Scary Stories: A Cryptic Collection of 28 Twisted Tales

Stephen Greenhalgh is Prospect Research Analyst, Advancement Services,
University of Alberta.

This assortment of 28 creepy—sometimes wacky—narratives is organized
in five sections. “Read Aloud” tales, Warwick suggests, should be
read to a group of people, perhaps by the light of a campfire. “Read
Yourself” stories should be read when you are alone; this section also
includes a new twist on the traditional “Monkey’s Paw” tale. The
remaining three sections are “Tragedy and Comedy,” “Strange and
Inexplicable,” and “Urban Legends.”

The characters and settings for the 28 stories vary considerably. In
“The Lady in Red,” for example, we meet Barbara, a PhD student
haunted by her jilted and recently deceased boyfriend Graham. “The
Waiting Room” features Jack Galloway, a respectable businessman who,
late one night, encounters the disembodied spirit of his spoiled
daughter Suzie. In “The Mummy’s Curse,” John Astor, an American
millionaire, is determined to purchase the mummy of Amen-Ra despite the
counsel and misgivings of Madame Blavatsky.

Each tale is a quick, entertaining read, and not all are intended to
shock or terrify. As Warwick points out, some of the tales are comically
absurd and the occasional one even has a happy ending. Scary Stories is
sure to delight anyone who loves to be spooked.