DIY Best Bloch Horror Collection

[dem bones]

Lested Del Rey (ed.) The Best Of Robert Bloch (Del Rey/ Ballantine, 1977)

Paul Alexander

Lester Del Rey - Introduction: Robert Bloch, The Man Who Wrote Psycho

Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper
Enoch
Catnip
The Hungry House
The Man Who Collected Poe
Mr. Steinway
The Past Master
I Like Blondes
All On A Golden Afternoon
Broomstick Ride
Daybroke
Sleeping Beauty
Word of Honor
The World-Timer
That Hell-Bound Train
The Funnel of God
Beelzebub
The Plot is the Thing
How Like a God
The Movie People
The Oracle
The Learning Maze

Author's Afterword: "Will The Real Robert Bloch Please Stand Up?"

In his afterword, Bloch writes; "'Best' is - at best - a subjective label ..... The editors specifically requested that I limit myself to Science-fiction and Fantasy for The Best of Robert Bloch. Frankly, I feel the result is a misnomer, since many of my own favourites fall outside the canon. I can only hope that eventually I can offer a collection of mystery and suspense tales, even at the risk of seeing them appear in The Worst of Robert Bloch."

As far as i'm aware, there never has been an official horror/ mystery/ suspense equivalent of this collection, so couldn't resist a crack at compiling one. Needless to say, this isn't offered as a 'Best' anything, i just know what i like.

Feast In The Abbey - Monks kindly lay on a banquet for weary traveller seeking missing brother. Weird Tales, Jan 1935
Return To The Sabbath - Method actor gives performance of brief career in terrifying black magic movie. Weird Tales, July 1938
The Hound Of Pedro - Ruthless bandit and his devil dog versus the Holy Inquisition down Mexico way equals gory Spaghetti horror.Weird Tales, Nov 1938
Waxworks - Heads roll in the Chamber of Horrors! Weird Tales, Jan 1939
Beetles - Tomb-looting archaeologist falls foul of Egptian curse Weird Tales, Dec 1938
The Skull Of The Marquis de Sade - Mr. Maitland must have the grisly relic for his collection! Weird Tales, Sept 1945
The Sorcerer's Apprentice - Evidently, there's more to this sawing-a-woman-in-half lark than meets the eye .... Weird Tales, Jan 1949
The Strange Island Of Dr. Nork - A whole lot more work goes into creating a comic strip than you might expect. Weird Tales, March 1949
The Man Who Collected Poe - Launcelot Canning takes his obsession that step too far. Famous Fantastic Mysteries, Oct. 1951
The Lighthouse. Written in posthumous collaberation with Edgar Allan Poe. The lonely Keeper lured to his doom by woman from the ocean floor. Fantastic, Jan-Feb 1953
Water's Edge - He's decided to get rid of the lard-arsed blonde down at the wharf. She's wise to his plans. The rats watch with growing interest as the drama unfolds. Mike Shane Mystery Magazine, Sept. 1956
Sweet Sixteen aka Spawn Of The Dark One - Not for nothing are those crazy juvenile delinquents called Hell's Angels. Fantastic, May 1958
Hungarian Rhapsody - Vampira-a-like puts the bite on rat fink Solly Vincent. Fantastic, June 1958
A Home Away From Home - The lunatics have taken over the asylum. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, June 1961
A Toy For Juliette - The young woman who collected Jack the Ripper and a whole lot more besides. Harlan Ellison (ed.) Dangerous Visions, Jan 1967
Double-Whammy - Carney requires new geek. Fantastic, Feb. 1970
The Animal Fair - Captain Ryder is down on hippies after they raped his daughter. Hitcher Pete wonders if maybe he should've waited for another ride.... Playboy, May 1971
The Warm Farewell - Klansman's plans go up in smoke. Kirby McCauley (ed.) Frights, 1976
The Closer Of The Way - Dr. Connor wonders at Bloch's obsession with decapitation. (Douglas Schiff (ed.) Whispers, 1977)
The Rubber Room - Hitler-worshipper gets a Fouth Reich underway. (Ramsey Campbell (ed.) New Terrors, 1980)
The Night Before Christmas - ... and Honey's decorating the tree. Kirby McCauley (ed.) Dark Forces, 1980
Everybody Needs A Little Love - An alcoholic and a shop dummy on the run from the law. J. N. Williamson (ed.) - Masques, 1984
Horror Scope - A serial killer severs a different body part from each of his victims. What's he planning to do with all that rotting flesh, bone and gristle? Fear & Trembling, 1989)
A Scent Of Vinegar - A derelict Hollywood brothel with a deadly secret. Edward E. Kramer (ed) Dark Destiny, 1994

I'm sure several of you could improve on that, so shall look forward to seeing some alternative selections, recommendations, etc. Or not, as the case may be.

[doug]

Mar 31, 2012 18:06:52 GMT dem bones said:

Lested Del Rey (ed.) The Best Of Robert Bloch (Del Rey/ Ballantine, 1977)

Paul Alexander

Lester Del Rey - Introduction: Robert Bloch, The Man Who Wrote Psycho

Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper
Enoch
Catnip
The Hungry House
The Man Who Collected Poe
Mr. Steinway
The Past Master
I Like Blondes
All On A Golden Afternoon
Broomstick Ride
Daybroke
Sleeping Beauty
Word of Honor
The World-Timer
That Hell-Bound Train
The Funnel of God
Beelzebub
The Plot is the Thing
How Like a God
The Movie People
The Oracle
The Learning Maze

Author's Afterword: "Will The Real Robert Bloch Please Stand Up?"

In his afterword, Bloch writes; "'Best' is - at best - a subjective label ..... The editors specifically requested that I limit myself to Science-fiction and Fantasy for The Best of Robert Bloch. Frankly, I feel the result is a misnomer, since many of my own favourites fall outside the canon. I can only hope that eventually I can offer a collection of mystery and suspense tales, even at the risk of seeing them appear in The Worst of Robert Bloch."

As far as i'm aware, there never has been an official horror/ mystery/ suspense equivalent of this collection, so couldn't resist a crack at compiling one. Needless to say, this isn't offered as a 'Best' anything, i just know what i like.

Feast In The Abbey - Monks kindly lay on a banquet for weary traveller seeking missing brother. Weird Tales, Jan 1935
Return To The Sabbath - Method actor gives performance of brief career in terrifying black magic movie. Weird Tales, July 1938
The Hound Of Pedro - Ruthless bandit and his devil dog versus the Holy Inquisition down Mexico way equals gory Spaghetti horror.Weird Tales, Nov 1938
Waxworks - Heads roll in the Chamber of Horrors! Weird Tales, Jan 1939
Beetles - Tomb-looting archaeologist falls foul of Egptian curse Weird Tales, Dec 1938
The Skull Of The Marquis de Sade - Mr. Maitland must have the grisly relic for his collection! Weird Tales, Sept 1945
The Sorcerer's Apprentice - Evidently, there's more to this sawing-a-woman-in-half lark than meets the eye .... Weird Tales, Jan 1949
The Strange Island Of Dr. Nork - A whole lot more work goes into creating a comic strip than you might expect. Weird Tales, March 1949
The Man Who Collected Poe - Launcelot Canning takes his obsession that step too far. Famous Fantastic Mysteries, Oct. 1951
The Lighthouse. Written in posthumous collaberation with Edgar Allan Poe. The lonely Keeper lured to his doom by woman from the ocean floor. Fantastic, Jan-Feb 1953
Water's Edge - He's decided to get rid of the lard-arsed blonde down at the wharf. She's wise to his plans. The rats watch with growing interest as the drama unfolds. Mike Shane Mystery Magazine, Sept. 1956
Sweet Sixteen aka Spawn Of The Dark One - Not for nothing are those crazy juvenile delinquents called Hell's Angels. Fantastic, May 1958
Hungarian Rhapsody - Vampira-a-like puts the bite on rat fink Solly Vincent. Fantastic, June 1958
A Home Away From Home - The lunatics have taken over the asylum. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, June 1961
A Toy For Juliette - The young woman who collected Jack the Ripper and a whole lot more besides. Harlan Ellison (ed.) Dangerous Visions, Jan 1967
Double-Whammy - Carney requires new geek. Fantastic, Feb. 1970
The Animal Fair - Captain Ryder is down on hippies after they raped his daughter. Hitcher Pete wonders if maybe he should've waited for another ride.... Playboy, May 1971
The Warm Farewell - Klansman's plans go up in smoke. Kirby McCauley (ed.) Frights, 1976
The Closer Of The Way - Dr. Connor wonders at Bloch's obsession with decapitation. (Douglas Schiff (ed.) Whispers, 1977)
The Rubber Room - Hitler-worshipper gets a Fouth Reich underway. (Ramsey Campbell (ed.) New Terrors, 1980)
The Night Before Christmas - ... and Honey's decorating the tree. Kirby McCauley (ed.) Dark Forces, 1980
Everybody Needs A Little Love - An alcoholic and a shop dummy on the run from the law. J. N. Williamson (ed.) - Masques, 1984
Horror Scope - A serial killer severs a different body part from each of his victims. What's he planning to do with all that rotting flesh, bone and gristle? Fear & Trembling, 1989)
A Scent Of Vinegar - A derelict Hollywood brothel with a deadly secret. Edward E. Kramer (ed) Dark Destiny, 1994

