Having previously read Winter's Tales and Girls,Goddesses and Giants by Lari Don, I was led to Maggie Pearson's collections of haunting tales from all over the world.I chose The House of the Cats and Ghosts and Goblins. The latter was my first choice,a collection of 25 tales from the four corners of our planet,with things that go bump in the night as their protagonists.

"The Moddey-dhoo":Coming from the haunting Isle of Man,a tale derived from the myth of the Hell hound.
"The Bride who Waited" :A heart-wrenching Native American tale.One of my favourites.
"The Vampire of Croylin Grange" :A story from England,with a few well-placed references to Wuthering Heights.
"Hold Him,Tubbs" :A tale from the South of the United States,with a very particular spook.
"The Grateful Dead" : A moving,haunting gypsy tale about the importance of kindness and honour in this world and the next.
"The Man of her Dreams" :A Nigerian story about a beautiful,spoiled girl and a mischievous spirit.
"Little Olle and the Troll" :A tale from Sweden in which we meet a cute,little,kind-hearted troll.
"Wungala" :The story of a brave mother and a rather ominous presence,coming from Australia.
"The Dauntless Girl" :A scary tale from Ireland,about a girl who played tricks with something she shouldn't have upset.
"The Ghost's Peso" :A funny story from Colombia in which a clever young woman tries to deal with her husband's ill choices.
"Jean-Loup" :When we combine chess,an old mill and wolves,what do we get? This lovely story from Canada.
"The Forest People" : A tale from New Zealand,about creatures who steal shadows.
"The Goblin Pong" :This tale from Brittany proves that we should all listen to grandma...
"The Haunting" :Now this story was CHILLING! I mean I got goose bumps when I finished it.It comes from the British Isles.
"Jacob and the Duppy" :The sixth sense of a donkey in a story coming from beautiful Jamaica.
"The Selkie's Revenge" :A haunting,sad tale from Scotland.
"As Cold as Clay" : A beautiful,tragic story of two lovers.From the United States of America.
"The Ghost on the Library" :A Chinese tale of a ghost who gets easily offended.
"Goldenhair" : From the beautiful,sunny island of Corsica, a story of a girl with golden hair and an evil suitor.
"The Werewolf's Bride" :From Spain, a story of dark secrets and evil intentions.
"The Hidden Hand" :A well-known Halloween urban legend from the USA.
"The River of Death" : A djinni tale from Morocco.
"The Cold Lady" : An eerie story with typical Japanese Horror elements.
"The Brownie Under the Bridge" :A Scottish tale of creatures lurking.
"A Room Full of Spirits" :A tale of troubled souls from Korea.

This is a wonderful collection of ghostly tales that are haunting,funny,tragic,full of premonitions and dark presences.Maggie Pearson succeeds in creating an ominous atmosphere in every tale before the reader reaches the great twist in the end.Highly recommended for all of us readers who enjoy being spooked by short yet powerful scary stories.Now,on to The House of the Cats !

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