100 Twisted Little Tales of Torment

[jonathan122]

100 Twisted Little Tales of Torment - ed. Stefan Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg & Martin H. Greenberg (1998, Barnes & Noble)

Deep breath...

The Archer in the Arras - Lewis Spence
The Atom-Smasher - Donald Wandrei
Awakening - David A. Drake
The Baku - Lucy Taylor
"Beyondaril" - John Metcalfe
The Black Godmother - John Galsworthy
Bringing It Along - A. R. Morlan
Broken Glass - Georgia Wood Pangborn
Broken Things - Nina Kiriki Hoffman
The Buried Alive - John Galt
The Business of Madame Jahn - Vincent O'Sullivan
Busted in Buttown - David J. Schow
By the Light of the Silvery Moon - Les Daniels
Cancer Alley - Nancy A. Collins
Cedar Lane - Karl Edward Wagner
The Clock - William Fryer Harvey
Coffins for Two - Vincent Starrett
Cold Spell - David Langford
Crispy Notes - Nicholas Royle
Crutches - Steve Rasnic Tem
Dark Whispers - Richard T. Chizmar
The Devil's Lottery - Mary Elizabeth Counselman
Die Rache - Steven Utley
Don't Get Lost - Tanith Lee
Don't Take It to Heart - H. L. Gold
Doorslammer - Donald A. Wollheim
The Elevator - Garry Kilworth
The Ex - William F. Nolan
A Far-Away Melody - Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman
The Feet - Mark Channing
The Final Tale - Elizabeth Engstrom
Fingers of a Hand - H. D. Everett
Fire-Bringer! - William Brandon
Food for Thought - Mandy Slater
Free Hand - Fred Chappell
From Beyond - H. P. Lovecraft
From What Strange Land - Blanche Bane Kuder
The Frontier Guards - H. Russell Wakefield
The Good Husband - Evelyn E. Smith
Great Expectations - Kim Antieau
The Green Light - Barry Pain
The Hand - Guy de Maupassant
Haunted Air - L. A. Lewis
Here Lies - Howard Wandrei
The House - Andre Maurois (trans. Jacques Chambrun)
How It Happened - Arthur Conan Doyle
The Idol with Hands of Clay - Sir Frederick Treves
In the Light of the Red Lamp - Maurice Level
In the Straw - Edward D. Hoch
The Interlopers - Saki
Invisible Boy - Cliff Burns
It Will Come to You - Frank Belknap Long
Key to the Mysteries - Don Webb
The King's Messenger - F. Marion Crawford
The Little Finger on the Left Hand - Ardath Mayhar
Little Old Miss Macbeth - Fritz Leiber
Lucky - John Maclay
The Man and the Snake - Ambrose Bierce
The Man in the Bell - William Maginn
The Man with the Fine Mind - Kris Neville
The Mummy Buyer - Joe R. Lansdale
The Music of the Moon - Thomas Ligotti
Narrative of a Fatal Event - Walter Scott
Night Deposits - Chet Williamson
On Call - Dennis Etchison
On the Leads - S. Baring-Gould
On the River - Guy de Maupassant (trans. Jonathan Sturges)
Onawa - Alan Ryan
The Opener of the Crypt - John Jakes
Out of the Night - H. Warner Munn
Out of the Woods - Richard Laymon
Outside the Door - E. F. Benson
The Outside Man - Darrell Schweitzer
Patricia's Profession - Kim Newman
The Pewter Ring - Peter Cannon
The Playmate - R. Chetwynd-Hayes
Powers of the Air - J. D. Beresford
The Prince - W. B. Maxwell
The Quiet Ones - Al Sarrantonio
Rising Generation - Ramsey Campbell
The Room Above the Top - Hugh B. Cave
A Room in a House - August Derleth
Sagasta's Last - Carl Jacobi
Say It with Spiders - Janet Fox
Secrets - Melanie Tem
Six Kinds of Darkness - John Shirley
Slippage - Edward Bryant
The Steps - Amyas Northcote
Take Me When You Go - Joel Lane
Terror's Dark Pool - Henry Treat Sperry
The Thing in the Cellar - David H. Keller
Those Whom the Gods Love... - Hilda Hughes
Time Enough to Sleep - Thomas F. Monteleone
A Time for Waiting - Michael Marshall Smith
Told in the Desert - Clark Ashton Smith
The Triumphant Dead - William Hines
Twelve O'Clock - Charles Whibley
Voice - Jessica Amanda Salmonson
The Walker - Donald R. Burleson
Wrapped Up - Ramsey Campbell

I've always thought these Barnes & Noble books were rather odd beasts - the general idea seems to be to gather up a somewhat disparate bundle of short stories, all under 10 pages long, stick them in alphabetical order (by title, rather than author, weirdly) and then leave the reader to try and navigate through somehow. Still, there's some good (and rare) stuff here, and it was cheap...

