Davis Grubb - One Foot In The Grave

[dem bones]

Davis Grubb - One Foot In The Grave (Arrow, 1966)

Busby's Rat
The Rabbit Prince
Radio
One Foot In The Grave
Moonshine
The Man Who Stole The Moon
Nobody's Watching
The Horsehair Trunk
The Blue Glass Bottle
Wynken, Blynken, And Nod
Return Of Verge Likens
Where The Woodbine Twineth


Blurb:
One of the finest story-tellers in America, Davis Grubb has a special mastery of horror writing which is indeed horrific in it's effect. This collection ranges from the title story- in which a severed foot continues to live a hideous existence of its own - to the compelling description of a man being deliberately, and with nasty ingenuity, frightened to death in a barbers chair. Which reminds us of another tale, also in this book - that of a vengeful husband who takes a sharp knife to the wrong throat ...

Grubb is probably best known for his 1953 novel, The Night Of The Hunter, and these shorts are in the same Southern Gothic tradition. Robert Aickman considered Where The Woodbine Twineth among the only forty ghost stories it was worth taking your time on (it's another for the malevolent dolls thread) and the much-anthologised The Horsehair Trunk should be gruesome enough to suit most tastes. The title story (his only Weird Tales appearance?) is wild. Henry has an accident at the sawmill. Due to an earlier wager, the doctor has to give the severed foot a funeral. It soon becomes apparent that the recalcitrant limb has returned from the grave and it even gets to seduce Margaret, Henry's secretary. This may sound ridiculous - what am I saying? it is ridiculous - but Grubb affords it one of his grimmest endings.

[noose]

Fawcett Gold Medal (No Date Given)

Same collection, different cover:

[severance]

If my eyesight can be trusted, and that catalogue number reads R2105, then it will be from around 1969/70. Strange that Fawcett re-published it as a Gold Medal, ususally the imprint for paperback originals, as they published it as a Crest (their usual reprint imprint) in 1965. They did that a few times with their star author, John D. MacDonald, but can't think of too many others.

[noose]

your eyesight is bang on!

[doug]

I got lucky and snagged a copy (unread) of "One foot in the Grave" on ebay.de for just €1! :-)

I realy loved his story in "Dark Forces" about the flood on the Ohio.
Fools Parade is also one of my favorite films.

[cauldronbrewer]

This one's going on my to-buy list. I like the three stories I've read by Grubb ("Where the Woodbine Twineth," "The Horsehair Trunk," and "One Foot in the Grave").

[cauldronbrewer]

I loved this collection.

The three stories that were familiar to me--"Where the Woodbine Twineth" (a.k.a. "You Never Believe Me") "The Horsehair Trunk," and "One Foot in the Grave"--all stood up well to another read. The first one may be my favorite; it would take a poor writer to botch the combination of horror and dolls, and Grubb is far, far away from being a poor writer.

Of the rest, I was particularly impressed by "Busby's Rat." The title critter belongs in the Sinister Rat Hall of Fame. Hard to believe it's never appeared in an anthology.

"The Rabbit Prince" and "The Man Who Stole the Moon" are fantasy rather than horror; they reminded me of stories in a similar vein by Bradbury and Beaumont. Both are highly effective; I have to admit that the latter got me a little choked up.

"Moonshine," "The Blue Glass Bottle," "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," and "Return of Verge Likens" all fall into the "suspense" category. Each is nicely done.

My least favorite stories were "Radio" and "Nobody's Watching," both of which deal with the horrors of technology. Neither is at all bad, but they're both missing one of the strongest elements of the other stories: the West Virginia setting that Grubb presents so evocatively. (I may be biased on that point, having spent my childhood not far from the part of the Ohio River where the writer's fictional town, Cresap's Landing, is located).

Maybe I should get around to reading--and watching--Night of the Hunter.

[jamesdoig]

Mar 21, 2012 23:09:42 GMT cauldronbrewer said:

Maybe I should get around to reading--and watching--Night of the Hunter.

Absolutely - one of those rare cases of classic book turned into classic film.

[doug]

Mar 21, 2012 23:09:42 GMT cauldronbrewer said:

I loved this collection.

The three stories that were familiar to me--"Where the Woodbine Twineth" (a.k.a. "You Never Believe Me") "The Horsehair Trunk," and "One Foot in the Grave"--all stood up well to another read. The first one may be my favorite; it would take a poor writer to botch the combination of horror and dolls, and Grubb is far, far away from being a poor writer.

Of the rest, I was particularly impressed by "Busby's Rat." The title critter belongs in the Sinister Rat Hall of Fame. Hard to believe it's never appeared in an anthology.

"The Rabbit Prince" and "The Man Who Stole the Moon" are fantasy rather than horror; they reminded me of stories in a similar vein by Bradbury and Beaumont. Both are highly effective; I have to admit that the latter got me a little choked up.

"Moonshine," "The Blue Glass Bottle," "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," and "Return of Verge Likens" all fall into the "suspense" category. Each is nicely done.

My least favorite stories were "Radio" and "Nobody's Watching," both of which deal with the horrors of technology. Neither is at all bad, but they're both missing one of the strongest elements of the other stories: the West Virginia setting that Grubb presents so evocatively. (I may be biased on that point, having spent my childhood not far from the part of the Ohio River where the writer's fictional town, Cresap's Landing, is located).

Maybe I should get around to reading--and watching--Night of the Hunter.

I know what you mean by being biased. I was born in Steubenville and spent my early childhood on the Ohio side in Portsmouth across from Kentucky and not far from Huntington and Point Pleasant/Galopolis. As a wee one I was scared spitless by all the MothMan stories. This was waaaay back in 67. Have you ever seen or read "Fools Parade"? It's a fine movie and even better book. Neither is easy to find though. Even the film manages to maintain Grubbs' style of story telling.



Take care.
Doug

[cauldronbrewer]

Mar 23, 2012 5:36:11 GMT doug said:

I was born in Steubenville and spent my early childhood on the Ohio side in Portsmouth across from Kentucky and not far from Huntington and Point Pleasant/Galopolis. As a wee one I was scared spitless by all the MothMan stories. This was waaaay back in 67. Have you ever seen or read "Fools Parade"? It's a fine movie and even better book. Neither is easy to find though. Even the film manages to maintain Grubbs' style of story telling.

Small world--I grew up in northeastern Kentucky, not far from Huntington.

I haven't seen or read Fool's Parade. I have, however, seen The Mothman Prophecies, though all I remember is a creepy voice on the phone saying "Chaaapstick!" to Richard Gere.

[doug]

Mar 23, 2012 11:14:04 GMT cauldronbrewer said:

Mar 23, 2012 5:36:11 GMT doug said:

I was born in Steubenville and spent my early childhood on the Ohio side in Portsmouth across from Kentucky and not far from Huntington and Point Pleasant/Galopolis. As a wee one I was scared spitless by all the MothMan stories. This was waaaay back in 67. Have you ever seen or read "Fools Parade"? It's a fine movie and even better book. Neither is easy to find though. Even the film manages to maintain Grubbs' style of story telling.

Small world--I grew up in northeastern Kentucky, not far from Huntington.

I haven't seen or read Fool's Parade. I have, however, seen The Mothman Prophecies, though all I remember is a creepy voice on the phone saying "Chaaapstick!" to Richard Gere.

Forget the "Mothman" film. Keel's book is a true mondo-bizarro classic. The film doesn't even come close. So go and get the book if you can find it. It has to be read to be believed. It's that good! :-)

Take care.
Doug