i'm sure several of you could improve on that, so shall look forward to seeing some alternative selections, recommendations, etc. Or not, as the case may be.

I like you list quite a bit.
And I just sent my extra copy of this to a friend in Sweden.

[Johnlprobert]

From the 'official' list the ones that jump out at me are:

Enoch
Man Who Collected Poe
That Hell-Bound Train

From the 'Dem' list I'd pick:

Return to the Sabbath
Beetles
The Skull of the Marquis de Sade

And from my head I'd pick:

The Shambler from the Stars
The Cloak
Frozen Fear
Mannikins of Horror
The Opener of the Way

And others when I can dig out my Blochs ;->

[Jojo Lapin X]

My suggestion is "The Unspeakable Betrothal," not so much for the story as such as for the title, one of the best ever.

[dem bones]

Mar 31, 2012 19:43:40 GMT Johnlprobert said:

And others when I can dig out my Blochs ;->

Oo-er!

many thanks for the suggestions, gents.

A couple of concessions to the fantasy & sci-fi crowd. don't say i never give you anything.

Girl From Mars: Beautiful fairground girl has voracious appetite for her boss. Note namecheck for Vault regular on the poster. Fantastic Adventures, March, 1950

Almost Human: Non-mad Prof builds robot. Robot develops crush on a naughty nurse. Fantastic Adventures, Jun 1943

By the by, watched the Alfred Hitchcock Presents ... adaptation of The Sorcerer's Apprentice recently, with David J Stewart (The Great Sadini), Diana Dors (his wife-cum-glamorous assistant Irene), Larry Kent (randy muscleman/ unconvincing drunk) and Brandon De Wilde (a very twitchy Hugo). Hugo is no hunchback, just a disturbed, low-wattage kid, but otherwise the dramatisation is faithful to Bloch's story (probably helps that he provided the screenplay). The gleefully dark ending reputedly so upset sponsors Revlon that it was pulled before broadcast.

[Craig Herbertson]

Kind of amazed that for a change I've read loads of these. Always liked 'Girl from Mars.'

[cauldronbrewer]

Great selection, Dem. Here's my own take, following your lead and restricting it to two dozen stories (overlapping stories in red):

The Feast in the Abbey (1935)
The Secret of Sebek (1937)
The Eyes of the Mummy (1938)
Return to the Sabbath (1938)
The Red Swimmer (1939)
The Cloak (1939)
House of the Hatchet (1941)
Black Bargain (1942)
Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper (1943)
The Skull of the Marquis de Sade (1945)
The Bogey Man Will Get You (1946)
Enoch (1946)
Sweets to the Sweet (1947)
Catnip (1948)
The Unspeakable Betrothal (1948)
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1949)
The Girl from Mars (1950)
Notebook Found in a Deserted House (1951)
The Man Who Collected Poe (1951)
Lucy Comes to Stay (1952)
Terror in Cut-Throat Cove (1958)
A Home Away from Home (1961)
Double Whammy (1970)
The Animal Fair (1971)

[dem bones]

now that has the makings of a real solid collection. i chose from a list of around ninety, and the only ones i'd not considered were Terror in Cut-Throat Cove and The Red Swimmer (because i've never read them) and Black Bargain (it's been so long can't remember a thing about it). Have since thought of many others with potential - can't believe the first two didn't spring straight to mind.

The Dead Don't Die: Evil genius is ready to unleash zombie army on mankind. But first, he'd like to recruit Bloch as the human face of his organisation. Fantastic Adventures , July, 1951

The Weird Tailor: Otto, the one-eyed window dummy is lucky recipient of Satanically-enhanced makeover. Weird Tales, July, 1950

i think it's been mentioned before that all the tales later dramatised by Subotsky & Rosenburg would have made for a tidy collection. Personally, I think the House That Dripped Blood adaptation of The Cloak improves on Bloch's original, but the same can't be said of Asylum's take on The Weird Tailor.

The Chaney Legacy: The actor's mirror and make-up kit find their way into innocent hands ... Night Cry, Fall 1986.

keep 'em coming!

[cauldronbrewer]

Apr 1, 2012 20:46:58 GMT dem bones said:

the only ones i'd not considered were Terror in Cut-Throat Cove and The Red Swimmer (because i've never read them) and Black Bargain (it's been so long can't remember a thing about it). Have since thought of many others with potential - can't believe the first two didn't spring straight to mind.

The Dead Don't Die: Evil genius is ready to unleash zombie army on mankind. But first, he'd like to recruit Bloch as the human face of his organisation. Fantastic Adventures , July, 1951

The Weird Tailor: Otto, the one-eyed window dummy is lucky recipient of Satanically-enhanced makeover. Weird Tales, July, 1950

i think it's been mentioned before that all the tales later dramatised by Subotsky & Rosenburg would have made for a tidy collection. Personally, I think the House That Dripped Blood adaptation of The Cloak improves on Bloch's original, but the same can't be said of Asylum's take on The Weird Tailor.

The Chaney Legacy: The actor's mirror and make-up kit find their way into innocent hands ... Night Cry, Fall 1986.

keep 'em coming!

It's tough to go wrong with Bloch--he has an amazing repertoire of stories from which to choose. I've read all of the ones on your list except for three: "A Toy for Juliette," "Everybody Needs a Little Love," and "A Scent of Vinegar." Not a bad one in the bunch.

I thought about including "The Dead Don't Die!" and "The Weird Tailor" on my list, too. I don't remember "The Chaney Legacy" as well, but your description rings a bell.

I'll try to post write-ups of "Black Bargain," "The Red Swimmer" and "Terror in Cut-Throat Cove" soon. The last of these is a particular favorite of mine. Fantastic magazine commissioned Bloch to write a story with the title, "Terror in Cut-Throat Cove," and he produced one that begins as a hard-boiled adventure tale about sunken treasure and ends as a Lovecraftian tale of cosmic horror.

[ramseycampbell]

"Terror in Cut-Throat Cove" actually gave me a nightmare when I first read it in Fantastic, and it still got to me when I read it in Kirby McCauley's Beyond Midnight.

[dem bones]

Apr 2, 2012 12:53:03 GMT ramseycampbell said:

"Terror in Cut-Throat Cove" actually gave me a nightmare when I first read it in Fantastic, and it still got to me when I read it in Kirby McCauley's Beyond Midnight.

Now there's an endorsement if ever was. would be very interested to know if you have other particular recommendations?

Some more, including three near misses

The Yugoslaves: "Down in the sooo-wuhhh...." Maybe the most popular of his 'eighties stories, and it's brilliant, high on atmosphere and suspense right through until the final revelation which, for this reader at least, undoes all the great work, kills story stone dead with lamest kiss off imaginable. Night Cry, Spring 1986. Fear And Trembling, Tor 1989.

