“They really do keep us awake at night… those of us who don’t consume a fifth of vodka a night, that is.”

3. A Century of Horror: 1970-1979, The Greatest Stories of the Decade – Ed. David Drake

This collection, published in 1996, is super. I bought it because I’m very interested in the horror of the time before smartphones so I don’t have to read about them being smashed or the lack of reception or read any freaking text messages within the narrative. I particularly like the colors in 1970s horror movies and giallo movies as well, still no cellphones or smartphones there at all.

Anyway, this fits that bill and it gave me the opportunity to finally read a story that clearly influenced both The Blair Witch Project and True Detective season one, “Sticks” by Karl Edward Wagner. It’s a damn good story. Way more cosmic than I expected, but creepy as all hell.

I enjoyed a lot of the stories in here, but another particularly striking selection for me was “Best Interests” by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. This one is reminiscent of Soylent Green (the rich people part) and also the episode of the X-Files from 2018 with the most memorable of titles, “Rm9sbG93ZXJz,” where the automated world goes horribly wrong repeatedly after Mulder won’t leave a tip for that blobfish he didn’t even order. In this one the “Dial” is the AI/future controller of your life and it’s aptly titled.

My other favorite was unexpected because I really had a weird impression of the first thing I read by Michael Bishop, the novel Who Made Stevie Crye? Oh geez. But, “Seasons of Belief,” that’s a short story with punch and dread. I loved it and it’s the best possible kind of story to close a collection if you want it to leave an impression.

 

Speaking of making an impression… Camille in a very 1970s felt hat has made Dagmar wish to look far, far away.