A Little Shiver Story Collection

This recording is dedicated to anyone who has ever awoke in the middle of the night and huddled with fear under the covers, waiting for the sun to come up.

These stories are featured on Donna's story collection, 'A Little Shiver’. It is a collection of not so scary stories for those times when you want to be scared, but just a little bit. It is family friendly and great for kids in middle school and older.

Each digital story can be downloaded three times. The tales featured on this collection are:

1. "Barney McCabe" - 12:26

I first heard Janice Harrington tell this story about twelve years ago. I loved it, but it took years before I told it myself. I have since heard Bobby Norfolk, David Holt, as well as a whole host of others tell it. What evolved is a story that I tell when I’m called upon to tell a not so scary ghost story for young audiences.

This story is featured on Donna's story collection, 'A Little Shiver’. It is a collection of not so scary stories for those times when you want to be scared, but just a little bit. It is family friendly and great for kids in middle school and older.
This digital story can be downloaded three times.

3. "A Big Spooky House" - 8:31

This story appears in my picture book by the same name. Jacqueline Rogers created stunning watercolors to help bring the story to life on the page. There are many variants of this tale, but the most well known one is called ‘Martin’s Coming’. The version that made the biggest impression on me was a quick joke that I heard from a third grader. The kernel of that joke is what inspired my version of this tale.

5."The Boogin in the Gray Graveyard" - 14:04

This variant came to be because I heard Janice Del Negro tell this great ghost story. She told me I could tell it, but I couldn’t remember how it went, so I filled in the parts that I forgot. Later, I shared my version with her and she fell over laughing. The two versions have little in common. This is a story that has certainly evolved through the oral tradition! It is a tale that is much scarier to watch than it is to listen to. You can find Janice Del Negro’s version in a beautiful picture book entitled ‘Lucy Dove’.

2. "Red, Red Lips" - 5:40

I’ve heard this story told in so many different ways over time, that I could not in all honesty say that I know where it comes from. It sounds like something someone made up for a kid who needed something to think about at bedtime besides what might be in the dark. At any rate, this story is fun for anyone who has ever been afraid of sleeping with the lights out.

4. "Vassalissa and the Babba Yagga" - 20:59

When I was a kid, I always wanted to play the witch. When I was in college, I played the Babba Yagga in a production called Child of Courage. This story is a combination of Vassalissa the Beautiful from Jane Yolen’s Folktales from Around the World and Bony Legs by Joanna Cole, and other Babba Yagga stories I have encountered. Babba Yagga is my favorite witch and I’m happy to share her with you!

6. "Taily Po" - 9:00

My first ghost story recording would hardly be complete without this story. I have loved it since I heard it in my first storytelling class. I fell in love with it all over again after I met Will Clay, the man who illustrated Jan Wahl’s book. I hear it a great deal. Young and old tell this tale with relish about a man who’s foolish enough to try living out on the swamp alone. This is a fun story for kids as well as adults.