Alfred Hitchcock's Ghostly Gallery

 Alfred Hitchcock's Ghostly Gallery (1962) as by Alfred Hitchcock (ed)

Our elementary school library had several of these collections which were ostensibly edited by Alfred Hitchcock. I loved them. They were just spooky enough to delight without being too gruesome. [I still worried my mom a bit by being so fixated on them, though.... 😉] So, when I saw this at my hometown used bookstore, nostalgia kicked in and I just had to bring it home with me. I definitely remember some of these from that initial read over 40 years ago ("The Haunted Trailer," the Truth About Pyecraft," and "The Waxwork"), some I've rad in other collections since ("The Upper Berth" and "The Waxwork"), while others I don't remember at all. I enjoyed my journey back to elementary school me--enjoying the shivers from the scary stories and the fun of those that are just a little weird and unusual. ★★★★

"Miss Emmeline Takes Off" by Walter Brooks: When Miss Emmeline is forced to sell her family home, she leaves behind a family heirloom. She has to sneak in to retrieve it and discovers that her heirloom is more valuable than she thought.

"The Valley of the Beasts" by Algernon Blackwood: A cruel hunter and his native American guide set out to track an enormous moose. The tracks lead to a place the guide calls the Valley of the Beasts and he refuses to go further. The hunter is goes on alone. When he is surrounded by the beasts of the valley and finds himself in danger, help arrives in an unexpected form and he returns to civilization a changed man.

"The Haunted Trailer" by Robert Arthur: A man buys a trailer in which to spend his honeymoon little knowing that it comes equipped with a ghostly hobo. [one fell from height; one natural]

"The Upper Berth" by F. Marion Crawford: Brisbane, a young man is crossing the Atlantic on his favorite ship, the Kamtschatka. He stays in Cabin 105 but all is not as it seems and soon Brisbane will have to fight for his life as the secret of the upper berth is revealed. 

"The Wonderful Day" by Robert Arthur: When Danny overhears the grown-ups talking about the folks in town (using idioms and metaphors), he makes a wish on his grandfather's lucky piece (apparently a unicorn horn) that his family's descriptions would be true for a just a day. His wish comes true--causing confusion, but ultimately doing good as folks see what they're really like and changing their behavior accordingly.

"The Truth About Pyecraft" by H. G. Wells: Pyecraft wishes to lose weight and pesters his fellow clubman until our narrator finally shares his grandmother's potion with him. However, the potion doesn't work on weightloss in quite the way Pyecraft expects. [Another story that turns on the meaning of words.]

"Housing Problem" by Henry Kuttner: Eddie and Jackie rent their extra room to Mr. Henchard, a curmudgeonly gentleman who pays his rent promptly and has just one rule: "Don't look under the cover on my birdcage." But, when Henchard goes on vacation, you just know they can't resist....

"In a Dim Room by Lord Dunsany: A lesson in "be careful what you ask for": when a friend's children ask for thrilling tales (and his own don't do the trick), our narrator brings along his friend Jorkens who tells a thrilling tale about a tiger

"Obstinate Uncle Otis" by Robert Arthur: Uncle Otis refuses to believe in things he just doesn't like. Which is his right and hurts no one...until his disbelief causes things to disappear.

"The Waxwork" by A. M. Burrage: A freelance journalist asks to spend the night in Mariner's Waxworks' Murderers' Den--a roomful of the effigies of the nastiest murderers in history. Hewson thinks he'll be just fine--he's not superstitious and he's not a fraidy-cat. But maybe he should have thought twice... [one scared to death]

"The Isle of Voices" by Robert Louis Stevenson: Keola learns that his father-in-law is a wizard who can coin money out of seashells. But he also learns that Kalamake is a man that you shouldn't anger...after it's too late.

First line (1st story): When the old Valiant house on the lake was sold for taxes, Miss Emmeline Valiant went to live at Mrs. Purdy's

Last line (last story): But whether he was slain in the battle by the trees, or whether he is still kicking his heels upon the Isle of Voices, who shall say?