A truly riveting tale of haunt for ghosts
Book review
The legendary octogenarian author, Ruskin Bond, has collected a few of his short ghost stories and put them in this book, title Captain Young’s Ghost: Ghostly Tales from the Indian Hills. Some were specially written to include in this collection like Captain Young’s Ghost and A Face in the Dark.
In this book, he talks about a few of his ghost encounters on his trips on the mountain ranges of Mussoorie and in the city of Landour. Bond has once again proved that he is the true icon among the Indian writers for children’s books. The master storyteller makes the readers spellbound with the fascinating haunt for spirits and ghosts. The writing style of the author is very impressive with his lucid and subtle presentation. The reader is amazed with the delightful world of ghosts clearly brought out in the book.
Some stories talk about the solitude of spirits, some about their regrets in life. Other stories talk about the creepy and whispering winds blowing in the hills at night, a bird trying to alert people from the clutches of an evil couple, and more…
Bond has written this collection of stories in a precise manner, in a way you will never find it hard trying to catch up with his words. The best part of the writing is that I could visualise the scenes and the characters appeared as real as they were in front of me. The characterisation of British Army captain, little boy, beautiful young girl are represented in a very impressive manner. And this visualisation tempts me to explore more of the hills of Landour. The reader is informed with the notion that the ghosts are not only just horrendous creatures, but also can be benevolent and concerned creatures. This book definitely belongs to the genre which thrills the young adults. The storylines are so gripping that it is ideal for a curl up on a wintry day.
The stories that I recommend in this collection are The Black Bird, Captain Young’s Ghost, A Face in the Dark, and The Face beneath the Pillow.
Other haunted books by Ruskin Bond are The Wind on the Haunted Hill, A Season of Ghosts, Ghost stories from the Raj, A Fire in the Night, and A Time for all Things.
The contributor is a Class 9 student of St Columba’s School, Gole Market
Title: Captain Young’s Ghost: Ghostly Tales from the Indian Hills
Author: Ruskin Bond
Publisher: Speaking Tiger Books