Charles L. Grant - Shadows 4

[andydecker]

Inspired by the Grant discussion the other day I pulled Shadows from the shelf. I bought some of them cheap, No. 2-6, (and never read them ) I will post them in the next days.

This is originally from 1981, this paperback edition is from 1985. I have the second edition from the same year. An anthology of horror stories which made at least some money in the mid-eigthies - the mind boggles.

I can´t say anything about the stories, but the line-up is remarkable.


C.L. Grant - Introduction
Stephen King - The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands
Robert F. Young - Yours, - Guy
John Shirley & William Gibson - The Belonging Kind
Barry L. Malzberg & Arthur L. Samuels - Calling Collect
Ramsey Campbell - Hearing is Believing
Deirdre L. Kugelmeyer - Treshold
Alan Ryan - A Visit to Brighton
Cherie Wilkerson - Echoes From A Darkened Shore
Tabitha King - The Blue Chair
Tanith Lee - Meow
Steve Rasnic Tem - The Giveaway
Lisa Tuttle - Need
Beverly Evans - Waiting for the Knight
Al Sarrantonio - Under My Bed
Juleen Brantingham - The Hour of Silhouette
John Keefauver - Snow, Cobwebs and Dust
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - The Spider Glass

[Johnlprobert]

That IS an interesting lineup. It looks quite literary but I've only ever seen John Keefauver's stories in the Pan series and they were pretty good.

I'd love to see the contents lists of the other volumes if you can put them up Andy.

[carolinec]

I have the first Shadows (signed by Grant ) - contents as follows (but I'm afraid I haven't read all of it, and it was a while ago, so I've forgotten about most of the stories!):

Introduction - Charles L Grant
Naples - Avram Davidson
The Little Voice - Ramsey Campbell
Butcher's Thumb - William Jon Watkins
Where All The Songs Are Sad - Thomas F Monteleone
Splinters - R A Lafferty
Picture - Robert Bloch
The Nighthawn - Dennis Etchison
Dead Letters - Ramsey Campbell
A Certain Slant of Light - Raylyn Moore
Deathlove - Bill Pronzini
Mory - Michael Bishop
Where Spirits Gat Them Home - John Crowley
Nona - Stephen King

[dem bones]

Back cover of Shadows 2

Shadows seems to have evolved from a series of stand-alone anthologies Grant edited for Playboy, including Terrors, Horrors (below) and Nightmares. Shadows became the flagship for Grant's 'Quiet Horror'/ Shadowpunk movement and the early editions in particular are choc-ful of name contributors. Along with Karl E. Wagner, Grant took on the unenviable task of trying to break R. Chetwynd-Hayes to a US audience by including a couple of his more traditional stories in the early books (The Ghost Who Limped in Shadows 3, The Ghouls in Nightmares). It didn't work.

Charles L. Grant - Horrors (Playboy, October 1981)

Charles L. Grant - Introduction
Dennis Etchison - The Dead Line
David Morrell - Black Evening
R. Bretnor - Party Night
Melisa Michaels - A Demon In My View
Beverly Evans - In The Land Of The Giving
Barry N. Malzberg - Nightshades
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Savoury, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Alan Dean Foster - The Inheritance
Lisa Tuttle - Dollburger
J. Michael Reaves - Shadetree
Craig Shaw Gardner - Kisses From Auntie
Steve Rasnic Tem - Morning Talk
Richard Houston - The Man Who Was Kind To Animals
Nicholas Yermakov - Far Removed From The Scene Of The Crime
Jack Dann - Drum Lollipop
George W. Proctor - The Good Is Oft Interred
William F. Nolan - The Pool
Stephen King - The Monkey

Blurb:

GHOULS RISING FROM THEIR GRAVES
DOLLS WITH TEETH
YOUR PET CAT THAT REALLY ISN'T A CAT
SOMETHING HIDING IN YOUR BACKYARD POOL
A TOY YOU THREW AWAY THAT KEEPS RETURNING
DOCTORS USING YOU FOR THEIR ORGAN BANKS.
YOUR ULTIMATE FEARS COME TRUE

[dem bones]

Jul 28, 2009 9:20:32 GMT andydecker said:

Inspired by the Grant discussion the other day I pulled Shadows from the shelf. I bought some of them cheap, No. 2-6, (and never read them ) I will post them in the next days.

This is originally from 1981, this paperback edition is from 1985. I have the second edition from the same year. An anthology of horror stories which made at least some money in the mid-eigthies - the mind boggles.

I can´t say anything about the stories, but the line-up is remarkable.


C.L. Grant - Introduction
Stephen King - The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands
Robert F. Young - Yours, - Guy
John Shirley & William Gibson - The Belonging Kind
Barry L. Malzberg & Arthur L. Samuels - Calling Collect
Ramsey Campbell - Hearing is Believing
Deirdre L. Kugelmeyer - Treshold
Alan Ryan - A Visit to Brighton
Cherie Wilkerson - Echoes From A Darkened Shore
Tabitha King - The Blue Chair
Tanith Lee - Meow
Steve Rasnic Tem - The Giveaway
Lisa Tuttle - Need
Beverly Evans - Waiting for the Knight
Al Sarrantonio - Under My Bed
Juleen Brantingham - The Hour of Silhouette
John Keefauver - Snow, Cobwebs and Dust
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - The Spider Glass

"And enjoy I trust you will. Perhaps not all, since we all differ in tastes, but enough so that the title of this series continues to work - if not on your imagination, then at least on your dreams."

