My first introduction to The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy was their Japanese Myths collection. When I knew they were presenting another deluxe edition of new writings and neglected perspectives focusing on Asia I was more than a little excited.

Collecting tales of terror and supernatural spirits from India to Sri Lanka, China to Korea, Japan to the Philippines this volume showcases how sometimes ghosts can be comforting as well as scary. Showcasing the numerous cultural beliefs in cycles of life and death as well as ancestor worship, this collection helps to highlight how Asian spirits differ from counterparts in other areas of the world and even from different countries on the continent. We see how the possibility of ghosts and spirits that remain with us, as part of the world, whether we can see them or not is explored and highlighted. Featured here are all kinds of stories from across East, South and Southeast Asia: classic weird tales by the likes of Pu Songling, Rabindranath Tagore, S Mukerji, Im Bang and Yi Ruk, Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki, are complemented by stories by Asian writers of today. An egui (the Chinese version of a 'hungry ghost') is exorcised, a vicious jiangshi (Chinese zombie-like revenant) is encountered in the night, a Bengali shakchunni (the ghost of an unsatisfied bride) poignantly seeks love with devastating effect, a family is haunted by vengeful Korean gwishin, and the iconic Japanese tragedies of Oiwa and O-Kiku are revisited.

I have grown used to anthology collections sometimes letting themselves down with at least some of the stories contained within. So far both The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy series have not hit this problem, at least in the ones I have read. This is no different. A few of the tales are rather harder to get into and invested in, of course, but generally there is a wonderful selection that offers insight to the beliefs and superstitions of each country. The stories are all tightly woven. I will definitely be getting a physical copy to add to my growing collection and will be re-reading a lot of the tales in. A fantastic way to find out more about different cultures, literature and beliefs in a beautifully collected anthology.

The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

This is the second book I've picked up from this series.
I didn't enjoy this as much as the other, which surprised me. I didn't hate it though. And there were some gems. I haven't heard of these stories before so it was nice to find some new authors.
These collections of short stories are worth a read.

I'm not going to lie, I really struggled with this one. Anthologies are usually a mixed bag, but I feel that especially true here because this book is around 430 pages and has like 100 stories in it and several of the stories are only a page or two long. Additionally, this collection contains classics like Pu Songling and there are even a few from Rudyard Kipling, as well as modern stories.

I tended to prefer the more modern stories and the ones that were slightly longer, but I might have enjoyed the shorter ones more if I had taken them a lot slower.

I appreciated the inclusion of stories from all over Asia, not just the usual countries. There were a lot of stories from China, India, Japan, and South Korea, but there was also one from Sri Lanka and some from Pakistan and the Philippines and more. I also found the introduction explaining the context of the book to be really fascinating.

Some highlights for me include:
-Juramentado
-Little Bone Collector
-Devil on the Night Train
-His Dead Wife's Photograph
-The Boy Who Was Caught
-Last Train Onwards
-The Spirit of the Lantern

I have been very into ghost stories of late and so I was thrilled to receive this collection of Asian Ghost Stories to review. Most of the ghost story collections I own are English and American, so it was very refreshing to read an Asian take on this traditional story-telling trope. After all, who doesn't love a good ghost story?
I very much enjoyed this collection. It had just the right balance of spooky and surprising. Atmosphere drips from every page and the stories build in tension, drama and dread! I read a few stories each night in bed and soon devoured the entire tome. My favourite tales were The Wicked Woman's Reward, In A Cup Of Tea and also Of Ghosts and Goblins. The introduction sets the tone perfectly and this is the kind of book to read by candlelight, either curled in a comfy chair by the fire, or tucked into bed as the rain lashes against the bedroom window. It is a fantastic collection, full of of spooky vibes and ghostly chills and I will certainly be buying the hardback copy on its release next month. I can't wait to hold the actual book in my hands as I know it will make an unusual addition to my collection of ghostly anthologies. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me this book. I have enjoyed reading and reviewing it for you.

This is seriously a very well-thought-out and well-woven collection of Asian ghost lore. Something that is clearly missing from today's market. I'm not so familiar with the lore of all Asian countries, so reading this work really helped me out understand the literary space. I really loved the one about jiangshi (the Chinese zombie) and the Korean gwishin!! The formatting of the book was a bit off in my Kindle sometimes, especially when showing the contents but this was a very minor setback.

Thank you for sending me this ARC!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: anthologies are a mixed bag. On one hand, you have a collection written by the same author, and on some occasions, they all work. On the other hand, you have more than a handful of authors, with different writing styles (and in some cases from different eras!), which makes it very difficult to sum them all up into a mere rating for the ever-devouring masses.

I grew up loving ghost stories, the kind that you bring with you to bed where you end up either not sleeping or having nightmares. I've never had nightmares as a result of spookies, but I've spent many nights not sleeping after hearing an earful! (perfect opportunity to read, albeit a completely different genre!)

