Horrors! 365 Scary Stories: Get Your Daily Dose of Terror

[dem]

Stefan Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg, Martin H. Greenberg (eds.) - Horrors! 365 Scary Stories: Get Your Daily Dose of Terror (Barnes & Noble 1998)

Stefan Dziemianowicz - Introduction

Linda J. Dunn - A-Huntin' We Will Go
Peter Atkins - Adventures in Further Education
Andrew Sands - After the End of It All
David Annandale - After the Hook
Steve Rasnic Tem - After Work
Tim Waggoner - Along for the Ride
Del Stone, Jr. - And Baby Makes 13
Don Webb - And the Woman Said
Greg McElhatton - And then the Music Stopped
Aaron Vanek - Anniversary
Brian McNaughton - Another Night
David Niall Wilson - Are You the One?
Gregory Nicoll - As Thousands Screamed
Brian Hodge - Asylum
William McMahon - At 3:00 a.m.
Alan Rodgers - At the Bus Station
Michael Scott Bricker - Autumn in the Clockwork Forest
Don D'Ammassa - Bad Feelings
Karl Schroeder - Ball of Blood
Nancy Kilpatrick - Base of a Triangle
David Niall Wilson - Be Careful What You Say ...
Steve Eller - Bedtime Story
Benjamin Adams - Being of One Mind
Linda J. Dunn - Best Friends
Leslie What - Beware the Truancy Officer
Lisa Lepovetsky - The Big One
Adam Niswander - Billy
Lois H. Gresh - Birches and Murk
Paula Guran - Blood Money
Lisa S. Silverthorne - The Blue Jar
William Marden- Board Action
Michael Mardis - Bogiebox
Don Webb - The Bone Garden
Adam Niswander - The Bookseller
Phyllis Eisenstein - Boxes
Barbara J. Ferrenz - Burb Vamp
Brian McNaughton - Business Image
Donald R. Burleson - Callahan's Coat
Don D'Ammassa - Candid Camera
Lisa Jean Bothell - Candles
Michael Grisi - The Candy Man
Brian Craig [ Brian Stableford] - The Cards Speak
Lisa Lepovetsky - Carnival Wishing
Phyllis Eisenstein - The Cat
Tim Waggoner - Catharsis
Adam Niswander - Change of Life
Brian McNaughton - Changes
Don D'Ammassa - The Chindi
Ian McDowell - Christmas with the Count
Sandra Hutchinson - Circles of Purgatory
John B. Rosenman - Claws
Lillian Csernica - Cold Comfort
Judy L. Tucker - Cold Moon
Linda J. Dunn - The Collector
Jessica Amanda Salmonson - Collector of Rugs
Gary Jonas - Collector's Fever
Marion Cepican - Contract Ice
Michael Marshall Smith - A Convenient Arrangement
Steve Rasnic Tem - The Cough
Tom Piccirilli - Cower Before Bobo
Lawrence Greenberg - Crashing
Del Stone, Jr. - Crisis Line
Juleen Brantingham - A Cup of Dragon's Blood
Martin Mundt - Curses
Tim Waggoner - Daddy
Ed Williams - Dark Zone
Steve Rasnic Tem - Daytimer
Stephanie Bedwell-Grime - Dead Letter
Kathy Chwedyk - Dead Women's Things
Scott A. Cupp - Death Certificate
Wayne Allen Sallee - Death Clown
Kevin Andrew Murphy & Lillian Csernica - Death for Death
Adam-Troy Castro - The Death of Love
Steve Rasnic Tem - December
Tina L. Jens - Demon Bender
Gordon Linzner - Demon Tears
Brian Hodge - Desert Shoreline
Allison Stein Best - Dining Made Simple
John Maclay - The Distances of Hell
Thomas S. Roche - The Dogcatcher
Brian McNaughton - A Donation to the Homeless
Wayne Allen Sallee - Don's Last Minute
Lawrence Schimel - Double Crossing
Mandy Slater - The Dread
Brian McNaughton - DREAD!
Don Webb - The Dream Book
Joe Meno - Drive
Jacqueline Q. Shelton - Driven to Distraction
