Scarytales

Eight stories. Eight nightmares. And some things should never be invited in.A Victorian magician steps out of an old photograph. A mermaid whispers from a museum display. A forgotten Japanese monster waits between the pages of a mould-covered book. Baba Yaga walks the streets of London. A beautiful white horse rises from a Norwegian lake.And those are only the beginning.SCARYTALES is a collection of eight dark, atmospheric horror stories for young readers who like their folklore strange, their monsters unsettling and their endings just a little bit wicked.From Denmark and Cambridge to London and the misty mountains of Norway, ordinary children stumble into places where the old stories are still alive. They meet creatures drawn from European and Japanese folklore, ghosts that refuse to disappear, enchanted objects that should never have been touched, and things beneath the earth that have been waiting far too long to be found.Inside you will encounter: - a magician whose greatest trick has a terrible price - a mermaid who knows exactly what you miss most - the enormous, starving Gashadokuro - Baba Yaga and her house on chicken legs - the deadly Norwegian water spirit known as the Nøkken - a girl who vanished from the last desk in a classroom - a midnight herd of skeleton cows wearing clown masks - and a kingdom beneath the roots where time does not pass as it shouldCreepy, imaginative and rooted in real folklore, SCARYTALES is for readers who love ghost stories, strange legends, dark fairy tales and the delicious feeling of being frightened while safely tucked beneath the blankets.Just remember: Old stories survive for a reason.And sometimes, they remember you...