Reading ages for classic 1970s/1980s series

[jaygon]

Generally speaking, I understand that the Armada Ghost Books (and later reprinted compilations) were aimed at younger readers but I was wondering about the specific (recommended) reading age groups for the following series :


Pan Ghost Book Series (and later reprint compilations)
Fontana Ghost Book Series
Armada Ghost Book Series

I also wondered if 'Pan' was the actual publisher of the Pan Ghost Series or if the 'Pan' in the title referred to something else. I have some later books from this series and they have a different publisher listed.

[Dr Strange]

Sept 10, 2019 19:08:07 GMT jaygon said:

I was wondering about the specific (recommended) reading age groups for the following series :

Pan Ghost Book Series (and later reprint compilations)
Fontana Ghost Book Series
Armada Ghost Book Series

I also wondered if 'Pan' was the actual publisher of the Pan Ghost Series or if the 'Pan' in the title referred to something else. I have some later books from this series and they have a different publisher listed.

Of those, only the Armada series was specifically aimed at younger readers.

The Pans were paperback editions of the "Ghost Book" series originally published in hardback by other publishers. See - www.tabula-rasa.info/Horror/GhostBookSeries.html

As to age appropriateness, many things that would have definitely been deemed inappropriate for younger readers in the past probably wouldn't even raise an eyebrow now - just like Hammer horror films that had A (or even X) ratings in the 50s and 60s are now given 12 ratings on DVD.

[helrunar]

I think the main issue with readership age now would be degree of literacy and something I'll call temperament, when considering the Pan books and the Fontana anthologies. Quite a few of the stories would be deemed far too "slow" for most young readers today, and older ones as well--"too many descriptions" and "nothing happens for pages" are common complaints one hears.

At age 13, I was already devouring Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, the Tao Te Ching, etc. but I've always known there was something freakish about all that.

And here we are now.

H.

[mattofthespurs]

I was the same. By the time I reached 11 I had read all the Ian Fleming James Bond novels and had discovered the Pan Horror's. Like you by the time I had reached 13 I had worked my way through Poe and Lovecraft and was reading every new Stephen King that came out (born in 1968, the 1st King I read was The Dead Zone. Worked my way backwards after that and then continued when a new release came out. Something I am still doing to this day having started The Institute by King a couple of days ago)