- From Charles L. Grant's short introduction.

Alan Ryan - A Visit To Brighton: A self-styled "sane and sensible" city banker is obliged through business commitments to spend a night at his brother's residence on the coast. He does not find the prospect enticing. Brighton is, after all, a hot bed of sin and "what people call amusements - works of the devil of idleness I call them." He and Anthony were never close, and he has no time for his boring sister in law, far less their beastly offspring. Never mind "you were one once" our man detests children! Although it goes against his principles, our Mr. Suit supposes it is the done thing to take along a gift for the ghastly little girl. But luck is with him. The unspeakably vulgar family with whom he's been forced to share a compartment since boarding at Victoria, leave behind a somewhat eerie Raggedy-Ann doll. That will do nicely!

John Keefauver - Snow, Cobwebs and Dust: For their 43rd wedding anniversary he takes Martha out to their old haunt, the now derelict Christy's Restaurant. All that exertion on his part and it makes no difference. She's still giving him the old silent treatment ....

Cherie Wilkerson - Echoes From A Darkened Shore: Following the death of husband Jim, the young widow returns to her home town, Cuymar, with six year old daughter, Jenny. The widow is surprised to find local character 'the Captain' looking so hale and hearty. The children still flock to him, just as she did at that age, but how can it be he doesn't look a day older? Answer. He's an energy vampire, draining every last ounce of life from the little kids until they expire through "leukaemia". And now Jenny is besotted with him.

The Captain drowns, but the curse is passed onto the now twice-bereaved widow. Now she too requires a constant supply of victims. Fortunately for her, she finds ideal employment.

Tanith Lee - Meow: Stil, a stage magician and aspiring novelist, hooks up with Cathy, a poor little rich girl whose parents were wiped out in a car smash. Along with the house and their combined fortunes, Cathy has inherited five cats which detest Stil on sight and lash out with their claws whenever opportunity arises. The monstrous moggies become a source of tension between them, but Cathy refuses to re-home them. Stil comes to realise that she has way too much in common with her pets than is healthy.

Al Sarrantonio - Under My Bed: Now Mommy's left, Daddy has become a vicious drunk who brings home strange women and doesn't call him "Billy boy" any more. But the man under the bed says he doesn't like Daddy and he's going to take him through the trapdoor where he lives so Billy won't have to suffer his fists ever again!

Robert F. Young - Yours, Guy: Nick Squires, Chevrolet salesman, is plagued by nuisance postcards and drunken phone calls from 'Guy', who claims they were once best pals and blames Nick for ruining his life.

Dierdre L. Kugelmeyer - Threshold: A creepy house with a distinctive doorknob. It's alive.

[mcannon]

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death, there's recently been a "Charles L Grant Blogathon" - neilsnowdon.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/dancing-with-shadows-the-charles-l-grant-blogathon/

While I was never a huge follower of his work - I don't think I've ever read any of his novels, although I have a couple of short story collections which I enjoyed - there's no doubting that he was a very substantial figure in the field for quite a while. Based on many of the comments included above, he also seems to have been a very decent fellow.

Mark

[dem bones]

Sept 20, 2016 13:18:41 GMT mcannon said:

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death, there's recently been a "Charles L Grant Blogathon" - neilsnowdon.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/dancing-with-shadows-the-charles-l-grant-blogathon/

While I was never a huge follower of his work - I don't think I've ever read any of his novels, although I have a couple of short story collections which I enjoyed - there's no doubting that he was a very substantial figure in the field for quite a while. Based on many of the comments included above, he also seems to have been a very decent fellow.

Mark

Thanks very much for the link Mark. So far I've read the tributes from Ramsey Campbell ("As a writer Charlie was a master of delicate terror, and in person he was a gentleman. In fact I’ll end with that – he was a gentleman of terror." What a beautiful compliment.), Gary Fry, and Stephen Bacon. I knew Mr. Grant was a fan of Guy N. Smith, but had no idea he was up for some R. Lionel Fanthorpe, too!

Back with Shadows 4 and stay tuned for scary...

Ramsey Campbell - Hearing Is Believing: Wells need a holiday. The job behind a desk at the DHSS is getting him down, and his one source of enjoyment, an expensive home-stereo, is behaving erratically. Of late it has been self-tuning into a rogue frequency, and Wells has been made party to the panicked conversation of two fugitives in a rubble-strewn city seeking shelter from a monstrous entity ....

While the Alan Ryan, Tanith Lee, Lisa Tuttle and Cherie Wilkerson stories hit my spot, this is the first from Shadows 4 to creep me out. The stalking terror is suggestive of - so help me, I don't mean to sound flippant here - some unholy thing-from-the-cover-of-Geoffrey- Bennett's This Creeping Evil/ 'Mister Tickle' hybrid.

