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Post by dem on Nov 27, 2007 11:04:13 GMT
Richard Davis (ed.) - The Years Best Horror Stories No. 2 (Sphere, 1972) Preface - Richard Davis
Foreword - Christopher Lee
Gerald W. Page - Thirst
Brian Lumley - David’s Worm
Garry Brander - The Price Of A Demon
Basil Copper - The Knocker At The Portico
Steve Chapman - The Throwaway Man
Rosemary Timperley - The Woman With The Mauve Face
Ronald Blythe - Shadows Of The Living
Robert Bloch - The Animal Fair
J. Ramsey Campbell - Napier Court
T. K. Brown III - Haunts Of The Very RichRamsey Campbell - Napier Court: Alma, recently separated from husband Peter (largely due to parental pressure; her mother resents her marrying "beneath herself") and suffering from flu, begins to experience all manner of ghostly manifestations in her reputedly haunted house. The ghost, that of a previous occupier who gassed himself, feeds on her depression and is finally able to manifest fully ... Robert Bloch - The Animal Fair: Hitcher Dave thumbs a lift from Carney showman Captain Ryder. As he drink drives, the Captain tells him about what those gd**n drugged up Hollywood hippies did to his innocent adopted daughter Melissa and how he did time for three of them, brooding the while that their leader, Dude, had evaded him. Dave gets to wondering where Captain Ryder's main attraction, Bobo, the flea-ridden dancing gorilla fits into the picture ... David A. Riley - The Farmhouse: Kendale, near Tavistock. Surrealist Biblical artist Preskett committed suicide here by turning himself into a human torch amid much talk of ritual murder, drugs, and orgies on the hill. Stopping at the deserted farmhouse, hikers Melbury and Janet discover a metal box hidden in the wall, inside which are several books and the one Melbury picks up opens on a quote from Poe's "The Conquering Worm". Later, Janet leaves him asleep in the tent they've erected and returns for another look at the Preskett's library. Melbury comes awake with a terrible sense of foreboding, and goes off to find her ... T. K. Brown III - Haunts Of The Very Rich: I knew recent TV smash Lost seemed familiar! Carry On Abroad as re-imagined by E.C. comics. Six fabulously wealthy passengers fly to a mystery destination for the ‘ultimate exclusive holiday’ - or so they think. After the first day, the power fails, the air conditioning breaks down, the staff mutiny, the manager goes crazy and dies and natives storm the hotel, making off with the food and alcohol. Rock star Johnny Delmonico flies in to tell the party that help is on the way, but Desiree is sure she read something about him being … well, dead. Basil Copper - The Knocker At The Portico: Gothic tale of insanity, similar in plot to the same author’s vampire tale Dr. Porthos. Edward Rayner, a life-long scholar begins to hear dreadful hammerings in his head and is convinced that these are in some way connected to Dr. Spiros, an all-too frequent visitor to the house with whom he suspects his young wife, Jane, of having an affair. Sure enough, Jane moves out with Spiros and Edward murders a maid who tries to bar his way as they depart. He traces the couple to their love-nest ... except it isn't one and he's about to learn a dreadful truth. Gary Brander - The Price Of A Demon: Claire, always one to get involved in 'kinky' things according to husband Paul, happens upon an ancient Grimoire and foolishly summons forth a demon. The invisible fiend torments her constantly, biting and tearing off strips of skin as the mood takes it. Paul cannot bear to sit and watch his wife slowly being devoured so. Against the recommendation of local witch Aurelia Cord he conjures a second, more powerful demon to conquer the first. But at what personal cost? Brian Lumley - David’s Worm: An amoeba-like creature, ever growing, never sated, taking on the physical appearance of the last meal it encountered. In this case the son of the Scientist who set him free. To be continued (?) ....
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Post by dem on Nov 28, 2007 16:10:57 GMT
Gerald W. Page - Thirst: San Coleman is a decent family man down on his luck. He's a skilled mechanic but there's not enough call for his talent in the tiny farming community around the Overhill Mountains. Preoccupied with his problems, he gets lost in the woods and is attacked by a shadowy figure with a stick. Sam crawls into a cave and collapses due to the huge amount of blood he's lost from the wound in his neck.
When he regains consciousness he's in the mortuary (lucky for him they're short staffed!). The doctor drives him home to Grace and the kids but ... there's something wrong. Why has he developed a pathological hatred of metal all of a sudden? Why isn't he hungry? And what to do about this dreadful thirst?
A good old fashioned blood and thunder, stake and fang pulp novella with all the trimmings (it even has the and-all-this-because-a-black-cat-jumped-over-a-dead-man's-coffin chestnut). Page would go on to edit the Years Best Horrors after the third US edition and at the time he wrote this he ran Witchcraft & Sorcery (the renamed Coven 13) from which this and the Brander story are resurrected.
Rosemary Timperley - The Woman With The Mauve Face: ... is her future self, a meths drinker who spends the day aimlessly riding the tube until one day she stumbles off the platform at Mansion House. The day when the younger woman merges into the older is drawing near.
Steve Chapman - The Throwaway Man: A brief SF interlude for you. The metal scrap in the junkyard assembles itself into a mechanical monster and prepares to wage war on mankind. Beneath the old wharf, the algae, snails and detritus bond together as a slimy blob-thing to confront it. Who will triumph?
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