20th Century Ghosts

ByJoe Hill

Release Date: 2009-03-17
Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers

Score: 4

From 248 Ratings

Description

Joe Hill’s award-winning story collection, featuring “The Black Phone,” soon to be a major motion picture from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions

Imogene is young, beautiful . . . and dead, waiting in the Rosebud Theater one afternoon in 1945. . . .

Francis was human once, but now he’s an eight-foot-tall locust, and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing. . . .

John is locked in a basement stained with the blood of half a dozen murdered children, and in a masterwork of suspense, an antique telephone, long since disconnected, rings at night with calls from the dead. . . .

Nolan knows but can never tell what really happened in the summer of ’77, when his idiot savant younger brother built a vast cardboard fort with secret doors leading into other worlds. . . .

The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past. . . .

The first short story collection from #1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill, 20th Century Ghosts is an inventive and chilling compendium of supernatural fiction that established this award-winning, critically acclaimed author as “a major player in 21st-century fantastic fiction” (Washington Post).

Reviews

Just ok
2
By krischris1967
Another reader said it was like he wrote the stories than just grew tired of them and quit before they were finished. Totally summed this collection up. I’ve been a big fan but this was a huge let down. Try anything else he has written. These stories are not worth the money or the time.
Great stories
4
By Cali2011paradise
I give the beginning and end stories 5, but the middle stories 3s or 4s. Hold out to the end, that one kept me up late at night, very original. Scary in a very different way
Great stories...
3
By ShyannPepper
But bad “endings”. Almost every story ends with a cliffhanger. No real ending, he just up and quit writing the piece. Nothing was truly finished.
20th Century Ghosts
4
By Weather_Gal
Overall not a bad read. I wish some of the stories were a little bit longer and truth be told, I wish some of the stories were shorter! I had higher hopes for this book having read heart shaped box and NOS4A2 prior. The last story is the best of the whole collection in my opinion (and also the longest). Could have been better.
Loved it!
5
By *W*~*A*
Great read, wanted more!
My new favorite author
5
By DesertSlug
I loved his novels and graphic novels, and only just found his short stories. He is a master short story writer. His stories can be creepy, sentimental, sad, and thought provoking -- all at the same time. Granted, I liked some stories more than others, but that is the beauty of the short story. If you don't like one that much, it is a quick read and you are soon moving on to another.

I read a great deal of horror, fantasy, and sci fi. If these are the genres you enjoy, read Joe Hill.
Awesome
5
By Eemibre
This book is amazing.
Great Collection
5
By jenscarbie
Loved them all some more than others. The last one was my favorite, and I hated it too, because the book was over. I've read everything out there by this author and haven't been disappointed yet.
JOE HILL IS AMAZING!
5
By j&J77
Wow! He really knows how to write a page turner...you will love his books.
How can I be the first person to review this?
5
By RockStar
If you don't know who Joe Hill is you are not paying attention. This collection of short stories ranges from the frightening, to giddy, to truly heart breaking. "Pop Art" will move you, "My Father's Mask" will blow your mind, and the last story...well...you'll just have to wait and see...