UNKNOWN

If you met a spook and a spectre walking side by side, would you know which was which?

As Manning-Sanders explains, the answer is: not necessarily. Both are ghosts, both are restless, and both have unfinished business with the living. But while a spook tends toward mischief — throwing parties, playing pranks, and causing harmless havoc — a spectre is altogether eerier, a pale and solemn figure trapped between worlds, neither good enough for heaven nor bad enough for anywhere else.

In this wonderfully varied collection of twenty-three tales from across the globe bring both kinds of spirits vividly to life. From England to China, Korea to Bohemia, Russia to the Australia, Iceland to the mountains of Savoy, these stories span an astonishing range of cultures and moods. Some will make you shiver. Some will make you laugh. And some will do both at once.

Meet Old Tommy, an English farmer who strikes an unlikely bargain with a spectre; eavesdrop on a wild Russian spooks’ party where the uninvited are most unwelcome; journey to a frozen Chinese lake where phantoms play a terrifying game of football; encounter a spectre wolf prowling the American frontier; and discover what happens when a brave soul dares to spend the night at a haunted German inn. There are mischievous barrel spooks from Denmark, an owl-headed creature from Switzerland that readers never forget, spectres who dance by moonlight in Savoy, and a Korean tale of strange visitors that will keep you guessing until the end.

Manning-Sanders retells each story with her celebrated warmth, wit, and precision. Her tales are never too scary for young readers, yet never so tame that adults won’t enjoy them. The award-winning Robin Jacques provides atmospheric illustrations that capture the chill and charm of each ghostly encounter.

Stories include: Old Tommy and the Spectre (England) • La-Lee-Lu (USA) • Football on a Lake (China) • The Spooks’ Party (Russia) • Spooks A-Hunting (Tyrol) • Yi Chang and the Spectres (Korea) • Dilly-Dilly-Doh! (Iceland) • The Owl (Switzerland) • The Black Spectre (Italian Tyrol) • Rubizal and the Miller’s Daughter (Bohemia) • The Spook and the Beer Barrel (Denmark) • Tummeldink (Schleswig-Holstein) • Tangletop (Germany) • The Spook and the Pigs (Bohemia) • The Spectre Wolf (USA) • The Inn of the Stone and Spectre (Germany) • The Little Old Man in the Tree (Yugoslavia) • Goralasi and the Spectres (Australia) • The Lake (Estonia) • Strange Visitors (Korea) • The Dance of the Spectres (Savoy) • Heaven Forbid! (Denmark) • Ha! Ha! Ha! (Germany)

Perfect for read-aloud sessions, campfire storytelling, Halloween reading, sleepovers, and young readers ages 6–12 who love a good ghost story that thrills without terrifying. A treasured volume in Ruth Manning-Sanders’ celebrated “A Book of…” folklore series.