Back in Primary school in the 70s
we had the forerunners of The Book People, only it was called Chip Club. With it's awful logo that was a beaver. Called Chip.

Someone would come round once a term with a sheet of books you could buy at a modest discount that weren't usually in print at that time or in libraries, but a modest cost per book (maybe 27p each). The form you ticked the box next to what you wanted to order was a bit deficient, as in- you could only guess at what the books would be by the title.

However once one kid found something that was accidentally 'good', the next time Chip Club sent round a form, many other kids would join in. There's only so many times you can lend a book to your classmates for a night each before it falls to pieces.

All well and good. Cheap illustration-heavy books for under 10s about sad lonely princesses and boys who meet gnomes and elephants who have grey skin and paint themselves up like some kind of circus clown.

Amongst those a hidden gem or two festered- a series of booklets containing regurgitation of folklore and bonfire ghost-stories, accompanied by bloody and gruesome watercolours. Volume 1 was simply called 'Ghosts' and was a compendium of shit-you-up tales of Borely Rectory, Glaamis Castle, headless horsemen, phantom coaches etc. with disturbingly on-topic paintings. Later on in no particular order were other volumes about Vampires Around The World, Werewolves and UFOs.

Perfect horror stuff for kids reading these books under the covers by torchlight, when it's not even a graphic tale of TV whimsy that you can turn off, but the power of your own imagination that can make you too scared to cross the dark bedroom to go to the bog in case the monsters GET YOU!. (scuttles in fear)
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Thu 21 Jun 2012, 22:42, 6 replies)

I remember the ghosts one
Dark greenish covers? It had what seemed like a big section on haunted places in Dundee, which just shat me up even more because at the time I was in primary school and reading this, huge swathes of the centre of Dundee - where many of the stories were about - were being knocked down to build the ring road. Where were the ghosts going to go? Nowhere near me I hope!
(gordonjcp, Thu 21 Jun 2012, 22:45, closed)

"its"

( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Fri 22 Jun 2012, 0:03, closed)

Monty Pythonnn's Flying Circussss

( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Fri 22 Jun 2012, 2:30, closed)

As a contraction of 'it is'
It looks correct as it is. But hey, I'm an engineer, not a Doctor.

EDIT oh, up the top. I was looking at the one in the under The covers situation. Yes, fair dos, I won't alter it though or it makes your correction look baseless.

I shall post your Defender Of Punctuation certificate promptly.
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Fri 22 Jun 2012, 16:39, closed)

Good shout
I had forgotten about Chip Club.
(bROKEN aRROW PUA HVI Master, Fri 22 Jun 2012, 9:37, closed)

Wasn't there also Lucky (a black cat) for younger children?
(mmm savoury snacks, Fri 22 Jun 2012, 14:23, closed)