A Most Unusual Murder: A page-turner for sure, but i'd not long completed the brilliant/ terrible Night Of The Ripper so it was going to take something special to top that experience. The SF story, A Toy For Juliette remains my pick of Bloch's 'Jack's Back' shorts, and by some distance. For all that, Fear And Trembling is still among my favourite Bloch collections. Typical contrary bastard horror fan! Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine,March 1976: Fear And Trembling, Tor 1989.

Comeback: This should be in there as a reminder that Bloch could write a gentle ghost story that doesn't make you wanna throw up. Have his Hollywood terror & fantasy tales ever been collected? There must be enough for a decent-sized paperback. Midnight Pleasures (Tor, 1991)

The Head Man: Otto Kranz, a public executioner who takes his work home with him. It's hardly Bloch's fault that I saw the terrifying accompanying illustration from 15 Mystery Stories in Haining's Terror! before i read it, but the story seemed subdued by comparison. 15 Mystery Stories, June 1950. Atoms & Evil (Fawcett, 1962)

Underground: Aka The Living Dead if you're Peter Haining. Nazi collaborator utilises acting ability to instigate a vampire panic as a deterrent. French peasants much braver than he takes them for. Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, April 1967: The Living Demons, Belmont 1967.

[dem bones]

Selected by Bloch for his Best of ... collection. I can understand his pride in the first. I Like Blondes builds to a lame punchline.

Sleeping Beauty (aka The Sleeping Redheads): (Swank, March 1958). Morgan has finally made it to New Orleans only to find it a commercialised sham of it's pre-war self. After a night stumbling from dive to dive, he meets an old-timer outside St. Louis cemetery who promises to deliver the real N.O. experience. Back in the '90's, Old Louie was proprietor of the Palace, Storeyville's classiest whorehouse, until the cops closed it down. He still owns the place, and maintains a glamorous 'Red Queen' for discerning guys like Morgan. The out-of-towner can't believe his luck ...

Next morning, a dazed Morgan finds himself wandering the streets minus his wallet. He reports the matter to the police, who assign him a detective to pay Old Louie a visit. It takes an age but eventually they locate the Palace, which has deteriorated into a decrepit ruin overnight. As for the Red Queen. Either Morgan spent the night making out with a skeleton, or the local absinthe is even more potent than its reputation suggests.

I Like Blondes: (Playboy, Jan. 1956). Mr. Beers, who is not from around these parts, demonstrates his impressive chat-up technique on Shirley Collins, a hostess at a sleazy dime-a-dance joint. Eventually he lets on exactly why he prefers the fair-haired girl. Poor Shirley.

[ramseycampbell]

Apr 10, 2012 20:49:32 GMT dem bones said:

Apr 2, 2012 12:53:03 GMT ramseycampbell said:

"Terror in Cut-Throat Cove" actually gave me a nightmare when I first read it in Fantastic, and it still got to me when I read it in Kirby McCauley's Beyond Midnight.

Now there's an endorsement if ever was. would be very interested to know if you have other particular recommendations?

Forgive me - only four years late! Certainly "Notebook Found in a Deserted House" gave me some decidedly uneasy nights when I read it at around eleven years old (under the title of "Them Ones", apparently in a reprint Bob knew nothing of), and I still find it very powerful.

[dem bones]

Jul 23, 2016 12:58:43 GMT ramseycampbell said:

Apr 10, 2012 20:49:32 GMT dem bones said:

Now there's an endorsement if ever was. would be very interested to know if you have other particular recommendations?

Forgive me - only four years late! Certainly "Notebook Found in a Deserted House" gave me some decidedly uneasy nights when I read it at around eleven years old (under the title of "Them Ones", apparently in a reprint Bob knew nothing of), and I still find it very powerful.

Don't suppose you can remember the name of the collection (magazine?) Them Ones appeared in, Ramsey? Possibly the only reprint to evade even the great Bloch Biblio-biographer Graeme Flanagan!