Age 7-11

The best balance for Halloween festivities is to give children an enjoyable frisson of fear without giving them nightmares. Brassey’s book retells a score of ghost stories, associated with real places from the British Museum to the Blackwall Tunnel and from Cornwall to Scotland, which are all creepy, but are mitigated by the author’s gently comic illustrations with their amiable expressions, and by details that suggest they may not be true. An overnight ghost hunt at Ham House in Richmond, for instance, is illustrated with a comic strip depicting several odd apparitions, but one witness in the group sees nothing; the presence of a sceptical voice allows children to disbelieve. Meanwhile, vanishing castles and ghosts that move house with you, ethereal dogs, rabbits and chickens, and unexpected folk in fancy dress all make good narratives to tell at firesides or with the lights out. Tips are included for effective storytelling sessions and for ghost hunts. There is enough spookiness here to stir children’s imaginations, but none of the images will haunt them

(Orion £10.99). NJ

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