Ghost Writing: Haunted Tales by Contemporary Writers - Softcover

Weingarten, Roger

Softcover

ISBN 10: 096796833X ISBN 13: 9780967968339

Publisher: Invisible Cities Press LLC, 2001

Synopsis

Serving up chills and thrills, this collection of haunting tales offers the intelligence and emotional resonance that only comes from great writing. Whether it's John Updike writing about a shadowy Indian in a coastal New England town or T. Coraghessan Boyle's tale of a vengeful statue of the Virgin Mary, these stories show how delicious it can be to curl up with master storytellers and the things that go bump in the night.

About this title

Review

Ghost Writing collects 21 literary ghost stories, most of which are original to the anthology. The award-winning contributors range from newcomers to big names (T. Coraghessan Boyle, Robert Coover, Louise Erdrich, Nicola Griffith, Peter Straub, and John Updike). If the settings run rather often to New England, the theme is broadly defined to include not only the traditional restless spirits and haunted houses, but a mirror, a troll, a sunken train, clothes, and much more.

In T. Coraghessan Boyle's hilariously over-the-top contribution, "The Miracle at Ballinspittle," a plaster statue of the Virgin Mary grants a hellaciously thorough vision. In Louise Erdrich's sharp and funny "Le Mooz," a pair of aging, argumentative Ojibwe Indians share a love that transcends death in unique fashion. Nicola Griffith's "A Troll Story" portrays a haunted Viking-era farm in the beautiful language and rhythms of an Old Norse saga. Pamela Painter's spooky "Doors" would have made a fine Twilight Zone episode. In Ben Pastor's "Achilles' Grave," a pair of enemy soldiers, English and German, raise the dead at Gallipoli. In "The Way He Knew It," Rick Zind explores a transcendantly dysfunctional relationship. --Cynthia Ward

From the Author

Roger Weingarten is the former director of creative writing at Vermont College and the author of Ghost Wrestling, Infant Bonds of Joy, and Shadow, Shadow. He lives in Montpelier, Vermont.

About this edition

• Publisher: Invisible Cities Press LLC
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 096796833X
• ISBN 13: 9780967968339
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328