Of course, scary stories have been with us for a long time. In a new anthology of horror stories, celebrated artist Barry Moser has created evocative and suspenseful wood block prints to accompany classic stories by such authors as Bram Stoker, H.G. Wells and O. Henry. Scary Stories is a handsome book and a gift that’s perfect for Halloween, featuring well-known stories such as Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart and an excerpt from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. Also included are contemporary tales by modern masters such as Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates and Ray Bradbury. Moser, the acclaimed illustrator of works including Just So Stories, In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, has created some magnificent artwork for this collection. There’s a gorgeous, frightening tiger for Stephen King’s Here There Be Tygers, as well as some truly ghastly illustrations, especially the title character in E.F. Benson’s The Bus-Conductor. Scary Stories is a volume that is sure to become a classic all on its own.
Deborah Hopkinson’s latest book for young readers is Into the Firestorm, A Novel of San Francisco 1906.
