Ghostly
A Collection of Ghost Stories
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3.7 • 7 Ratings
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- $1.99
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
Selected and introduced by the bestselling author of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry—including Audrey Niffenegger’s own stunning illustrations for each piece—this is a “spine-tingling” (Chicago Tribune) collection of some of the best classic and contemporary ghost stories of all time.
From Edgar Allen Poe to Kelly Link, MR James to Neil Gaiman, HH Munro to Audrey Niffenegger herself, Ghostly spans the whole history of the ghost story genre from gothic horror to the modern era. Each story is introduced by Audrey Niffenegger, with short original commentary and background on why she chose to include it. Also included is Niffenegger’s own story, “A Secret Life with Cats.”
Perfect for the classic and contemporary ghost story aficionado, this haunting volume showcases the best of the best in the field—including Edgar Allan Poe, Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Edith Wharton, P.G. Wodehouse, Ray Bradbury, and so many more. “Audrey Niffenegger is a master of the supernatural…She knows a good horror story when she sees one. Ghostly is her collection of the best of the genre” (Bustle).
This collection includes:
“Pomegranate Seed” by Edith Wharton
“Playmates by A.M.” Burrage
“Laura” by H.H. Munro
“Click Clack the Rattle Bag” by Neil Gaiman
“Honeysuckle Cottage” by P.G. Wodehouse
“The Beckoning Fair” One by Oliver Onions
“The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe
“The July Ghost” by A.S. Byatt
“The Mezzotint” by M.R. James
“The Open Window” by H.H. Munro
“The Pink House” by Rebecca Curtis
“The Specialist’s Hat” by Kelly Link
“They” by Rudyard Kipling
“Tiny Ghosts” by Amy Giacalone
“August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury
“Secret Life, With Cats” by Audrey Niffenegger
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Niffenegger (The Time Traveler's Wife) assembles ghostly fictions by writers both classic (Edgar Allan Poe, Saki, M.R. James) and recent (Neil Gaiman, Kelly Link, A.S. Byatt) in this strong but sometimes uneven anthology. Felines feature prominently in Poe's "The Black Cat" as well as in Niffenegger's own contribution, "Secret Life, with Cats." Humor is provided by P.G. Wodehouse's hilarious "Honeysuckle Cottage" and Amy Giacalone's "Tiny Ghosts," which introduces an irrepressible new voice. Writers who experience ghostly encounters are examined in the longest story, Oliver Onions's "The Beckoning Fair One," and Rebecca Curtis's self-consciously postmodern "The Pink House." The final story, Ray Bradbury's postapocalyptic classic "There Will Come Soft Rains," astonishingly anticipates today's smart-house technology and tells the haunting story of a house that is itself a ghost. Niffenegger includes crisp introductions that provide context, such as that both Rudyard Kipling's "They" and Byatt's "The July Ghost" were written in response to experiencing the death of a child. Some of the older stories are more musty than scary, but the best, such as Gaiman's very short "Click-Clack the Rattlebag," do an excellent job of evoking that crucial frisson of dread.