[bobby]

    This was the best cover image I could find:



    (Yes, that's what all of the Barnes & Noble "100 Little" anthologies cost new in the 1990's.)

[dem]

Oct 15, 2016 16:08:51 GMT bobby said:

    (Yes, that's what all of the Barnes and Noble "100 Little" anthologies cost new in the 1990's.)

As far as I can make out, the '100' series were mostly (all?) instant remainder editions, hence the bargain basement prices.

[bobby]

    I definitely remember them being on the "Bargain Books" tables at the front of Barnes & Noble (as well as sister chains B. Dalton and Bookstop). They were also available through Barnes & Noble's mail-order catalog. (I had to use the mail-order catalog to get 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories and 100 Vicious Little Vampire Stories. I was able to get the other 7 horror titles at stores from all 3 chains.)

[dem]

Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Robert E. Weinberg & Martin H. Greenberg (ed's.) - 100 Twisted Little Tales of Torment (Barnes & Noble, 1998)

Lucy Corvino

Stefan Dziemianowicz - Introduction

Lewis Spence - The Archer in the Arras
Donald Wandrei - The Atom-Smasher
David A. Drake - Awakening
Lucy Taylor - The Baku
John Metcalfe - “Beyondaril”
John Galsworthy - The Black Godmother
A. R. Morlan - Bringing It Along
Georgia Wood Pangborn - Broken Glass
Nina Kiriki Hoffman - Broken Things
John Galt - The Buried Alive
Vincent O’Sullivan - The Business of Madame Jahn
David J. Schow - Busted in Buttown
Les Daniels - By the Light of the Silvery Moon
Nancy A. Collins - Cancer Alley
Karl Edward Wagner - Cedar Lane
William Fryer Harvey - The Clock
Vincent Starrett - Coffins for Two
David Langford - Cold Spell
Nicholas Royle - Crispy Notes
Steve Rasnic Tem - Crutches
Richard T. Chizmar - Dark Whispers
Mary Elizabeth Counselman - The Devil’s Lottery
Steven Utley - Die Rache
Tanith Lee - Don’t Get Lost
H. L. Gold - Don’t Take It to Heart
Donald A. Wollheim - Doorslammer
Garry Kilworth - The Elevator
William F. Nolan - The Ex
Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman - A Far-Away Melody
Mark Channing - The Feet
Elizabeth Engstrom - The Final Tale
H. D. Everett - Fingers of a Hand
William Brandon - Fire-Bringer!
Mandy Slater - Food for Thought
Fred Chappell - Free Hand
H. P. Lovecraft - From Beyond
Blanche Bane Kuder - From What Strange Land
H. Russell Wakefield - The Frontier Guards
Evelyn E. Smith - The Good Husband
Kim Antieau - Great Expectations
Barry Pain - The Green Light
Guy de Maupassant - The Hand
L. A. Lewis - Haunted Air
Howard Wandrei - Here Lies
André Maurois - The House
Arthur Conan Doyle - How It Happened
Sir Frederick Treves - The Idol with Hands of Clay
Maurice Level - In the Light of the Red Lamp
Edward D. Hoch - In the Straw
Saki - The Interlopers
Cliff Burns - Invisible Boy
Frank Belknap Long - It Will Come to You
Don Webb - Key to the Mysteries
F. Marion Crawford - The King’s Messenger
Ardath Mayhar -The Little Finger on the Left Hand
Fritz Leiber - Little Old Miss Macbeth
John Maclay - Lucky
Ambrose Bierce - The Man and the Snake
William Maginn - The Man in the Bell
Kris Neville - The Man with the Fine Mind
Joe R. Lansdale - The Mummy Buyer
Thomas Ligotti - The Music of the Moon
Walter Scott - Narrative of a Fatal Event
Chet Williamson - Night Deposits
Dennis Etchison - On Call
S. Baring-Gould - On the Leads
Guy de Maupassant - On the River
Alan Ryan - Onawa
John Jakes - The Opener of the Crypt
H. Warner Munn - Out of the Night
Richard Laymon - Out of the Woods
E. F. Benson - Outside the Door
Darrell Schweitzer - The Outside Man
Kim Newman - Patricia’s Profession
Peter Cannon - The Pewter Ring
R. Chetwynd-Hayes - The Playmate
J. D. Beresford - Powers of the Air
W. B. Maxwell - The Prince
Al Sarrantonio - The Quiet Ones
Ramsey Campbell - Rising Generation
Hugh B. Cave - The Room Above the Top
August Derleth - A Room in a House
Carl Jacobi - Sagasta’s Last
Janet Fox - Say It with Spiders
Melanie Tem - Secrets
John Shirley - Six Kinds of Darkness
Edward Bryant - Slippage
Amyas Northcote - The Steps
Joel Lane - Take Me When You Go
Henry Treat Sperry - Terror’s Dark Pool
David H. Keller - The Thing in the Cellar
Hilda Hughes - Those Whom the Gods Love
Thomas F. Monteleone - Time Enough to Sleep
Michael Marshall Smith - A Time for Waiting
Clark Ashton Smith - Told in the Desert
William Hines - The Triumphant Dead
Charles Whibley - Twelve O’Clock
Jessica Amanda Salmonson - Voice
Donald R. Burleson - The Walker
Ramsey Campbell - Wrapped Up