This anthology of short Asian ghost stories is not one you can (or should) read in one go. This is mainly because the difference in writing style between the numerous authors disrupts the flow; why the editors decided to compile them alphabetically according to authors is beyond me. A few written by familiar names, like Lefcadio Hearn and Rudyard Kipling, makes you wonder if their inclusion was intended to appeal to the Western reader, despite the subject matter's Eastern focus. I often question the credibility behind these choices, although one editor did mention that writers like Hearn spent most of his life translating works from the Japanese to English, so I suppose the issue lies more towards accessibility rather than fanfare.

Some of the writing’s old timeyness by certain authors were a bore to read. I skipped all the stories by Pu Songling and a few others, because they seemed repetitive and somewhat copies of stories written by other authors.

Another thing is that there are probably more than 200 stories in this book (phew!) but because I got the ARC, they didn't actually show up numbered or format friendly on my Kindle.

However, here are a few Notable stories for me:
… Qian Xian by Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito
… The Fortune of Sparrows by Usman T. Malik
… Devil on the Night Train by Samuel Marzioli
… Jaded Winds by Rena Mason

Yes, I only liked these out of the whole lot! Again, this could be due to the oversaturation of superfluous stories by an author or five, but I still gave it a high rating because it's a good collection to have if you're a fan of ghost stories.

Many thanks to Flame Tree Press for the ARC!

Within this collection are stories that are chilling in their effect and others that centre more benevolent entities from the beyond. But what I enjoyed the most was that each story reflected the cultures and time from which they were taken, the styles in which they were shared, and some even invited the reader to speculate as they either ended abruptly or had unreliable endings. If you enjoy ghost/duppy/spirits/unknown entity stories, then you will definitely find one or many here, just waiting for you.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly there isn't much to say about this one. I found myself getting bored which was unexpected since I love ghost stories from all over the world.

There was a sterile dryness that just left me feeling like I was reading an academic book. That being said, if it was pitched as an academic book I would have gone in with different expectations and a different rating idea.

I like how the introduction takes time to go over different countries and how spirits are depicted accordingly. All in all, not bad, just not for me.

Asian Ghost Stories by Flame Tree Press is a huge collection of traditional and modern short stories from across different parts of Asia.

These stories are the complete opposite to "Westernised" views on ghosts and read more like fables and folklore.

I did struggle to read this book as I dont have a vast knowledge on Asian mythologies so wasn't fully sure on what I was reading and unfortunately the stories weren't in a given order so it wasn't easy to identify which country they belonged to.

I was kindly sent an arc by Netgallery.

4 creepy, haunting, scary-bedtime-stories stars~

Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press, Flame Tree Collections for providing a digital ARC for review!

This as a HUGE collection of Asian ghost stories - it was almost like a compendium of scary bedtime stories. They are all varying lengths, covering different subjects throughout. There is a handful of vocabulary that may be confusing to the reader without definition/knowing the words previously, however these terms are usually explained within the story. They are not always so easily understood, so there is some potential confusion with some of these stories.

However, still an amazing and intriguing collection of short creepy stories! Some of them, I felt, explained some of the classic/old lore of certain locations in Asia - such as why locals rumor certain suspicions or warn tourists about certain areas..!

This would be a great coffee table book to keep around for reading spooky bedtime stories!

I was really excited to read this book. What threw me off was the ARC formatting. "Strictly not for sale", etc. type of large and bold wording was thrown in every couple of pages, sometimes cutting off dialogue. It really put me off. Yes, I'm aware that it's an ARC, but it bugged me. Personally I would've liked for the stories to be grouped by region or theme. It seemed as if they were compiled with no rhyme or reason. Other people may not mind that at all.
Other than that, I enjoyed some the stories. This is a big collection, which people may appreciate and can pick and choose the stories they enjoy. Some stories were funny, some scary, some dealt with revenge, and others were food for thought. Some are short stories others are translated folktales. You also learn about other cultures. There is truly a story for everyone.

These were more fairy tales and fables than ghost stories in the traditional sense, but the collection was interesting. Not every story was to my taste, but that's to be expected in a short story collection. I really enjoyed learning about the mythology from another culture to my own. The folk tales were my favourite parts, and overall I enjoyed the book simply for its ability to widen my reading experience.

Well, I finally finished reading Asian Ghost Short Stories. I don't mean that in a bad way. This is a big book with a lot of stories, mostly very short at 3 or 4 pages, but also some that are longer. Most of the stories are more like anecdotes, more like a little tale you might mention to your co-workers--if you happen to talk to your co-workers about ghosts. Not exactly the three-act-structure. I'm guessing this is due to being ancient and from various parts of Asia, though I'm no expert. There are some more modern stories that are closer to what current readers are used to. Though there is nothing wrong with the very short ghostly anecdotes. I learned a lot about past societies in Japan, China, and India.

The main problem with so having so many stories is that a few of them seemed quite a bit alike Beautiful teenage girl is a ghost or a demon or a fox. Not foxy like Jimi Hendrix' Foxy Lady but a literal fox. There are a bunch of stories where lovely teenage girls are either dead, demonized, or a fluffy little canine. Most of the girls are marriage material which gives it an ick factor, but these are old stories set in old times. Many are written by Western writers or translated by Western writers although there are Asian authors.

