Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Haunted House and Other Spooky Poems and Tales (1970, Scholastic Book Services)


Here's another Scholastic Book Services entry, The Haunted House and Other Spooky Poems and Tales (1970, edited by Gladys Schwarcz and Vic Crume, illustrations by Gerry Contreras). This is a collection of spooky poems and short stories from various authors, including a reappearance of Maria Leach's telling of The Cradle That Rocked By Itself.

Some of these stories were performed for an accompanying album (called, appropriately, Selections From the Haunted House and Other Poems and Tales).


Some of the more notable entries include the poems The Haunted House (Vic Crume), A Skeleton Once in Khartoum (author unknown), Dust (Sydney King Russell), The Bat (Theodore Roethke), and short stories The Cradle That Rocked By Itself (Maria Leach)and The Velvet Ribbon (Ann McGovern). Below is a sample of illustrations from the book, some with accompanying audio from the record (hat tip and thanks to Scar Stuff).

THE CRADLE THAT ROCKED BY ITSELF (Maria Leach)



DUST (Sydney King Russell)



THE HAUNTED HOUSE (Vic Crume)




A SKELETON ONCE IN KHARTOUM (Author Unknown)

THE GHOST CATCHER (A tale from India retold by E.B. Chance)

OLD CORNISH LITANY (Author Unknown)

THE OLD WIFE AND THE GHOST (James Reeves)

SPOOKS (Nathalia Crane)

THE BAT (Theodore Roethke)

THE VELVET RIBBON (Ann McGovern)