This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
The Spook’s Tale and Other Horrors
Copyright © 2009 by Joseph Delaney
First published in 2009 in Great Britain by The Bodley Head, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, under the title The Spook’s Tale.
First published in 2009 in the United States by Greenwillow Books.
The right of Joseph Delaney to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
Illustrations copyright © 2009 by Patrick Arrasmith
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Delaney, Joseph, (date).
The Spook’s tale / by Joseph Delaney ; illustrations by Patrick Arrasmith.
p. cm. — (The last apprentice)
“Greenwillow Books.”
Summary: As sixty-year-old John Gregory reflects on the past, he reveals how the world of ghosts, ghasts, witches, and boggarts was exposed to him and he later becomes the Spook, even though his first intention had been to join the priesthood.
ISBN 978-0-06-173028-3 (trade bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-06-173030-6 (lib. bdg.)
[1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Witches—Fiction. 3. Coming of age—Fiction.]
I. Arrasmith, Patrick, ill. II. Title.
PZ7.D373183Sp 2009 [Fic]—dc22 2008042235
09 10 11 12 13 LP/RRDH First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Epub Edition © NOVEMBER 2011 ISBN: 9780062120977