Great Tales of Horror & the Supernatural

by Bill Pronzini (Editor, Contributor), Barry N. Malzberg (Editor, Contributor), Theodore Dreiser (Contributor)

Here is the definitive, the reliable, the indispensable volume of horror and the beyond, compiled by three of the field's top contributors and authorities and introduced by the undisputed master of the supernatural, Stephen King. With works by Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Silverberg, Henry James, Edgar Allan Poe, H.G. Wells, Bram Stoke and dozens more, Great Tales of Horror & the Supernatural is a spellbinding collection of 38 of the best of the genre. Anything can--and will--happen in these tales of both unworldly terror and quiet, everyday heart-stopping horror.


CONTENTS
Introduction · Stephen King · in
Hop-Frog · Edgar Allan Poe ·
Rappaccini’s Daughter · Nathaniel Hawthorne ·
Squire Toby’s Will · Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu ·
The Squaw · Bram Stoker ·
The Jolly Corner · Henry James ·
“Man Overboard!” · Winston Churchill ·
The Hand · Theodore Dreiser ·
The Valley of the Spiders · H. G. Wells ·
The Middle Toe of the Right Foot · Ambrose Bierce ·
Pickman’s Model · H. P. Lovecraft ·
Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper · Robert Bloch ·
The Screaming Laugh · Cornell Woolrich ·
A Rose for Emily · William Faulkner ·
Bianca’s Hands · Theodore Sturgeon ·
The Girl with the Hungry Eyes · Fritz Leiber ·
Shut a Final Door · Truman Capote ·
Come and Go Mad · Fredric Brown ·
The Scarlet King · Evan Hunter ·
Sticks · Karl Edward Wagner ·
Sardonicus · Ray Russell ·
A Teacher’s Rewards · Robert S. Phillips ·
The Roaches · Thomas M. Disch ·
The Jam · Henry Slesar ·
Black Wind · Bill Pronzini ·
The Road to Mictlantecutli · Adobe James ·
Passengers · Robert Silverberg ·
The Explosives Expert · John Lutz ·
Call First · Ramsey Campbell ·
The Fly · Arthur Porges ·
Namesake · Elizabeth Morton ·
Camps · Jack M. Dann ·
You Know Willie · Theodore R. Cogswell ·
The Mindworm · C. M. Kornbluth ·
Warm · Robert Sheckley ·
Transfer · Barry N. Malzberg ·
The Doll · Joyce Carol Oates ·
If Damon Comes · Charles L. Grant ·
The Oblong Room [Captain Leopold] · Edward D. Hoch ·
The Party · William F. Nolan ·
The Crate · Stephen King

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Fantasy, Collections, Speculative Fiction

597 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Mystery Writers of America Awards "Grand Master" 2008
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1999) for Boobytrap
Edgar Awards Best Novel nominee (1998) for A Wasteland of Strangers
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) for Sentinels
Shamus Awards "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) 1987
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1982) for Hoodwink

Married to author Marcia Muller.

Pseudonyms:
Robert Hart Davis (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann)
Jack Foxx
William Jeffrey (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann)
Alex Saxon

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a better than average collection, mainly because the authors included were top notch, and this was fairly lengthy.

The Stephen King story was my favorite (which was no surprise to me). I finally got to read THE CRATE in its original short story form. I'd only read the graphic novel version in CREEPSHOW, and, of course, saw it in the excellent movie of the same name. It's hard to believe after all these years I'd never read this story, but now I have. Very close to the other versions, but there were subtle differences.

The other stories run hot and cold, as do most anthologies, and some of the stories I just didn't care for. Overall, a solid horror anthology that includes some authors you probably wouldn't expect.

[Cath · Rating 4 out of 5]

like a lot of other people said:
some were good
some were really good
some were amazing
I will be keeping this book like a treasure

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another anthology of spotty quality. They range from "eh..." to good. Sadly, some of the best stories I have read previously in better anthologies. The stories I liked best were:

Squire Toby's Will by J. Sheridan LeFanu is one of the author's best efforts. I love the story's message to respect the wishes of the dead. 9/10

The Valley of the Spiders by HG Wells is a creepy little story that would be most effective on readers with an unreasonable fear of spiders, such as myself. 7/10

Pickman's Model by HP Lovecraft is a story I probably don't need to go into too much. It's one of HPL's classics. 8/10

