Mary Danby - 6th Armada Ghost Book

[dem bones]

Mary Danby (ed) - 6th Armada Ghost Book (Armada, 1974)

Ruth Ainsworth - Mirror Mirror on the Wall
Kay Leith - Mackrin Mains
Pat Klacar - The Ghost With A Long Memory
Terry Gisbourne - Cobwebs
Mary Clarke - Splendid Ancestor
Christine Pullein-Thompson - Isobel's Pony
Louise Francke - Alicia
James Turner - The Model
Sydney J Bounds - Room At The Inn
Mary Danby - Edward

Whenever I'm lucky enough to land an Armada Ghost Book these days, the first thought is to find the story or stories worthy a place in Mary Danby's unofficial 'best of series' selection, The Green Ghost & Other Stories.

Mary Danby - Edward; Have only very recently read this in Party Pieces, so perhaps suffice to say, it's a quiet, atypically poignant tale of a poorly kid whose final courageous act is rewarded in the afterlife. It's nothing like as mawkish as it sounds, just not strong enough to dislodge Lorimer’s Bride, The Grey Lady, The Ghost Writer or Mr. Jones.

Sydney J. Bounds - Room At The Inn: Sisters Jane and Penny Black get hopelessly lost on Bodmin Moor during a rainstorm. They wheel their bikes toward a remote inn where Jessica the barmaid reluctantly gives them a bed for the night with the warning: "Lock your door ... don't open it no matter what you hear tonight." What they hear is not the least encouraging, namely plenty ominous dragging and scraping of heavy objects and the curses and threats of those engaged in same. The next morning they wake in a heap of rubble. The phantom inn, long demolished, was a notorious smugglers den.

Green Ghost potential: Typically slick Syd for kids. Concise, atmospheric, just not especially scary. Could replace The Haunted Circus.

James Turner - The Model: Serena's parents own the reputedly haunted Dockacre House, a five gabled mansion dating back to the reign of Elizabeth I. Conflicting local legend has it that Nicholas Herle killed wife Elizabeth by locking her away in what is now Serena's bedroom because she'd gone insane, or shot her dead on the staircase. Either way, their troubled ghosts walk the halls, though they've not been seen in recent generations. Serena's pride and joy is her dolls house, a huge replica of Dockacre, commissioned for the annual festival. Even better, the little painted figures in period costume come to life and go about their business whenever she's alone with them. This years Festival will not be forgotten in a hurry ....

Green Ghost potential: Struck me as far more convoluted than it need be - even Britannia steps in toward the end - but possibly wasn't in the right frame of mind. A tentative 'Yes' pending a re-read.

Mary Clarke - Splendid Ancestor: Rosie Hart's great-grandfather Captain Gregory Hassocks died a hero in the Crimean War. Ever since Rosie hung his portrait in her bedroom, the Captain's been her friend and guardian. Comes the day when Rosie and her mum are threatened by a vicious burglar. Gregory steps out of the frame with his sword at the ready. The thug is so terrified, his heart gives out.

Green Ghost potential: I never was a big fan of benevolent spectres.

[cauldronbrewer]

I encountered two of these--the Bounds and Francke stories--in Dennis Pepper's Young Oxford series. I thought both were passable but probably not quite Green Ghost-worthy.

I'd definitely count "Edward" among Danby's lesser works.

[dem bones]

Agreed on Edward, and so far 6th Armada Ghost Book bears out our theory that, up until around number seven or eight, the series was still targeting the very young, which maybe explains why none of the ten stories made it into The Green Ghost. I don't dislike any of those mentioned above, but they don't even come close to emulating the buzz I got from Marion Hough's Spider Woman in the Misty Annual.

The Dennis Pepper Young Oxford's look terrific. Any editor who can combine obscure (and lovably dreadful) Weird Tales shockers like E. W. Mayo's mighty Dream Justice with middling-to-good selections from the Armada series and Alison "Trumpton" Prince is OK in my book.