Armada Ghost Books for Children: A Quick Guide

Armada Ghost Books used to be a common sight on shop bookshelves during the 1970s. Aimed at younger readers, they continued to popular in the 1980s, and many people who grew up loving ghost and horror stories may have cut their teeth on Armada Ghost Books. I certainly did.

An imprint of May Fair Books, London, Armada also published a series of monster books, along with various other children’s books including Enid Blyton’s The Secret Mountain (1965), Patrick Moore’s Planet of Fear (1977), and The Young Ghosthunter’s Guide (1990).

Originally called The Armada Ghost Book, The first Armada Ghost Book was published in 1967. A paperback anthology “for Boys & Girls”, it was a collection of 11 ghost stories selected by Christine Bernard. As with later books, the chosen stories were written by credible authors who wrote them for adult readers. However, although certainly scary they did not contain anything likely to offend parents or damage delicate young minds. H. G. Wells’ “The Red Room” stands out as being one of the scariest stories in the the book. It’s also a true classic that’s appeared in numerous ghost story anthologies.

The 2nd Armada Ghost Book was published in 1968. Like the first book, it contained stories chosen by Christine Bernhard. Thirteen more Armada Ghost Books followed between 1970 and 1983, but Bernhard was no longer involved. All the stories in books three to fifteen were selected by Mary Danby. From 1978 onward, reprints of the first book had “1st” added to the cover, along with some fresh cover art.

After Danby took over the helm, she contributed one original story to every book she edited. This always appeared as the final story. She also wrote an introduction for all but the last Armada Ghost Book, which skipped an introduction and dove straight into the stories.

The Armada Ghost Book series featured a mix of classic tales and work provided by active authors of the time; such as Rosemary Timperley, whose stories were regularly picked for inclusion. She contributed to books seven to thirteen, contributing not one, but two stories to books eight and eleven.

 

The 1st Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1967

CONTENTS

Sandy MacNeil and His Dog by Sorche Nic Leodhas
School for the Unspeakable by Manly Wade Wellman
The House of the Nightmare by Edward Lucas White
The Story of the Inexperienced Ghost by H. G. Wells
The Giant Bones by Sorche Nic Leodhas
Prince Godfrey Frees Mountain Dwellers and Little Shepherds from a Savage Werewolf and Witches by Halina Gorska
The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall by John Kendrick Bangs
The Red Room by H. G. Wells
Spooks of the Valley by Louis C. Jones
The Lads Who Met the Highwayman by Sorche Nic Leodhas
A Pair of Hands by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch

 

The 2nd Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1968

CONTENTS

The Ghost That Didn’t Want to Be a Ghost by Sorche Nic Leodhas
The Keepers of the Wall by William Croft Dickinson
Fiddler, Play Fast, Play Faster by Ruth Sawyer
The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells
Mr. Fox [1]
His Own Number by William Croft Dickinson
The Man Who Walked Widdershins Round the Kirk by Sorche Nic Leodhas
The Flowering of the Strange Orchid by H. G. Wells
The Ugly-Wuglies by E. Nesbit

 

The 3rd Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1970

CONTENTS

House of Fear by Sydney J. Bounds
The Headless Horseman by Ruth Manning-Sanders
There Was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard by M. R. James
The House That Lacked a Bogle by Sorche Nic Leodhas
Out of the Earth by Christine Campbell Thomson (as Flavia Richardson)
Proof by Henry Cecil
Brownie by R. Chetwynd-Hayes
The Red Cane by E. F. Bozman
The Skull by Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ghost of Honour by Pamela Hansford Johnson
The Young Irish Lad from the Hiring Fair by Sorche Nic Leodhas
The Rocking-Horse Room by Mary Danby

 

The 4th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1972

CONTENTS

Floating Hair by Julia Birley
Three Ghosts by John Keir Cross
The Haunted Dolls’ House by M. R. James
The Ghost Train by Sydney J. Bounds
The Bus-Conductor by E. F. Benson
The Three D’s by Ogden Nash
The Little Black Ghost by Ruby McMillan
Teeny-Tiny by Anonymous
Let’s Play Ghosts by Pamela Vincent
A View of the Sea by Mary Danby

 

The 5th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1973

CONTENTS

The Mourning Brooch by Ray Gottlieb
The Skeleton Rider by Christine Pullein-Thompson
Sleeping Bones by Pamela Vincent
Humblepuppy by Joan Aiken
The Captain’s Yacht by Joyce Marsh
Macauslans’s Castle by Iain Dennler
Paget by Lucy Norris
The Haunted Tower by Sydney J. Bounds
Uncle Jim by Martin Ricketts
The Old Greenhouse by Kay Leith
The Last Earl by Mary Danby

 

The 6th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1974

CONTENTS

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall by Ruth Ainsworth
Mackrin Mains by Kay Leith
The Ghost with a Long Memory by Pat Klacar
Cobwebs by Terry Gisbourne
Splendid Ancestor by Mary Clarke
Isobel’s Pony by Christine Pullein-Thompson
Alicia by Louise Francke
The Model by James Turner
Room at the Inn by Sydney J. Bounds
Edward by Mary Danby

 

