Charles L. Grant - Terrors

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Charles L. Grant (ed.) - Terrors (Playboy, 1982)

Charles L. Grant - Introduction

Alan Ryan - Baby's Blood
David Drake - Smokie Joe
Steve Rasnic Tem - The Poor
Thomas F. Monteleone - Identity Crisis
Chelsea Quinn Yarbo - Disturb Not My Slumbering Fair
Nancy Kress - Green Thumb
Bill Pronzini - Night Freight
Lou Fisher - Head Count
Robert Bloch - The Night Before Christmas
Scott Baker - The Path
Orson Scott Card - Eumenides In The Fourth-Form Lavatory
Stuart H. Stock - The Milk Of Human Kindness
Dennis Etchison - Today's Special
Henry Slesar - Prez
Al Sarrantonio - Pumpkin Head
Michael Bishop - Darktree, Darktide
Edward Bryant - Dark Angel
Stephen King - Survivor Type

Blurb:

THE RED DRINK WITH THE SWEET AND IRRESISTIBLE TASTE
THE OLD WITCH'S POTION FOR EXACTING A TERRIBLE REVENGE
THE ENRAGED CUCKOLDED HUSBAND AND HIS SHARP MACHETE
THE QUIET LITTLE GIRL WHO USED TO BE A MURDEROUS LITTLE BOY
THE STARVING SURGEON WITH A TASTE FOR LADYFINGERS.

PICK ONE-AND DIE

Definitely have too many anthologies on the go right now, but here's another! Charles L. 'Shadowpunk' Grant edited the long running quiet horror series Shadows and such one-off collections as Horrors and Nightmares, but for my money this iis the best.

Includes:

Henry Slesar - Prez:Louise has worshipped Leonie for the past 16 years, ever since she saw her heroine in something called Sing On A Rainbow. At the age of 14 she began a Leonie fan club. Now aged thirty, after years of fawning letters, she's desperate enough to do herself in if the soap star won't meet her. Against her better judgement, Leonie agrees to see her.

Michael Bishop - Darktree, Darktide:More psychic vampirism. Jon's gran, Chloe, is dying in the Dark Tree Sanatorium. The old woman used to read him nightmarish bed-time stories, and now she's draining the breath from him in the manner of one of her beloved blackbirds. This one terminates with a chilling slap to the face.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbo - Disturb Not My Slumbering Fair:Excellent ghoul story featuring Dierdre who survives on a diet of human flesh. She first attacks a cemetery warden, then a woman who gives her a lift and finally lands herself a job at the mortuary where she can feast until her heart's content. But there are complications when a second ghoul shows.

Alan Ryan - Baby's Blood: An employee at the Babysitters Service For Shoppers does a spot of moonlighting, selling his wares to unscrupulous bar-tenders and ice cream salesman.

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Another from the series which spawned the eleven volume plus 'best of' Shadows. Some terrific stuff in this one.

Charles L. Grant (ed.) - Horrors (Doubleday, 1981)

Charles L. Grant - Introduction

Dennis Etchison - The Dead Line (Whispers, Oct. 1979)
David Morrell - Black Evening
Reginald Bretnor - Party Night (MFSF, March 1969)
Melisa Michaels - Demon in My View
Beverly Evans - In the Land of the Giving
Barry N. Malzberg - Nightshapes (Bill Pronzini [ed.], Werewolf!, 1979)
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Savoury, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme
Alan Dean Foster - The Inheritance
Lisa Tuttle - Dollburger (MFSF, Feb. 1973)
J. Michael Reaves - Shadetree (MFSF, Sep 1977)
Craig Shaw Gardner - Kisses from Auntie
Steve Rasnic Tem - Morning Talk
Richard Houston - The Man Who Was Kind to Animals
Nicholas V. Yermakov - Far Removed from the Scene of the Crime (MFSF, April 1980)
Jack M. Dann - The Drum Lollipop (Damon Knight [ed] Orbit 11, 1972)
George W. Proctor - The Good Is Oft Interred
William F. Nolan - The Pool
Stephen King - The Monkey (Gallery, Nov. 1980)

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

David Morrell - Black Evening: The Sheriff, his deputy and the doctor investigate the source of the almighty stench emanating from a 'twenties mansion gone to ruin. Most every room in old Agnes' place is piled high with mouldering newspapers and accumulated clutter, but the reek is at it's evil worst in the basement. The old woman's corpse is sprawled on the floor, her severed head rotting in the noose she used to hang herself. And bound to a chair, a very dead little girl dressed in retro party dress. Well, that explains all the unsolved child abductions stretching back several decades - or so the sheriff is first inclined to believe. For him, there is yet an even greater horror in store.

