Thirteen Chairs by Dave Shelton

Reviewed by Lori

Thirteen Chairs 

Title: Thirteen Chairs

Author: Dave Shelton

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 128181

Description: When Jack enters a deserted house on a cold night, he finds a dozen people, sitting at a table, who invite him to take the thirteenth chair and share a ghost story--with unexpected ramifications.

 Rubric Rating: Level 2 - Like It

 Why I Read It: It's a book of short ghost stories.  

 Notes: I'm not sure it's ever taken me longer to finish a book.  I loved the cover, title, and premise of this book.  I picked it up last summer to read at the cottage figuring a book of short ghost stories would be great to read at night in front of the fire.  The premise of the story is good.  Jack enters a haunted house to find himself invited into a room with 12 other people each holding a candle.  Each relates their story and blows out their candle.  As each story is told Jack is filled with more and more trepidation as he comes to realize these people are ghosts.  Ghosts telling ghosts stories.  Why would they do this?  To feel alive of course!  When do you feel most alive?  When your heart is pounding and your breathing is quick.  I liked that aspect very much.  However, I found the individual stories didn't keep my attention as much as they should.  Some were better than others.  There is good variety in the stories, you don't feel like one idea is repeated 12 times.  And the voices in each story are each pretty unique.  The last story is Jack's and at this point you wonder if you have an unreliable narrator.  Is his story a true story or ghost story?  And the last page calls everything into question.   This is one of those books that I would pick up sporadically, read a story and set down again for another time. 

 Recommended Readers: Good book for elementary and secondary libraries.  Anyone that likes ghost stories or if you're looking for a book of short stories.  The narratives of each story aren't linked other than the frame narrative so could be studied individually.

 Themes: Ghosts, Fear, Death, The Afterlife, Storytelling, Haunted Houses.  

 Cross-Genre Links: 
Music: Ghosts N Stuff - deadmau5 feat. Rob Swire
Movie: Ghost Stories (2018)
Movie: 13 Ghosts (1960)
Websearch: Superstition number 13

 Inquiries and Activities: 

  • The book begins "Jack is a curious boy" how does Jack's curiosity get him in trouble?
  • What is the superstition around the number 13 and how does this influence your reading of Jack's character? 
  • What is your favourite story and why?  Write your own ghost story. 
  • Why do the ghosts come together in the haunted house.  Why do you think they try to scare one another?  Is there a sense of pride to the stories?
  • How does the last page of the story influence your reading?  Does it change your opinion of Jack's character?  Did you change your mind about his story?  
  • How long do you think Jack is in the house?  What makes you think so? How might time be different to a ghost? 
  • What is the significance of the candles?  

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