About the Author

Editor Deborah Noyes lives near Boston. "I've always loved dark, atmospheric tales," she says, "and receiving original stories from these writers was a little like being a kid again, rooting through my bag late Halloween night -- one delicious surprise after another."

Joan Aiken is the beloved author of more than one hundred books for young readers and adults, including the classic Wolves Chronicles, which began with THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE. Among many other honors, she received the Lewis Carroll Award, the Edgar Allan Poe Award, and the Guardian Award.

M. T. Anderson has published three novels for teens, most recently FEED, a National Book Award Finalist, a BOSTON GLOBE -- HORN BOOK Honor winner, and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Neil Gaiman is the author of nonfiction, radio plays, comics, and screenplays in addition to his highly acclaimed and award-winning fiction. His books include AMERICAN GODS, NEVERWHERE, CORALINE, THE WOLVES IN THE WALLS, and many classic graphic novels, among them eleven volumes of THE SANDMAN.

Caitlín R. Kiernan is the author of four novels, including SILK and THRESHOLD, and her short fiction has been collected in three volumes: TALES OF PAIN AND WONDER, FROM WEIRD AND DISTANT SHORES, and TO CHARLES FORT, WITH LOVE. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Gregory Maguire is the author of more than a dozen novels for young readers, including the HAMLET CHRONICLES. One of his adult novels, WICKED, is the basis of the Broadway musical of the same name. He lives in Massachusetts.

Garth Nix is the award-winning author of several books for young readers, including SABRIEL, LIRAEL, ABHORSEN, and the Seventh Tower series. He lives in Sydney, Australia.

Celia Rees has written many acclaimed books for teens, including WITCH CHILD and SORCERESS. She lives in Warwickshire, England.

Janni Lee Simner lives in the hot, bright, and not-at-all-gothic Arizona desert. Her short stories have appeared in more than two dozen anthologies and magazines, including BRUCE COVILLE'S BOOK OF NIGHTMARES and HALF HUMAN.

Vivian Vande Velde is the author of more than twenty books, mostly science fiction and fantasy for middle-grade readers and teens, including HEIR APPARENT, NEVER TRUST A DEAD MAN, and GHOST OF A HANGED MAN. She lives in Rochester, New York.

Barry Yourgrau's adult books include WEARING DAD'S HEAD. He starred in THE SADNESS OF SEX, a movie adaptation of his stories, and has appeared on MTV and NPR. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

Gothic!: Ten Original Dark Tales, edited by Deborah Noyes, mines the macabre with new tales by celebrated authors that include Joan Aiken, Neil Gaiman and Garth Nix. In Vivian Vande Velde's "Morgan Roehmar's Boys," a haunted hayride is the apropos setting for the ghosts of the title murderer's victims and revenge and in "The Prank" by Gregory Maguire, a wayward teen discovers a horrific family secret. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Gr 9 Up-This uniformly well-written collection features short stories by noted young adult authors such as M. T. Anderson, Caitl'n R. Kiernan, Garth Nix, Celia Rees, Janni Lee Simner, and Barry Yourgrau. From Joan Aiken's more traditional tale about a ghost haunting a river in the gloomy countryside to Gregory Maguire's contemporary offering about a teenage delinquent forced to live with an elderly relative who has a secret locked in the attic, almost all of these stories evoke a shivery delight. Vivian Vande Velde's shocking and scary piece features the ghost of a psychopathic serial killer who looks like a teenager and kills an unsuspecting girl posing as a "dead body" at a haunted hayride. Neil Gaiman's selection lampoons the classic gothic scenario of a terrified, nightgown-clad heroine running away from a brooding manor house and will have readers laughing out loud in recognition. These varied tales take place in the distant past and in the high-tech present. Some are humorous while others have surprising twists or are reminiscent of classic fairy tales full of malevolent characters, but all share a love of the surreal or supernatural. Noyes's insightful introduction defines what a gothic tale is and includes information about the authors and the origins of their stories. A sophisticated, thought-provoking, and gripping read.-Sharon Rawlins, Piscataway Public Library, NJ Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.