John Gawsworth - Masterpiece Of Thrills

[dem bones]

Anon [John Gawsworth] (ed.) - Masterpiece Of Thrills (Daily Express, n.d.)

Dr. M. R. Anand - Kali
Nugent Barker - Death's Door
Oswell Blakeston - Sluice Gates
Oswell Blakeston - The Grim Case Of Mrs. John
John Brownson - Felo De Se
Roger Burford - The Grey Room
Frederick Carter - Spells By Night
Frederick Carter - Bergamask's Revenge
Frederick Carter - Fine Hands
Frederick Carter - The Fetch
Frederick Carter - The Mannikin's Tale
Simon Dewes - Judgement
Ronald Dewsbury - What Happened To Larry?
Charles Duff - A Mysterious Coincidence
R. Dundass - A Man Of Spirit
Lawrence Durrell - The Cherries
Wilfrid Ewart - The Upstairs Room
Wilfrid Ewart - Sprigge
Lewis Grassic Gibbon - A Stele From Atlantis
Lewis Grassic Gibbon - The Woman Of Leadenhall Street
Lewis Grassic Gibbon - First And Last Woman
Herbert Gore - The Dark Wood
Stephen Graham - 5000 Enemy Planes Over London
John Greenidge - "Whither Thou Goest ..."
Frances Gregg - The Man Upstairs
Frances Gregg - Charlie
Frances Gregg - Strange Idyll
Neil Harman - Dr. Samson Gregory
Neil Harman - The Superintendent's Story
Philip Henderson - The Mother
John Lindsey - Melodrama
Anthony M. Ludovici - Mrs. Biggadyke's 'Unconscious'
Marcus Magill - The String Game
Frances Marsden - The Secret Chapel
Frances Marsden - The Companion
Frances Marsden - Duty
Frances Marsden - Shillings
E. H. W Meyerstein - Second Sight
E. H. W Meyerstein - The Folkema
E. H. W Meyerstein - The Crossword
E. H. W Meyerstein - Hengo
E. H. W Meyerstein - Death Pages Mr. Startle
Richard Middleton - The Failure
J. Leslie Mitchell - Busman's Holiday
J. Leslie Mitchell - The Road To Freedom
J. Leslie Mitchell - Lost Tribes
J. Leslie Mitchell & Fytton Armstrong - Kametis And Evelpis
Kenneth Myer - Ghost Of Fleur-De-Lis Court
Eimar O'Duffy - Murder Most Foul
M. P. Shiel & John Gawsworth - Dr. Todor Karadja
M. P. Shiel & John Gawsworth - The Mystery Of The Red Road
M. P. Shiel & John Gawsworth - The Hanging Of Ernest Clark
Simon - The Flying Worm
Simon - Borderlines
Gay Taylor - The Traveller
Hedda Vesely & R. L. Megroz - Red Foam
E. H. Visiak - A Good Reprisal
E. H. Visiak - In The Mangrove Hall
Geoffrey West - The Mist Rider
P. Whitehouse - A Shawl From The East

Undated, uncredited but all sources I've seen agree it's Gawsworth and that it was first published in 1936. Thirty illustrations and a scrimping 735 pages this time.

Kenneth Myer - Ghost Of Fleur-De-Lis Court: Walking toward Fleet Street, petite eighteen-year-old Mary Clifford is accosted by the spectre of notorious torture-murderer Elizabeh Brownrigg. The girl is dragged back to Brownrigg's dingy room, stripped and severely horsewhipped.

This one would not be out of place in Creeps.

John Lindsay - Melodrama: Michael is Sir Lambert's understudy for the duration of big hit Night Seed, eager to take his turn in the spotlight but every night without fail the old pro is out there, strutting the boards, "delivering his speeches, causing trouble, making amends, finally being shot by the hero of the piece." His death-throes are the stuff of legend.
Thelma wants what's best for her man and hits upon a plan. Suppose she replace the blanks with live ammo?

Marcus Magill - The String Game: Impatient for his rich old Aunt Florence to hurry up and die so he can get his hands on her lovely fortune, conniving Reggie Dougall booby-traps the staircase.

John Brownson - Felo De Se:"He stirred his tea. There was something hard in the cup: he lifted the thing with his spoon. A cold blue eye broke the steaming surface of the liquid, winked at him and was gone again!"

A philanderer is haunted by the vacant stare of his latest conquest. Memories of the previous night filter back to him as he slumps miserably in a tea room trading insults with a waitress. How he uprooted a 'No Trespassers' placard and led her into a field; how they made lust; how he throttled her but surely not enough to kill her? as his mind falls apart he encounters the ghosts of his past and even a senile, half-blind God. He returns home and douses himself in petrol.

Frances Gregg - The Man Upstairs: Her partner Jan has been acting oddly of late, staying out nights, never telling her where he's been. And then there's the man upstairs: she's only seen him once but, inexplicably, has lived in mortal fear of him ever since. This morning Tom arrives home with blood on his shirt, claiming to have spent the night sleeping rough after getting drunk and having his bicycle stolen. A young girl has been mutilated on the common. The police arrive.

*****

Art Long, jnr.

Here's a link to an article with a picture of Gawsworth

alangullette.com/lit/shiel/essays/shiel_gawsworth.htm

Interestingly enough, I'd never known what he looked like before!
As I mentioned earlier, I'm interested in all his anthologies; I was only able to track down two stories of the many in this volume, "The Cherries" and "5000 Enemy Planes Over London". One thing I notice is that Oswell Blakeston is the only writer who had stories in Creeps, Not at Night, and Gawsworth's series.

[lukemorningstar]

Wow! I used to have this book and I havent got a clue what happened to it. I bought it second hand in a market whilst on holiday in Falmouth, Cornwall in 1979 (aged 14) and I picked it up becuase it had such an odd title - I never thought I would see, hear or read of it again, until now - what a great site this is. Already proving VERY addictive. Do you know if it ever comes up for sale on e-bay or similar?

[Craig Herbertson]

ABE books has one at about 12 dollars

www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sortby=2&sts=t&tn=Masterpiece+Of+Thrills&x=63&y=19

[dem bones]

Frederick Carter - Fine Hands: A small repertory company tour the English south coast with their production of classic melodrama The Hangman's Daughter. Loretta, a beautiful, red-head and owner of the uncannily perfect hands, is the company's undisputed star, revelling in her role as the scheming murderess with a blade in her frilly garter like some distaff Tod Slaughter! But worryingly, Loretta is taking her work home. She is obsessed with Signor, the mature gent playing her nemesis Jack Ketch, and is no longer capable of discerning between their stage characters and reality. "These, my lovely hands, shall fondle you, alive or dead, loving or loveless" she slobbers, creeping him out. Her weird attraction threatens to destroy them both.

Richard Middleton - The Failure: Robert is a struggling author, as convinced of his genius as he is that it's only a matter of time before the world comes to share his opinion. Devoted wife Christine isn't so sure. "You need a great misfortune, Something to cast your mind for a time outside itself", she tells him. Christine sees only the rejection slips and, terrified that now their money is gone they will be evicted, resorts to prostituting herself. A rich fellow picks her up in the park but come the hour, she can't bring herself to go through with the dirty deed. She arrives home to find Robert in ecstasy. At last, an editor has accepted his novel, and for such a fabulous sum! Christine confesses the "sin" she very nearly committed, because she'd lost belief that his writing would pay their bills. He's rather glad. Now he can no longer trust her, he need no longer feel love for her, freeing him to devote all his energies to his vocation. Richard Middleton committed suicide at the age of 29, you'll remember, so i'm not going to repeat my initial expletive-laden response to the sentiments expressed in this story as it wouldn't be nice.

[dem bones]

E. H. W Meyerstein - The Crossword: Cyril Pratt, struggling author, is not best pleased when dizzy wife Janet is introduced to his literary idol, Mr. G., and neglects to mention either Cyril or his superlative manuscript collecting cobwebs in a drawer. On the plus side, the ensuing bone-shattering fracas at least provides him with the answer to a tricky crossword puzzle.

Herbert Gore - The Dark Wood: Super name, tidy account of events leading up to a crime of passion on the Downs and the grim repercussions for a randy farmhand once the mutilated corpse of his lover is discovered in a shallow woodland grave. Slight hint of the supernatural.

Charles Duff - A Mysterious Coincidence: Account of the life and crimes of the scandalous Cécile Godey, the Comtesse de Mauriac, executed on the guillotine in 1894 for multiple murder. Her first victims were any among her husband's family who objected to her adultery with the cowardly, manipulative M. Chardin, after which she developed a taste for poisoning all and sundry. i've no idea if this story is rooted in fact or otherwise, but Duff drops a contemporary name or two to give the thing credence.

[dem bones]

Francis Marsden - The Secret Chapel: A hermit confides in a young philosopher and his lover that he is the custodian of a secret chapel built and decorated by his late master, Ranulph, a religious painter of genius. The old man has devoted his life to protecting the sacred shrine until one dreadful night, the frescos and altar are destroyed in a lightening storm, whereupon the hermit dies. Rather than take his place, Oliver takes to travelling the world reasoning that "life is more real than the dream."

E. H. Visiak - in The Mangrove Hall: Ruthless Buccaneer Pete Malikins mourns the death of his faithful hound to the point where it's soul ousts his own. Malikins turns rabid, converts the swamp people to dog-worship, leads them against his former confederates.

P. Whitehouse - A Shawl From The East: Slighted by Julia Birchington, the childhood sweetheart he desperately loves, Captain George Blake makes her a gift of a garment purchased at a bazaar in leprosy-ravaged Bokhara.