'I'm not afraid of the dark. It's streetlights I don't like...'
Tim's in trouble - big trouble. He's missing his dad, who walked out on him and his mum, he's being bullied at school, and his new dog has just run away from him. Desperately hunting for Chips in the old graveyard as dusk falls, the last thing on Tim's mind is ghosts...
This sinister collection of short stories encapsulates everything human beings fear about the dark half of the year. A Halloween costume party attracts uninvited guests; the long evenings bring out creatures from the deepest darkness; a perfect snowfall brings pure terror. Featuring stories by Susan Cooper, Katherine Langrish, Liz Williams, Frances Hardinge, Frances Thomas, Rhiannon Lassiter and Catherine Butler. Prepare to be scared!
The Troll trilogy in one volume, 'West of the Moon' is the coming-of-age story of young Peer Ulfsson, set in a Viking world full of danger and magic.
'Peer Ulfsson stood miserably at his father's funeral pyre, watching the sparks whirl up like millions of shining spirits streaking away into the dark.'
'With a piercing squeal – with an anguished wooden groan – with a roar of muffled waters – Troll Mill woke from its sleep.'
'The boy twisted like a cat. With swirl of cloak and a rasping sound, something flashed into the air. A long steel sword…'
'My baby brother's hair was as soft and dark as fine weeds. I stroked his tiny back, teasing the long fin on his spine. His mackerel tail beat weakly against the water.'
'In the black tangle of thorns and brambles at the base of the cliff, Wolf saw a face like a half-moon, white one side and dark the other, floating in an aureole of hair like dandelion fluff. It vanished, pulling back into darkness.'
'I get a bad thought. What if this is one of them places that's, you know, guarded? Where there's a curse if you disturb the dead? What if Nelson's magical house is full of traps?'
'The hearth-hob of the place called Hen Gaer crouched in long soaking grass the edge of the old well, Fynnon Ddu, watching for frogs.'
'I woke up to see a skinny little imp skipping around the room...'
