My favorite stories in this one were The Gilt Frame, A Ghost Story, and Uncle Montague's story. ( )

I liked the way these stories were framed by the narrator’s visits to his uncle, and some of them were quite spooky. The dialogue to transition from one to another was a little clunky, and I was disappointed by the uncle’s explanation at the end. The gloomy, mysterious atmosphere around him and his house had built up nicely, but Uncle Montague’s confession felt anticlimactic. The stories aren’t super gory, but there are still nasty shocks and a lot of death. The book had an old-fashioned feel to it, and my husband, who reads a lot of Victorian ghost stories, enjoyed it. ( )

[b:Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror|1900124|Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror (Tales of Terror, #1)|Chris Priestley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1429587759s/1900124.jpg|2047392]
Author: [a:Chris Priestley|519134|Chris Priestley|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1250604660p2/519134.jpg]
Ebook version, 240 pages
Middle Grade, horror short stories

Edgar's Uncle Montague lives in a big, dark house all alone. The boy likes to walk through the woods to his uncle's house to hear his stories, even if the tales are a bit unsettling. During this visit, Edgar's uncle tells him 10 stories, with the best and most frightening saved for last, of course. Each story is dark and creepily told, and woven in and around descriptions of Uncle Montague's house and its secrets. From trees that should never be climbed to evil picture frames, each story is intriguing and unique.

I loved this book! The stories are well written, and creepy-cool. Written for middle-grade age children, the content was age-appropriate but still interesting and enjoyable for adults, too. Priestley is an excellent storyteller, weaving his crafty, creepy tales with precision. I loved how he wove the stories in between snippets of conversation between Uncle Montague and Edgar or descriptions of the Uncle's weird creepy house.

All in all, a fun read. I would recommend it for any middle-grade child who likes ghost stories or scary tales.

My Rating: 8/10
Ages 10 ( )

Are you sure this doesn't look too scary? I asked my daughter.

No. Just read it.

And in the end, she was right. It wasn't too scary. The stories are a bit creepy, probably a good creep-factor for my eight year old, and far less frightening than I remember Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark being. There's nothing too gory, nothing to terrifying, nothing too NSFW. Tesfa liked guessing what was going to happen. I liked that the vocabulary was varied, full of multi-syllabic words and the assumption that kids reading/being read to were intelligent beings. So it was all right, Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror; enjoyed at our house.

Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley went on sale October 6, 2016.

I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror is such a delight. It would be the ideal RIP read, but reading it in the chilly wintry nights did just fine. Enchanting and endearing in that creepy sort of way. If you like Tim Burton movies, this book’s for you.
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