Phyllis Eisenstein - Dust in the Attic
Steve Rasnic Tem - Each Day
Edward E. Kramer - Early Retirement
M. Christian - The Earwig Song
Mark Hannah - Easy Money
Brian Stableford - Ebony Eyes
Benjamin Adams - Edwina Talbot
Martin R. Soderstrom - Empathy's Bed at Midnight
Hugh B. Cave - Encore
Lois H. Gresh - Engorged Pereute
Gary A. Braunbeck - Erosion Road
Gary Jonas - The Evil Dark
Brian Hodge - Extract
Edward Gaillard - Eyes Like Diamonds in a Subway Tunnel
Graham P. Collins - Fall of Man
Martin Mundt - Fashion Victim
Lisa Morton - The Fear of Eight Legs
Brian A. Hopkins - Feast of the Crows
Larry Segriff - Feeding the Beast
John Gregory Betancourt - Final Call
Terry Campbell - Finders Keepers
Yvonne Navarro - Finding Destiny
Damien Filer - Fire in the Skies over Asia
Thomas M. Sipos - Five Paranoiacs, All in a Row ...
Ben P. Indick - A Flash of Silver
David Nickle - Fly in Your Face
Peter Atkins - For Your Immediate Attention
Karen E. Taylor - Forever
Brian McNaughton - Fragment of a Diary Found on Ellesmere Island
Tom Piccirilli - From the Swamp Rot Rises My Baby's Dreams
John B. Rosenman - Future Shock
Del Stone, Jr. & C. M. Terry - The Garage
Tina L. Jens - Gators in the Sewers
Judith Post - Gentleman's Agreement
Kevin Shadle - Ghost Story
Lisa Morton - Ghost Writer
S. May Amarinth - Given by the Sun
John B. Rosenman - Glimpses
William Marden - Going Home!
Rob Wojtasiewicz - Golden Dreams
John Maclay - Good Morning. It's Me!
Donald R. Burleson - Good Dog
Kay Reynolds - Good-bye to Singer Swann
Brian Hodge - Gorgon
Terry Campbell - Graveyard Dirt
Hugh B. Cave - Green Fingers
Leslie R. Walstrom - Green Magic
Joel Ross - Half Life
Fred Behrendt - Harvest
Brian Stableford - The Haunted Nursery
Caro Soles - Heart of the Garden
S. May Amarinth - Heartbeat
Lawrence C. Connolly - Horror by Sunlight
Steve Rasnic Tem - Houses Creaking in the Wind
Michael A. Burstein - Hunger
Bradley H. Sinor - Hunt
Thomas Smith - Husks
Richard Parks - Idle Conversation at the End of the World
Peter Atkins - If Thine Eye Offends Thee
John Helfers - If You Feel You Have Reached This Number in Error ...
Nancy Holder - If You Go Out in the Woods Tonight
Peter Atkins - If You Love Someone, Let Them Go
William F. Nolan - I'll Get Away with It
Tina L. Jens - I'm a Crazy Tiger
David Annandale - Immanence
Don D'Ammassa - Immortal Muse
William Marden - In the Lonely Hours
Del Stone, Jr. - In the Wilds of the Suburbs
Don Webb - Incident in the Western Lands
Terry McGarry - Incognito
Joe Murphy - Insects and Desire
Brian McNaughton - Interrupted Pilgrimage
Wayne Allen Sallee - It's Hell Waking Up
Larry Segriff - I've Seen That Look Before
Scott David Aniolowski - The Jack-o'-Lantern
Terry Campbell - Just Another Good Ol' Haunted House
Robert Weinberg - Just Desserts
Darrell Schweitzer - Just Suppose
Edward Bryant - Knock
James Anderson - Lady of the Night
S. May Amarinth - The Lamia's Soliloquy
Peter Cannon - Last Fight
William Marden - The Last Laugh
Richard Gilliam - The Last Resort
Scott Edelman - The Last Wish
Anthony R. Lewis - A Late Date
Adam Niswander - Liar's Dice
Benjamin Adams - The Light of Truth
David Niall Wilson - Like a Charm
Dawn Dunn - A Likeness of Me