To kick off 2018, yet another of these epics. Have read maybe forty of these in a variety of anthologies and magazines, but ... Torment still represents terrific value for money.

Donald A. Wollheim - Doorslammer: ( Magazine of Horror #2, Nov 1963). The publisher's offices are haunted by the ghost of a suicide. Young Alice Kingsley wasn't cut out for big-city life. Great story, very sad.

Evelyn E. Smith - The Good Husband: ( Fantastic Universe, Aug. 1955). John Gaylord Carruthers is secretive as to his whereabouts during the daylight hours. Eventually Ellen's curiosity gets the better of her. Shortly before dawn, she trails him to the "office" ...

John Maclay - Lucky: ( Cemetery Dance #25, Fall 1996). A dispute in the Wheel of Fortune booth. The surly Carney worker claims the little kid cheated, but the boy won't be denied his prize - a big stuffed bear.

Joe R. Lansdale - The Mummy Buyer: (Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, March 1981). Nayland Jones visits a dealer in illegal Egyptian artefacts. The old guy's business ethics may be dubious but the same-day service is impeccable.

[dem]

Lewis Spence - The Archer in the Arras: (The Archer in the Arras & Other Tales of Mystery, 1932). When their car breaks down in rural Normandy, Lord Denzil D'Aintry and tutor seek shelter for the night at the first building they come to - a 15th Century Château. Unfortunately for young D'Aintry, his abominable ancestor did the Brécourt family a terrible wrong during the Hundred Year's War. A hexed tapestry, spanning the bedroom walls, depicts this first Earl's crimes in hideous detail .... Not yet noon on 1st Jan. and already one for personal 'Best of 2019' selection. I sure hope that's a sign of things to come.

Janet Fox - Say It with Spiders: (Weirdbook #3, Feb. 1970). just because you're an arachnophobe doesn't invalidate your fear of turning into a giant spider.

Richard Laymon - Out of the Woods: (EQMM, Dec 1975). The grinning intruder with the axe explains that his accomplice will rip Sadie open unless her husband does as he's told. Husband tells them 'go ahead.'

Nina Kiriki Hoffman - Broken Things: (Deathrealm #13, Fall/Winter 1990). Ginger, her only child, has been a huge disappointment. Now the fat, ill-disciplined teenager is dead, Anna grabs her chance to mould Ginge into a daughter to be proud of.

John Galsworthy - The Black Godmother: (The English Review, Feb 1912). "Fear! It is the Black Godmother of all damnable things!" The terrible ordeal of a mongrel dog which seems to bring out the worst in everyone it encounters.

9/9 so far. The Spence is exceptional.

[dem]

C.R. Thomson The Atom-Smasher, AstoundingApr. 1934.

Donald Wandrei - The Atom-Smasher: (Astounding, April 1934). .... And now Dr. Schonheim will demonstrate his latest invention - a device capable of transporting solid matter from one location to another via radio transmitter. Please remember it has yet to be tested on humans, so do not step before the apparatus ...

Howard Wandrei - Here Lies: (Weird Tales, Oct. 1937: as by 'H. W. Guernsey'). An ironic tale about a practical communist who taught his friend when to take him seriously. And quite some lesson it is. Of course, it helps that Old Chauncey's said lifelong friend, Shepard Frankenfield, suffers from catalepsy ...

Cliff Burns - Invisible Boy: (Tesseracts 3, 1987). Dysfunctional family set up sees dipso Mum arguing with dope-smoking second husband. As always, it's the kid suffers, Little Jeff retreating further into the background with every argument.

Frank Belknap Long - It Will Come to You: (Unknown, Dec. 1942). Mr. Bannerman finds a job to suit problem client Mr. Cromer's peculiar talent for gluttony.

Steven Utley - Die Rache: (Asimov Science Fiction, June 1992). The last living Nazi active in the Death Camps must atone for the sins of all the rest.

Donald R. Burleson - The Walker: (Tales of Lovecraftian Horror #2, 1988). Stanville, New England. Irked by a boorish work colleague who dismisses those who believe in the 'Supernatural' as gullible cretins, he sets off that night in search of a legendary local ghost ...

[dem]

Tanith Lee - Don't Get Lost: (Dark Fantasies, 1989). Sally and her boyfriend find it impossible to leave a council estate as the streets keep changing. They break into a house where the young man discovers three headless corpses: it's as if a giant spider has ensnared and then eaten its prey ...

David J. Schow - Busted in Buttown: (Reflex, Dec. 1991). A veteran housebreaker falls foul of a nineties' equivalent of body-snatchers.

Ramsey Campbell - Rising Generation: (Worlds of Horror #4, 1975). A school outing to the castle. Legend suggests the Baron hid a zombie workforce in a subterranean cave, the entrance to which was sealed after his murder. Schoolteacher Heather Fry prevails upon a taciturn tour guide not to recite any of this tosh to her 28-strong party of kids. He doesn't need to ...

Kim Newman - Patricia's Profession: (Interzone #14, 1985). It's Jay Dearborn's birthday so, by way of a hilarious joke, Philip Wrappe, his colleague at Skintone, arranges for a visit from an alt- Kiss-o-gram. My, how the guests fall about at the ensuing hi-jinks!

Barry Pain - The Green Light: (Phil May's Annual, Winter 1897). A man on the run after the premeditated murder of his "beautiful, faithless, drunken" mistress. He mapped out an escape route in advance, but fate has a habit of foiling the best laid plans, especially if you get pissed, fall asleep in Regents Park and miss your getaway train. But he still has time - except, he fled the scene of his crime in such a panic, he left a gold purse behind! Dare he return to face the horrors of the room with the green blind?

Ramsey Campbell - Wrapped Up: (Fantasy Tales #7, Spring 1981). An eldritch tale of ancient Egypt.

Nov 17, 2007 15:15:35 GMT sean said:

Another EC comic influenced tale, originally written for a Michel Parry anthology of 'mummy' stories which never came to pass.

Career thieves take advantage of an archaeologist's drunk to learn the location of a treasure-laden tomb. Sadly for them, the occupant has a violent aversion to looters. Mr. Campbell's mummy tale reads like a throwback to Weird Tales Mk. I.

Les Daniels - By the Light of the Silvery Moon: (Borderlands 1990). Also known as Wereman. The nightmarish existence of a starving wolf who, on the night of the full moon, is doomed to spend several hours in the feeble, pink body of a human, shoving a trolley full of dead meat around the BIG STAR supermarket. The checkout girl is in for a shock ....

Anon (William Maginn) - The Man in the Bell: (Blackwood’s Nov.1821). Jack climbs to the Cathedral belfry to unmuffle a clapper while his friend keeps watch below. Unfortunately, said friend is easily distracted and wanders away in pursuit of a pretty passer by. The bell-ringers arrive and, unaware of Jack's presence, begin their work.

Sir Frederick Treves - The Idol with Hands of Clay: (The Elephant Man & Other Reminiscences, 1923). A recently married Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons allows vanity to get the better of him and performs surgery on his bride. Oops, butterfingers ...

[dem]

Henry Treat Sperry - Terror’s Dark Pool: ( Dime Mystery Magazine, May 1936). Bruce Hunter catches wife in bed with her lover, that bastard Trevor. He murders the latter and beats Mary so brutally she has to be dead. Hunter disposes of his Trevor's corpse in Bishop's Lake. On returning home, Mary is waiting for him, good as new. Maybe he imagined the entire sorry episode? Maybe not ...

Jessica Amanda Salmonson - Voice: (Owlflight #1, 1981). Leonard Fox receives an eighth anonymous call advising his life is again in grave danger.

Michael Marshall Smith - A Time for Waiting: (Dark Voices 4, 1992). The compulsion to adopt every mouldering paperback you set eyes upon is not so bad in comparison to what this socially challenged fellow collects ...

Mary E. Counselman - The Devil's Lottery: (Weird Tales, Sept. 1948). Companion story to The Three Marked Pennies. A stranger brings mayhem to dozy Blankville with his open invitation to participate in a competition. Those who provide the best answers to three philosophical questions will receive a substantial gift.

Arthur Conan Doyle - How It Happened : (The Strand, Sept. 1913). His late night test drive of new car takes a turn for the terrifying when the brakes fail. Told via a "handwriting medium."

