In T. Coraghessan Boyle's hilariously over-the-top contribution, "The Miracle at Ballinspittle," a plaster statue of the Virgin Mary grants a hellaciously thorough vision. In Louise Erdrich's sharp and funny "Le Mooz," a pair of aging, argumentative Ojibwe Indians share a love that transcends death in unique fashion. Nicola Griffith's "A Troll Story" portrays a haunted Viking-era farm in the beautiful language and rhythms of an Old Norse saga. Pamela Painter's spooky "Doors" would have made a fine Twilight Zone episode. In Ben Pastor's "Achilles' Grave," a pair of enemy soldiers, English and German, raise the dead at Gallipoli. In "The Way He Knew It," Rick Zind explores a transcendantly dysfunctional relationship. --Cynthia Ward