Linda J. Dunn - The Little Black Dog
Scott M. Brents - Little Man
Benjamin Adams - Lopez
Jessica Amanda Salmonson - Lost Pao
Terry Campbell - Love Sat Alone on a Foggy Pier
Brian McNaughton - Lovelocks
Brian McNaughton - Magpie
Bob Stein - Making It Right
Del Stone, Jr. - Mall of the Dead
Brian McNaughton - Many Happy Returns
Mollie L. Burleson - Memory
Michael L. McComas - The Midwife's Temptation
Tim Waggoner - Mirroring
Michael Mardis - Miss Courtney's Beau
Will Murray - Miss Hitchbone Reclaims Her Own
James Robert Smith - Misunderstanding
S. Darnbrook Colson -The Monster Within
Richard T. Chizmar - Monsters
Joe Meno - Moth
Öjvind Bernander - Mother Lode
Scott David Aniolowski - Mr. Bauble's Bag
Lyn Nichols - Mr. Brubaker Goes to Work
Brian A. Hopkins - Much More Than You Know
Juleen Brantingham - Mud
Lisa Lepovetsky - The Music Box
Brian Stableford - My Evil Twin
Michael A. Arnzen - My Wound Still Weeps
William Rotsler - A New Life
John B. Rosenman - New Oldies
Sara Simmons - Night Chase
Scott David Aniolowski - The Night Club
Tim Waggoner - Night Eyes
Blythe Ayne - Night Terrors
Bob Morrish - Night Train
Linda J. Dunn - Nightmares
Lisa Morton - Nikola, Moonstruck
Lyn Nichols - No Pain
David Niall Wilson - No Strings Attached
A. M. Dellamonica - Novice
Brian McNaughton - The Number You Have Reached
Jason A. Tanner - Odd Jobs
William Marden - The Odor of Sanctity
Bruce Boston - On Spending the Night Alone in a Haunted House: A User's Guide
Tom Piccirilli - On the Panecraft Train
Judith Post - One for the Road
Greg McElhatton - One Romantic Evening ...
Hugh B. Cave - One Way
Peter Atkins - Only Death, Sir
Greg McElhatton - Parasite
Phyllis Eisenstein - The Park
Lawrence Schimel - Parlor Games
Tom Piccirilli - Patient Fate
Barry Hoffman - Penance
Linda J. Dunn - The Perfect Baby
David Niall Wilson - A Perfect Lady
John R. Platt - Phone Tag
Greg van Eekhout - Picnic Under the Sky
Scott Edelman - Picture This
Don D'Ammassa - The Piggy Bank
Robert Devereaux - Pine Supine
Randy Miller - Pinning Dante
Scott M. Brents - Plant Kingdom
Randy Miller - Porky Pig in the Mirror
Don D'Ammassa - The Predator
William Marden - Prime Crime
Lisa Morton - The Proof in the Picture
Michael Gillis - The Pull-out Atlas of the Unseen World
Robert Devereaux - Pullover
Gary Jonas - Quality Time
Dan Perez - The Quimby House Ghost
Jessica Reisman - Rain Brujah
Wayne Allen Sallee - The Ramp on Trumbull Street
John B. Rosenman - Rattle Them Bones
Lisa Lepovetsky - Reading the Cards
Gerard Daniel Houarner - Revelations
Gary Jonas - Revival Meeting at the Breakfast Bar
Brian Stableford - The Riddle of the Sphinx
Benjamin Adams - Road Story
Phyllis Eisenstein - The Robe
Trey R. Barker - Romance for Violin and Knife, Op. 1
Janet Berliner - Romany
Jessica Amanda Salmonson - Romeo and Juliet
William Marden - The Root of the Matter!
Billie Sue Mosiman - Rosa Two-Coins
Yvonne Navarro - Rosner's Hat
Brian McNaughton - Rubber-Face
Tim Waggoner - Rude Awakenings
Don Herron - Runaway
Nancy Kilpatrick - Rural Legend
Stephen Dedman - Sarcophagus
Richard Gilliam - Scanning
Jeff Strand - Scarecrow's Discovery
Gordon R. Ross - Screamer
Adam-Troy Castro - The Second Time Around
Lawrence Schimel - The Second Vial
