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y separately published work icon Paul Jennings' Spookiest Stories selected work   children's fiction   children's   horror  
Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 Paul Jennings' Spookiest Stories
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'This special anthology boasts twenty of Paul's spookiest, fun-filled yarns, hand picked by Paul himself' (Source: author's website).

Affiliation Notes

  • This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has a Vietnamese translation.

Contents

* Contents derived from the Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,:Viking , 2007 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Without a Shirt, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'A boy called Brian has a speech impediment that forces him to say "Without a shirt" each time he finishes a sentence. When he is forced to move to a new house in the center of a cemetery because his dog is repeatedly digging, he eventually finds some bones that may be linked to his speech impediment. After fulfilling the task involving the bones and a shirt, he loses the speech impediment. Was later adapted as an episode of Round The Twist, although "without my shirt" was changed to "without my pants".' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_(short_story_collection))

(p. 1-17)
Skeleton on the Dunny, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'A boy called Bob was forced to live with his aunt because of his parents' deaths, but the only toilet at his aunt's house is in an outhouse. Even worse, that outhouse is haunted by the ghost of a man who was dead after looking after the house when the aunt was on a holiday. Was later adapted as the first episode of Round The Twist.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_(short_story_collection)

(p. 18-32)
Lighthouse Blues, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'A boy comes to an island to help an old lighthouse keeper. However, every Friday night, music plays, and the boy suspects it has something to do with the lighthouse keeper's ancestors. Was later adapted into a plot-arc of the first season of Round The Twist.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_(short_story_collection)

(p. 33-54)
Birdscrap, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'Twin girls walk to an old house where their late father has hidden rubies. Along the way, they are attacked by seagulls. Was later adapted as an episode of Round The Twist, was one of two adaptions to be combined into one episode.' ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbelievable_(short_story_collection))

(p. 67-76)
A Dozen Bloomin' Roses, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'The story follows the narrator's encounter with a boy, Gerald, who purchases a bouquet of a dozen roses for a girl. After a series of embarrassing accidents including spending most of his grandmother's pension, destroying the flowers on the train and being publicly humiliated by a local skinhead called Scouse, Gerald runs down a train tunnel and is killed by an oncoming train. As the narrator struggles to cope with Gerald's death, 12 roses appear from their hand, a gift from Gerald from beyond the grave. Afterwards when the narrator has a violent altercation on a train with Scouse, the train suddenly becomes completely filled with roses which result in the death of the skinhead, saving the narrator's life. At the conclusion, it's revealed that the narrator, Samantha, was the girl Gerald had bought the flowers.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirky_Tails)

(p. 77-88)
Spooks Incorporated, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'Two boys enjoy 'pretending' to be ghosts and haunting houses so that their owners will 'sell' them. But when they create a mechanical headless chicken to scare off the owner of a local Melbourne pub, they find out that the pub really is haunted - by the real headless chicken!' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirky_Tails)

(p. 89-102)
Know All, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'A family finds a box of old circus outfits that cause whoever wears them to gain the abilities of their original owners. Was later adapted as an episode of Round The Twist.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_(short_story_collection))

(p. 103-120)
Grandad's Gifts, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's mystery
'A boy finds a dead fox in a cupboard in his bedroom. But when he gets a call to pick lemons from his lemon tree and give them to the fox, it seems to come back to life. Was later adapted as an episode of Round The Twist, and also re-published as a picture book with added illustrations.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbearable_(short_story_collection))
(p. 121-132)
Listen Ear, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'When a boy looks at and accidentally hides his father's compass and then lies about it, he is forced to stay home and be babysat while the rest of his family goes to the movies. The babysitter doesn't come because her car breaks down, there is a power outage, and the boy ends up being chased by his own reflection. He then tells the reflection that he'll never lie again, and the reflection disappears. Eventually, the family comes home to check if the boy is okay. He tells them his story about the reflection but they don't believe him. They find the compass under his father's desk; the rats actually stole it. The boy then asks if his family believes it but they are suddenly unable to speak.'   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncovered_(short_story_collection))

(p. 133-149)
Shadows, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's horror

'A boy goes to the fairground, but has no money, so he offers a job to clean the floor of the house of mirrors. However, all the reflections seem to come to life.'

(p. 150-164)
A Good Tip for Ghosts, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'When twin brothers move to a new school, the bully forces them to go to a haunted garbage tip at night after making them touch a pair of false teeth, or they will be beaten up until they pass the test. But in the end, the ghost who haunts the garbage trip reveals he has been looking for the false teeth. Then, the bully then becomes the victim of the test, as a ghost haunts him as a request from the brothers. Was later adapted as an episode of Round The Twist.'  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_(short_story_collection))

(p. 165-183)
The Copy, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'A boy who has a doctor for a friend visits the doctor every day to see his inventions. The doctor's latest invention is a machine that can copy people. The boy ends up copying himself so he can take down a bully, but his copy ends up stealing his tea, his girlfriend, and finally his life. Was later loosely adapted as an episode of Round The Twist.' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirky_Tails)

(p. 184-200)
Sneeze 'n Coffin, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's (p. 201-213)
Batty, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's (p. 214-233)
The Velvet Throne, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'Tired of being bossed around by his brother (Gobble), who is extremely overweight and spends his whole time lying in bed watching TV and eating junk food, while he just spends the whole day working, a young man runs away from home; when he stops at a toilet block, he gets locked in. The messages in the graffiti written around the toilet block seem to come true. The effects of the message include: The toilet paper roll in the holder starting to "rock'n'roll," the toilet block getting locked, people gathering around and dancing, a rat being flushed away into the toilet and a velvet throne replacing the toilet. As the toilet block opens, the man writes a message saying that his brother disappears and the man goes home and sees that his brother is gone forever.'  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmentionable)

(p. 234-246)
Stuffed, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'A young man works by clearing cane toads from peoples' yards and releasing them in a swamp - despite the cane toad's status as an invasive species in Australia, he actually loves toads and ends up having two of them for pets. Frisbee, a man who lives near him sells souvenirs, but he ends up becoming a toad clearer himself. But he is different - he enjoys killing the toads and stuffing them for his new line of souvenirs. Will Martin be able to stop Frisbee from killing them?' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirky_Tails)

(p. 247-258)
Seeshell, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's

'A boy gets a job fishing with triplet brothers. He gets a crush on their sister, though the brothers really hate it when anyone kisses her. One day, while fishing, they find a seashell that has an eye in it; whenever the shell opens, the nearest person sees a vision about something that does eventually come true.' 

(p. 259-278)
Mobile, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's (p. 279-295)
The Naked Ghost, Paul Jennings , single work children's fiction children's fantasy (p. 296-311)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Viking , 2007 .
      person or book cover
      Courtesy of Penguin.
      Extent: 320p.
      ISBN: 9780670028917
Alternative title: Những câu chuyện hồi hộp nhất
Language: Vietnamese

Works about this Work

Watch This Peacock Dance Mark McCann , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 8-9 December 2007; (p. 32)

— Review of Amelia Dee and the Peacock Lamp Odo Hirsch , 2007 single work children's fiction ; Paul Jennings' Spookiest Stories Paul Jennings , 2007 selected work children's fiction
Watch This Peacock Dance Mark McCann , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 8-9 December 2007; (p. 32)

— Review of Amelia Dee and the Peacock Lamp Odo Hirsch , 2007 single work children's fiction ; Paul Jennings' Spookiest Stories Paul Jennings , 2007 selected work children's fiction
Last amended 16 Oct 2013 09:14:35
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