The 7th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1975

CONTENTS

The Shepherd’s Dog by Joyce Marsh
When the Moon Was Full by Pamela Vincent
The Life and Soul of the Party by Julia Birley
A Cat on the Drive by Brian Morse
Portrait of Rhoda by Lucy Norris
The Tockley Familiar by Kay Leith
The Hanging Tree by Sydney J. Bounds
The Old Man of the Hills by Mary Clarke
The Fun Fair Ghost by Ray Gottlieb
The Curse of the White Owl by Tim Vicary
The Man with the Beard by Rosemary Timperley
The Haunters by Mary Danby

 

The 8th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1976

CONTENTS

The Terrible Gaoler by Rosemary Timperley
Sarah by Catherine Gleason and Rita Morris (as Roger Malisson)
Sir Harry Mortlake’s Clock by Joyce Marsh
The Haunted Pillar-Box by Rosemary Timperley
Dream Ghost by Sydney J. Bounds
Crusoe’s Parrot by Rick Ferreira
The Girl in the Mirror by Margot Arnold
Takeover by David Langford
A Red, Red Rose by Rosemary Timperley (as by Ruth Cameron)
The Woodseaves Ghosts by Catherine Gleason
The Haunted River by Charles Thornton
Time After Time by Mary Danby

 

The 9th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1977

CONTENTS

The Last Fare by Guy Weiner
House of Glass by Catherine Gleason
The Murderous Ghosts by Rosemary Timperley
The Haunted Circus by Sydney J. Bounds
A Star for a Lady by Diana Pullein-Thompson
Lisa by Daphne Froome
Child of the Future by John Duncan
The Phantom Pirates by Rick Ferreira
Goodbye, Charlotte by Margaret Biggs
The Vackie by Mary Danby

 

The 10th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1978

CONTENTS

The Sinister Schoolmaster by Rosemary Timperley
Misty by Margaret Biggs
Hunters’ Hill by Sydney J. Bounds
The Warning by Joyce Marsh
The Ghosts of Nisos Trikkeri by Margot Arnold
Mousey by John Halkin
The Doll by Terry Tapp
The Post Room by Catherine Gleason
George by Joan Selby-Lowndes
The Grey Lady by Mary Danby

 

The 11th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1979

CONTENTS

The Green Ghost by Terry Tapp
The King Stone by Margaret Biggs
Tom by Frank Richards
The Lavender Lady by Valerie Waters
Magic on the Field by Eve Gothard
Stella by Rosemary Timperley
This Book Belongs To … by Daphne Froome
A Ghost in the Family by Christine Pullein-Thompson
The Ghostly Gardeners by Rosemary Timperley (as Ruth Cameron)
The Old Siege House by Sydney J. Bounds
The House Ghosts by Mary Danby

 

The 12th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1980

CONTENTS

Someone Drowned by Tony Richards
The Chess Set by David Langford
Devil Horse by Patricia Leitch
The Proving by Terry Tapp
The Cat Room by R. Chetwynd-Hayes
Kept In by Rosemary Timperley
Studderley Tower by Joyce Marsh
Dressed for the Occasion by Terry Tapp
The Haunted Village by Sydney J. Bounds
The Red Miller by Mary Danby

 

The 13th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1981

CONTENTS

Ghost Hunter by Sydney J. Bounds
The Return of the Lorelei by Ken Burke
The Girl in the Cellar by Tony Richards
The Day I Died by Terry Tapp
The Baby-Sitter by Alison Prince
The Fisherman’s Ghost by Maxine Bailey
The Thing That Went Bump in the Night by Rosemary Timperley
Dance of Death by Ken Burke
The Shadow-Cage by Philippa Pearce
Lorimer’s Bride by Mary Danby

 

The 14th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1982

CONTENTS

The Longest Journey by Catherine Gleason
The Junk Room by Terry Tapp
Under the Bedclothes by David Langford
Gibson’s by Ann Pilling
The Ghost of Smeaton Hall by Noel Lloyd and Geoffrey Palmer
The Third Eye by R. Chetwynd-Hayes
In Flanders Fields by Frances Thomas
Can’t Help Laughing by Alison Prince
The Train Watchers by Sydney J. Bounds
The Ghost Writer by Mary Danby

 

The 15th Armada Ghost Book

First published in 1983

CONTENTS

Run for Your Life by Philip Sidney Jennings
Hallowe’en by Rita Morris
Who’s a Pretty Boy, Then? by Jan Mark
The Patchwork Quilt by August Derleth
The Sound of Sirens by Tony Richards
Spirit of the Trail by Sydney J. Bounds
Christmas in the Rectory by Catherine Storr
The Servant by Alison Prince
Whoever Heard of a Haunted Lift? by Alan W. Lear
Mr. Jones by Mary Danby

 

One of the most enticing things about Armada Ghost Books was the choice of cover art, especially for the first 13 books, and those with a keen eye may notice a recurring theme. Skeletons or skulls are prominent features on the cover of seven of them.

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1. In place of an author name, The 2nd Armada Ghost Book places “traditional” beside the story “Mr. Fox”. I don’t have a copy available to check, but it’s probable the book contains the English folk tale Mr. Fox.

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