Japanese Ghost Stories

Lot of Hearn's scattered Japanese Ghost Stories have been collected from several of his books, and were put together in one book. This is a good way for readers to get acquainted with his stories without having to hunt for more of his books. Thus appreciate the telling of these tales with "delicious chill" as Algernon Blackwood called it. (Blackwood was a fan of Hearn). These are comparable to the works of Pu Songling, which you also should read. Strongly recommended.

Excellent collection of Japanese ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn. Hearn is an outstanding writer, and his melancholy ghost tales are far more vivid and powerfully crafted than the average ghost story. He also shares interesting insights about Japanese life and culture in his era (late 1800s).I did find the cover art on this book unnecessarily icky, but I covered it with origami paper. Don't judge this book by its cover--the cover art is only marginally related to the stories inside, and the book doesn't have the creepy sexual overtones represented in the cover art.

This is a great collection of Japanese ghost stories. It is really engrossing and well put together. The annotations are very useful and make these stories accessible for those of us not well-versed in Japanese culture. Penguin classics tend to be thoughtfully curated and presented and this book is no different.

Interesting, otherworldly, folkloric, romantic ghostly short stories. If a beautiful woman dressed in white lures you into the woods, she’s probably dead and you are doomed.

Disappointed in quality of stories. Also cheap paper and print quality.

Great cover

It's the standard for Japanese folklore/horror.

Bought it for a friend and he loved it

This remarkable set of generally very short tales has the feel and taste of authenticity.The stories are thoroughly exotic by Western standards: spirit-women devour earthly lovers; demons are tamed in fish-ponds; and samurai monks clobber floating goblin heads. We enter a world in which fear-filled superstition is constantly reinforced by horrific acts of vengeance by spirits (often female), and where hierarchy is as rigidly observed between ghosts as amongst the living. The fact that these stories were collected by Hearn direct from a presumably living oral tradition at the end of the nineteenth century is another indicator of how very different are the recent roots of Japan from those of Europe.Lafcadio Hearn was as singular as the folk tales which he collected and published in Japan in the 1890s. He was born in 1850 to an Irish father and Greek mother in the Ionian island of Lefkada; was abandoned by his parents and spent a largely miserable childhood in Ireland and England (the last section of this book is about this); became a journalist in the USA, where his illegal marriage to a black, ex-slave in 1874 lost him his job; spent two years in the French West Indies; translated French fiction; wrote short novels; arrived in Japan in 1890, where he married a Japanese woman; had various teaching posts and published books on Japan, dying from heart disease in 1904.The stories in this volume are written with great care, staying close to the sparse and formal style of the original Japanese. Hearn was clearly very bright and an accomplished, self-taught scholar.He was scrupulous in using the correct titles for people and in using or creating the right words for ritual objects and practices. His many footnotes explaining terms, historical points and religious inferences are admirably succinct. The Introduction, by Paul Murray (I assume), is excellent, as are the Notes organised by him at the end of the book.

These are more legends than ghost stories, I feel. I had some difficulty with remembering who was who due to my unfamiliarity with Japanese names. Some of the stories correspond with some of the old Irish legends with death and malevolent spirits looming large. Apart from that, I found it quite repetitive.

I have no idea why this terrible book got so many 5 star reviews, I really don't. Judging by the cover and the name of the book I expected ghosts, hauntings, revenge, entertainment and a fear factor but the whole thing is so woefully written. Its so badly written that I thought surely it must be translated terribly because barely anything makes sense. Most of these stories don't involve ghosts at all, i feel totally mislead. These stories suck, the dialogue also sucks and the wording just doesn't roll off the tongue well at all. I had to re-read many lines because the phrasing is so abysmal.Do yourself a favour and avoid this or if you have to experience it get it 2nd hand and cheap

Daughter is on her way to Japan, and found this book ideal for reading on the long flight.

This approachable and easy to read series of short stories invokes a quiet and beautiful picture of Japan in times gone by. Distinctly Japanese in nature the stories included leave the reader to reflect on what they have been told and the emotions they invite. Hearn's own thoughts on the material are equally intriguing.I thoroughly recommend this book for those with in an interest in Japanese culture and also anyone who might enjoy ghost stories with more of a sense of lingering discomfort than full on fear. A very good book.