REVIEW: The Thing at the Foot of the Bed & Other Scary Tales

 The Thing at the Foot of the Bed & Other Scary Tales
Author: Maria Leach

After reading some cute spooky stories by Maria Leach in another story collection, I went looking for more by her. I found this out of print book on OpenLibrary and thoroughly enjoyed reading it! The book is split into sections: Funny stories, scary tales, true stories, ghost games, witch tales and Do's & Don't's about ghosts. So entertaining! 

I love reading vintage children's books -- especially spooky/scary ones! This copy available to read on OpenLibrary definitely looks like it was read and enjoyed many times. I'm glad I got a chance to read this story collection! 

The first section (Funny Ones) has six stories. I loved every single one! Some of the stories I enjoyed in the prior story collection I read. My favorite in this section is Wait Til Martin Comes (which is a classic spooky story I've heard variations of since I was a child), but all of them were cute!

The second section is titled: Scary Ones. There are 8 stories in this section. One of them -- The Golden Arm -- I read in a prior story collection and also heard variants around campfires and with friends with a big jump scare at the end (of course). It never fails to get me! My favorite in this section is No Head. I can't imagine what I would do if I faced the same situation as the farmer in the story!

On to section three: Real Ones. There are 9 tales in this section and each story is different and interesting. Even lyrics for two spooky ballads! My favorite tale from this section is Aunt Tilly.....she came to visit family. One last time. 

After tales of fright, this collection adds in some fun - Ghost Games! These 3 stories outline some pretty

cute ghostly shenanigans...spooky games that kids can play. One is a mix of hide & seek and tag. Then there's Old Roger - a singing game. Then another variation of tag called Ghost. 

Next up - three scary Witch Stories! All three were good, but I enjoyed a tale called Witch Cat the most. Sometimes people are not always what they seem to be!

And, last but not least, the final section gathers five tales of ghostly do's and don'ts....advice on how to tell if ghosts are about, how to charm ghosts, how to see ghosts, and what never to do in the presence of ghosts. Ending the book is a last bit of advice - never kick a ghost. 

Following the stories are several pages of Author's Notes and a bibliography. Great information about where the story ideas came from and information on folklore from around the world.

All in all a very enjoyable collection of stories! I loved the illustrations and cover art by Kurt Werth. I'm glad I got a chance to read more by Maria Leach!