A shout out to my favorite, The Silence of Farewells by Yelin Wang. I also really enjoyed Ghost Fire by Emily Teng.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flame Tree for allowing me to read and review an eARC of Asian Ghost Short Stories.

This was a good collection. Some stories I have heard before but some I had not which was a lot of fun for me. I love hearing about new lore

This collection do not only consists of ghost stories, but part of the lands and culture they come from. Hence they are not merely just ghost stories but also representation of culture and lore that existed for so long.
A wonderful collection of ghost stories with wonderful representation of the places they have been collected from.

wasn't really what I was expecting, the stories weren't bad but they weren't super good either more like horror it was like moral stories not a bad concept but I thought it was going to be more like something to be more scared about at least.

Great if you like stories to pass the time and just read something different.

The introduction was a delicious look at traditional ghosts across different Asian cultures and over different forms of media; I ate it up. As usual with Flame Tree Publishing this collection is massive; not every story will suit every reader’s tastes, but I found the majority of them to be enjoyable or interesting. Some are fully fleshed out short stories, others are brief translations of folk-tales. Some aren't even ghosts as much as they are ghostly mythical creatures.

If you’re looking for thrills and chills, you probably won’t get it here – most are not that kind of ghost story. Many are about revenge & justice from the grave, or a sort of supernatural karma making judgement upon moral and immoral people.

(As a note: the cover is as gorgeous as usual from this collection. I read the ARC digitally, but am pre-ordering as soon as my next paycheque goes through.)

Supernatural x Ghost Stories x Myths/Folk Tales

QUOTES:
- Our ignorance and hubris had blinded us to the foul truth: kingdoms and principalities far older than our fledgling republic exist in the unexplored corners of the earth, ruled by sleeping gods whose mere presence poisons the land with malevolence and barbarity. (Juramentado by Joshua Bartolome)
- My mother’s family had a nanny with yin-yang eyes. Thus dirt roads that appeared empty to others sometimes looked crowded to her, and she observed many unusual things. (One Extra at a Wedding by Ji Yun, tanslated by Yi Izzy Yu and John Yu Branscum)
- The weather in India is often sultry, and since the tale of bricks is always a fixed quantity, and the only liberty allowed is permission to work overtime and get no thanks, men occasionally break down and become as mixed as the metaphors in this sentence. (The Phantom ‘Rickshaw by Rudyard Kipling)

(I received a free copy of this through NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review)

An anthology of ghost stories from famous writers as well as contemporary new writers from all over Asia.
Firstly, I think creating a volume of ghost stories is a great idea. Who does not have some great ghost stories to share handed down from family and friends?

I particularly enjoyed the Forward by K. Hari Kumar in which he writes;

''This takes me back to my grandmother's story about the Mohini (female enchantress) that preyed on 'unsuspecting' men in the woods because the questions that haunt my mind remain unanswered. Why did those men venture there in the first place? Most importantly ..What was their intention?'

and the introduction by Dr Luo Hui

'The ghost therefore always returns, unexpectedly from a-once buried past. In Asian ghost stories, ghosts are not merely dead, or literary devices - they are corporeal, sensual, visceral, and they are best treated not as specters, but real characters. They are not just a fragment of the human imagination - many of them once were, and some of thm still want to be, human.'

I look forward to buying this book as Asian Ghost Short Stories would make a great volume to keep or gift.

Asian Ghost Stories is a wonderful compilation of many old horror stories. Some terrifying, some funny, and some moody, they can be read at any point in time and in any order. Great job by the publisher, since it is a very gift-worthy book!

"A new collection of stories from submissions and classic literature offering the best and most incredible ghost stories from East, South and Southeast Asia, combining new and classic authors across the region.

Another deluxe edition of new writing and neglected perspectives. Asian ghosts - from India to Sri Lanka, China to Korea, Japan to the Philippines - can be both terrifying and comforting. Underpinned by strong cultural beliefs in the cycles of life and ancestor worship, the nature of Asian spirits differs from that of their counterparts in other areas of the world. The possibility is more instinctually accepted that ghosts remain with us, as part of the world, whether we can see them or not. Featured here are all kinds of stories from across East, South and Southeast Asia: classic weird tales by the likes of Pu Songling, Rabindranath Tagore, S Mukerji, Im Bang and Yi Ruk, Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki, are complemented by stories by Asian writers of today. An egui (the Chinese version of a 'hungry ghost') is exorcised, a vicious jiangshi (Chinese zombie-like revenant) is encountered in the night, a Bengali shakchunni (the ghost of an unsatisfied bride) poignantly seeks love with devastating effect, a family is haunted by vengeful Korean gwishin, and the iconic Japanese tragedies of Oiwa and O-Kiku are revisited."

How can you call yourself a book person if you haven't been collecting the people books that Flame Tree Collections puts out?