Sorry the picture is so tiny but my scanner is buried under a pile of papers at the moment and this was the only image I could find of the cover to the copy I have. There was a result on Google giving the Vault website but the image didn't load (photobucket account playing up?). Anyway, I had this from nosferatu and started it last night. This 1969 Ensign Books (originally from Leslie Frewin) collection claims to host 'twenty of the most horrible horror stories ever published', and many of the ones I've read so far have indeed been rejected or even banned at various periods for their nastiness, though in all honesty I have not read one yet that really lived up to the reputation for me (probably because I've been spoiled by modern tidal waves of gruesomeness). Still, there are several fun stories, and since I can't find a thread about it on here yet, I thought I'd share. There's a foreword by August Derleth, which is quite nice, a prologue by Peter, and then:
The Monk, Matthew Lewis. An extract from the end of the epic, in which the monk Ambrosio and his witch consort Matilda have been captured by the Inquisition.
The Raven, Edgar Allen Poe. A bit of a cheat in my view, since it is a poem, not a story, and its justification as horrific appears to be largely based on the vapourings of Robert Browning's wife.
The Bird Woman, Henry Spicer. A story of deformity from an author apparently turned down flat by some publishers for his nastiness.
My Own Tale, R H Benson. A restrained little piece about a house which seems to repel residents.
Williamson, Henry S Whitehead. A very well-crafted story about a man who is to all appearances the nicest of chaps - and yet, inspires a strange terror in some quarters...
A Thing of Beauty, Wallace West. A sweet tale of a hunchbacked janitor at a medical school and a vat of cadavers.
The Outsider, H P Lovecraft.This one I thought was a poor choice, since though it's a good story it has been anthologised so many times it fails to impress; but apparently it was Derleth's pick for the collection.
The Loved Dead, C M Eddy. This story of necrophilia appeared in the Wordsworth collection of HPL's work under the same title, but there is no mention of the Lovecraft connection in Haining's introduction; though he does mention Weird Tales and Farnsworth Wright.
The Copper Bowl, Captain George Eliot. Again, familiar from many anthologies, a story of fiendish torture by an evil Chinese mandarin.
The Feast in the Abbey, Robert Bloch. One of his early tales, this one a gothic tale of strange monks and a peculiar banquet. Very juicy.
The Cathedral Crypt, John Wyndham. Tourists accidentally locked into an old cathedral witness a less than charming survival of customs.
The Graveyard Rats, Henry Kuttner. Ghoulish tale of a graveyard custodian's battle against unusually smart rodents.
Bianca's Hands, Theodore Sturgeon. Rare horror piece from the science fiction writer; a disturbing story of a girl whose hands are the only thing of beauty about her.
The Head and the Feet, C S Forester. Story of a Nazi death camp doctor.
The Idol of the Flies, Jane Rice. Tale of quite the nastiest child you may meet in fiction and his rather unsavoury habits.
A Night at a Cottage, Richard Hughes. A vagrant sheltering in an abandoned cottage meets up with a fellow wanderer.
The Shape of Things, Ray Bradbury. Rather silly science fiction story of a couple whose child is born into the wrong dimension.
Desire and the Black Masseur, Tennessee Williams. Very daring and disturbing story of the relationship between a timid white clerk and a black masseur.
The Coffin, Dennis Wheatley. Extract from The Ka of Gifford Hillary, concerning burial alive.
Mercy, Laurence James. The victim of a car accident is trapped and bleeding to death.
