THE GHOSTLY ART OF GEORGE WILDE

Scholastic Book Services were responsible for a large part of my interest in reading. In elementary school, I remember looking through their periodic (monthly?) catalog and picking out a book here and there that looked interesting (Beyond Belief, Stories of Suspense). When I spotted The Arrow Book of Ghost Stories, it was a no-brainer for this young bookworm who was already fascinated by monsters and spooks.

Originally published in 1960 (mine is from 1965), the book is a collection of folk/fairy tales and traditional ghost stories for youngsters, mostly written in the 1940's and 1950's but some originating from over a century earlier. Although the tales were pretty light fare, there was nevertheless enough going on to give any kid a shiver or two. Creator of the Mr. Ed talking horse series, Walter R. Brooks' "Jimmy Takes Vanishing Lessons" was adapted for Alfred Hitchcock's Ghost Stories for Young People LP. The story also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Haunted Houseful, as well as "The Water Ghost", re-titled "The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall". A variation of "The King O' the Cats" by Stephen Vincent Benét was included in Hitchcock's anthology for "daring young readers", Monster Museum.

CONTENTS

• The King O' the Cats by Joseph Jacobs
• Jimmy Takes Vanishing Lessons by Walter R. Brooks
• The Woodman and the Goblins by J.B. Esenwein and Marietta Stockard
• The Wonderful Cat of Cobbie Bean by Barbee Oliver Carleton
• Teeny-Tiny by Joseph Jacobs
• The Conjure Wives by Frances G. Wickes
• Spook's Bones by Louis C. Jones
• Which was Witch? by Eleanore M. Jewett
• The Water Ghost by John Kendrick Bangs

Another splendid feature of the book was George Wilde's illustrations (shown below). Wilde's loose, cartoon style was a perfect fit. Biographical information on Wilde is scarce on the 'net, but it appears that he was a prolific children's story illustrator and published a number of books with his writer/illustrator wife, Irma Wilde.