A parent might reach for this book when their thrill-seeking child is ready to graduate from milder spooky stories to something with more suspense. This anthology, curated by legendary editor Joan Kahn, offers fourteen short, unsettling tales from a variety of authors, exploring everything from classic ghost stories to psychological thrillers. It's a fantastic way to explore the themes of fear and bravery in a controlled environment. For ages 9 to 14, its short story format is perfect for dipping a toe into the horror genre, allowing you to gauge your child's comfort level with different kinds of scares.
Some stories feature ambiguous endings or characters with unclear motivations.
Sensitive Topics
Character death is a theme in several stories, though it is almost always handled off-page, as a past event that sets up a haunting, or as an implied threat. The approach is entirely secular, focusing on the resulting fear and mystery rather than grief or loss. Resolutions are often ambiguous, leaving the source of the horror unexplained, which is a key part of the book's unsettling effect.
Ideal Reader
A 10 to 12-year-old who has devoured R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps" and is looking for a step up in literary quality and atmospheric tension. This reader enjoys the feeling of being scared, loves a good mystery or twist ending, and has the patience for a slow-burn story. It's also an excellent choice for kids who prefer short stories to full-length novels.
Parent Prep
No specific preparation is needed to read the book cold. However, because the stories vary in intensity and style, a parent might want to preview a few to get a feel for the collection. "The Gilt Frame" and "The Loony" are good examples of the psychological suspense found within. The anthology format makes it easy to skip any story a child might find too intense. A child asks, "Can I read a really scary book?" or shows interest in horror movies. A parent wants to satisfy this curiosity with age-appropriate, well-written material that focuses on suspense over gore.
Age Experience
A younger reader (9-10) will latch onto the more concrete scares: the ghosts, the strange creatures, and the jump-scare moments. For them, it's a fun collection of spooky campfire tales. An older reader (12-14) will better appreciate the craft of the storytelling, the psychological horror, the unreliable narrators, and the unsettling ambiguity of the endings.
What Makes It Special
Unlike single-author collections with a uniform voice, this anthology serves as an expertly curated sampler of the horror genre. Joan Kahn's selection introduces young readers to a wide spectrum of suspense styles, from quiet, creeping dread to overt supernatural events. Its 1980s origin gives it a classic, less graphic feel compared to some contemporary middle-grade horror.
Read plot summary
This is a curated collection of fourteen short horror and suspense stories by various authors. The tales range widely in subgenre, including atmospheric ghost stories (a haunting in a boarding school), monster tales (a mysterious creature in the woods), and psychological thrillers (a story involving a sinister babysitter). The common thread is a focus on building suspense and creating an unsettling mood, often culminating in a twist or an ambiguous ending.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.
Discussion Prompts
1
Which of the fourteen stories did you find the scariest? What made that particular story so frightening to you: the monster, the setting, or the suspense?
2
In "The Gilt Frame," do you think the portrait was truly magical, or was the boy just imagining things? Why do you think the author left the ending unclear?
3
Many of the stories don't have happy or neat endings. How did the ending of a story like "The Loony" make you feel? Would you have preferred a different outcome?
4
After reading these stories, have you ever felt like something strange or unexplainable was happening around you? Which story felt the most realistic?
