World of the Unknown: All About Ghosts is back in print----WHAT?

One of my favorite treasures from the haunted library is the 1970's Usborne World of the Unknown series, particularly the tome dedicated to Ghosts, which I covered in a previous post here.

In a surprising bit of good news, this long sought after rarity is back in print, apparently after a successful campaign and petition organized by British actors Reece Shearsmith (Doctor Who, League of Gentlemen) and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, The World's End). Read all about it at The Guardian.

I don't have the new edition in hand (it doesn't release in the U.S. until October 3, 2019) but it appears to be a facsimile reprint, save for a new forward by Shearsmith. Pre-order now at Amazon!

Seems as good a time as any to remind you that another of my personal favorites, 1976's Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep (Jack Prelutsky, with illustrations by Arnold Lobel) has been back in print for a few years now and would love to take a ride in your shopping cart, too.

Hooray, books!

Hasbro Ghost Gun Target Book (1974)

Here's the Hasbro Ghost Gun (1974).

It doesn't actually shoot anything, because its really just a battery-powered projector. The gun comes with a 16 page booklet of cellophane strips of printed images of ghosts, devils, spiders, etc., which are torn out on their perforated edges and slid into a slit on the gun's side.

The stock of the gun has a bit of play in it, kind of like a joystick, and can be moved a few inches in any direction, independent of the front end. Moving the stock also moves an internally mounted pin, which punctures the cellophane target when you pull the trigger, leaving a visible hole in the projected image, wherever the pin happened to be aimed.

Some ads for the gun promised "1,000" targets.
I count exactly 1,088.
There was also a white "Moving Monster" version of the gun, with different target images.

Image from PlaidStallions. Be sure to check out their excellent book of dime-store toys, Rack Toys:Cheap, Crazed Playthings.

When I owned one of these back in the 70s, I always thought the gun kind of resembled Madame Medusa's from Disney's The Rescuers, and would use it as such for Rescue Aid Society role-play sessions (yes, that was a thing in my circle of friends!)

Here's scans of all the Ghost Gun targets.

Haunted Houses Ghosts & Spectres (Usborne Supernatural Guides, 1979)

One of the more popular posts on this blog is my coverage of 1977's All About Ghosts from Usborne Publishing's World of the Unknown series. I guess there are a lot of folks out there like me who were captivated by this series as a kid after having checked it our repeatedly from the school library.

Usborne followed that up in 1979 with Haunted Houses, Ghosts & Spectres, part of a new series of Supernatural Guides (the other titles were Vampires, Werewolves & Demons and Mysterious Powers & Strange Forces. All three volumes were compiled in a fourth book, Usborne Guide to the Supernatural World, and like the World of the Unknown series, they were all reprinted in the early 90s with new cover art but identical content.)




This is a much smaller sized publication than the World of the Unknown books, and is labeled an "Usborne Pocketbook", because it is tiny enough to fit in your pocket... well, that is if you wear clothes with freakishly large 7" x 4.5" pockets!

And don't assume as I did that this book is merely a Cliff Notes digest version of All About Ghosts . Its actually all new material, illustrations and all. Here are some samples of what you'll find within.



Before we can delve into the world of supernatural hauntings we need to agree on terms. What exactly is a haunted house, anyway?



Don't leave out the haunted castles!



Different types of ghosts are described and defined.



Everyone knows the best ghosts are missing their heads, and this book has a whole spread devoted to them!









In a story reminiscent of The Golden Arm, a ghost returns to retrieve a ring that was stolen from her corpse.



The Lord Dufferin story, in which a ghostly premonition warns "Room for one more!" is covered here but for some reason the author chose to leave out the signature quote from this telling. (This famous ghost story was also covered in the Scholastic classic Strangely Enough by C.B. Colby!)



Did somebody say poltergeist?



The Usborne Supernatural Guides are out of print, but can be found on the second-hand market for reasonable prices.

Jimmy Takes Vanishing Lessons (Walter R. Brooks, Don Bolognese, 1950)

A young boy celebrates Christmas with a ghost in Jimmy Takes Vanishing Lessons (1950, Walter Brooks, with illustrations by Don Bolognese.)

The "vanishing lessons" are among several supernatural tricks taught Jimmy by a friendly ghost found living in the long abandoned home of his grandfather. He is also taught how to make his eyes glare with fire (as pictured above), the perfect thing to brighten up Christmas morning.

They first meet when Jimmy Crandall decides to investigate the dark and gloomy neighborhood haunted house to prove it isn't really haunted at all.

To Jimmy's surprise, there really is a ghost, but the unnamed spectre is more frightened of Jimmy than he is of it!

Eventually a delicate friendship develops, and the ghost offers to teach him a few supernatural tricks, like floating through keyholes.

Later, Jimmy invites the lonely ghost back to his house to meet his Aunt.

I've always liked the illustrations of Don Bolognese, who has lent his talents to a few other prominent titles from my childhood, among them The Book That Jason Wrote, The Ghost of Windy Hill, and The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden (a.k.a. The Wicked, Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House).



Jimmy Takes Vanishing Lessons is still in print.