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Post by dem bones on May 10, 2022 18:30:45 GMT
Stephen Jones [ed.] - Terrifying Tales to Tell at Night (Sky Pony Press, 2019) Stephen Jones - Introduction
Neil Gaiman - Click-Clack the Rattlebag
R. Chetwynd-Hayes - Homemade Monster
Lynda E. Rucker - The Sideways Lady
Stephen King - Here There Be Tygers
Ramsey Campbell - The Chimney
Manly Wade Wellman - School for the Unspeakable
Robert Shearman - Granny's Grinning
Lisa Morton - The Chemistry of Ghosts
Michael Marshall Smith - The Man Who Drew Cats
Charles L. Grant - Are You Afraid of the Dark? Blurb: The stories in this book are scary. Real scary! After reading these horrible tales and staring at the creepy drawings, don’t complain that you couldn’t sleep or they started haunting your dreams—we warned you!
If you love ghosts and monsters and enjoy getting goosebumps, this spine-chilling book is for you! Inside, find a creature that lives in the dark and feeds on those who do not pay attention ... a monster created by the descendant of Doctor Frankenstein ... a haunted house at Halloween ... a big cat that snacks on schoolteachers ... a boy who is afraid of what will come down the chimney at Christmas ... a school with very strange pupils ... a decidedly odd zombie costume ... a puzzle set by a ghost ... a drawing that comes to life .... and a baby sitter who plays terrifying games ....
Compiled by award-winning horror editor Stephen Jones and featuring the authors Ramsey Campbell, R. Chetwynd-Hayes, Neil Gaiman, Charles L. Grant, Stephen King, Lisa Morton, Lynda E. Rucker, Robert Shearman, Michael Marshall Smith, and Manly Wade Wellman, this book is filled with nightmarish illustrations by acclaimed artist Randy Broecker. Get ready to be afraid. Very afraid!Stephen Jones's take on The Gruesome Book, although "Please note that some of these stories have been edited for content." With ghastly Randy Broecker illustrations throughout. Neil Gaiman - Click-Clack the Rattlebag: ( Impossible Monsters, 2013. A little kid shares a scary story with his sister's boyfriend while they await her return. A Click Clack is made of dark, "they come when you don't pay attention — and they drink you." A Rattlebag is what's left of you when they've done so. Still, don't fret. It's hardly likely you'll ever meet/ be one, is it? Lynda E. Rucker - The Sideways Lady: Twelve-year-old Stevie takes her little brother Toby trick-or-treating in Ellington, Virginia, on condition they afterward pay a visit to the local haunted house. The abandoned Beaumont mansion was shipped from Devon and rebuilt brick by brick at the close of the nineteenth century — a disastrous waste of time and effort as with it came the resident monster, a half woman, half demon, who scared away all comers. The property stood empty until 1969 when the Beaumont's moved in .... until Halloween, when they vanished without trace. The locals believe the eldest daughter, Kathleen, murdered the rest, though what became of her is another mystery. The house recently featured on the True Haunting website — perhaps, if Stevie sees anything spooky they'll have her on the show! R. Chetwynd-Hayes - Homemade Monster: (R. Chetwynd-Hayes [ed.], 2nd Armada Monster Book, 1976). Hopelessly lost and caught in a rainstorm while cycling to Benwell, Rodney shelters at a gloomy old house he takes to be empty. Meanwhile, Professor Frankell is preparing to unveil his life's work. Somehow his synthetic monster is uglier than anything scraped together from random corpse parts. Stephen King - Here There Be Tygers: ( Ubris, Spring 1968). A very Stephen King take on David Keller's The Thing in the Cellar. Miss Bird takes cruel delight in humiliating Charles before the class over his frequent visits to the basement urinal.
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Post by helrunar on May 10, 2022 18:48:48 GMT
Interesting selection. But--stories edited for content? I'd just shove that one back on the rack and move on. The drawings sound unfortunate to say the least.
H.
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Post by andydecker on May 11, 2022 9:01:48 GMT
Interesting selection. But--stories edited for content? I'd just shove that one back on the rack and move on. The drawings sound unfortunate to say the least. H. I am with you. A serious reason to not buy this. |
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Post by jamesdoig on May 11, 2022 10:05:44 GMT
Interesting selection. But--stories edited for content? I'd just shove that one back on the rack and move on. The drawings sound unfortunate to say the least. H. I am with you. A serious reason to not buy this. Might be worth it for the Randy Broeker illustrations. There's an interview with him in this mag from 1986, which coincidentally I was just reading:     |
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Post by Dr Strange on May 11, 2022 12:34:50 GMT
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Post by andydecker on May 11, 2022 12:47:15 GMT
I am with you. A serious reason to not buy this. Might be worth it for the Randy Broeker illustrations. There's an interview with him in this mag from 1986, which coincidentally I was just reading: Another magazine which I didn't know it existed. I looked it up and it seemed to be a nice package. Many reviews and interviews.
Those illustrations look nice.
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Post by andydecker on May 11, 2022 12:50:50 GMT
Thanks for the link! They really look good. It is always interesting to see variations of a theme. His Brown Jenkin looks great. Maybe different versions of that would make a nice thread. |
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Post by dem bones on May 11, 2022 18:43:13 GMT
Interesting selection. But--stories edited for content? I'd just shove that one back on the rack and move on. The drawings sound unfortunate to say the least. H. I am with you. A serious reason to not buy this. I don't know for sure, but it might simply be a case of removing the odd expletive — the book is compiled for 8-12 year olds. I like the illo's — they're a good fit.  Randy Broecker Are You Afraid of the Dark?: ( Fantasycon IX Programme Booklet, 1984; Karl E. Wagner [ed.], Years Best Horror XIII, 1985). Despite repeated warnings, Jeremy, Stacey and Will continue to cause no end of trouble with their antics until the former's father turns to Bernadette the baby-sitter to terrify them into shape. "The rules are simple. I pick the games, nobody quits before the end, and for every game you win you get to keep a bar of this chocolate ... Second place gets popcorn ... And last place gets to sleep in the rain." Lisa Morton - The Chemistry of Ghosts: When Benny Salazar vanishes during a ghost hunt at Broadmore College, Matt enlists April, his nerdy sister, to brave the resident ghost — Dr. Cote Addison, the great chemistry professor, notorious in life for setting incredibly difficult exams. Manly Wade Wellman - School for the Unspeakable: ( Weird Tales, Sept. 1937). No sooner has Bart Setwick arrived at Carrington School than he's fallen in with the wrong crowd, namely the clammy cold, sickly pale Hoag, Andoff and Felcher — undead devil worshippers, fifty years murdered by their mad headmaster! I'm guessing this must be Wellman's most frequently anthologized horror stories? |
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Post by dem bones on May 14, 2022 7:34:56 GMT
If this pair don't terrify the small, then they're almost certainly fright proof and not to be trifled with. Ramsey Campbell - The Chimney: (Stuart David Schiff [ed.], Whispers, 1977). He's been scared stiff of the bedroom fireplace from the age of three, when mum told him that's where Santa Claus crawls out from with his sack of presents. Long after he's realized that there's no such person, still that ghastly, burnt black face haunts his sleep. Winter, several years later. He's married and living across town. A phone call from the family doctor bears the grimmest seasonal tidings .... Robert Shearman - Granny's Grinning: (Stephen Jones [ed], The Dead That Walk, 2010). To mum's abject horror, dad has invited his mother to say for Christmas, this being her first since poor Arthur passed away. The formidable Mrs. Forbes may have led her husband a life, but oh, how she misses him! No need to worry. She always gets what she wants, and, unfortunately for granddaughter, Sarah, this means the little girl dressing up in her truly appalling Christmas present — a zombie costume — for a visit to the old girl's bedroom in the night. There's no use looking to her parents for support. The recession bit deep, and if they want a hand-out from Gran, sacrifices must be made. This unutterably creepy story has stayed with me since that initial read in The Dead That Walk. It's not one I would ever have expected to meet again in a 'children's book! |
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