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Some Things Strange and Sinister
Fourteen stories by Agatha Christie,John Collier,Algernon Blackwood,Wilkie Collins,Neil Bell,Bram Stoker and others
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 28, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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November 15, 2025PLACEHOLDER REVIEW
Margaret Irwin's "The Book" is one of those sparkling, inventive little pieces of fiction that just suck you in and carry you along until the end. A middle class businessman is looking for something to read one night when he comes across a volume on his bookshelf, inherited from a dead relative, written in Latin. And mere exposure to this diabolical tome begins the slow corruption of his soul... What's really nice about this piece is that's it's specifically about an aspect of "satanic evil" that rarely gets attention - the idea of HOW evil worms it's way into one's thoughts and worldview (our main character goes from reading popular authors with an eye towards sourly uncovering their misanthropy, to taking underhanded financial advantage of his customers, to thinking poorly of his wife and children, to poisoning the family dog... etc.). Just a really solid yarn.
"The House" (aka "La Maison") by André Maurois (aka Emile Herzog) is a short, pithy tale of a woman who dreams repeatedly of a dstinctive house in the countryside, until one day she stumble across it and finds it is for rent...and why... Familiar, but effective at the length.
Margaret Irwin's "The Book" is one of those sparkling, inventive little pieces of fiction that just suck you in and carry you along until the end. A middle class businessman is looking for something to read one night when he comes across a volume on his bookshelf, inherited from a dead relative, written in Latin. And mere exposure to this diabolical tome begins the slow corruption of his soul... What's really nice about this piece is that's it's specifically about an aspect of "satanic evil" that rarely gets attention - the idea of HOW evil worms it's way into one's thoughts and worldview (our main character goes from reading popular authors with an eye towards sourly uncovering their misanthropy, to taking underhanded financial advantage of his customers, to thinking poorly of his wife and children, to poisoning the family dog... etc.). Just a really solid yarn.
"The House" (aka "La Maison") by André Maurois (aka Emile Herzog) is a short, pithy tale of a woman who dreams repeatedly of a dstinctive house in the countryside, until one day she stumble across it and finds it is for rent...and why... Familiar, but effective at the length.
May 13, 2020
The older stories are truly the best in terms of classic suspense and horror, and this collection really proves it. It was so refreshing to dive into the older tales again and reinforce the reasons why I have such high standards for this genre. An absolutely wonderfully put together compilation.
October 1, 2014
This is a collectiom of short stories. They are from authors like Bram Stoker, Agatha Christie and others. As in all collections like this some are better than others. They are older stories but still entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews