Herbert Van Thal - The 22nd Pan Book Of Horror Stories (Pan, 1981)
Elsie Karbacz - The Girl with the Violet Eyes
Roger Clarke - Pond Weed
Tony Richards - Child of Ice
Norman P Kaufman - From the Depths of the Earth
Fay Woolf - Sideshow
Jane Louie - The Trump Card
Bessie Jay - Incident in Cairo
Carolyn L Bird - Dante’s Bistro
Edwin Brown - The Clock
Gregory Alexander - The Singer not the Throng
Harry E Turner - Love Bites
Ian McEwan - Pornography
Ken Johns - Waste Nothing
David Case - A Cross to BearDavid Case - A Cross To Bear: Two stories. the one narrated by Barlow concerns his experiences as a tourist escort in Spain. One of the holidaymakers dies in Granada, and Barlow has to visit a deserted morgue to retrieve the dead man's wallet from his trouser pocket for his distraught wife. Nothing much happens, but it's horrible enough, particularly when the widow tries to ... but that's giving the game away.
Carter's tale is far grislier. He and Sam, operating a private trading outfit, are hired to take Stanford, a Missionary, down river where he's to relieve the kindly old boy who has held the post for a number of years. Stanford upsets the natives with his uncompromising attitude ...
I wonder if Case intended this as a tribute to the Oscar Cook stories featuring the notorious Warwick?
Roger Clarke - Pondweed: Sam goes fishing at the pond, despite his mother's warnings that people have drowned there. Predictably, when his line catches, he's dragged in. The hands of the dead hold him under long enough for the boy to become one of their number.
Gregory Alexander - The Singer, Not The Throng: Visiting American vocalist encounters overzealous autograph hunters. Bodyguards are stabbed by "the leather boys" and fingers fly.
Edwin Brown - The Clock: Adult fairy tale. "If you want to grow up fast ... ask your father to buy you a clock for your bedroom." So says the man dressed as the Demon King to nine-year-old Elizabeth, who enjoys trying on her mother's pretty dresses and experimenting with make up. She follows his advice ...
Fay Woolf - Sideshow: The ordeal in the stocks of Harry Finlayson at the Halloween Charity fete. Everyone is so busy throwing wet sponges at him that they fail to realise the chair he's been standing on has slipped away ...
Ian McEwen - Pornography: Suitably gross offering, set in '70's Soho. O'Bryne is two-timing a pair of nurses, neither of whom have yet discovered that he's given them VD. They won't be too happy when they find out, then ...
*****
Charles BlackSome grim attempts at humour in this one.
There are stories of the dead returning or who haven't gone away.
One story is set in the future, but is very much of its time.
There are tales of revenge, the perils of growing up to quick, and several protagonists really should have stayed indoors.
David Case is on familiar territory, and doesn't disappoint.
But my favourite is probably Edwin Brown's, The Clock.
*****
Paisley CravatHello.
I've recently read this book and would like to give you a little review-type thing of it, if I may. Thankyou.
The cover: One of the most gleefully tasteless in the series. OK, the woman's burning face might not be all that convincing, but it's supremely lurid nonetheless, and is guaranteed to get you a funny look from any elderly woman you might purchase it from in a charity shop.
'The Girl with the Violet Eyes': A bereaved couple adopt a child who reminds them of their daughter, who died in an accident. They take her with them back to the abandoned family home in Scotland, and strange occurrences start.
-Pretty ho-hum gore-free ghost story of the old school. Competently enough written, but no great shakes. (3/5)
'Pond Weed': A young man embarks on a terminal fishing trip.
-I think of stories like this as OITI (Oh, Is That It?) stories. Just a filler, really. (2/5)
'Child of Ice': A pregnant woman stranded in a car is besieged by sentient snow.
-Very King-esque, and very enjoyable. The ending is marvellously creepy. (4/5)
'From the Depths of the Earth': A living corpse returns to wander after 20 years under the ground, seeking out his unfaithful wife and those who conspired to kill him.
-Um, it's OK. With more character development though, it could have been a cracker. (3/5)
'Sideshow': Fun and games at a school fete come to a nasty end for one unfortunate pupil.
-Enjoyable little conte cruel, VERY Pan Horror. (3/5)
'The Trump Card': In the year 2017, the American President and his advisers hit on a way to destroy the Soviet Union forever. But the Russian Premier has his own plans.
-You can tell how dated it is just from the synopsis. Fascinating in its way (Britain is described as being crippled by strikes), but not really a great story. Quite tedious in fact. (2/5)
'Incident in Cairo': A jealous husband's plans to dispatch his wife's lover keep going awry.
-Pleasantly comic, but rather rambling and essentially pretty inconsequential (3/5)
'Dante's Bistro': A restaurateur goes to remarkable and rather grim lengths to satisfy his customers' appetite for the unusual.
-As mentioned above, it's a funny story but if anything it's a bit too arch, and I found it difficult to like. It's as if Carolyn Bird's trying to out-Dahl Dahl, and it doesn't quite come off. (3/5)
'The Clock': A little girl who wishes to grow up gets her wish... you can guess that it's not all plain sailing though, can't you?
-A nice little story, with some great descriptive writing at the end. A bit clunkingly obvious, though. (3/5)
'The Singer Not the Throng': An unpleasant American singer is beset by a gang of feral youths.
-Another OITI story. Entirely pointless. (1/5)
'Love Bites': A gung-ho explorer encounters a lost civilisation of sex-crazed Amazons in South America.
-Not really a horror story so much as an oddball comedy adventure tale. Fun, even though it doesn't really go anywhere. (3/5)
'Pornography': A man who works in his brother's Porn Shop faces grave consequences for spreading VD.
-Wonderful, disquieting story, adult in its themes as well as its sexual content (4/5)
'Waste Nothing' - A girl made mute by shock is waylaid by a family who like to replace their failing body parts with other people's.
-A great central concept, let down by a hugely annoying 'experimental' writing style. (3/5)
'A Cross to Bear' - Elderly friends recount stories of disturbing experiences they've had. One had a disquieting experience with a corpse, while the other has a tale about an arrogant missionary and a 'jaguar man'.
-The longest story in the book, but it feels like it's been cut down (only two of the three friends relate stories, and the first seems oddly truncated). It's still compelling though, and one of the best in the book. (4/5)
*****
demonik Great stuff, Paisley, this is just the sort of stuff we thrive on. Love the "Entirely pointless" rating for that Gregory Alexander story. Maybe we should have a 'Worst Pan Horror Story' thread.
I'm certainly with you on the Case, McEwen and Tony Richards being the stand-outs, although I'd include
Pond Weed among the better stories: blindingly obvious perhaps, but the ending is suitably grim and very well handled IMO.
When I first found a copy of #22 it was at the point where I'd read enough of the later volumes to think that maybe it was time to give up on the Pan's because the series didn't seem to be going anywhere, too many of the stories were samey and routine. Going back to it, I was surprised how many of the stories had stayed with me -
Sideshow being a case in point. I don't particularly
like it, but I never forgot it.
*****
FunkdoobyTwo of my all time fave short stories in one collection - Dante's Bistro and Pornography. I seem to recall that David Case's story is also a belter
*****
Peter C.I heartily agree with Demonik on 'Pondweed'; when I first read it I found the ending a real jolter.
These posts on the later Pans give me heartache as I had them all but got rid because I thought they relied too much on sex 'n sadism.
Now I see there was still a fair bit of quality in them, but ya live and learn (sob).