I highly recommend skipping the legends that inspired the stories when they appear first -- at least until after the stories have been read. They contain major spoilers and you might not have heard any versions of some of these tales before.

These retellings are in seven groups: for the campfire, after dinner, urban legends, slumber parties, long car rides, Christmas, and Halloween. (I'd be wary of telling scary stories during long car rides if it's going to be dark on the way back. Imagine being the responsible adult stuck in a traffic jam on a desert highway at night with two teen passengers with whom you'd been gleefully sharing such horror stories. I kept thinking about how easily a serial killer could go from car to car. There weren't any street lights and the nearest houses were miles away....)

'Campfire Story': one young man tells about the time he and two friends went exploring in a cave system known as the site where half of a group of pioneers disappeared without a trace 100 years ago.

'Initiation Into Terror': the local haunted house is chosen for a fraternity initiation.

'Funhouse of Fear': a foolish boy wants to steal the new attraction from a carnival funhouse.

'Body Snatched': Although set in London at the end of the 19th century, when the days of the resurrection men were over, this is still a good story about a doctor demanding a truly fresh corpse.

'The Summer of Cropsey': John Cropsey is more than a little upset about the injustices done to him. (Why did no one involved with this book notice that the camp is called 'Beechside' in the first paragraph and 'Beechwood' for the rest of the story? How about saying that a flower shined with a special light instead of shone?)

'The Doom of the House of Gaskell': for ten generations the curse has struck them down -- is there no hope?

'Secret Ingredient': it's definitely not FDA approved.

'Just Desserts': it'll be a Christmas to remember.

'Brainy type': a promise is a promise.

'Cocoon': it seemed a foolproof plan...

'Mule': a man who makes his living doing dirty work finds the job just got dirtier.

'Coat Carrier': Susan made an unwise purchase.

'The Giving Kind': a cautionary tale about picking up a stranger in a bar.

'Crazy Sally': Sally's just crazy about her man.

'Don't Turn on the Light!': Should this college student be worried about the 'Campus Creeper'?

'Final Call': a babysitter is plagued with threatening phone calls. (At least this version of one of the most well known of such tales avoids a problem we didn't think about when I was a girl and heard/told it.)

'Why the Doctor Went Mad': I daresay I would have had it happened to me.

'Ginger Snaps': In this case, Ginger is a dog.

'Stay Away From Wilson Drive!': Our heroine is likely to need considerable therapy after her charitable deed.

'Backseat Driver': Why won't that dratted car behind her pass already? (I believe the movie our heroine is thinking of is 'Duel,' written by Richard Matheson, directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Dennis Weaver. I don't recommend it for the faint of heart.)

'One More': a woman has a recurring nightmare.

'Death Takes Its Toll': a new tollbooth operator finds out why his predecessor left the job.

'Roadside Stop': have two women picked the wrong motel?

'Hook Ending': Terry has some groveling to do.

'He Sees You When You're Sleeping': it's a Christmas that's likely to make front page news.

'Yule Love Him': this season a woman remembers her former boyfriend whom she hasn't seen in years.

'O Christmas Tree!': Jeff Tyler should have bought himself an artificial tree.

'...In Small Packages': No one is admitting to buying or sending that last gift.

'Hearth of Horror': one almost hopes it's a rat making those scratching noises...

'Tricks and Treats': why is one child being allowed to go trick or treating by himself?

'Masquerade': it's a good costume -- perhaps too good.

'Scarecrow' -- at Halloween, scarecrows are more popular than jack o' lanterns in this hardly rural town.

'Sweets to the Sweet': Esther is determined to make the kind of Halloween treats available when she was a girl.

'Bloody Mary': will anyone at the party accept the dare?

Some of these legends I'd heard or read or seen adapted on TV before, some not. Mr. Dziemianowicz did a good job of putting in details, often adding a twist or two. I salute him for the way he successfully combined two golden oldies into one story. The main introduction and those for each section are well worth reading because they mention other legends. I'd be rather unhappy about that Christmas tradition about eating mince pies, but it says nothing about mince tarts or cookies, all the better for a mincemeat fan, heh heh.

It's a good book either for reading to yourself or reading aloud to an audience wanting to be scared. I'm a bit sorry that it contains two variations instead of the exact details of my favorite escaped homicidal maniac story, but not sorry enough to be disappointed in the book overall. ( )