This series of stories are the best selection of terrifying tales and urban legends and folklore. Sadly, they no longer print them, but I recommend you order one used - no matter what the condition! The books aren't many pages, but there is a good number of stories (about a dozen, maybe more) and you will want to stop and think (and turn on the lights) after each.

The best rituals you can use with these stories are to tell them to your friends. Some are common, and others are rare tales. You can change the dates and names to make it have happened closer to home...

...if you aren't too scared!

(Reviewed by Andre.)

For a beginning writer of this type of genre, I found the book informational. It gives different categories for types of children's books and hints on how to write for that particular genre.

The book has some really well thought-out entries and some excellent resource material. Of course, as with any reference book, this book will be out-dated in a year or so.

I have read about 50 different books on writing, and I'd put this one in the top 3. Tracey Dills REALLY knows what she is talking about, and I would really like to thank her for writing this book.

The book that I read intitled Real Life Strange Encounters was a fantastic book.If you like scary old folktales then you will just love this book. You can see from the cover that this book is going to be a nice and interesting book because there is a gigantic octopus on the cover.The book is not just one story, there is a combination of 12 terrifyingly twisted tales that will tickle your tummy. I liked maybe 9 or 10 of the 12 stories. If you read the book, a story that you should look out for is Spring Heeled Jack. It was about an insane creature who hopped around killing women. It is the best story in my oppinion in the whole book. If you have thought about buying this book, or borrowing it from the library, do so. That is my oppinion on the book.

This book encourages young writers to write, but seems to discourage them from actually trying to get their work published, and does not give book publishers' contact information. It instead encourages children to send work to specific children-oriented magazines, which have little or no reward/monetary return involved. There is nothing wrong with this, but the title of the book is misleading. It was not very helpful to me, who hoped as a child (however unrealistically) to get his work published in book-form.