Georgie The Ghost

I have a small collection of spooky children's books that I keep tucked away. I purchase them because I either love the story or, more likely, the illustrations. I recently discovered a series of children's books about Georgie, the ghost. They were written by Robert Bright (1902 - 1988.)

What's interesting to me about these books is that the first one, Georgie, was published in 1944. Now, that shouldn't be surprising, ghost stories have always been popular, but I wondered if this was the first series of children's books that feature a friendly ghost. Nope, Casper, The Friendly Ghost was first a children's book published in 1939, but didn't become popular until the first cartoon was released in 1945 by Paramount. Does that count?

Bright went on to write 13 storybooks about Georgie. He said that he got the idea to write them after finding his children searching under a bed for a ghost. There is even a Christmas story that features Georgie. I feel a new collection coming on. You can find copies of the books on Etsy and Ebay very inexpensively and would look great displayed together. I have also seen 45 rpm records that feature Georgie if you're a record collector.

Georgie by Robert Bright

Georgie To The Rescue, Robert Bright

Georgie's Halloween, Robert Bright

Georgie an the Robbers, Robert Bright

Georgie and the Magician

Georgie and the Noisy Ghost, Robert Bright

Georgie's Christmas Carol, Robert Bright

I don't remember ever having read any of these books as a child, so I can't vouch for plot or character development (that's a joke), but I think I'll be on the lookout for them.