Books like Tales of Terror from the Black Ship

I was drawn to this book by the wonderful Gorey-esque drawings on the cover and once I picked it up, I could not put it down. As the title clearly says, these are tales of terror from the black ship. The stories are told within the framework of a severe storm, an inn perched on the top of a sea cliff, and two ill children left alone who open the door to a stranger. That these children have a penchant for frightening stories is somehow not surprising, nor is the stranger's apparently endless supply of such tales.I particularly like that each individual tale can stand on its own, but at the same time, they work together within the overarching framework to slowly reveal the larger story. I had no trouble finding the connection between the stories after the first few, nor was it difficult to figure out where the stranger had come from or who the children were. I suspect that for younger readers, however, these revelations might be more of a surprise.The tales of terror are reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe, W.W. Jacobs' 'The Monkey's Paw,' Robert Louis Stevenson, and even some aspects of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Chris Priestley does a good job of maintaining suspense throughout the entire book as well as creating tension within the individual stories. For younger readers, it might be well to note that some tales are rather bloody.I enjoyed this book very much, both for the spine-tingling chills it gave me, and for the sense of fun I felt in returning to the type of story that fascinated me when I was a kid. I highly recommend it for both adults and children (around the age of 9 or 10) who love to be scared.