Peter Straub

#1 New York Times bestselling author Peter Straub's classic tale of horror, secrets, and the dangerous ghosts of the past... What was the worst thing you've ever done? In the sleepy town of Milburn, New York, four old men gather to tell each other stories--some true, some made-up, all of them frightening. A simple pastime to divert themselves from their quiet lives. But one story is coming back to haunt them and their small town. A tale of something they did long ago. A wicked mistake. A horrifying accident. And they are about to learn that no one can bury the past forever...

Ghost Story

Questions arise concerning the connections between a strangely detached young girl's captivity in a seedy Florida motel, a death that occurs at a party for a visiting actress, and a young California instructor's obsession with one of his students

This is one of the best paranormal haunting books every written.

shellybn

Adrian Victor

I’ll start by saying that this book dazzled me in its plot, its structure, its character development, its pacing, in every technical category. The story is detailed and intriguing. Straub took characters that I was not expecting to like and made me willing to go with them for the entire book, which is by no means short. Horror rarely scares me, but there are some genuine get-under-your-skin moments here. 

This book also has a motif throughout the text that is both quite racist, and baffling in its inclusion, considering how little it plays into the actual plot. It is far above my pay grade to attempt to decide where to draw the line on reading dated and problematic books, in this case, even a “product of its time” defense doesn’t account for the fact that this motif also creates the weakest part of book. 

All the same, Ghost Story is all but canonized within the horror genre, and not without reason. Most of the book is exceptionally good. It feels irresponsible to say “5/5…minus the racism,” and dishonest to say that the book is without redeeming features or even genre significance. 

Ghost Story is as messily complex as the Chowder Society itself. And like The Chowder Society, it has a story to tell. I’ll leave it to individuals to decide if they want to listen.

Not enough payoff for how long it is and how many characters you have to keep up with. Squandered potential. 

Ashlyn

Elizabeth Neill

While I did enjoy this book but it is a product of its time. It still held my interest and I will be reading more from Peter Straub. I just wish it was a little more scarier for me.

Rebecca Light

I hated this book. I'm sorry Mr. Straub. I'm sure you're a great guy, and not an untalented writer judging from your many fans and accolades, but this book was not for me. I slogged through it, and should have given up, but was foolish enough to pass the point of no return where I felt like I had to finish it or it would eat away at me. So I hate-read the second half of the book.

Why did I hate it? I didn't care at all about anyone. Not a single character. I've always wondered why the publishing powers-that-be caution against third person omniscience, or changing voice altogether within one manuscript. Well, exhibit A. With the ever-shifting perspectives I never got invested in any one particular character. With the jump from third person to first person, I became annoyed. It all felt like device and exposition to get to the second half rather than story unfolding before me. It wasn't mysterious. It wasn't intriguing. I just hated it. I hate it for the books I didn't read while I was slogging through it. I hate it for the way it made me not want to open my Kindle. I hate it for the other horror books I didn't get to during October. The only thing good that came out of it is it made me make a pact with myself to give up by 20% in if I'm not engrossed with a book. Life is too short.

Nansytsav

Ghost story

Mareike Heller

Barış Yarsel

Aine Meehan

Dr Seth Jones

Erik Wallace

Cena

Jill Clark

Brittany Levely-Connolly

Tina Rawls

Jessica Deaner

Tara Ward

Theodore Kaplan

« Un livre dévastateur à la progression inexorable... Ghost Story vous transporte d’effroi. La peur vous envahit et vous submerge. Du grand fantastique, de la grande aventure : un roman éblouissant. » Stephen King Dans la sinistre petite ville de Milburn, quatre vieux amis passent leurs soirées à se raconter de terrifiantes histoires de fantômes. Mais, depuis la disparition de l’un des membres du club dans de fort étranges circonstances, aucun d’eux n’échappe aux terribles visions qui hantent leurs nuits. Entre créatures mythiques et esprits vengeurs tout droit sortis de leurs récits d’horreur, envoûtés par la même femme aux mille visages, ils découvrent bientôt que la pire des monstruosités est en réalité issue de leur propre passé...

Ghost Story

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