The Year's Best Horror Stories XIV

by Karl Edward Wagner (Editor), Charles L. Grant, David B. Silva

Of clanking chains, eerie howls, and things that go bump in the night... Karl Edward Wagner, a master at unearthing the most haunting tales of terror created by his fellow practitioners in the dark art of freezing your blood, has, with this new collection of The Year's Best Horror Stories, come up with a truly unforgettable gallery of ghoulish delights.

From a man dangerously bespelled by the merest glimpse of a beautiful, mysterious woman... to a child who can only watch helplessly as, one by one, his family begins to disappear... to a co-ed beset by an eerie memory lapse on a college campus where Death teaches one final course... to an invitation to a Halloween ceremony where being the guest of honor means being the guest of horror... here are nineteen magnificent chillers by brilliant new talents and such acclaimed authors as Tanith Lee, Charles L. Grant, Ramsey Campbell, Dennis Etchison, and William Nolan.

Contents:
Introduction: Nurturing Nightmares by Karl Edward Wagner.
Penny Daye by Charles L. Grant.
Dwindling by David B. Silva.
Dead Men's Fingers by Phillip C. Heath.
Dead Week by Leonard Carpenter.
The Sneering by Ramsey Campbell.
Bunny Didn't Tell Us by David J. Schow.
Pinewood by Tanith Lee.
The Night People by Michael Reaves.
Ceremony by William F. Nolan.
The Woman in Black by Dennis Etchison.
Beside the Seaside Beside the Sea by Simon Clark.
Mother's Day by Stephen F. Wilcox.
Lava Tears by Vincent McHardy.
Rapid Transit by Wayne Allen Sallee.
The Weight of Zero by John Alfred Taylor.
John's Return to Liverpool by Christopher Burns.
In Late December, Before the Storm by Paul M. Sammon.
Red Christmas by David S. Garnett.
Too Far Behind Gradina by Steve Sneyd.

Genres: Horror, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fiction

291 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Karl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 13 October 1994) was an American writer, editor and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. His disillusionment with the medical profession can be seen in the stories "The Fourth Seal" and "Into Whose Hands". He described his world view as nihilistic, anarchistic and absurdist, and claimed, not entirely seriously, to be related to "an opera composer named Richard". Wagner also admired the cinema of Sam Peckinpah, stating "I worship the film The Wild Bunch".

Reviews

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are competently written but, for me, ranged from 2.5 to 3.5.

The fiction I liked:

"Ceremony" by William F. Nolan is about a hitman, hired by a woman to kill her husband, who took a detour in a strange town and unwittingly becomes the participant in that town's ceremony. An entertaining story and I chuckled while reading the story.

"Rapid Transit" by Wayne Allen Sallee. A train story set in my hometown of Chicago. The story, with its detailed descriptions of violence and gruesomeness, might not be to the tastes of some readers, even of horror. The story begins when the main character, Dennis Cassady, is at a train platform and witnesses below him the elaborate murder of a woman. The story proceeds in linear fashion, focused on the psychology of Dennis Cassady.

I didn't find this book as strong as other books in Karl Edward Wagner's _Year's Best_ series. Those other books had stories which blew me away such as "Egnaro" by M. John Harrison, "Black Man With A Horn" by T.E.D. Kline, and "Tiger in the Snow" by Daniel Wynn Barber.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally really good, although there were some stories I didn't care for. I think it's most memorable for introducing many of us to Wayne Allen Sallee with the tremendous story called "Rapid Transit." There's also good stuff by Schow, Grant, Etchison and others.

[Bill Borre]

"In Late December, Before the Storm" by Paul M. Sammon - The protagonist has to explain to another driver why a woman's body did not strike his windshield. The protagonist's wife was killed on their honeymoon when he hit her and she ran away only to be discovered raped and murdered. He is haunted by his action.

"The Woman in Black" by Dennis Etchison - William follows a woman in black into a compound and discovers a mutated sow. He fights for a place at her teats.

"Dead Week" by Leonard Carpenter - Cassy is influenced by Professor Thayer's views on overpopulation to poison the cafeteria food.

"John’s Return to Liverpool" by Christopher Burns - John Lennon somehow resurrects and returns home.

"Dead Men’s Fingers" by Phillip C. Heath - Barnacle-like creatures menace the crew of a whaler.

"Red Christmas" by David S. Garnett - wc

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection from a fascinating time in mid-80s.

The gem is "Dead Men's Fingers" by Phillip C. Heath. This brilliant short story is worth the purchase price all on it's own.

It is a stunning achievement in all respects: context, style, craft, etc: Heath recreats in a 19th-century-style the story of a doomed 19th century whaling voyage. Captain and crew go one whale too far in their good fortune: their prey turns out to be infested with barnacles hiding a nasty breed of deep-sea parasites.

Story notes:

http://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/2021...

[Nelson Noven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I didn't hate any of the stories, they were a bit of a mixed bag in terms of how scary they were. Dead Men's Fingers, about the whale, was definitely the scariest. I didn't want it to end! The one about population control also stuck with me. I think we all have that nightmare of being back in college and realizing you forgot about an entire class and now you're going to fail!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real horror more than exploitative horror. This is horror for the compassionate rather than the blood-thirsty.

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Said it before, say it again: all aspiring horror writers should hunt up copies of this series and devour it, poste haste.

[[on hiatus, probably forever] The rockabilly werewolf from Mars · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the various entries in the series that I have read, I found this one to be the weakest. Of course, that doesn't mean that it's bad, merely that it had a greater number of stories that I found uninteresting than the others. Of the stories, the Campbell, Grant, Etchison, Lee, Silva, Reaves, and Schow pieces were the best.