Description:
Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror is a loosely connected collection of short stories framed by the larger questions of how Montague has come into possession of his odd assortment of belongings, why he tells the stories he does, and who the odd children in the woods are. Each story is introduced in the story preceding it as Edgar, the narrator, asks about this or that object in Montague's sitting room.
Summary:
Edgar visits his peculiar Uncle Montague regularly, walking through the woods to get to the house. When he arrives, Uncle Montague always asks if Edgar saw anyone on the way, and Edgar always answers, "No." After all, it's not worth mentioning the strange, silent, town children who watch him pass. And walking past them, odd as they are, is a price Edgar is willing to pay for his uncle's stories. There's a story for every object in Uncle Montague's sitting room. The pocket watch from a boy who climbed a tree he wasn't supposed to and disappeared. The tiny doll from the doll house that trapped a woman in a room that isn't there. The demon book end that torments its thief. Curiously, Uncle Montague tells these fanciful stories as if they were true. Finally, Edgar learns the terrible truth about Uncle Montague, and the children in the woods. Uncle Montague, it turns out, was once the headmaster of a school. He was also a gambler. And while he was a decent card player, he still went through all of his savings. Needing more gambling money, he stole from the children at his school. To cover his thefts, he blamed a student, William. William pleaded with Montague to declare his innocence, but Montague refused, and William took his own life. Montague's punishment is to have the ghostly children that Edgar sees in the woods -- not town children at all! -- bring him objects and tell him their stories.
Thoughts:
I enjoyed this collection. The ending is satisfactory, and left me wanting to read more of the author's work. A couple of stories deal with demons or other evil/Satanic creatures, which are depicted as cruel, manipulative, and bad. Overall, it's more Edgar Allan Poe, less Stephen King.
Recommended for middle schoolers looking for scary stories.
