Opening on a dark October night in 1741, this spooky tale follows the miserly lawyer John Leep as he rides out to evict the Widow Mayes from one of his run-down properties. As he rides along, he slowly becomes aware that he is being followed, the clip-clop of his own horse's hooves echoed by those of another steed. After succeeding in his unworthy aim (or so he thinks), Leep sets off for home, only to disappear. Did he repent and move to another town? Or did a terrible ghost known as "Ol' Clip-Clop" get him...?

A deliciously creepy story from author Patricia C. McKissack is paired with vivid mixed-media and oil paint artwork from illustrator Eric Velasquez in Ol' Clip-Clop: A Ghost Story. The dust-jacket blurb claims that the tale here is based upon one that McKissack heard from family members, as a young girl, which makes me wonder whether it is taken from folklore, and is known elsewhere. In any case, the spooky chills received from reading this one will surely make it an excellent Halloween read-aloud. Recommended to children who enjoy ghost stories, and to anyone looking for picture-books set during the Colonial period. ( )