Bianca's Hands by Theodore Sturgeon is an absolute classic of weird horror. Very odd, and the description of the hands is effectively chilling. 9/10

The Girl with the Hungry Eyes by Fritz Leiber is a tale of an unconventional vampire. Quite original. 8/10

Sticks by Karl Edward Wagner is a nice little tale of ancient mystery and madness. I'm a sucker for that. 9/10

Sardonicus by Ray Russell is a classic pulpy tale of horror, also made into a movie I liked. 8/10

The Roaches by Thomas M. Disch is a nice little story of human spite made weirder by bugs. 7/10

The Doll by Joyce Carol Oates is one of those stories that gets creepier and sadder every time you read it. It's almost perfect. 10/10

The Crate by Stephen King is one I was surprised to like. I think I saw it filmed years ago in a movie, but the story is better. I love the ending. 7/10

Okay, so that's 10 stories I really liked, 5 of which I've read before.

I don't think anyone on goodreads has listed all the stories you get in this collection, so I'm going to go ahead and do that. In closing, I'd say this one is not too highly recommended. It may have suffered from having too many editors, and having to accommodate everyone's opinion and taste. That may have also affected the lack of "flow" to the stories. If you would like a good one, my favorite collections are put together by Marvin Kaye.

Hop Frog by Edgar Allan Poe
Rappaccini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Squire Toby's Will by J. Sheridan LeFanu
The Squaw by Bram Stoker
The Jolly Corner by Henry James
Man Overboard! by Winston Churchill
The Hand by Theodore Dreiser
The Valley of the Spiders by HG Wells
The Middle Toe of the Right Foot by Ambrose Bierce
Pickman's Model by HP Lovecraft
Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper by Robert Bloch
The Screaming Laugh by Cornell Woolrich
Bianca's Hands by Theodore Sturgeon
The Girl with the Hungry Eyes by Fritz Leiber
Come and Go Mad by Fredric Brown
The Scarlet King by Evan Hunter
Sticks by Karl Edward Wagner
Sardonicus by Ray Russell
A Teacher's Rewards by Robert Phillips
The Roaches by Thomas M. Disch
The Jam by Henry Slesar
Black Wind by Bill Pronzini
The Road to Mictlantecutli by Adobe James
Passengers by Robert Silverberg
The Explosives Expert by John Lutz
Call First by Ramsey Campbell
The Fly by Arthur Porges
Namesake by Elizabeth Morton
Camps by Jack Dann
You Know Wille by Theodore R. Cogswell
The Mindworm by CM Kornbluth
Warm by Robert Sheckley
Transfer by Barry N. Malzberg
The Doll by Joyce Carol Oates
If Damon Comes by Charles L. Grant
The Oblong Room by Edward D. Hoch
The Party by William F. Nolan
The Crate by Stephen King

[Brent Soderstrum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a big collection of short stories from horror legends and more recent horror authors. You get Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Truman Capote, Winston Churchill and Stephen King. There are many other authors covered who I hadn't heard of. Some good, some not so good and a few really good ones.

Stephen King shows why he is the master with the last story in the book called "The Crate". I loved it. A crate in found under the stairs in an older college building. When it is opened the fun begins. The story has a little twist at the end which I really liked.

Good pick up to read because it you don't like one of the stories you are soon done with it and moving on to something different.

[Penney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best horror and supernatural books I've read! I highly recommend it.

[Eligos Vespillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A massive tome of nearly 40 short stories divided between "Grandmasters" and "Modern Masters" that makes for a great intrduction to the world of Horror for the uninitiated.

[Rock Capuano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Top 6 Stories from GREAT TALES OF HORROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL (1981)

1: The Crate by Stephen King
2: The Squaw by Bram Stoker
3: Hop Frog by Edgar Allan Poe
4: Pickman's Model by HP Lovecraft
5: Call First by Ramsey Campbell
6: Sticks by Karl Edward Wagner

[Ayar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rappaccini's Daughter- a story of an novice that come to the island of a legendary chemist that has been told to have a daughter. When he meets her he finds something strange about her but still intrigued. One night on his interview with her a mistake of trying to grab a single flower changed him. The next day he had gotten flower fresh and when he had brought it to the island they were withered and bugs would die just being next to him. (read the book to find what caused this)

[Trinisse · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite was "The Jam" by Henry Slesar.