Imogene is young and beautiful. She kisses like a movie star and knows everything about every film ever made. She's also dead and waiting in the Rosebud Theater for Alec Sheldon one afternoon in 1945. . . .

Arthur Roth is a lonely kid with big ideas and a gift for attracting abuse. It isn't easy to make friends when you're the only inflatable boy in town. . . .

Francis is unhappy. Francis was human once, but that was then. Now he's an eight-foot-tall locust and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing. . . .

John Finney is locked in a basement that's stained with the blood of half a dozen other murdered children. In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls from the dead. . . .

Customer Rating:
Summary: Read this, even if you're not a horror fan. Thank you, Steven King.
Comment: Reading this will make you want to write Steven King a thank-you note: this is clear, logically consistent, emotionally deep writing on a level that could only be the product of a child of writers, really good parenting of a creative child, or someone who is a naturally gifted writer--or all three.

I'm a picky bastard when it comes to writing: I occasionally write at a torturously high level for work, and my professional training has given me a memory for patterns that makes it really difficult to read anything trite; I read this in a morning and wanted to cry when I finished it, and I'm not a horror fiction fan.

It can't be said enough--this is one of the best short story collections written in the last decade.

Nice work, Mr. King.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent collection
Comment: At times, good writers are the product of their lineage, and Joe Hill is a perfect example. Since both his father and mother are best-selling authors, it's not shocking that he has inherited good writing genes. This is a collection of extremely well-written short stories. Despite the title, not all of them are "ghost stories", or even spooky ones. That being said, all of the tales contained in this book are obviously wonderful to read. The "horror" ones are quite chilling, and the non-horror ones are simply stories that are told in a writing style that captures the reader from the beginning and doesn't let go until the end. Perhaps Mr. Hill should be considered a mutli-faceted writer, and not simply thought of as a "horror" writer. That would do great justice to his considerable writing talent.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic and Fun!
Comment: I bought this book after reading Heart Shaped Box, which I thought wonderfully written. 20th Century Ghosts is a collection of short stories, some of which are not horror.
Joe Hill has a way of creating a story that has longevity. I am an avid reader, and lets face it; some books are entertaining for the moment, but not something you are going to really remember. I read Heart Shaped Box about a year ago and the story still stays with me. Some of the stories in 20th Century Ghosts are the same.
If you read this book for no other reason, read the story Pop Art. It is quite possibly the most bizarre story I have ever read, and at the same time, to me, it is pure literary genius. There are several great stories in this book, and definitely one I recommend.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: 20th Centry Ghosts Joe Hill
Comment: Joe Hill is a fabulous writer following in his fathers' footsteps. I also bought, "Heart Shaped Box" and am enjoying it as well.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Also a great audiobook
Comment: 20th Century Ghosts Low Price Unabridg CD
I recently ordered the audiobook version of "20th Century Ghosts" and I have to say this was on the better puchaces I made this year. I enjoy most all of the stories and the narrator did a great job presenting each story and capturing the moods. This was my first book by Joe Hill and I really hope he comes out with another collection.
Also I have to say that for all of the quality stories you get in this collection, it was also a fantastic value for the price.

Please check this one out.

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