The Angry Ghost and Other Stories

I was fortunate to recently spend a cold winter weekend with an old friend. We each brought books and movies we love and I was pleasantly surprised when she brought some old movies, some featuring Vincent Price. It was my first exposure and I really enjoyed the eerie atmospheres and the throwback to days gone by.
This was the first thing I thought of while reading The Angry Ghost and Other Stories. I am a huge fan of well written short stories where every word is crucial and unlike a book, you can't say it started out slow, then grabbed your interest. The author either has the ability to hook you from the first paragraph or not. There are over 30 stories and my top three favorites were The Angry Ghost, The Trial of Gerald Blake and The Museum of Fabulous Monsters. The atmosphere described in these tales often made me think of the Vincent Price movie marathon I attended and of Edgar Allen Poe's work. There are ghosts and monsters and fantasy stories, and I enjoyed the majority of them. A collection like this to me is akin to going to a 'story buffet'. You can try quite a few things, love some, like some and pass on others, but at the end, you leave satisfied. If these types of stories appeal to you, I recommend trying this author's work.
Thank you, Peter Spokes, Troubador Publishing Limited, and NetGalley for the digital copy to read and review.

This collection had a very old fashioned vibe to it (which for me was not a bad thing.) It felt more like a screen play and in my mind I could picture the roles that Vincent Price and Boris Karloff would have been pleased to portray..
It is overflowing with beautifully crafted tales, a few of which were reminiscent of Poe.
There is a little suspense and a lot of sorrow here. Tales of ghosts and those who mourn for them, and tales of the dead who mourn for the living. Some had more modern touches of humor (wait until you meet Tommy the Tumor)
Not all are ghost stories. There are some monsters, and stories that venture into fantasy (I have a new appreciation for Seagulls now.) A few were just not my cup of tea but that is the joy of short stories, there is something for everyone so take what you like and leave the rest.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Not the best book of stories, but not the worst. I enjoyed this in an evening but was expecting a few more chills or thrills. The title story was the story I enjoyed the most.

For me this was a very pleasant read that had many great short stories, and it was lovely to read the older type ghost stories that most people grew up on this style, not the gore and horror of lots of current reads.

The Angry Ghost was a great read and got you hooked on reading further into the book.

Loved the stories when they don't realise that they are ghosts or the story of the man walking his dog (which he no longer has).

Great book with a really good mix of authors which could be read by many age ranges.

I enjoyed this book. It is short ghost stories woven together to create a great narrative. I found it a little reminiscent of peter Straub's ghost story so it very much appealed to me. If you like ghost stories then look no further. This is one of the best ghost story collections that I have ever read.

I'd have to describe this as just an okay read. The first few stories were good and held my attention. Then I started to get bored with the others.

As with all short story collections there are some stories you enjoy others No so much. I really enjoyed the title story and one or two of the others.

Firstly it must be said that for one author to produce such an eclectic collection of supernatural stories encompassing several genres is to be much admired. They range from the traditionally inspired Victorian or Edwardian tale in the style of M R James or E F Benson redolent of book case lined libraries and old churches as well as more teenage inclined schlock horror. There really is something for everyone here who enjoys a spooky tale. You will encounter among other things ghosts, ghouls, vampires, witches and particularly werewolves who appear in several stories set in both Scotland and Romania.

Unlike myself you do not have to read the book from cover to cover but can dip into it as you please. The stories vary in length from a few pages to novella length. The two I particularly enjoyed could well have come straight out of a collection of an earlier period being "A strange Occurrence" and "Demosthenes" the latter also contained much humour. "Fires and Flames" which is one of the longest stories I also enjoyed and the finale is terrific.

So to sumarise I would certainly recommend this book if you like various forms of supernatural tales but be warned as some may well lead to a few sleepless nights.

I loved this book. . Each story had a dark and foreboding feel to it and held on to that early form of horror like Poe and Vincent Price. They were quick reads that are perfect for breaks at work or on a commute! You don’t want to miss this macabre book of short stories!

I have really enjoyed the angry ghost and other stories, short stories are not normally my thing but the way Peter Spokes has written each story is fantastic, The stories are very reminiscent of writers such as HP Lovecraft , Edgar Allen Poe and even Charles Dickens, They are the sort of stories that should be told around a camp fire, they are not gory or scary they are just beautifully written and they weave a spell around you and they deserve to stand the test of time like some of the great writers in history.

This collection of short stories delivers chills and chuckles, surprises and "I knew it!" moments. Each story is unique, yet as a whole they work well together. I thoroughly enjoyed them! Please write more!

If you like H.P Lovecraft & Poe you will like this. It was nice and refreshing to read good old fashioned horror tales. I'd recommend this book.

The narration creates the atmosphere for a gripping horror but it also tests your patience at the same time. This is more like that horror movie, where you ask "when will the ghost come?" Written in a slow style and predictable at times but still interesting. Not very scary but still good to cause you to have nightmares. A very unique and stand out horror collection.

There are a lot of stories mentioned in this book and while some of them were fun to read, quite a lot of them were predictable and were not too scary. For instance, some of the stories like "The Twin" and "The Corpse" was interesting, however, other stories like "Alice and I" and "Superheroes" were predictable and didn't hold my interest.

While I liked this book overall, I felt like it tried to combine too many stories into one book, and it would have been better had this book been split in multiple volumes. Overall, "The Angry Ghost and Other Stories" is a good read which has some decent spooky tales.