20th Century Ghosts

By: Joe Hill

Narrated by: David LeDoux

Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A dazzlingly original, award-winning collection of visions and nightmares from the New York Times best-selling author of Heart-Shaped Box.

Imogene is young and beautiful. She kisses like a movie star and knows everything about every film ever made. She's also dead and waiting in the Rosebud Theater for Alec Sheldon on an afternoon in 1945....Arthur Roth is a lonely kid with big ideas and a gift for attracting abuse. It isn't easy to make friends when you're the only inflatable boy in town....Francis is unhappy. He was human once, but that was then. Now he's an eight-foot tall locust and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing....John Finney is locked in a basement that's stained with the blood of half a dozen other murdered children. In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls from the dead.

The past isn't dead. It isn't even past.

©2005, 2007 Joe Hill (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Short Stories/Collections, 2008

"Most of the stories display the unself-conscious dash that made Hill's novel an intelligent pleasure....Not just for ghost addicts." (Kirkus Reviews)

Pleasantly Surprised

I had listened to Joe Hill's latest set of short stories and decided to try this book out as well. I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality and depth of most of the stories. This is one I will definitely re-listen to.

Great short story compilation

Pop Art knocked my socks off!!! Wow what a great short story. I recommend this work for anyone interested in the "King Like" genre.

great book!!

the stories were enthralling and the narrator was superb! highly highly recommend to all horror lovers.

Absolutely fantastic narration!

The stories are varied and enthralling, but the real star is the narrator. I wish I could give him than 5 stars!

this time the movie was better

and actually grabbed at this collection after seeing black phone. I listened to the first story first though. button eyes, the story within the story is a darn creepy Tale. and the creepy tale that was about the creepy Tale is even better. Jason Blum ought to get a hold of this one too! I'll be perusing the other offerings soon. sadly this may be the last really good collection of stories or even good writing from Joe. has he has broke woke and is using his fiction as a platform with a stinking fad cause and promoting a wrong headed biased racist ideology that mirrors fascism and promotes anti-patriasm. so very sad because I was really really enjoying his fiction! the fireman, very coarse but very good. didn't enjoy it as much as NOS482. and lighter top the collection of stories called Full Throttle. and as good as all those stories are my favorite part of the collection is the introduction entitled who's your daddy? it's great and what a fantastic childhood Joe King had. so enjoy this collection of soured poison apples rotting and oozing with bugs and spiders and worms LOL the phone ringing off the hook and nightmares waiting by the door. I'll add to this essay Explore More territory of these 20 modern ghost stories

The narrator needs to blow his nose. Gross.

Pretty good stories. Spooky and original! The narrator sounds so stuffed up the entire book. I tried to let it go but it's distracting and grosses me out... His n's sounds like d's and the m's sounds like b's. As in "look at the full bood in the sky".

I really liked it!

If you could sum up 20th Century Ghosts in three words, what would they be?

Made me think.

What was one of the most memorable moments of 20th Century Ghosts?

The button boy story was absolutely phenomenal. A great story in an excellent story. I really enjoyed the whole book, some stories more than others but that one was my absolute favorite.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator sounded like he had a cold or something. He had a bit of a whiny voice in some parts.

Any additional comments?

I would highly recommend this book. I liked the way that each story was so very different than the one before it. It was a truly good read.

This author always delivers

Some stories better than the rest, overall good book of ghost stories! Enjoyed immensely! I highly recommend to other readers.

Good but Frustrating at times

Maybe its just me, but i hate stories with no ending, no closure. The first story, Best New Horror. it was really great, it had me on the edge of my seat, heart pounding, chilling. And then its just over, Done. we'll never know if he gets away from the cannibals, are they cannibals? who knows.
Pop Art was fantastic, it makes you go back to your childhood, we all had that friend, an outcast who left an ever lasting impression on you, that you carried with you, long after life pulled you apart in different directions.
The Cape was my favorite, i did not see that ending coming.
i purchased this book because i loved the movie "The Black Phone", and I wanted to compare the movie to the book. And the book version is like apples to oranges. The story was very lackluster, in fact with the movie i probably wouldn't have remembered anything about the story at all.
Its not bad, but it didn't blow me away like his other book "Heart shaped box" now thats a masterpiece.

I love Joe Hill's work but....huh!?

What did you like best about 20th Century Ghosts? What did you like least?

While listening to the different stories in this collection I would fine my mind somewhere else. Every once in a while I would pick up on a good part and think, "ok, cool, now it's getting good!" Seemed like then it would end and I would be left with a feeling like "huh"? I have read most of Joe's books and have enjoyed each and every one of them. This one? Not so much. I agree with another poster about the music coming in between the different novellas, - but when it happened in between chapters of some as well it was a bit weird. I think Joe does much better writing novels and if you begin listening to him with this book, please don't give up. His other works are so much better.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I will listen to Joe Hill when his new books are published, without a doubt.

Would you listen to another book narrated by David LeDoux?

Yes, narrator was fine.

Was 20th Century Ghosts worth the listening time?

No, I'm sorry.