Lisa Tuttle - Dollburger: Little Karen can't find her favourite dolly, Katrina. Dad, trying to concentrate on his newspaper, helpfully explains that, if she didn't put Katrina away yesterday, it's certain that the dollburger-eaters got her. When Karen finds a glassy blue eye and a chunk of mangled pink plastic, she realises he was telling the truth. With Elizabeth reinstated as her favourite (she'd temporarily lost the position to Katrina [RIP]), that night Karen gathers all of her "children" together in bed to prevent further casualties ....

Steve Rasnic Tem - Morning Talk : Each morning Michael, ten, hears his father barking at his mother that the boy is crazy, they'd be better off without him. He knows he's supposed to hear all this as his bedroom is right next door. Is Dad really planning to kill him?

Not at all sure I got this one. Is Michael a vampire's son who has failed to grasp the concept?

Alan Dean Foster - The Inheritance : Five long, dreadful years of playing "secretary" to Hiram Hanford have finally paid off for the gorgeous Mayell. The lecherous old bastard has succumbed to the poison she drip-fed him over the duration, and now - much to the disgust of his relations - she stands to gain, not only the mansion, but $500, 000 in cash. There is a minor stipulation: Mayell must look after the deceased's tomcat, Sauron, for six months and, provided after that time the lawyer is satisfied the moggy is well fed, healthy and content, she'll be a very wealthy young woman, free to marry her lover and co-conspirator, Willis the randy gardener.

Five months on and an anxious Willis calls in gruff old Dr. Oakley. In the short time he's been in New York arranging the house sale, Mayell has gone from buxom blouse-buster to human toothpick, unable to lift herself from the bed. Even the thick skinned Oakley is aghast at what he sees. At least Sauron's looking pleasantly plump these days - what the hell has she been feeding him? - but that will be of no consolation to Willis if Mayell doesn't make it through the next four weeks.

Barry N. Malzberg - Nightshapes: Told over a week's worth of journal entries. Eric, a retired London University professor, develops a formula he hopes will cure his twenty-four year old wife Clara of lycanthrope. Now relocated to a moorland village, Clara has picked up where she left off in the city, and with every butchered local, Eric knows it can only be a matter of time before she's caught. He spikes her tea and hopes for the best.

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Charles L. Grant is fondlly remembered as the founding father of the "quiet horror movement" ("Shadowpunk" - Karl E. Wagner), but Horrors includes many a noisy moment. This next even qualifies as borderline blob of slime fiction.

William F. Nolan - The Pool: Jaimie, aspiring Hollywood actor, wins a Bel Air mansion in a high stakes poker game. The loser, a tall, skinny guy, doesn't seem the least disappointed to let it go. He explains that it's stood empty for a decade since his wife Gail .. left him.

Jaimie's girlfriend is ecstatic. Lizbeth's been in town a matter of weeks and already bagged a dishy actor boyfriend, a to-die-for address and her very own swimming pool.

And then she sees it. The pool. Way too big and an odd shape. Something about it gives her the creeps. She ain't never gonna take a dip in those dark waters, that's for sure.

Jaimie doesn't share her reticence and, after an (off-page) romp in the four-poster, announces that he fancies a midnight swim. Lizbeth tries not to worry when she realises she can no longer hear him splashing about. Time drags on. She finally plucks up the nerve to investigate, and if he's playing a trick there will be hell to pay.

The following morning Jaimie's kids - Jan, eight. David, ten - arrive to find the place empty. No matter, Dad's probably out with his new girlfriend. "Let's try the pool while we're waiting."

Charles L. Grant (ed.) - Fears (Berkley, May 1983)

C.L. Grant - Introduction

Janet Fox - Surrogate
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Coasting
Susan Casper - Spring-Fingered Jack
Gardner Dozios - Flashpoint (Damon Knight [ed] Orbit 13, 1974)
Jack Dann - A Cold Day In The Mesozoic
William F. Nolan - The Train (Gallery, Oct. 1981)
David Morrell - The Dripping (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Aug. 1972)
Leslie Alan Horwitz - The Ragman
Dennis Etchison - Deathtracks (Stuart David Schiff [ed.] Death, 1982)
Al Sarrantonio - Father Dear
Peter D. Pautz - As Old As Sin
Joe R. Lansdale - Fish Night (Bill Pronzini [ed.], Specter!, 1982)
George R. R. Martin - Remember Melody (Twilight Zone, April 1981)
Pat Cadigan - The Pond
R. Bretner - The Beasts That Perish (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Dec. 1977)
Julie Stevens - Cassie, Waiting
Leanne Frahm - High Tide

Blurb
They are in the night. In the dark places of the soul where terror lingers like scraps of flesh or fog ...
They are in the light. In the soft glow of candlelight through the eye‑sockets of a skull.. .
They are in this book. Locked up like leathery bats in a box. To take home. To release in your mind.
Don't miss others edited by Charles L. Grant!


