Ghost Story

By: Peter Straub

Narrated by: Buck Schirner

Length: 22 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 New York Times bestselling author Peter Straub’s classic tale of horror, secrets, and the dangerous ghosts of the past...

What was the worst thing you’ve ever done?

In the sleepy town of Milburn, New York, four old men gather to tell each other stories - some true, some made-up, all of them frightening. A simple pastime to divert themselves from their quiet lives.

But one story is coming back to haunt them and their small town. A tale of something they did long ago. A wicked mistake. A horrifying accident. And they are about to learn that no one can bury the past forever...

©1989 Peter Straub (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Chilling and Spine Tingling Moments

Much better than the movie (which I saw after I finished the book). There is an interesting underdeveloped story of young adults in Milburn completely left out of the film. The timeline satisfyingly unravels throughout the novel, deepening the horror and dread. The multigenerational aspect of the novel gives it real depth and character as the town itself is practically a character.

Great storytelling

I read this many years ago and still enjoyed. it will remind you of Stephen King in the same time period. The narration was good but might benefit from updated narration. But fun for me.

It was ok

I like thrillers/horror stories that are believable. But getting past that and just enjoying the telling of the story it was good.

It takes a while, but do not give up on it

I had a very hard time following plotting and characters, almost like a Russian novel for a while, but when I read a synopsis, and understood the drift of it all, it became one of the eeriest and best novels I have ever read. Like King at his best. Don't miss it.

Booming and told effectively

Mr. Schirner must have been a movie trailer voice over. His female voices were a little odd, sounded like an ancient upper class man mocking upper class women, but hey, when you have an attention grabbing deep voice, who cares.

The story comes back around

I had a hard time getting into this book. It took quite a while and I was determined to finish it and hope that the story came back to the fist part. For a while the book seemed to be bouncing around and it didn't feel very grounded. Eventual I got into the story and had to forget about the first chapter, because it was bugging me so much that the story changed. I was annoyed and frustrated that the first chapter was just left there, hanging, and untouched. Then finally towards the last part of the book you see that it goes together seamlessly. Overall it was a good book and started to creep me out while driving at night in the cold.

A slow-burning scare

Others who have bought this book have noted it's slow-moving and mostly lacks action. But I think those familiar with the book will agree this audio version of Ghost Story movws faster than the actual book. Buck does a great job of giving all the characters believable and distinct voices, except Ricky Hawthorne and most of the female characters are virtually indistinguishable. The mark down for performance, however, has more to do with the fact that my download seemed to have a lot of problems dropping parts out and "skipping" (not sure how elsento describe it). Recommended for fans of more subdued horror in the vein of 'Salem's Lot and IT.

Ghost Story

I read this as a kid and it seemed SO much scarier!It was long. Narration was good.Old friends tell ghosts stories,but are they true?Is this woman real or a ghost?She seems to go on for generations. She and her odd friends torture a town for decades.

Slow narration

Interesting enough story, but a slow narration. I had to speed up the narration to 1.3 to enjoy it. I had not read anything by Peter Straub before and he has a very detailed writing style. If you enjoy that, then you’ll probably enjoy this. Takes about 150 pgs (or at the start of part 2) before the the plot starts to pick up. Spooky, not scary.

Overwhelming detail.

Halfway through I realized the overwhelming level of detail was not necessary for understanding the story lines. And it wasn't making the story lines more enjoyable. It was only adding pages before the story lines would come together.
It seems like a more engaged, or more skilled editor could have turned an ok book into a much more enjoyable book.