20th Century Ghosts

by Joe Hill

Other authors: Christopher Golden (Introduction)

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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2,552	134	5,455	(3.94)	185
A compilation of short fiction includes the tales of Imogene, the legendary ghost of the Rosebud theater, and Francis, an unhappy, hopeless human turned giant locust seeking revenge on his Nevada hometown.

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31
Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman (mao21234)
mao21234: Gaiman likes to embed stories in his introductions- as a nod to Gaiman, Hill embeds one in the acknowledgements at the end of the book.
10
Pictures From An Expedition by Alexander C. Irvine (msouliere)
msouliere: Like Joe Hill, and very much in the spirit of Ray Bradbury's short story collections, this book is eclectic and exploratory in nature. Good stuff!
00
Dark Ride by Michael Laimo (lesleydawn)
00
Tiny Deaths by Robert Shearman (Booksloth)
00
Just After Sunset by Stephen King (sturlington)
sturlington: Short stories from father and son.
01
Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions by Neil Gaiman (smammers)

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▾Member reviews

English (127) Spanish (2) Italian (1) Piratical (1) Finnish (1) Swedish (1) All languages (133)

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Showing 1-5 of 127 (next | show all)

Amazing stories, each one so different from the previous. One to scare you, one to horrify you, one to almost make you feel a bit sick in the back of your throat as you read, waves of emotion from another. All so, so startlingly good. I'm sad they are finished.

Also, make sure you read the acknowledgement. Wink. (

)

beentsy | Aug 12, 2023 |

Couple really good stories. (

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Mcdede | Jul 19, 2023 |

OK. 20th Century Ghosts was one of the best short story collections I have ever read. I loved best The Cape, 20th Century Ghost, Abraham’s Boys, My Father’s Mask and Pop Art. (

)

Andy5185 | Jul 9, 2023 |

Enjoyed most of these (in particular: 20th Century Ghosts, The Black Phone) - and a couple I'm still thinking of several days later (Voluntary Committal, My Father's Mask, Better Than Home). (

)

DocHobbs | Apr 16, 2023 |

A disappointing read for me. The stories have a over-wrought quality to them, and fall short of what I had hoped a ghosting-themed collection would be. Many twist endings. Meh. (

)

purplepaste | Feb 18, 2023 |

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▾Other authors

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Hill, Joe	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Golden, Christopher	Introduction	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Chong, Vincent	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Riffel, Hannes	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Salminen, Kari	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Audie Award (Winner – Short Stories/ Collections – 2008)

Bram Stoker Award (Winner – Collection – 2005)

British Fantasy Award (Winner – Collection – 2006)

The IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award (Winner – 2006)

International Horror Guild Award (Winner – Collection – 2005)

World Fantasy Award (Nominee – Collection – 2006)

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

20th Century Ghosts

Original title

Alternative titles

Information from the Finnish Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

Parasta uutta kauhua

20. vuosisadan aave

Pop art

Kuulet heinäsirkan laulavan

Abrahamin pojat

(show all 14 items)

Original publication date

2007-10-16

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

The Black Phone (2021 | IMDb)

Awards and honors

Bram Stoker Award (2005.5 | Collection, 2005)

British Fantasy Award (Collection, 2006)

International Horror Guild Award (Collection, 2005)

World Fantasy Award Nominee (2006.5 | Collection, 2006)

The IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award (2006)

(show all 6 items)

Epigraph

Dedication

To Leanora: We are my favorite story.

First words

A month before his deadline, Eddie Carroll ripped open a manila envelope, and a magazine called The True North Literary Review slipped out into his hands.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Please do not combine this anthology, 20th Century Ghosts with the short story "20th Century Ghost," contained herein.

Anthology contents:

-- Best New Horror
-- 20th Century Ghost
-- Pop Art
-- You Will Hear the Locust Sing
-- Abraham’s Boys
-- Better than Home
-- Black Phone
-- In the Rundown
-- Cape
-- Last Breath
-- Dead-Wood
-- Widow’s Breakfast
-- My Father’s Mask
-- Voluntary Committal

Publisher's editors

Crowther, Pete

Blurbers

Original language

English

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

20th Century Ghosts

▾Book descriptions

A compilation of short fiction includes the tales of Imogene, the legendary ghost of the Rosebud theater, and Francis, an unhappy, hopeless human turned giant locust seeking revenge on his Nevada hometown.

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Collects these stories:
"Best New Horror"
"20th Century Ghost"
"Pop Art"
"You Will Hear the Locust Sing"
"Abraham's Boys"
"Better than Home"
"The Black Phone"
"In the Rundown"
"The Cape"
"Last Breath"
"Dead-Wood"
"The Widow's Breakfast"
"Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead"
"My Father's Mask"
"Voluntary Commital"

Introduction by Christopher Golden

Haiku summary