Resources

Mostly Ghostly Stories

Mostly Ghostly Stories (audio cassette) by David Holt. High Windy Audio, ISBN 0-942303-09-1 High Windy Audio, 942303-07-5

$15. High Windy Audio, PO Box 553, Fairview, NC 28730, 1-800-637-8679

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David Holt must be an awfully busy man. His bio lists television and radio appearances, world tours, audio and video recordings. He plays 10 instruments, three of his recordings have received the ALA Notable Award, and two have been nominated for Grammys.


Mostly Ghostly is a collection of six stories, two of which are true, and one of which is based on actual fact. There is the story of a man who was scalped alive in the early 1800's, the story of Eva Hart who survived the sinking of the Titanic, and there are folktales. My favourite, if I had to choose one, is The Jealous Bones of Aaron Kelly. I know and tell a variant of the story but what a difference Holt's music makes. And his description of Aaron Kelly's deterioration is worth the price of the cassette. Holt's music is used to support certain aspects of the stories, and is used in between the stories to cleanse the palate.


The stories range from eerie to haunting to grisly. The production quality is excellent, but even if it were not, Holt is such a consummate teller that he would hold any listener with his timing and vocal control -not to mention his music.


The cassette suggests that it is for ages 7-1- but, as always with ghost stories, it is best to judge by the individual child or family.


Available online at

http://www.davidholt.com/storytelling/


The Second Story Review, Vol 1, No. 1, March 1996


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