborate measures to ensure he exposes nothing but his hand. ★★

The Sweeper by A.M. Burrage
Miss Ludgate is a very well-to-do lady in her eighties, who is a bit of a penny pincher. But when it comes to beggars and vagrants she is all too charitable. What is the reason for her strange behaviour and why does the changing of the leaves in Autumn cause her such upset. ★★★★

Afterward by Edith Wharton
For the married couple who move into a haunted house, there is some disappointment that their ghost is said to only becomes apparent afterward. ★★

On The Brighton Road by Richard Middleton
A homeless traveller meets up with another, younger, but more seasoned nomad who after falling ill assures the man that he will meet him again. But the traveller does not expect to see him again on Brighton Road. ★★

The Upper Berth by Marion Crawford
When travelling it is sometimes a fact that you may have to share a cabin with a stranger, but the man in the upper berth of room 105 is just a bit stranger than most. ★★ ( )

a couple of really good ones in here! ( )

Deftly proves that the best stories are the old ones. roald dahl didn't write any of these, but he picked them as his favorites. They are actually spooky, not scary. And they are written with a great deal of care. Very readable and extraordinarily good. ( )

Unlike "Skin", this is not stories BY Dahl, so much as stories selected by Dahl. In the introduction, he discusses how he labroiously searched for the best ghost stories... but most of them are rather bland and innocuous. Much better is the compilation Open at Your Own Risk (which does not have anything to do with Dahl.) ( )