This book became the basis of my independent life as a reader and a writer. Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, edited by Phyllis Cerf Wagner and Herbert Wise and first published in 1944 by Modern Library. Before it came books that my parents read to me, or gave me to read, many wonderful works, children’s books, but this one I chose myself from my father’s shelves and read through and through repeatedly. I must have read Poe stories at around the same time too. I don’t remember now how old I was, some time between third grade and fifth, I can’t be more accurate. I read them many times for years. These stories set my mind off on all sorts of journeys and gave me a list of writers to read.
This photo isn’t of the original copy I had. That fell apart long ago.
The best thing you can do for some children is to give them the keys to their own imagination.
Happy Halloween to those who celebrate it.
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