Small Shadows Creep: Ghost Children

~ A Collection of Short Stories by Various Authors -- Edited by Andre Norton

Just because a ghost is young doesn't mean he or she lacks any of the supernatural powers of an adult spirit. The ghost child of "The Old Nurse's Story" by Mrs. Gaskell seems an irresistibly pretty playmate but is really a dangerous threat to a living little girl. The twin babies who haunt E.F. Benson's chilling tale, "How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery", are scarcely old enough to walk, yet nearly everyone who sees them comes to an indescribably terrifying death. But not all child spirits are born of evil: Hugh Walpole's "A Little Ghost" and A.M. Burrage's "Playmates" have a greater than human capacity for bringing joy and comfort to the living.

Once acquainted with the ghost children gathered in this compelling anthology, readers of all ages will need little persuasion that young ghost can avenge, haunt, terrify and, occasionally, pacify, with the best of the grown-ups. This assortment of ghost stories is eerie, touching or funny, and never quite what you would expect. The Excellent selections will please ghost-connoisseurs of all ages.

Contains

Introduction, by Andre Norton
Ancient Evils:
Saloozy, by M. Lawrence
Herodes Redivivus, by A.B.L. Munby
The First Sheaf, by H.R. Wakefield
Vengeful Spirits:
How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery, by E.F. Benson
The Old Nurse’s Story, by Mrs. Gaskell
Lost Hearts, by M.R. James
Quiet Visitors:
A Little Ghost, by H. Walpole
Playmates, by A.M. Burrage
Faithful Jenny Dove, by E. Farjeon