Picked this up for 25p from the market on Sunday, only just spotted that David Morrell, William F. Nolan and George R. R. Martin have signed against their stories which is a bit sad, makes you wonder what happened to the original owner ...?

Susan Casper - Spring-Fingered Jack: By far his favourite video game in the amusement arcade is a gore-fest based on the Jack the Ripper murders. In his excitement, he has yet to successfully locate Mary Kelly, far less slice her to ribbons. So the young man decides it's time to put in some field work ....

Julie Stevens - Cassie, Waiting; Dorothea, unhappily married to philandering Dr. Lindsay, leads a double life as New York bag lady and street corner prophet 'Crazy Cassie.' Her tip offs from the demon world are ever accurate, but, of course, nobody pays any attention to the lunatic babbling of a public nuisance.

Jack Dann - A Cold Day In The Mesozoic; While his mum's in the maternity wing, Jody is looked after by his overbearing Aunt Sophia. Rather than head home straight from school to face her "and what did we do today?" interrogation, Jody takes a detour along the highway. He always wondered what those huge canvas tents at the roadside were all about and now it's time to find out. Three pages of shaggy dinosaur story.

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Five from Terrors.

Nancy Kress - Green Thumb: Wilfred Connors cultivates a nursery in his trailer. The plants are Wilfred's surrogate voodoo dolls - he tortures them to get even with womankind. Unhappily for him, womankind, in the unimposing form of his dotty neighbour, is one step ahead.

Dennis Etchison - Today's Special: Since he sacked Luttfink, the customers have deserted in droves. Avratin the butcher is a proud man, but carry on like this and he'll be ruined. There's only one thing for it - give 'em what they want and bring back Luttfink!

Bill Pronzini - Freight Train: He jumps the train in California, travelling north to Idaho to make good on a promise to Joanie, his ex-wife. A pair of menacing toughs enter the box car. They want to look in his suitcase; or think they do.

Lou Fisher - Head Count: Tough day for detective Tig Lowell who set out to arrest Weeuydio for cannibalism only to be trapped in a room with 47 replicas of himself. They don't like him very much.

Scott Baker - The Path: Another strangely strange one. Ten-year-old Tim Brewster, tasked to mow the lawn by his boorish, martinet of a father, follows a garden path that can't exist to find himself face to face with his sinister imaginary best friend.

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From Fears

William F. Nolan - The Train: (Gallery, Oct. 1981). Montana. This time last year, Amy wrote her brother informing him she was about to board a beautiful old steam locomotive bound for Lewistown. The train never arrived and neither did Amy. Eventually her skeleton and purse were recovered from a spur track in the Little Belt Range. The District Sheriff reckons she was killed by a "weirdo," a roving tramp, happens all the time. The steamer remains a mystery — "nobody runs 'em any more." Desperate to avenge his sister, Ventry resolves to lie in wait for one regardless. His patience is rewarded.

Pat Cadigan - The Pool: It's twenty-five years since cousin Jeffrey threw Paula's new Cinderella watch in the pool, knowing she dare not jump in after it for fear of snakes. When his mum reluctantly agreed he must replace the watch from his own allowance, he snuck back to retrieve it — and drowned. Now Jeffrey's evil spirit has returned for revenge, and Paula's little daughter has taken a sudden liking to the pool.

Joe R. Lansdale - Fish Night: (Bill Pronzini [ed.], Specter! , 1982). Weird scenes in the Navajo desert. A burnt out travelling salesman is transported back to a time before the first man crawled from the sea. Disillusioned with modern life, he's initially ecstatic ...

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José Reyes

George R. R. Martin - Remembering Melody: Ted Cirelli, hot shot Chicago lawyer receives a nuisance visitor to his apartment. Melody, his old college room-mate from dope haze, carefree orgy college days. How did she slip past the concierge. Once Melody and Ted were bosom buddies, but that was before she became a needy, grasping pain in the ass, ever in need of a favour, invariably threatening to top herself should she be denied. Latest instalment in the sob story is that latest abusive boyfriend kicked her out for quitting work at the massage parlour. Well she can't stay here! Time to put his foot down. Melody agrees to go, but not before she's left a little something for Ted to remember her by ...

Janet Fox - Surrogate: Steve and Diane Winston receive a contract breaching home visit from their surrogate mother, Kelsy Adams. How did she locate them? What will the neighbours think? What does she want? Steve wants her gone, but Diana insists the young woman carrying their child be allowed to stay just one night.

Dennis Etchison - Deathtracks: A companion piece of sorts to Inside the Cackle Factory, as another young AmiDex studio market researcher calls on fifty-somethings Robert and Sally Morrison, who've yet to return a questionnaire re this month's viewing. Turns out the Morrison's home is a shrine to 'sixties psychedelia, the front room walls adorned with fabulously rare original freak out posters & Co., legacy of their son, David, the last American boy to die fighting in Vietnam. As to their viewing habits, the couple are hooked on '60's comedies for a reason; Robert obsessively filters background dialogue from every canned laughter soundtrack hoping he'll catch someone explaining what the war was all about.

[enoch]

That picture accompanying "Remembering Melody" (good story, btw) came from Rod Serling's Twilight Zone Magazine, I believe.  I loved a lot of the illustrations that accompanied the stories.  It was kind of like getting a monthly printed version of Night Gallery.  I really need to pick up these Grant anthologies.

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Apr 15, 2022 14:17:29 GMT enoch said:

That picture accompanying "Remembering Melody" (good story, btw) came from Rod Serling's Twilight Zone Magazine, I believe.  I loved a lot of the illustrations that accompanied the stories.  It was kind of like getting a monthly printed version of Night Gallery.  I really need to pick up these Grant anthologies.

Can't believe I didn't provide the source. Twilight Zone, April 1981, same issue as Thomas Sullivan's Death Runner.

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Leann Frahm - High Tide: Cleaver, son Mike, and their neighbour's surly problem kid, Drip Buckley, take a boat out to Mud Island for a weekend's camping and night-fishing. But something's wrong. This time of year the waters should be brimming with crab and bait fish, but all they have to show for their first night's efforts are the skull of a small bird, a bristleworm and the sorry, still living top half of an acid eaten hammerhead shark. As they ready the boat to return to the tents, the trio come under attack from sentient floating masses of blue, flesh-dissolving jelly. Quite the surprise inclusion, this one.

Leslie Alan Horwitz - The Ragman: Playwright Sam Drysdale is driving to the Lincoln Centre Theatre Library to collect the annual LLewllyn award for outstanding contribution to the stage in the past twelve months. Wife Morgan is thrilled — at least, she was until Sam insisted she swap her sexy black leather pants for something appropriate to the occasion. They're still cold shouldering one another when the car is caught at the lights on Skid Row. No sooner has Sam pulled up than a cruelly disfigured, dead eyed derelict steps out front, wipes a rag across the windscreen. The writer, furious, puts his foot down, intent on scaring the poor bastard ... and runs straight over him. Horrified at what he's done, Drysdale's first thought is to call an ambulance and clear the hell out of there - but why is there no corpse in the road? Never fear. It will be back before the night is through.

[pbsplatter]

Just realized we don’t have Nightmares represented on here.

• Introduction (Nightmares) • (1979) • essay by Charles L. Grant
11 • Suffer the Little Children • (1972) • short story by Stephen King
24 • Peekaboo • (1979) • short story by Bill Pronzini
30 • Daughter of the Golden West • (1979) • short story by Dennis Etchison (variant of A Feast for Cathy 1973)
42 • The Duppy Tree • (1979) • novelette by Steven E. McDonald
69 • Naples • (1978) • short story by Avram Davidson
77 • Seat Partner • [Count of Saint-Germain] • (1979) • short story by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
90 • Camps • (1979) • novelette by Jack Dann
119 • The Anchoress • (1979) • short story by Beverly Evans
128 • Transfer • (1975) • short story by Barry N. Malzberg
136 • Unknown Drives • (1979) • short story by Richard Christian Matheson
141 • The Night of the Piasa • (1979) • novelette by J. C. Green and Geo. W. Proctor
165 • The Runaway Lovers • (1967) • short story by Ray Russell
177 • Fisherman's Log • (1979) • short story by Peter D. Pautz
187 • I Can't Help Saying Goodbye • (1978) • short story by Ann Mackenzie
191 • Midnight Hobo • (1979) • short story by Ramsey Campbell
205 • Snakes and Snails • (1979) • short story by Jack C. Haldeman, II
223 • Mass Without Voices • (1979) • short fiction by Arthur L. Samuels
226 • He Kilt It with a Stick • (1968) • short story by William F. Nolan
233 • The Ghouls • (1975) • novelette by R. Chetwynd-Hayes