Hearing Is Believing is reprinted in the very recommended Dark Feasts.

[jamesdoig]

Sept 20, 2016 13:18:41 GMT mcannon said:

While I was never a huge follower of his work - I don't think I've ever read any of his novels, although I have a couple of short story collections which I enjoyed

The Pet is certainly worth reading. Shadows was a great anthology series - it must have been a reliable market for writers at that time.

[dem bones]

Lisa Tuttle - Need: As she takes her daily short cut through the cemetery, Corey is approached by a strange young man. Harold casually admits to watching her for some time. As they get to know each other it becomes clear to Corey that, as stalkers go, Harold poses no threat, he's just desperately lonely. His only "friends" are the graves. They agree to meet again on Saturday, but on a whim, Corey takes off back home in a last-ditch attempt to win back her boyfriend. Her no-show is one crushing disappointment too many for Harold. A downbeat ghost story, almost The Monkey's Paw minus the wishes. Like it a lot.

Beverly Evans - Waiting For The Knight: Punning title and has a DRAGON in it, ergo I refuse to read on until somebody assures me, hand on heart, the DRAGON in question is NOT of the TALKING variety.

Tabitha King - The Blue Chair: It lurks, antiquated, incongruous, in Beth's drab hotel room. What are those claw-shaped castors all about? Beth can't fret about that for now as childhood sweetheart Jay has contacted her out of the blue, keen to make up for lost years. The blue chair doesn't much like the idea of sharing her with anyone.

[dem bones]

Stephen King - The Man Who Wouldn't Shake Hands: Henry Brower is recently returned from Bombay where he was cursed by a Holy Man whose meddlesome son had died behind the wheel of his flash motor. The American could hardly be held responsible for the kid taking his car for a joy-ride, but the mystic doesn't see it that way and fights "black magic" with black magic. From this Brower, the American will be a pariah among men. Any living thing touched by his hand will die!

Reads like a tribute to the most brilliantly melodramatic 'thirties weird pulp. A Gentleman's Club setting is always welcome, story moves at pace, but somehow, the whole just isn't as endearing as it should be.

[dem bones]

Barry N. Malzberg & Arthur L. Samuels - Calling Collect: Irma claims that the reason she spends all day on the telephone is because "it keeps her young," and even husband Martin has to admit she looks great for her age. Martin's complaint is that he hadn't realised he was marrying a switchboard. He suspects Irma of having an affair with persistent caller, Jack Jacobs. Jealousy and paranoia get the better of him until he's finally convinced that Irma is also bedding a woman. He packs his bags.

When he comes to his senses, Martin rings home to apologise, but it's too late. Irma wasn't lying. The telephone is the reason for her reverse ageing, legacy of the pact she struck with a Devil in human guise.

Another cracker. Kind of The Portrait of Dorian Gray meets Yellow Pages.

Incidentally, Les Edwards' cover painting was exhumed for Daniel Farson's 1980 Hamlyn non-nasty, Curse

[andydecker]

Charles L. Grant - Shadows 4 (Doubleday, 1981, Hc, 181 pages - these paperback editions Berkley, 1985, and Headline, 1987)

Content:

Charles L. Grant - Introduction
Stephen King - The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands
Robert F. Young - Yours, -Guy
William Gibson and John Shirley - The Belonging Kind
Barry N. Malzberg and Arthur L. Samuels - Calling Collect 
Ramsey Campbell - Hearing Is Believing
Deirdre L. Kugelmeyer - Threshold 
Alan Ryan - A Visit to Brighton
Cherie Wilkerson - Echoes from a Darkened Shore
Tabitha King - The Blue Chair
Tanith Lee - Meow
Steve Rasnic Tem - The Giveaway
Lisa Tuttle Need 
Beverly Evans - Waiting for the Knight
Al Sarrantonio - Under My Bed 
Juleen Brantingham - The Hour of Silhouette
John Keefauver - Snow, Cobwebs, and Dust 

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - The Spider Glass

Both editions have the same content.

[dem bones]

Andreas, we have so many CLG threads that I think he's earned his own sub-board. So he now has one HERE

Have also lumped together Jeff Gelb's 'Hot Blood' series, Collins & Kramer's 'Dark Love,' & others to form an exciting instant Erotic horror selection.

[𝓒𝓵𝓮𝓪]

Jan 19, 2023 12:56:16 GMT dem bones said:

Andreas, we have so many CLG threads that I think he's earned his own sub-board. So he now has one.

W*ki says: He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Geoffrey Marsh, Lionel Fenn, Simon Lake, Felicia Andrews, Deborah Lewis, ‘“Timothy Boggs”’, ‘“Mark Rivers”’, and ‘“Steven Charles”’

Should they go here too? There is a Felicia Andrews novel on Archive.

[𝓒𝓵𝓮𝓪]

Jan 19, 2023 12:56:16 GMT dem bones said:

Have also lumped together Jeff Gelb's 'Hot Blood' series, Collins & Kramer's 'Dark Love,' & others to form an exciting instant Erotic horror selection.

Oh! là là!