Well, this collection only got a US publication (hardback and paperback from Tor in 1993) and it is a little bit odd compared to other RC collections, probably because it contains his only two novellas... and one of them is science fiction!
Anyways...
Cat and MouseThis one originally appeared in the Michel Parry antho
Beware of the Cat and contains some particularly vicious feline ghosties which come free with the house that a happy(ish) couple make the mistake of moving into.
There is a superb line from the estate agent to whom they go for information on the previous owners:
"...Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing in this job," he said. "You can see I don't care."Now that's what I call helpful!
MedusaThis one is a strange'un in two ways: firstly, its novella length, and secondly its SF. Very strange SF, though. It reads a bit like Brian Aldiss having a really bad time on mushrooms (no bad thing, that) and has a plot which involves telepaths, odd green aliens, odder humans and a planet made of a mysterious crystal which has a bad effect on the thinking processes of those unfortunate enough to land there.
Rising GenerationOne of his EC comics type stories which occasionally pop up. Zombies...need I say more?
Run ThroughI find this to be one of RC's best short stories. Not much of a story as such, more a literary panic attack. A man is desperately searching for his keys, with no idea why it is so important that he finds them...
Possibly one of those stories that either hits the mark or doesn't, it first appeared in
The Star Book of Horror No1, edited by Hugh Lamb.
Wrapped UpAnother EC comic influenced tale, originally written for a Michel Parry anthology of 'mummy' stories which never came to pass.
Passing PhaseThe colour from outer space seems to have found its way into some kiddie's toys in this one. A teacher becomes interested, then concerned, then...
A New LifeAnd another EC comic type story, possibly my favourite of that ilk (or is that
Heading Home from another collection?). A very well known tale, told from a very different point of view...
The Next SideshowThis little fellow first apeared in the very first edition of
The Twilight Zone magazine in 1981. A fine addition to the 'halls of mirrors which it is probably best to avoid' subgenre. Creepy.
Little ManA great Campbell story, it has the picked-upon kid, it has the bloody, mysterious arcade attraction which appears to show murders taking place half-seen in little rooms, and it has the moment where something very evil, very dangerous makes it way over into the real world. Nice.
Needing GhostsF*****g hell! F*****g f*****g hell! Even if every other word in this collection was complete and utter crap, it would still be worth getting for this novella alone. It takes up the last third of the book, and it is a masterpiece. A gem. A ghost story of a very different kind, this one should be in the dictionary as the defenition of 'bizarre dream-logic'. This one stands with
Incarnate and the recent
The Grin of the Dark as some of RC's weirdest, reality melting works.
A man wakes up in a darkened house, presumably his own. He takes a ferry journey, followed by a cringeworthy ride on a bus where the only other passengers all appear to be blind. By the time he reaches the town, he seems to be having some difficulty with, well,
everything...
Sample weirdness:
...initials and whole words are carved on the trees beside the path.
He's less inclined to welcome these signs of life once he suceeds in identifying the words. A tree on his left is inscribed vertically with one word: SOCKETS. A flap of bark has been left hanging from the next tree as though to expose the words DREAM OR SCREAM. Most disconcerting is the message displayed by a trunk on the opposite side of the path - NEARLY A TREE - because when he surveys the woods beyond it, several of the trees seem unconvincing, more like wood carved and assembled to masquerade as trees...Also, you'll never look at a shop dummy in the same way again....
Worth digging up a copy, regardless of if you like the weird stuff or the short sharp shock type stories. 'Needing Ghosts' had previously been published seperately, but it might be easier to grab a copy of this collection these days.
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