Screech! Ghost Stories from Old Newfoundland
CBC Books | | Posted: September 16, 2020 11:35 PM | Last Updated: December 15, 2020
Charis Cotter, illustrated by Genevieve Simms
A spooky, illustrated collection of Atlantic ghost stories for middle-grade readers.
The whole world seemed to tilt at that moment, like a painting on a wall that gets knocked a little crooked. Everything she had known as real up until now was slightly altered, and she seemed to be standing on the edge of a huge, dark, trembling world that was just a little different than it had been one minute before. Ghosts were real.
There is no dark like the Newfoundland dark.
These ominous words beckon young readers onward in this spooky collection of ghost stories by celebrated ghost story-teller and award-winning middle-grade author Charis Cotter.
Re-imagined from family stories told across Newfoundland and passed down over generations, these 10 spine-tingling tales traverse centuries and introduce readers to the Rock's nooks and crannies. From a ghostly blueberry-picker on the barrens to a visit from the notorious Old Hag, from a mysterious ballet troupe in a St. John's mansion to a haunted house in an outport community on the cusp of resettlement, these stories bring the island of Newfoundland to vibrant new life (and death) as the thread of these years-old yarns is unravelled for a whole new generation.
Featuring ghostly black-and-white illustrations from Newfoundland artist Genevieve Simms, as well as an overview of the Newfoundland storytelling tradition, and a Story Behind the Story for each tale including context on the story's history, its original teller, its featured ghost, and setting, along with tips for spooky storytelling and a Glossary of Newfoundland terms, Screech! is equal parts eerie and educational, making it a riveting read as well as a great resource for budding historians and storytellers. (From Nimbus Publishing)
Charis Cotter is a Newfoundland author known for books such as The Ghost Road. Genevieve Simms is an illustrator based in Toronto.
Genevieve Simms is an illustrator from Toronto. Her work has appeared in Quill & Quire, the Walrus, Readers' Digest Canada, the Globe and Mail and McSweeney's.