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The Little Book of Horrors
All lovers of the grim and grisly will relish this tiny tome of terrific tales. It is a collection of very short stories and poems.
126 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 10, 2014
Great little stories. Good for those spare moments that are too short for getting into a full novel.
March 13, 2018
Disclaimer: I read this book years ago, so my memory of it is a little sketchy in places. The fact remains however, that some of the stories and vignettes in it made such an impression on me that they've stayed with me all this time. For that reason, I think it warrants an attempt at a review. Still with me? Good, here goes...
The Little Book of Horrors (Tiny Tales of Terror) does exactly what it says on the tin. Mainly comprised of what is nowadays referred to as 'flash fiction' (herein called 'short-short' stories, many of which are shorter than this review), with an accompaniment of vignettes, traditional folk tales and even ghoulish facts, a lot is crammed into what is a pretty slim volume. The book succeeds in showcasing the ability of its featured writers to flesh out an entire story in only a few pages, a single page or sometimes less.
Some of the stand-out contributions that I remember are a rare piece of single-page fiction by Roald Dahl, several excerpts from 'In His Own Write' by John Lennon, a story about a very large and hungry god ('Thang,' by Martin Gardner) and others, from a selection too broad and numerous to mention. As would probably be expected from the number of contributors, there is some variation in consistency, but there is more than enough contained between the covers to keep most readers happy, especially suited to whiling away a few minutes here and there. Special mention should be given to Joe R Lansdale, who I first read in this book. His two contributions, 'Dog, Cat and Baby,' and 'Chompers,' are still two of the best examples of flash fiction I have ever read, 'Dog, Cat and Baby' in particular being the sort of story that literally begs to be read aloud to a friend. Try it for yourself; I have.
With black and white illustrations from the likes of Edward Gorey and Aubrey Beardsley, 'The Little Book of Horrors' is a great addition to the bookshelf of any lover of macabre fiction with a dash of pitch black humour.
The Little Book of Horrors (Tiny Tales of Terror) does exactly what it says on the tin. Mainly comprised of what is nowadays referred to as 'flash fiction' (herein called 'short-short' stories, many of which are shorter than this review), with an accompaniment of vignettes, traditional folk tales and even ghoulish facts, a lot is crammed into what is a pretty slim volume. The book succeeds in showcasing the ability of its featured writers to flesh out an entire story in only a few pages, a single page or sometimes less.
Some of the stand-out contributions that I remember are a rare piece of single-page fiction by Roald Dahl, several excerpts from 'In His Own Write' by John Lennon, a story about a very large and hungry god ('Thang,' by Martin Gardner) and others, from a selection too broad and numerous to mention. As would probably be expected from the number of contributors, there is some variation in consistency, but there is more than enough contained between the covers to keep most readers happy, especially suited to whiling away a few minutes here and there. Special mention should be given to Joe R Lansdale, who I first read in this book. His two contributions, 'Dog, Cat and Baby,' and 'Chompers,' are still two of the best examples of flash fiction I have ever read, 'Dog, Cat and Baby' in particular being the sort of story that literally begs to be read aloud to a friend. Try it for yourself; I have.
With black and white illustrations from the likes of Edward Gorey and Aubrey Beardsley, 'The Little Book of Horrors' is a great addition to the bookshelf of any lover of macabre fiction with a dash of pitch black humour.
March 10, 2018
The illustrations of monsters may mislead you (this book features lots of art, much of it from pulp magazines and newspapers), these are primarily humorous stories of violence and death, but also quite a lot of news reports of nasty happenings (which the editor notes are probably not always actually true), with only a sprinkling of supernatural or science fiction pieces. None of the pieces are longer than 4 pages.
The most impressive thing is the sheer variety of the authors, quite unusual for such a horror anthology. Features famous authors like Dickens, Chandler, Yeats and Twain; Joe R Lansdale and Richard Christian Matheson (successful horror authors of the early 90s); but also surprises like EH Visiak and as many as four stories by John Lennon.
The quality is fairly decent, but some stories seemed pointless or just too slight. I was disappointed the Visiak piece was just a very short poem.
My favorites were by Richard Middleton, Jessica Amanda Salmonson (like a Dunsany tale), Liao Chai (I guess this is actually Pu Songling?), Priscilla Marron (her only printed work?) Alexander Woollcott and Mark Twain.
The most impressive thing is the sheer variety of the authors, quite unusual for such a horror anthology. Features famous authors like Dickens, Chandler, Yeats and Twain; Joe R Lansdale and Richard Christian Matheson (successful horror authors of the early 90s); but also surprises like EH Visiak and as many as four stories by John Lennon.
The quality is fairly decent, but some stories seemed pointless or just too slight. I was disappointed the Visiak piece was just a very short poem.
My favorites were by Richard Middleton, Jessica Amanda Salmonson (like a Dunsany tale), Liao Chai (I guess this is actually Pu Songling?), Priscilla Marron (her only printed work?) Alexander Woollcott and Mark Twain.
March 29, 2025
Well, this was a strange little book. It had some pretty interesting tales among other things. Definitely not one for the kiddies.
February 4, 2026
A very unique book.
February 25, 2010
I loved this little book--it's chock full of the shortest of short stories by everyone from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Joe Lansdale and John Lennon. Interspersed through out are these great little true facts about cannibals and odd suicide/murder attempts as well as amazing illustrations from Edward Gorey, Gahan Wilson and Aubrey Beardsley. A bit hard to find but well worth the read.
April 14, 2017
Had some fun little stories and interesting ideas from some famous authors. Very much enjoyed.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews