Need help finding a book of short stories from my childhood...
May 31, 2012 9:47 AM Subscribe
I read this book of creepy short stories when I was younger and I can't find the book. One story was about a kid who is turned into a plant and another was about a guy being buried in the Hoover Dam.
Nearly twenty years ago we moved in with my grandmother over the summer while we waited for our house to be built. I spent a lot of time at the library down her street, mainly reading books of spooky stories or unexplained phenomena. There was one book which I distinctly remember, although my memory is hazy and it's possible the stories weren't even in the same book, although I'm fairly certain they were.
The first story was about a kid who may or may not have been bad, for whatever reason. The main thing I remember is that at the end of the story he was turned into a plant, or is somehow inside a plant, in his Mom's garden. I believe it ended with her just about to prune the plants and he's trying to yell out to her. There may have been an illustration of a plant with a tiny, person-sized bulge in the stem. Again, this was so long ago maybe my imagination is getting the best of me.
The other story was about a worker or tourist who was visiting the Hoover Dam as it was being built and somehow was buried alive in the cement. This seems to be a fairly popular urban legend and pops in multiple places, making it hard to search for.
If things rings a bell for anyone, I'd love to find the book and possibly recreate the feeling of that summer (or be disappointed I can't recreate it).
Nearly twenty years ago we moved in with my grandmother over the summer while we waited for our house to be built. I spent a lot of time at the library down her street, mainly reading books of spooky stories or unexplained phenomena. There was one book which I distinctly remember, although my memory is hazy and it's possible the stories weren't even in the same book, although I'm fairly certain they were.
The first story was about a kid who may or may not have been bad, for whatever reason. The main thing I remember is that at the end of the story he was turned into a plant, or is somehow inside a plant, in his Mom's garden. I believe it ended with her just about to prune the plants and he's trying to yell out to her. There may have been an illustration of a plant with a tiny, person-sized bulge in the stem. Again, this was so long ago maybe my imagination is getting the best of me.
The other story was about a worker or tourist who was visiting the Hoover Dam as it was being built and somehow was buried alive in the cement. This seems to be a fairly popular urban legend and pops in multiple places, making it hard to search for.
If things rings a bell for anyone, I'd love to find the book and possibly recreate the feeling of that summer (or be disappointed I can't recreate it).
Response by poster: Hmmm. I don't think it's Roald Dahl. I've read a lot of his short stories, including the Roald Dahl Omnibus a few years ago, and I don't think this one is him. I've also read "The Sound Machine" and that's definitely not it.
Thanks, though!
posted by theuninvitedguest at 11:20 AM on May 31, 2012
Thanks, though!
posted by theuninvitedguest at 11:20 AM on May 31, 2012
Best answer: Nightwaves: Scary Tales for After Dark
posted by mattbucher at 11:35 AM on May 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by mattbucher at 11:35 AM on May 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: YES! This is it, mattbucher! Hahaha, it seems I was a bit off on the stories, but this is definitely it. I even remember the cover. I just ordered a used copy on Amazon.
Thanks!
posted by theuninvitedguest at 12:26 PM on May 31, 2012
Thanks!
posted by theuninvitedguest at 12:26 PM on May 31, 2012
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posted by unreasonable at 10:16 AM on May 31, 2012