Tim Waggoner - The Secret of Bees
Stephen Woodworth - Serial Killers
Sue Storm - Shades of Gray
Adam Niswander - Shadrach
Devon Monk - Shattering the Sonata
Yvonne Navarro - Sherri Goes to the Office
Kay Reynolds - She Waits ...
David Annandale - Shift
Lawrence C. Connolly - Shooting Evil
Gordon Linzner - Shutter
Brian Hodge - Sibling Rivalry
Scott M. Brents - The Silver and the Damage Done
Stephen Dedman - Silver Futures
Judith Post - Six Deaths More
Tim Waggoner - Skeptic
Cindie Geddes - Slips of Pink Paper
Brian McNaughton - Smell
Nancy Kilpatrick - Smother Love
Benjamin Adams - The Snow Globes
Donald R. Burleson - Snowman
Lisa Jean Bothell - Solstice
Lawrence Schimel - Someday My Prints Will Come
Ron Collins - Sometimes the Answer Is Yes
Lawrence Greenberg - The Sound
Lillian Csernica & Kevin Andrew Murphy - Special Interests
T. W. Kriner - Speed
Jay R. Bonansinga - Speed Demon
Joe Meno - Spring
Michael Grisi - St. Louis #2
Lawrence Person - Stains
Don D'Ammassa - Stakeout
Louise Rowder - Static
Blythe Ayne - Stone Face
David Niall Wilson - Straight to the Heart
Terry Campbell - The Stranger's Tomb
Adam-Troy Castro - Suds
Kevin Shadle - Summer Retreat
David C. Woomer - Swamp Flowers
John Gregory Betancourt - Sympathy for Mad Scientists
John Gregory Betancourt - Sympathy for Mummies
John Gregory Betancourt - Sympathy for Psychos
John Gregory Betancourt - Sympathy for Vampires
John Gregory Betancourt -Sympathy for Wolves
Hugh B. Cave - Teacher's Pets
Stephen Mark Rainey - Temperance
Joel S. Ross - Terminal Intensity
Dominick Cancilla - That's Mr. Wiggles!
C. J. Henderson - That's the One
Andrew Sands - There It Is Again
Del Stone, Jr. - The Thing in the Dark
John C. Bunnell - This Is a Test
Richard Gilliam - Three Dark Doors
Michael Mardis - 'Til Death Do Us Part
James Robert Smith - Time
Martin Mundt - Time Capsule
Scott M. Brents - Time Flies
Del Stone, Jr. - The Tooth Fairy
Yvonne Navarro - Trigger Moment
Anne Bishop - Tunnel
Lou Kemp - Twelve All Hallows
Michael Scott Bricker - Two Shades, Hearts in Shadow
Hugh B. Cave - Unfinished Journey
Benjamin Adams - Until the Next Train
Benjamin Adams - Up Our Block
Lawrence Watt-Evans - Upstairs
Brian Stableford - The Valley of the Shadow
Thomas M. Sipos - Vampire Nation
Tippi N. Blevins - The Vampire's Burden
Ilona Ouspenskaya - The Vampire's Caravan
Tom Piccirilli - Vengeance Is Me
Adam-Troy Castro - Vocabulary
Steve Rasnic Tem - Voices in the Dark
Greg van Eekhout - Waiting Up for Father
Shikhar Dixit - Wall Art
Juleen Brantingham - Welcome Home
Adam-Troy Castro - The Well
Michael Scott Bricker - Western Moves
Cynthia Ward - White Beauty
Linda J. Dunn - The White Lady of the I-70 Overpass
Steve Eller - ... Who Swallowed a Spider
Brian McNaughton - Why We Fear the Dark
Phyllis Eisenstein - Wild Animals
Tim Waggoner - A Wild Hair
Adam-Troy Castro - Windshield
L. S. Silverthorne - Winter Solstice
Lawrence C. Connolly - Wired for Fear
Tom Piccirilli - Without Barbara on New Year's Eve
Mark Hannah - Wood Is an Amazing Thing
Paul Smith & Thomas Smith - Worms
David Niall Wilson - You Can't Teach an Old Town New Tricks
Stephen Dedman - Your Own Light-Hearted Friend
Dawn Dunn - You're Dead

This copy came minus dust jacket so have borrowed one from Am*z*n. Bloody size of the thing - 734 pages. Possibly the ultimate dip in, dip out collection. Doubt I'll ever get to finish it, and have no intention of reading the stories in order.

Linda J. Dunn - A-Huntin' We Will Go: "You gone soft on me, boy?" Jeremy, the reluctant participant in Dad's hunting weekend in the woods, shoots something he shouldn't ought to have killed. After dismembering the body, Dad insists he keep its horn as a souvenir. Now they're roasting it's torso over a fire 'cause Dad won't waste good meat. Then....

David Annandale - After The Hook: So what happens to the girl after she and her boyfriend survive their encounter with the Hook on Lovers Lane? "Enters some kind of Existential Hell" is the answer to that one if this flash piece is to be believed.

363 to go. This will be a cinch!

[Swampirella]

Sounds daunting even to me! Good luck with it, glad you've already read tomorrow's story

[dem]

Oct 19, 2018 11:33:36 GMT Swampirella said:

Sounds daunting even to me! Good luck with it, glad you've already read tomorrow's story

Had a prior dabble via archive.org, so some stories/ vignettes already commented elsewhere. As is to be expected, found them very hit and miss, though my hits may well be the next reader's misses and vice versa..

Martin Mundt - Fashion Victim: Trendy gal goes shopping for a killer dress.

Don Webb - Incident in the Western Lands: A lifelong Egyptologist purloins an amulet from the museum. PtahSokarNakt needs a replacement mummy to guard his tomb now the original has rotted away ....

Terry Campbell - Graveyard Dirt: Ernie collects it in little glass jars. Dad ain't best pleased at his son's hobby, especially when he takes a sample from Grandma's grave. Ernie turns to the local medicine woman for advice.

Nancy Kilpatrick - Smother Love: Domineering mother talks Timothy out of taking up with the girl who could set him free.

Scott M. Brents - The Silver and the Damage Done: "SILVER DEATH. The virtual werewolf game, so real it should be illegal." It has since been banned but, tragically for wealthy businessman Walter Pindowell, not before he got hold of a copy.

Michael Grisi - The Candy Man: An old man turns vigilante to thwart a prolific child murderer.

Linda J. Dunn - Best Friends: Everyone who meets her thinks Marcie is the most wonderful woman on the planet. Beautiful, intelligent, generous, a success at anything she turns her hand to. Who wouldn't bless their luck to have such a perfect best friend?

Gregory Nicoll - As Thousands Screamed: A rock guitarist receives hate mail warning this will be his final tour.

William F. Nolan - I'll Get Away with It: Abused son finally turns on father when the old sadist insists he turn off the TV during a Boris Karloff movie.

Peter Atkins - For Your Immediate Attention: That you bought this book suggests you like being scared, so you'll doubtless be thrilled to learn a killer followed you home from the store .... Reminiscent of Anthony Horowitz's The Shortest Horror Story Ever Told.

Kay Reynolds - Good-bye to Singer Swann: A dead rock singer finally persuades his grasping agent to provide a suitably spectacular tombstone.

Mark Hannah - Wood Is an Amazing Thing: Deep thoughts of axe-wielding man as he smashes down door to get at victim.

Richard Gilliam - The Last Resort: Founder of Respect Radio wages pro-active campaign against DJ's at rival station who talk over music. Bobby 'Music-in-the-morning' Walters is but the latest to wind up at the correction centre.

Alan Rodgers - At the Bus Station: 4 a.m. Unemployed man meets girl at the depot. As she climbs aboard bus, she flashes him a malicious smile. Too cryptic for this reader who could make no sense of it at all.

Hugh B. Cave - Encore: Handsome bastard Alton Hayes makes a habit of marrying wealthy women and killing them for their cash. The ghost of his previous victim tips off Grace as to his intentions.

[dem]

More pre-millennial terrors. Am enjoying this collection far more than expected but very early days yet! Quality Time through to Phone Tag are pretty nasty.

Garry Jonas - Quality Time: Following an acrimonious divorce, Dennis Pratchett has been denied access to little Jimmy and Suzy for the longest time. Now Elizabeth has relented, he can't wait to put things right!

Scott David Aniolowski - The Night Club: Teenage runaway Jimmy hooks up with a hearse-driving gang of shaven headed outsiders. The cool ghouls drive him out into a field ....

Stephen Dedman - Sarcophagus: Nobel winner invests her prize money in developing a time machine. Now to get even with her reptile-loathing first husband ....

John R. Platt - Phone Tag: A creep abducts little Stephie, calls her parents demanding $100,000 for her safe return. A series of unforeseen circumstances keep the Andersons away from their phone for a crucial 48 hours. Will they get to check their messages before it's too late?

Stephen Dedman - Silver Future: Peter Ferris, werewolf, boards a flight to the moon. Tyrell is assigned to take him into custody. Let battle commence!

Ian McDowell - Christmas With The Count: Dracula, with one eye on the Anne Rice market, agrees to an interview. It coincides with the annual celebrations marking his birthday.

[dem]

Today's dose.

Lisa Morton - Ghost Writer: The haunted fax machine and the slimy author who stole credit for a dead man's great unpublished novel.

John Gregory Betancourt - Sympathy For Mad Scientists: Cruel week in the life of Baron Victor Frankenstein. First his invitation to address the Hammelberg Conference is withdrawn following a complaint by Dr. Anderson, then loyal Igor goes missing after a minor surgical procedure. That, and the peasants are revolting - again.

John Gregory Betancourt - Sympathy For Mummies: Of all the tombs in Egypt, Professor Jones had to raid that of the Pharaoh's least charismatic bureaucrat ....

John Gregory Betancourt - Sympathy For Psychos: Personal pick of the "Sympathy..." miniatures by a distance. Vagrant John Crane shot dead the old cemetery warden to save him from the mind-manipulating spider on his head. Crane has hidden out among the graves ever since, digging tunnels, setting traps, keeping watch. Should others fall prey to the evil arachnids, he'll be ready ...

John Gregory Betancourt - Sympathy For Vampires: Fed up of being stalked by Fred, her newly undead neighbour, Shelley sets ground rules. In return for sucking her blood, he can stay home nights and help with all the household chores. A sheepish Fred returns home to his wife.

John Gregory Betancourt - Sympathy For Wolves: A real curio. It's a bitterly cold winter. Man who turned his back on his fellow werewolves relents, allows the pack into his house to warm their bones for the night. Peace and harmony.

Lillian Csernica & Kevin Andrew Murphy - Special Interests: A dating agency for serial killers. Romance blossoms between Sebastian O, aka The Red Slasher, and Sharisse, The Happy Home-maker.

Hugh B. Cave - Green Fingers: An author is visited by the death-dealing slime beast he created for his latest novel (Happily, it was the disgruntled cover artist grassed him up).

Lawrence Watt-Evans - Upstairs: A bad case of inconsiderate neighbours. Jack, his patience exhausted, visits the flat above to air his grievances. Fatal mistake.

Bruce Boston - On Spending the Night Alone in a Haunted House: A User's Guide: The etiquette of ghost-hunting, or, how to get yourself torn apart by spectres and ghouls: 16 detailed instructions.

Adam Niswander - The Bookseller: Why you should never request of a bookshop proprietor, "show me the rarest item in the store."

Lawrence Person - Stains: Death of he who surrendered Jesus Christ to the will of the people. The mortuary beauticians do their thing, but the blood won't wash off his hands.

Barbara J. Ferrenz - Burb Vamp: Shelley fends off a newly vampirised Chaz with a holiday brochure and a neat line in bullshit.

[Swampirella]

Thanks for mentioning archive.org; I'm now fifth on the waiting list and frankly don't mind having a few months to brace myself before attempting it

[dem]

Oct 22, 2018 0:32:59 GMT Swampirella said:

Thanks for mentioning archive.org; I'm now fifth on the waiting list and frankly don't mind having a few months to brace myself before attempting it

Hope you find these 1-3 pagers as addictive as I have, Swampi.

Hugh B. Cave - Teacher's Pets: "Every breed of dog has its defects, but I think by mixing genes I may be able to produce something superior." Who in the right mind would be a Mad Scientist? Expelled from his University post for unethical practice, Dr. Langendorf continues his experiments back home in the woods. Comes the day his human-canine hybrids revolt and tear him to pieces ....

Donald R. Burleson - Snowman: The three weird Dudley kids, dancing around the fat ugly snowman they built in Roland's yard. He just has to take a closer look.

Lawrence Schimel - Parlor Games : Our Dead Stay That Way. Peter Herne operates the only Baltimore funeral parlor guarantees you'll not see your dear departed up and working in some field. A black market rival hatches a plan to put him out of business. 'Right,' thinks Peter. 'This is war.'

Adam-Troy Castro - Suds: Lydia takes a long, relaxing dip in the tub. Seems innocent enough. Can't see anything bad happening here. Oh, wait ....

Martin Mundt - Curses: A veteran hex-buster is hired to lift the ancient spell binding shut a Grimoire.

Stephen Mark Rainey - Temperance: Sean and Lysette hook up in a Chicago dive bar. No sooner have they set foot outside than he's bottled by muggers. Miss were-leopard saves the day, but Sean has his standards and calls off the date.

Robert Weinberg - Just Desserts: Farewell, pulp author Martin Crosby, 87, the one man fiction factory. On arriving in Hell (all authors go there, no matter how blameless their lives), Martin is pleasantly surprised. It's really not so bad ... until Satan points to the hugest pile of unsolicited manuscripts in history .....

Mollie L. Burleson - Memory: Just when you resolve to take the bold step, walk out on this joyless, soul-destroying job, a tap on the arm from the boss reminds you where you are.

Hugh B. Cave - One Way: Tabloid reporter and psychic investigator Arthur A. Arnheim explores a cave where several men reputedly disappeared into nothingness. 'As if!,' thinks Arnheim. What do these dumb hill billies take him for?

[dem]

Michael Marshall Smith - A Convenient Arrangement: Every now and again at parties, one among a group of six lifelong friends has a propensity for slashing random throats with a wineglass.

Stephen Dedman - Your Own Light-Hearted Friend: Whitechapel, September 1888. The Ripper has taken it upon himself to save the world from an extra-terrestrial humanoid bent on destroying the human race. It's hardly his fault that the alien is so adept at changing her appearance.

Steve Rasnic Tem - After Work: Marie's expresses her disdain for husband Derek spending every waking hour at work by mock-hanging herself over and over.

Don D'Ammassa - Candid Camera: Patrick Olsen died a fantastically wealthy man, but heir Stewart has no joy in locating Uncle's secret horde until he finds the magic camera. Sadly he takes one snapshot too many.

Bradley H. Sinor - The Hunt: Training school for newly created vampires involves long hours mastering a virtual reality challenge. Malcolm messes up again.

Michael A. Burstein - Hunger: Rudolfo the vampire opts for cryopreservation to wait out the centuries until his kind have conquered the earth. Finally emerging from his refrigerated coffin he senses something is wrong ....

Sympathy For Vampires, Christmas With The Count, Burb Vamp .... the blood-sucker stories in this volume read like out-takes from 100 Vicious Little Vampire Stories.

[dem]

Brian McNaughton interlude #1. Several of his sixteen contributions to 365 would soon resurface in the aptly named collections Nasty Stories and Even More Nasty Stories (both Wildside Press, 2000).


Another Night: The aged Abdul Mohammed weds Farasha, who knocks spots off every previous 'most beautiful women in the history of the universe' we've met this week. Farasha is also several decades his junior. Suspicious that she's having it off with every Tom, Dick and Harry in his employ, Abdul unwisely puts his wife's love to the test.

A Donation to the Homeless: (As by 'Mark Bloodstone'). A paedophilia trial collapses, leaving the accused, Alduous Loudon, a free man. Loudon, now destitute, approaches a reporter who covered the case. "Don't feel so bad, Bert. Those kids were telling the truth." Against his better judgement, Bert gives the starved and freezing Black Magician his coat ...

Fragment of a Diary Found on Ellesmere Island: The six survivors of a shipwreck draw lots to decide which of them is to be killed and eaten. According to diarist Jimmy, the loser's ghost has since returned to gloat when the meat ran out and a second victim was required. A bear ran off with victim #3 before they could cook him. The final entry is in the hand of young Abel Hodgson, who uses his final moments to denounce Jimmy's testimony as fabrication and whitewash.

Gorgon: Greg, who has only bad memories of his upbringing, nevertheless attends a class reunion (in heaven's name, why?) with glam wife Alana (may have answered my own question). And there to greet him, Miss Chaplin, the sexual predator responsible for his misery ...

"Nasty Stories" for sure.

[dem]

Judith Post - One for the Road: The ghost of a drunk driver returns on the anniversary of the fatal crash they caused to claim the life of a fellow irresponsible motorist.

Richard T. Chizmar - Monsters: Peyton Manning drives teeny-bopper Mary Beth out to a dirt road in the woods for some serious necking and stuff. An old friend of ours has other ideas. Very good, this one.

Lawrence C. Connolly - Horror by Sunlight: Is Julia's eccentric Uncle a werewolf? Seeing him at the breakfast table, Nelson is prepared to dismiss what he saw last night as a dream, until ....

Del Stone, Jr. - Crisis Line: Good Samaritan Murray dispenses sympathy and marital advice to those who've reached the end of their tether.

Greg McElhatton - One Romantic Evening ...: Never again will Kate reply to a personal ad after tonight's explosive blind date with Count Fyodor Rasputin. Another 100 Vicious Little Vampires-a-like

Lyn Nichols - Mr. Brubaker Goes to Work: Clothes maketh the cannibal serial killer.

S. Darnbrook Colson - The Monster Within: Anyone whose lifestyle the protagonist disproves of - e.g., non-conformists, immigrants, people who don't use a pen to mark a voting slip, etc - is an abomination who must be destroyed.

Lisa Lepovetsky - Carnival Wishing: Aunt Beth tells little Cassie she can only make her dreams come true through sacrifice. What Cassie wishes most of all is that she didn't have to live with her horrible mother. A day trip to the Carnival provides opportunity to put Aunt's suggestion to the test.

[dem]

Again, more hits than misses. Particularly like Candles, Good Dog and The Earwig Song.

Judith Post - Gentleman's Agreement: Elijah Fryburg, prominent banker and Satanist, operates on a morally dubious but legal financial favours for souls basis.

M. Christian - The Earwig Song: Mel Rose can't get it out of his head. Musical variation on an Oscar Cook classic.

Lisa Jean Bothell - Candles: That will teach Daddy to forget her sixteenth birthday! Doesn't tell you much, but this is probably my pick of today's batch.

John B. Rosenman - Claws: With his murder of the company's president, Jacobs has cause to re-evaluate his opinion on reincarnation, soul transference and all "that Bridey Murphy Crap."

Scott M. Brents - Plant Kingdom: "It ain't normal keeping a boy like that at home. Hell, he's a grown man. He should be in a special school for the mentally handicapped." But Cirus McDaniels sure has the magic touch when it comes to growing cucumbers. Fruit & Veg horror.

Thomas M. Sipos - Five Paranoiacs, All in a Row ...: Dr. Milo encourages his patients to share their out of body experiences. They've all been to Hell and back, and back, and back ....

Edward E. Kramer - Early Retirement: Some guys have all the luck, and such is the case with narrator's lifelong best friend. Kenneth Brock got the girl, the dream house, the plum job, the great career. Now he's landed the lottery jackpot. And his loser pal is supposed to be happy for him?

Donald R. Burleson - Good Dog: A socially isolated widow, kids grown up, moved far away. Life just wouldn't be worth living were it not for her faithful unto death and beyond German Shepherd.

[dem]

Fred Behrendt - Harvest: Never snog an entomologist.

Del Stone, Jr. - Mall of the Dead: The mannequins are coming to kill us all! The mannequins are coming to kill us all!

Ed Williams - Dark Zone: Prof. Norman leads a party of students deep into a Mexican cave noted for its unique blind piranha and creepy crawlies.

Yvonne Navarro - Sherri Goes to the Office: Who's gonna be brave enough to tell her she's two weeks dead?

Trey R. Barker - Romance for Violin and Knife, Op. 1: With a great deal of help from wife, Ada, the maestro restrings his instrument.

Tom Piccirilli - From the Swamp Rot Rises My Baby's Dreams: Jenny summons the God of the mire, a giant elemental comprised of dead men's bones.

John Gregory Betancourt - Final Call: The last man in the world considers his options. The phone rings.

David Annandale - Shift: Neilson purchases vintage telescope at auction, becomes man who saw too much. Cosmic dread, etc.

Lisa Morton - The Fear of Eight Legs: Arachnophobic spring cleans the crawl space. So that's where the previous tenants got to!

Terry Campbell - Just Another Good Ol' Haunted House: Kevin and Tommy break into the wax museum after dark. The macabre exhibits see to it that they never leave.

Peter Atkins - If Thine Eye Offends Thee: The man with the child in his eyes. Literally.

Larry Segriff - Feeding the Beast: Try as he might to get on with his neighbours, they will insist on doing things that annoy him.

Tina L. Jens - Gators in the Sewers: Either Phoebe is imagining things or there's a tiny crocodilian in her soup.

[Swampirella]

Thanks for doggedly working your way through this doorstopper of a book.

[dem]

Nov 14, 2018 21:46:25 GMT Swampirella said:

More stories that reasonably good, thanks for doggedly working your way through this doorstopper of a book. I took my name off the waitlist for now at archive.org, too many other books I want to read first before I try to tackle a 700 pager. I'm sure you know that feeling well!

It's one fiendish book, daren't take your eyes off the thing, as it seems to generate additional stories the second your back is turned. The hits to misses ratio is impressive, although, as always, it must be taken into account that I'm not the most discerning reader.

Nancy Holder - If You Go Out in the Woods Tonight: Beware of the McIvey family and their razor wire man-traps!

Leslie What - Beware the Truancy Officer: Miss Virgil of Dante High pursues zero tolerance policy toward negligent parents.

Stephanie Bedwell-Grime - Dead Letter: Lethal email. Don't open the attachment.

Scott A. Cupp - Death Certificate: Tom laughs off his sick birthday gift as a gag. Wife Karen fails to see the "joke." Sender is evidently a big fan of The Monk.

Paula Guran - Blood Money: Jake and John Boy beat an old geezer to death for his $6,000 life savings. Wait til they try to spend it! The latest thing in marked bills.

[Swampirella]

Ok, after reading your latest post, I put my name back on the list. Guess I'm not too discerning either, when it comes to this one. Just glad I'll be reading it in digital form and not carrying the real hernia-inducing book around.