Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror

by Chris Priestley, David Roberts (Illustrator)

Overview

This spine-tingling novel has more than enough fear factor for the most ardent fan of scary stories. Uncle Montague lives alone in a big house, but regular visits from his nephew, Edgar, give him the opportunity to recount some of the frightening stories he knows. As each tale unfolds, an eerie pattern emerges of young lives gone awry in the most terrifying of ways. Young Edgar begins to wonder just how Uncle Montague knows all these ghastly tales. This clever collection of stories-within-a-story is perfectly matched with darkly witty illustrations by David Roberts.

Look for the other spine-tingling book in Chris Priestley's Tales of Terror series, Tales of Terror from the Black Ship!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599906980
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	725,842
Lexile:	900L (what's this?)
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	8 Years

About the Author

CHRIS PRIESTLEY is both a writer and an illustrator. He has published several works of fiction and nonfiction for young readers. He lives with his family in Norfolk, England.

DAVID ROBERTS is the illustrator of A House Called Awful End and the other books in the popular Eddie Dickens Trilogy as well as the author-illustrator of the picture book Dirty Bertie. Mr. Roberts was runner-up for the prestigious Mother Goose Award for children's illustration. He lives in London, England.
CHRIS PRIESTLEY's novels are inspired by the long-loved tradition of horror stories by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Shelley. www.chrispriestley.blogspot.com

Chris Priestley lives in Cambridge with his wife and son. His novels are brilliantly original additions to a long tradition of horror stories by authors such as M.R. James and Edgar Allan Poe. Chris wrote one of the World Book Day books for 2011 and has been shortlisted for a variety of prestigious children's book awards. Catch up with Chris at www.chrispriestley.blogspot.com.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-8- Ghosts, demons, jinns, and deadly trees populate these 10 chilly short stories set in the late 19th century, with the language and black-and-white illustrations capturing the feel of Victorian times. Young Edgar hears these tales while visiting his eccentric Uncle Montague, and each one is connected to a strange object in his uncle's study. Trees are at the center of "Climb Not" and "Winter Pruning," the former featuring an elm with a murderous occupant, the latter a blind old woman and badly behaved boys who are transformed into trees that need painful pruning. "The Un-Door" is the passage to a life trapped inside a doll's house for fake spiritualist Harriet. In the particularly scary "The Demon Bench End," Thomas steals part of an old church bench that he is drawn to, only to find it possessed by a demon. "Jinn," the only story not set in England, tells the story of Francis, who ignores the children in a small Turkish village and ventures too close to what he thinks is a girl in rags. The mirror inside "The Gilt Frame" exposes Christina's horrible deeds, and in "Offerings" and "A Ghost Story" readers learn to pay attention to haunted-house tales. The last story reveals why Uncle Montague must stay in his house guarding the stories, objects, and ghosts he has accumulated. An enjoyable collection with enough creepy atmosphere (and some gruesome action) to hold readers' attention.-Terrie Dorio, Santa Monica Public Library, CA

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School Library Journal

The author's attempts to create atmosphere with constant references to half-glimpsed figures, encroaching fog, unexplained noises, etc., come off as labored in these ten tales of the supernatural. Spinning stories to a young visitor from various topics of conversation or small objects in his cluttered study, melancholy old Uncle Montague describes what happens to an arrogant lad who climbs a malevolent elm, a case of demonic possession related to a carved wooden grotesque, a traveler's frantic and fatal flight from his own battered corpse and like incidents or cautionary tales. All, along with a linking narrative, are related in the same somber, even tones and formal language-except perhaps for one sparkler featuring a blind old woman who turns a young hooligan into an apple tree and then picks up her pruning shears-none are likely to cause even minor disquiet. Priestley usually does better. (Short stories. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews