Pan Horror #13: Werewolf!

[andydecker]

So onward to Pan 13, the one with the Josh Kirby Werewolf cover. Like the jacket.

Alan Hillery - The Man Whose Nose Was Too Big
Preposterous, but if one likes those "Let me tell you a story" settings and can understand arachnophobia this is an entertaining start. Ugh! I don't know what was more horrible. Early 70s medicine or spiders munching their way through the brain.

Norman Kaufman – Flame!
I am becoming a Kaufman fan. The story doesn't make any sense, I mean, this must be the mother of all coincidences, and I detest coincidences of that magnitude as a literary device. Still. "We like burning them." Heh.

Harry E. Turner - The Twins
Wow, just wow! This must give the Woke Generation a stroke. Sadly Turner's collection seem to be unavaiable. Must be a lot of fun. This story is like "Vampire Circus" on acid.

Carl Thomson - The Swans
The first let's kill the wife story. I began to miss them. The story is too much hot air for me. Nothing against purple prose, but this doesn't work well. The switch from romantic stroll to let's hack her to pieces was a bit fast and not well established.

David Farrer - The Revenge
I never claimed to be consequent, but here I didn't mind the coincidence that much. Another one which seems unlikly today to discover in the next Best New Horror with its cavalier treatment of sexual abuse and casual racism. I liked it, but thought the construction weak. A a bit too laid back. Too much "Shit happens!" and not enough "I will get you!"

Dulcie Gray - The Window Watcher
I officially love Dulcie's work. Another mean-spirited tale of a mean-spirited character which just happens to hate the world because basically she can't accept her short-comings and needs scape-goats. Jennifer should run for head of state.

John Ware – Spinalonga
The story deserves its fame. After reading it I looked up the isle and discovered some impressive photos. Can't believe Ware didn't publish more. I see the priest before me. His smile.

L. Micallef – Aggrophobia
One of the weaker entries. Obvious from the first page, the only surprise was how brutal it got. I share our esteemed Vaultkeeper's opinion that the writer is pandering to the reader's prejudices.

Norman Kaufman - Awake, Sleeping Tigress
Did I mention that I am becoming a Kaufman fan? Absolutly disgusting. While I wouldn't advise to take Kaufman's psychological musings about sexuality earnestly, the story plays with some relatable emotions. One thing I admire of these 50 years old stories is that they didn't shy away from questionable topics. But I don't know if I would share Mr. Campbell's remark about Pan getting increasingly pornographic. Sure, the topic of sex gets less oblique as time moves on, but pornographic? No.

David Case - The Dead End
I think David Case is a great writer. But this is kind of dull and much too long for its thin plot. And I have the suspicion that van Thal wasn't convinced of its quality either as he put it at the back. Or there were complaints about putting those long mini-novels always at the begining.

After the misfire of 12 this one is much better. I still question the wisdom of blocking nearly half of the content with only one story. But on the whole it was very entertaining and a nice distraction on some lousy days.

[fritzmaitland]

For October 28th, a visit to the charming ex-leper colony of Spinalonga , a very real place I was delighted to find. The good ol' horror in broad daylight, don't mess with another culture's..er..culture, phantom priest type of thing brilliantly done. Of course you don't have to wait for photographs to be developed these days, but that element of the story completely fooled me. Great ghastly ending too