Steve Bowles - Twisters

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Steve Bowles - Twisters: Stories Of the Sinister And Macabre (Fontana Lions Original 1981)

Justin Todd

Steve Bowles - Introduction

Robert T Kurosaka - A Lot To Learn
Fredric Brown - Nightmare In Yellow
Ralph Milne Farley - The Man Who Could Turn Back The Clock
Henry Slesar - Examination Day
Harold Rosleth - Hey You Down There!
Julian Symons - Pick-Up On The Dover Road
Len Gray - Little Old Lady From Cricket Creek
John Escott - Firebird
Dorothy Edwards - Man Eater
John Collier - The Chaser
Patricia Highsmith - Sauce For The Goose
Henry Slesar - The Haunted Man
Damon Knight - Maid To Measure
Ursula Curtiss - A Judicious Half Inch
Fredric Brown - Nasty

Blurb:
MAN EATER
`No such thing as a man-eating plant? You're wrong there,' said the nurseryman. 'Mind, we fed this one on lean beef, mostly, until one day when it got over-excited ...

NASTY
He had drawn the symbols, lit the candles and read the incantation. The demon appeared, and seemed to know at once his innermost desire...

NIGHTMARE IN YELLOW
He had planned it down to the last detail: fraud, murder and a new identity. Now he swung the cosh viciously once, and caught her before she fell...

Fifteen chilling stories of mystery, crime and suspense by masters in the art of the macabre Julian Symons, Patricia Highsmith and many others.

Robert T Kurosaka - A Lot To Learn: Here's Ned Quinn's with his latest and greatest invention. Ned need only apply the headset and The Materializer will immediately supply anything he asks for! It pays to give specific instructions.

Ursula Curtiss - A Judicious Half Inch: Mr. Menlow promised to take the children to the horse show, only to renege on the deal now his god-awful mother has come to stay. Sweet little Chrissie, six, who has something of the Wednesday Addams about her, is most annoyed. Out comes her nurses uniform.

Dorothy Edwards - Man Eater: Too weedy for words. Unutterably despicable botanist converts man-eating plant to vegetarianism. What a total bastard.

Frederic Brown - Nasty: The woman is yet to be born can resist a man in the Devil's Speedo's.

Frederic Brown - Nightmare In Yellow: Provided he leaves before morning, the bank won't discover his embezzlement until he's far beyond their reach and living a life of luxury on some tropical idyll. But before departure there's a vanity project to attend. Today is his 40th birthday, and by way of celebration, he's going to kill his wife for the sheer enjoyment of doing so.

Ralph Milne Farley - The Man Who Could Turn Back The Clock: Protagonist has enviable gift of rectifying his every mistake by turning back time. Comes the day when his ever-suspicious wife asks what really happened between him and the seductive young woman in the barn?

Damon Knight - Maid To Measure: Yana is annoyed at her boyfriend Robert's persistent letching after fellow holiday-maker Giselle. Her mother, a witch and shape-shifter, would have known what to do with Romeo. Fortunately she bequeathed Yana a bottle of her magic potion. Who or what shall she be?

Thanks to Franklin Marsh

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John Escott - Firebird: Eddie Zimmer, the product of a broken home, detests Mr. Logarth, his Eng. Lang. teacher. The feeling is mutual. Logarth takes cruel delight in humiliating Eddie, encouraging the other kids to laugh at his every grammatical error. Only the new girl, Elaine Sutton refuses to join in. Elaine is an artist of some promise. Eddie adores her, adores her beautiful red hair that reminds him of flames. Eddie likes flames.

As Logarth bullies Elaine to tears before the class, Eddie plans his next fire.

John Collier - The Chaser: The old man in the dingy Pell Street shop trades in two fantastic potions. The love philtre is dirt cheap., the untraceable poison, prohibitively expensive. There is nothing wrong with his business acumen.

Len Gray - Little Old Lady From Cricket Creek: Alf Bowen is sceptical when 65-year-old Mabel Jumpstone joins the company as a filing clerk, but she proves herself a capable and popular employee, the best typist in the pool and a real asset. Until ...

Of the less familiar stories, the tragic Firebird is well worthy of your time.