[dem]

David Stone The Opener Of The Crypt, Fantastic Nov-Dec 1952.

John Jakes - The Opener of the Crypt : (Fantastic , Nov-Dec 1952). Sequel to The Cask Of Amontillado. What strange compulsion drove Paul Montresor to explore the crypt beneath the ancestral home?

Vincent Starrett - Coffins for Two: (Coffins for Two, 1924). Never again will pals Noakes and Kirton fall out over a woman. Death is extremely pleasant, etc.

André Maurois - The House : (Harper’s, June 1931). Madame's recurring dream centres around a beautiful white château. One day she locates in in the French countryside. A sombre caretaker informs her that the owners moved out when they discovered it was haunted ...

Edward Bryant - Slippage: (Walls of Fear, 1990). The ghosts of two narcissists, and how they got that way. Death not quite so much fun in this instance.

[Swampirella]

Ok, I just cracked and ordered myself a "poor" (but cheap) copy, from the fairly good Biblio.com....

[dem]

Jan 9, 2019 16:34:37 GMT Swampirella said:

Ok, I just cracked and ordered myself a "poor" (but cheap) copy, from the fairly good Biblio.com....

A mere 578 pages this time. You'll breeze through it!

Didn't really get on with the 'Vicious Vampire' selection, but that's purely down to the theme - have wasted more than enough time and energy on the fang-faced ones to point where familiarity breeds contempt. Otherwise, I've come to love this series. Wonder if they were quite the three-way collaboration the credit suggests as, while the influence of Dziemianowicz and Weinberg seems apparent in the quirky selections, without wishing to do him a disservice, the books are very unlike any of Marty Greenberg's theme anthologies have come my way.

[cauldronbrewer]

Jan 9, 2019 18:36:41 GMT dem said:

Didn't really get on with the 'Vicious Vampire' selection, but that's purely down to the theme - have wasted more than enough time and energy on the fang-faced ones to point where familiarity breeds contempt. Otherwise, I've come to love this series. Wonder if they were quite the three-way collaboration the credit suggests as, while the influence of Dziemianowicz and Weinberg seems apparent in the quirky selections, without wishing to do him a disservice, the books are very unlike any of Marty Greenberg's theme anthologies have come my way.

The series was a major influence on my taste in horror. In particular, 100 Wild Little Weird Tales drove me to seek out more stories from the magazine by authors besides HPL.

[dem]

Jan 10, 2019 12:50:57 GMT cauldronbrewer said:

The series was a major influence on my taste in horror. In particular, 100 Wild Little Weird Tales drove me to seek out more stories from the magazine by authors besides HPL.

100 Wild Little Weird Tales would be my pick of those I've half-read (does anyone actually finish them?), though to my way of thinking, they all have much to recommend them. Creepy Creatures is a particular joy. Nearest equivalent I can think of are Mary Danby's excellent '65' books (... Horror, ....Supernatural, ... Spinechillers, and Realms Of Darkness) with more of a pulp slant.

[cauldronbrewer]

Jan 10, 2019 18:47:44 GMT dem said:

100 Wild Little Weird Tales would be my pick of those I've half-read (does anyone actually finish them?), though to my way of thinking, they all have much to recommend them. Creepy Creatures is a particular joy. Nearest equivalent I can think of are Mary Danby's excellent '65' books (... Horror, ....Supernatural, ... Spinechillers, and Realms Of Darkness) with more of a pulp slant.

I swear I've read the following from cover to cover:

100 Wild Little Weird Tales
100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories
100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories
100 Creepy Little Creature Stories
100 Tiny Tales of Terror
100 Fiendish Little Frightmares
100 Twisted Little Tales of Torment
100 Astounding Little Alien Stories
100 Vicious Little Vampire Stories
100 Wicked Little Witch Stories

Come to think of it, that's a thousand stories in all! Given that I didn't take notes, most of it's a blur of fine print to me now. I do recall the vampire and witch books as being the weakest of the bunch--probably because the stories in them were mostly originals, rather than reprints.

I've also read the Danby "65" anthologies, which I remember as being stronger on average and as including stories that tended to be a bit longer. The second part could account for the first; I think it might be particularly tough to write a standout short-short story.

As for how I got through them all: It came down to my fixation on finishing any book I start reading. Maybe it's a principle; maybe it's a compulsion; maybe it's a deep-seated fear of being haunted by the ghosts of the books I haven't finished. I can't really say. In any event, the same habit has put me off of cracking open my 782-page copy of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (which one of my wife's friends gave me as a gift) or the equally massive Armadale (which I purchased on Jojo's recommendation).