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The 26th Pan Book of Horror Stories
From the dark depths of man's diabolical mind...
'It was heavy work shovelling in his liver and intestines, heart and limbs - even his brain which I tore from his skull after cracking it open with a bung hammer...' - Special Reserve, Harry Turner.
'Her voice had an awful whining quality to it that made him wince. He wouldn't gag this one first - he'd cut her tongue out...' - Masks, J.J. Cromby.
'Blood gushed from her lips as the knife was being pulled slowly across the back of her head, from ear to ear...' - The Bath, Trustin Fortune.
'Two of the skeletons were clean but one still had bits of putrid flesh clinging to the legs and feet. How you doing, ladies?' - The Loft, John H. Snellings.
...come eighteen sinister stories to taunt and terrify you - and make the rest of your life a hideous nightmare...
'It was heavy work shovelling in his liver and intestines, heart and limbs - even his brain which I tore from his skull after cracking it open with a bung hammer...' - Special Reserve, Harry Turner.
'Her voice had an awful whining quality to it that made him wince. He wouldn't gag this one first - he'd cut her tongue out...' - Masks, J.J. Cromby.
'Blood gushed from her lips as the knife was being pulled slowly across the back of her head, from ear to ear...' - The Bath, Trustin Fortune.
'Two of the skeletons were clean but one still had bits of putrid flesh clinging to the legs and feet. How you doing, ladies?' - The Loft, John H. Snellings.
...come eighteen sinister stories to taunt and terrify you - and make the rest of your life a hideous nightmare...
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
167 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 7, 2012
I picked this up last week and finished it in two sittings - mainly because the stories are very short.
I thought a lot of the stories were fairly trite variations on some sort of serial killer theme with gratuituous sex elements. Seshadri's stories stood out for their atmosphere and the first one was very effective - the second had some very interesting elements but could have done with some honing. I also enjoyed Timperly's stories although in both I felt that her concepts, effective in themselves, could have been framed a little more effectively. Just a little more foreshadowing and background could have made either of them a minor classic. 'Death of a council worker' had a certain absurd, pathetic charm. 'Firework Night' was a tight little chiller, the sort of thing that would be great for a session of tall tales between friends late at night. 'Silent War' had original elements, compared to the squalid sex-and-slash that dominates this collection, but the apparently motiveless sadist killer was a weak element. 'Henry and the beautiful people' is a nasty, elaborate revenge tale, a bit better than some of the others here, but weakened by the unnecessary misogynist elements. 'Micro-Process' was an interesting story, but the horrific-ness of it entirely depends on how intrinsically icky you think buggery is. 'The Bath' is the worst story here, little more than an excuse to bump off a bird in a bath. 'Special Reserves' is the sort of story that I would love to have heard Vincent Price narrating and 'Time to get up', although it is yet another story that culminates in the gratuituous murder of a woman someone has just had sex with, has a zany internal (il)logic that is pretty effective. Not as bad as I'd feared for a later Pan, but by no means what I'd specifically describe as good - although it does do what it sets out to do.
I thought a lot of the stories were fairly trite variations on some sort of serial killer theme with gratuituous sex elements. Seshadri's stories stood out for their atmosphere and the first one was very effective - the second had some very interesting elements but could have done with some honing. I also enjoyed Timperly's stories although in both I felt that her concepts, effective in themselves, could have been framed a little more effectively. Just a little more foreshadowing and background could have made either of them a minor classic. 'Death of a council worker' had a certain absurd, pathetic charm. 'Firework Night' was a tight little chiller, the sort of thing that would be great for a session of tall tales between friends late at night. 'Silent War' had original elements, compared to the squalid sex-and-slash that dominates this collection, but the apparently motiveless sadist killer was a weak element. 'Henry and the beautiful people' is a nasty, elaborate revenge tale, a bit better than some of the others here, but weakened by the unnecessary misogynist elements. 'Micro-Process' was an interesting story, but the horrific-ness of it entirely depends on how intrinsically icky you think buggery is. 'The Bath' is the worst story here, little more than an excuse to bump off a bird in a bath. 'Special Reserves' is the sort of story that I would love to have heard Vincent Price narrating and 'Time to get up', although it is yet another story that culminates in the gratuituous murder of a woman someone has just had sex with, has a zany internal (il)logic that is pretty effective. Not as bad as I'd feared for a later Pan, but by no means what I'd specifically describe as good - although it does do what it sets out to do.
July 28, 2020
Pretty good outing for this volume of the classic horror series. worthy entries from Alan Temperley (Henry and the Beautiful People), Jessica Amanda Salmonson (Silent War) and Oscar Holmes (No Mark of Respect).
Stand out stories for me: An Immaculate Conception (B. Seshadri) and Death of a Council Worker (Ian C. Strachan).
Stand out stories for me: An Immaculate Conception (B. Seshadri) and Death of a Council Worker (Ian C. Strachan).
April 4, 2012
Pretty good. Some stories were really gripping and twisted.
August 1, 2016
Standard fare with a few obvious twist endings (usually a woman gets murdered horribly...); both Seshadri's The River Bed and Temperley's Henry and the Beautiful People stick in the memory.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews