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Of Ghosts and Goblins

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Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.

Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil.

In this haunting collection, the phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore stalk the page. Lafcadio Hearn, a master storyteller, drew on traditional Japanese folklore, infused with memories of his own haunted childhood in Ireland, to create these chilling tales. They are today regarded in Japan as classics in their own right.


'The stories occupy the reverie world our mind projects onto the backs of our eyelids, where the ordinary mingles with the supernatural' - Wall Street Journal

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2022

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About the author

Lafcadio Hearn

1,254 books414 followers
Greek-born American writer Lafcadio Hearn spent 15 years in Japan; people note his collections of stories and essays, including Kokoro (1896), under pen name Koizumi Yakumo.

Rosa Cassimati (Ρόζα Αντωνίου Κασιμάτη in Greek), a Greek woman, bore Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χερν in Greek or 小泉八雲 in Japanese), a son, to Charles Hearn, an army doctor from Ireland. After making remarkable works in America as a journalist, he went to Japan in 1890 as a journey report writer of a magazine. He arrived in Yokohama, but because of a dissatisfaction with the contract, he quickly quit the job. He afterward moved to Matsué as an English teacher of Shimané prefectural middle school. In Matsué, he got acquainted with Nishida Sentarô, a colleague teacher and his lifelong friend, and married Koizumi Setsu, a daughter of a samurai.
In 1891, he moved to Kumamoto and taught at the fifth high school for three years. Kanô Jigorô, the president of the school of that time, spread judo to the world.

Hearn worked as a journalist in Kôbé and afterward in 1896 got Japanese citizenship and a new name, Koizumi Yakumo. He took this name from "Kojiki," a Japanese ancient myth, which roughly translates as "the place where the clouds are born". On that year, he moved to Tôkyô and began to teach at the Imperial University of Tôkyô. He got respect of students, many of whom made a remarkable literary career. In addition, he wrote much reports of Japan and published in America. So many people read his works as an introduction of Japan. He quit the Imperial University in 1903 and began to teach at Waseda University on the year next. Nevertheless, after only a half year, he died of angina pectoris.

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5 stars
78 (23%)
4 stars
135 (40%)
3 stars
109 (32%)
2 stars
10 (2%)
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3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
Profile Image for Gerry Grenfell-Walford.
281 reviews3 followers
October 23, 2022
I feel as though I have been lacking just this book for a long time. Hearn wrote rich and lively stories that, though short, have much tension and vividness contained therein. Startling in their originality. Deeply evocative of a strange and powerful folk-memory. I was entranced and read them avidly, and finish the book craving more. But alas, how many tales never were gathered in and written down, and so became lost? The feeling of being ever on the edge of something big, but ultimately no longer knowable is strong!

23.10.22 Update: I found time to reread this, and must say that the level of detail and careful scene-setting and mood-creating is really noticeable the second time around. These traditional Japanese folk-tales are startlingly contemporary and filmic in their clever twists and horrible originality. Of course there's great variety in the stories, but there is also enough thematic, stylistic and literary continuity for the collection to really work. It's easy to imagine an animation in the style of 'Over the garden wall' based upon this. Charming, creepy, bewitching. Brilliant.


***** Great
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23 reviews1 follower
January 9, 2023
(Thanks Alyce) certainly the most interesting book I’ve read in a while. Learned a lot, was uncomfortable at times, and found others to be super entertaining!

Standouts: Of Ghosts and Goblins, Passional Karma, The Gratitude of Samebito, The Story of Kwashin Koji, Jinkiniki
Profile Image for Pyramids Ubiquitous.
604 reviews31 followers
June 12, 2024
A collection of fun but unimpactful ghost stories that are more xenophobic travelogue than creative terror.

Favorite Stories:
A Passional Karma
Of a Promise Kept
Of a Promise Broken
Profile Image for Mary.
102 reviews8 followers
February 28, 2023
Of Ghosts and Goblins by Lafcadio Hearn is a collection of short stories based on Japanese folklore and legends. The stories feature various supernatural beings, such as ghosts, goblins, demons, vampires, and shape-shifters. The author uses his vivid imagination and poetic language to create a haunting atmosphere and a sense of wonder. The stories are also influenced by Hearn’s own experiences of growing up in Ireland, where he encountered many tales of the paranormal.

The book is part of the Little Clothbound Classics series by Penguin Books, which features mini editions of classic works with beautiful covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith. The book is suitable for readers who enjoy horror, fantasy, and Japanese culture.

Some of the stories in the book are:

The Dream of Akinosuke: A young farmer falls asleep under a cedar tree and dreams of living in a strange city with a beautiful wife and children. He wakes up to find that his dream was actually a glimpse into his past life

Mujina: A man encounters a faceless creature on a dark road and is terrified by its eerie laughter

Yuki-Onna: A snow woman spares the life of a young woodcutter on the condition that he never tells anyone about her. Years later, he marries a woman who resembles her and discovers her true identity.

I enjoyed reading the book overall, but as is often the case with collections of short stories, some were more engaging and satisfying than others.
Profile Image for David Blommaart.
6 reviews1 follower
September 8, 2023
Having finished "The Library Of Babel" I expected more or less the same type of short stories in this book. And how wrong I was.

The short stories are all (based on) Japanese folklore, mostly stories that revolve around ghosts and goblins (duh), as well as love and death. To be honest, I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did, but all stories were intruiging, haunting and beautiful in their own way. For someone who is a big fan of folklore and fairytales, some stories in this book are up there with the greats, and I definitely found a new favourite.

If you enjoy reading folklore and fairytales, as well as some more gruesome stories of spectres and monsters, I would 100% recommend this. While every story is great, here are my favourites:

A Passional Karma, Of A Promise Broken, The Story of Kwashin Koji, The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōïchi, Fikiniki.

Can't wait to annoy everyone with all these stories :)

9.5/10
Profile Image for J.M. Langan.
Author 4 books4 followers
April 10, 2024
I loved this little book. I enjoy folk stories and Japanese fiction, and although Lafcadio Hearn is not Japanese, his telling of these spooky tales worked beautifully. The only reason I have given this four stars is because the women all tend to be sirens, or witches or goblins, or ghosts. This, I understand, is because this is historical fiction originally written by men and retold by Hearn in about 1904 and is culurally correct for the periods Hearn retells his stories. I would have just liked one story where the woman was the hero.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Keelin.
54 reviews
February 5, 2024
A collection of funny/spooky short stories. These four were my absolute favorite:
1. of Ghosts and Goblins
2. A Passional Karma
3. Ingwa-Banashi
4. Jikininki
I would absolutely recommend this and a super quick read! Very different fairytales from western culture, but with similar “lessons” mostly on courage and vanity.
Profile Image for Clare Jackson-Bramwell.
337 reviews5 followers
March 12, 2023
I love a good ghost story, and what better than something spooky for Christmas. Japanese ghosts are a bit different to those of MR James, but just as flesh-crawlingly, spine-tinglingly horrid. More please
Profile Image for Lee Foust.
Author 10 books188 followers
December 11, 2024
I've already reviewed Hearn's Kwaidan here and this collection is more of the same, actually even includes a handful of tales from that very volume. I also own a copy of Hearn's In Ghostly Japan, which I see also has two tales in common with this cute Penguin hardcover from that company's "Little Cloth-bound Classics" series, which are popular here in Italy as all of the Feltrinelli chains are carrying a selection of them.

I picked this one up in the Naples' train station recently as my train to Rome was late by a couple of hours, hence an extended book browsing. Anyway, I very much enjoy Hearn's translations and/or adaptations of these old Japanese supernatural tales. In the stories that were here new to me there was even more presence of the translator/adapter framing and explaining the tales that in most of the Kwaidan texts. Still, these are lovely tales and I quite enjoy Hearn's tone and interesting presence as our guide to them. This is a fine collection, I imagine perhaps a kind of greatest hits culled from the several books he published of Japanese supernatural tales. But be aware you'll have some crossover if you have any of the original publications.
179 reviews16 followers
June 9, 2024
Actual Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

As it is the case with most short story collections that some are the best, others are good and some just for a one time read; this book was the same.

I thoroughly enjoyed some stories and others gave me a creepy feeling but a few of them felt just okay, and one or two of them were like a sleeping pill because I dozed off constantly while reading them. Overall an interesting collection of Japanese ghost stories.
September 4, 2024
I first heard about Lafcadio Hearn when he was featured as a character in Natsume Soseki’s Sanshiro, and I picked this up after visiting his house in Matsue.

I had a bit of a slow start with this one but the compilation format made it very easy to dip in and out alongside other books. I started this on Halloween for the spooky vibes but I think it’s best suited as a late summer read to coincide with the Obon festival.

Hearn includes tales from around the country and I loved being able to spot places I’ve previously visited. Japan has a rich history of ghost stories and this is a great introduction.
Profile Image for Ben Hewer-Darroch.
134 reviews1 follower
May 23, 2024
I was going to clown on this dude for doing “Keikau means plan” in the 1890s, and i will do that, but this ended up being a really enjoyable read. The stories are short but interesting and this clothbound mini edition is very pretty and nice to hold. My one gripe is that they added no information or context about the stories or author. Im used to these kinds of modern reprintings at least having some foreword explaining what you are about to read and the context it was written in. Was annoyed i had to do all my own research without any base knowledge to even begin understanding why this Irish dude was writing japanese folktales. I still don’t even know how many of them are collected retellings vs original works by the author! Anyway fun read i liked the one about the man with an egg face that reads like a reddit two sentence horror.
Profile Image for Tom Donlon.
28 reviews1 follower
May 4, 2024
Some interesting short stories set in late imperial Japan, mostly centring around love and its tragic nature, death is a key theme throughout also. Very easy to read and accessible as a classic.
Profile Image for Kevin.
1,052 reviews46 followers
February 28, 2024
I will be honest. I mostly bought this book because it was small and well designed. There is just something wonderful about holding a book like this and it is easy to take with you in case you need something to read not on your phone. It turned out to be a collection of ethereal and haunting ghost stories. I enjoyed reading this exploration of Japanese folklore but more knowledge of the language and culture would probably result in a deeper enjoyment.
3 reviews
April 3, 2024
Great book, only reason given a 4/5 was purely due to my preference of a more in depth singular story rather than a multitude of smaller ones. Had no idea it would be Japanese folklore going in but it made the experience a whole lot more enjoyable
429 reviews8 followers
November 2, 2023
I appreciate this may not be the most relatable anecdote that I have, but if you grew up in Ireland and studied Japanese, you heard a lot about Lafcadio Hearn. Hearn is a Greek-Irish writer who travelled to Japan in the late 19th century and who gathered stories of Japanese folklore, translated them and introduced them to a Western audience. Being the great link between Japan and Ireland, he came up a lot over the course of my study of the language for my Leaving Certificate and so I couldn’t resist buying a beautiful, clothbound anthology of his work when I stumbled across it in a bookstore. I read the whole thing in one go on Halloween night and happily lost myself in the strange and eerie world of Japanese demons, goblins and spirits. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for an atmospheric and spooky read this autumn.
Profile Image for Ian.
9 reviews1 follower
October 11, 2023
Historias con montones distintos de yokai. Muchas de ellas tienen como protagonistas samuráis o monjes y se entrevé parte del Japón feudal en donde están ambientadas. Leerlo se siente un poco como ver El viaje de Chihiro donde a través del bosque uno se transporta a un lugar lleno de criaturas fantásticas, con diferentes reglas y aventuras comparado con la vida cotidiana.

Al leerlo creo que un buen consejo es buscar los grabados sobre todos los espectros que se mencionan.

Dentro de todas las cosas que son distintas a las historias de terror occidentales, una de las que más me llamó la atención es que el concepto de reencarnación en el budismo hace que el acercamiento a la muerte sea muy distinto cuando se trata el tema de la vida más allá de la muerte.
Profile Image for Tim Hicks.
1,690 reviews130 followers
June 7, 2024
This little bento box of stories is delicious.
They were published in 1904 but it doesn't matter because the stories are from long ago.
And they're presented by a Greek-Irish author! *

Each one leaves you with "that was deliciously creepy" and a few add "aw, that was nice."

Hearn presents his versions much more crisply and efficiently than what I've seen in similar works by others. Maybe it's his background in journalism.

* If you liked this, or if you can't decide about reading it, click on the author link at the top, or look him up on Wikipedia. He led a really interesting life.

Profile Image for Guenter.
201 reviews
December 30, 2023
I cannot pinpoint exactly what enamours me to the works of Japanese literary masters such as Lafcadio Hearn, Osamu Dazi and Ryonsuke Akutagawa, but all three strike a chord that harmonizes perfectly with my soul and I come away reading their work like one who has drank the purist water after being parched for a very long time. This collection brings together many of the best ghost stories from Lafcadio Hearn's other great books including 'In Ghostly Japan', 'Kwaidan' and 'Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan' which are all equally worth reading.
Profile Image for Charlotte.
48 reviews
July 2, 2024
Interesting from a curatorial perspective but I didn't find much merit in the actual stories unfortunately. The writing style didn't do anything to enhance the horror for me, and the content itself was tame and so, so repetitive. You could pretty much predict the entire tale after the first page or two. The lessons I've learned from this book are to never break a promise, never help someone in need, and never marry a strange woman I met on the side of the road/the middle of the ocean.
Profile Image for Sean.
16 reviews
July 31, 2024
Beautiful, poetic writing. It's strange and haunting, sometimes deeply moving in its unique way. Hearn’s interjections were the cherry on top for me. They revealed his love and awe for the material and how it affects his relationship with his own experiences, both past and present, as well as the world around him. I like how he reminds us of his Western perspective, often puzzling over these stories. In this way, he becomes our curious, lyrical storyteller around the campfire.
December 12, 2022
The vibrant and melodious nature of these Japanese folk tales transcends the medium and ushers us into an exploration of vast, sometimes menacing, Oriental plains. Hearn's stories mingle romance with death masterfully and he tinges his narratives with the supernatural element in a way that horror transmutes into awe and into acceptance.
Profile Image for Saleem.
52 reviews
January 29, 2024
Don't often read classics but thought to give this short book a read. Overall was an interesting eerie collection of stories. Some of the tales left me extremely creeped out while others only had me thinking a little. Standout ones for me were A Passionate karma, Of A Promise Kept, Of A Promise Broken, Jikininki, Mujina, Rokuro-Kubiro.
June 30, 2024
a large part of this book just felt like this dude rambling about sexy japanese women😭 like the said 'ghosts and goblins' were an after thought🥱🥱 some were lowkey enjoyable and ik all these r actual japanese stories so idk how much this lafcadio fella is to blame BUT he does kinda give weeaboo vibes.. get it ig? before his time at least😄😄😄☝️
Profile Image for RJ Hanson.
115 reviews
October 12, 2023
putting japanese mythology in english, really great stuff. certainly in tradition with japanese style of fairy tales, often fragmented and abrupt in a way that often just makes them even more haunting and mysterious
Profile Image for Andrew Patterson.
114 reviews1 follower
November 23, 2023
A thoroughly enjoyable (and spooky!) collection of stories - though I must say that I am almost more interested in the life of the author himself, and plan to find more of his work (or even biographical content)!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews

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