These stories are arranged to help students investigate and compare the features of different genres and how authors conform to or deviate from established conventions. The book includes activities which draw out key features at word, sentence and text level.

Ghost stories

The Sweeper by A M Burrage

The Boys' Toilets by Robert Westall

Fairy tales

Hansel and Gretel by The Brothers Grimm

Sweet Shop by Marc Alexander

The Werewolf by Angela Carter

Crime fiction

The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Lamb to the Slaughter by Ronald Dahl

Love stories

The Knight's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, retold by Geraldine McCaughrean

Cinderella Girl by Vivien Alcock

Gift by Susan Gates

Science fiction

A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury

Mind Bend by Martin Martinsen

Horror stories

The Tomb of Sarah by F G Loring

Interview with a Vampire (extract) by Anne Rice