The Thing at the Foot of the Bed and Other Scary Tales

By Maria Leach

Book Overview

A mysterious hitchhiker, a lovelorn pig, and a backseat gangster are among the colorful characters that populate these spooky stories. Noted folklorist Maria Leach spins a tapestry of yarns that originated in the British Isles, New England, and the American South. Moody black-and-white drawings complement the stories, which range from humorous and playful to downright eerie.
There's the one about the fellow who saw two eyes staring at him from the foot of the bed, and the one about the family that ran away from their malevolent household spirit only to find that it had come with them. The tale of the golden arm, a favorite of Mark Twain's, is a standard of campfire gatherings. Other chilling stories recount scenes from haunted houses, ghostly visitations, and midnight trips to the graveyard. An amusing selection of "Do's and Don't's About Ghosts" offers advice to those who go looking for scares as well as those who find them accidentally, and the stories' sources and backgrounds are explained in helpful notes and a bibliography. "An enjoyably creepy collection of tales." -- Through Raspberry Colored Glasses.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 048680786X
• ISBN13: 9780486807867
• Release Date: May 2016
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 7 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 6

Customer Reviews

Marykate's review

Yes I love the book because it was more than one story. There were about 36 stories in all, not just one big one. They were more of Halloween stories but they were all good for any time. I had 2 I really loved that I want to tell you about. One of the stories was the "Golden Arm." She loved it so much that she told her husband that when she died she wanted to be buried with it. But the husband was thinking what he could do with all that gold. I thing I said just enough but you should read the rest. I would think if you liked to read not too scary books then this is the book for you. It's not too scary, but it is funny.

Childhood Memories

I had this book as a kid and have always remembered it. I read it over and over again. The stories are still vivid in my mind as are the ghost tips at the end, such as when a dog or cat is staring at something, and you can't see anything. It is probably a ghost and if you look between their ears, you'll see the ghost, too.The book "disappeared" from my parent's home years ago. It would be fun to read it again after all of these years. Best ghost story book ever.

Scary, Funny, just plain Good!!

One of the only books at a library I would indeed read when checked out I had to find it again. I paid a pretty penny for it but well worth it. Had to share it with my daughter. I love ghost stories and so does she. The thing at the foot of the bed is hilarious if told right. The milk bottles is sad and a sweet and true story along with the hitchhiker. Read them and then read them again. It's hard to grow tired of such good writing.