Published in 1982, this is Ramsey Campbell's fourth collection, and probably the most well-known. It contains a fair few of his more renowned stories such as 'Mackintosh Willy', 'The Companion' and 'The Chimney' and is the book most heavily drawn upon in the later best-of collections 'Dark Feasts' and 'Alone With the Horrors'. His style here is generally that which could be called typical RC, which is no bad thing.
I'm possibly a little over-familiar with some of the stories herein, having read and re-read them to death as a teenager, but when attempting to view them afresh I was amazed at how bleak some of these stories that I viewed as comfortable old faves actually are.
Fontana (1982):
Tor (1985):
BLURBLE (and a pretty drab one at that!):
Ramsey Campbell has won more awards for his horror fiction than any other writer, including three for the best short story of the year.
Dark Companions is a collection of some of his best stories. Most have not been published in this country and some have never been published before.
Included in this volume is The Companion, described by Stephen King as "One of the three finest horror stories I have ever read... horror beyond my ability to describe."
The ChimneyA boy becomes terrified of Santa Claus, and wonders if his fear reaches out to cause a later tragedy.
A moving story that captures the feel of childhood fears perfectly.
Down ThereElaine and Steve are working late, and there appears to be something nasty in the office basement, something on its way up...
Above the WorldKnox's ex-wife and her new partner have recently died when he revisits an old haunt on a walking holiday. Getting lost in the fog, he encounters something genuinely creepy.
Ludicrously enough, this was apparently made into a TV film. How close this sticks to the story can be judged by the fact the movie has a happy ending..
Napier CourtA teenage girl with an unhappy love life is left alone in the family home, when a presence makes itself known.
This is a story that is easily the equal of Shirley Jackson's
The Haunting of Hill House for low-key, but effective, spookiness.
Out of CopyrightA bookseller whom thinks nothing of swindling old widows gets a hell of a lot more than he bargained for with one particular volume...
The DepthsA writer is haunted by nightmares of horrendous, vicious, violent dreams. He finds that the events actually take place unless he writes them down.
Splendidly nasty, with an air of impending doom.
The Man in the UnderpassAn unsettling story of a group of ten year old school girls and some Aztec-style graffiti of a being with a worryingly prominent, erm, member.
This was the title story of a collection published in France in 1979.
Vacant PossesionA short, nasty example of RC's EC comic style stories. It first appeared in Michel Parry's anthology
The Devil's Children.The Little VoiceA schoolteacher is plagued by the sound of a child singing, something which only she can hear, and which eventually gets the better of her.
Drawing InDracula makes an appearence here, of a kind, in an unfamiliar form. Fans of spooky spiders will like this one.
The TrickTwo young girls get on the wrong side of an old lady who lives in the same street. She can't really be a witch... can she?
For some reason this story also appears in
Waking Nightmares.Heading HomePunning title, funny story, another EC type one. Nice.
The Show Goes OnAn abandoned cinema contains something dreadful, as discovered by the owner of the shop next door.
The ChangeA writer finds out more than necessary about the behaviour of werewolves. Some of the descriptions of human faces and actions herein are almost hallucinogenic in their clarity. A good one, this.
Calling CardAn old lady receives a Christmas card, sixty years late (that's Royal Mail for you!) It becomes apparent that the sender may be about to pay a visit also...
BabyA drunk kills an old lady who lives below him, for the contents of the pram she never lets out of her sight. It proves to be worthless, but now he feels that something is pursuing him.
In the BagAnother pun of a title. A headmaster has to discipline his pupils after an incident with a shopping bag, an incident which mirrors one from in his own past.
ConversionAnother EC comic style tale, this one taken from Michel Parry's
The Rivals of Dracula. Contains a nifty twist in the tail.
Mackintosh WillyThe spirit of a murdered tramp appears to haunt the darkest parts of the park where he was found.
Call FirstAn old man continually uses the library phone repeating the same message every time. This arouses the curiosity of one of the staff, whom decides to investigate further.
Contains the most novel burglar alarm I have ever encountered!
The CompanionSpooky fairground time here. Don't go on the ghost train, for Christ's sake!
A wonderful, atmospheric piece, and a fine story to end on.