Screech! Ghost Stories from Old Newfoundland

Charis Cotter opens her anthology with some background about the history and geography of Newfoundland as well as brief notes about where the stories come from and a map which helps pinpoint locations. Then readers can sit back and be entertained by 10 ghost stories, the earliest of which is set in 1804. The tales take place throughout the years with the most recent in 2013. Much of the interest of the book stems from this look at life in Newfoundland over the past couple of centuries. While the stories focus on ghosts, the characters and settings give readers an excellent feel for life in the province over the years.

Most stories are situated on the eastern coast of the province although one comes from Cornerbrook in the west and another from Pushthrough on the southern shore. While one is set in St John’s, the others are all from smaller outports, and several include the barrens whose name and topography alone are eerie enough even before any ghost story takes place.

As well as a variety of times and places, Cotter includes a variety of ghosts. Some stem from ghostly ships and drowned fishermen while others are ‘death tokens’, those ghosts who appear just at the moment of death in order to say good-bye to a loved one. Other ghosts include The Old Hag, the Jacky-Lantern, and the Old Hollies.

Cotter is an award-winning middle grade author who writes age-appropriate tales. The stories are scary. They are spooky and eerie. They have all the essentials of tales which will keep you on the edge of your seat and cause you to wonder just what unknown and unseen beings might inhabit our world. Cotter uses wonderful stories from previous generations and presents them in a way that current young adult readers will understand and appreciate. Much of the charm of the book is that the stories are not of the horror genre. They are just great spine-tingling tales.

Each story is prefaced with a ghostly black and white illustration by Genevieve Simms. At the end of each story, Cotter takes a page or two to explain the setting and the type of ghost which has been illustrated in the story. She also acknowledges the original story and storyteller and explains what details she may have changed in order to recreate the tale.

Lastly, Cotter gives her young readers tips on how they might successfully tell a ghost story they have heard or which they may have created, and she also includes a short glossary of some Newfoundland terms used in her stories.

As I write this, Halloween is just around the corner, and ghosts and goblins are ready to make their annual appearance. But Cotter’s stories are not restricted to any time of year, but, instead, they are ominous tales to be savored any time you feel the need for a little supernatural thrill and a quiet screech.