Alfred Hitchcock's Supernatural Tales of Terror and Suspense

by Alfred Hitchcock (Editor, Introduction), Robert Shore (Illustrator), Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (Contributor)

Table of contents:
The Triumph of Death, by H. Russell Wakefield
The Strange Valley, by T.V. Olsen
The Christmas Spirit, by Dorothy B. Bennett
The Bronze Door, by Raymond Chandler
Slip Stream, by Sheila Hodgson
The Quest for "Blank Claveringi," by Patricia Highsmith
Mis Pinkerton's Apocalypse, by Muriel Spark
The Reunion After Three Hundred Years, by Alexis Tolstoy
The Attic Express, by Alex Hamilton
The Pram, by A.W. Bennett
Mr. Ash's Studio, by H. Russell Wakefield

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Mystery, Anthologies, Short Stories

172 pages, Library Binding

First published August 12, 1973

About the author

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (1899-1980) was an iconic and highly influential film director and producer, who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres.

Following a very substantial career in his native Britain in both silent films and talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood and became an American citizen with dual nationality in 1956, thus he also remained a British subject.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career which spanned six decades, from the silent film era, through the invention of sound films, and far into the era of colour films. For a complete list of his films, see Alfred Hitchcock filmography.

Hitchcock was among the most consistently recognizable directors to the general public, and was one of the most successful film directors during his lifetime. He continues to be one of the best known and most popular filmmakers of all time.

Reviews

[MacKenzie Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really wonderful collection of short stories. Marketed for children, but I found them very odd, eerie and plenty scary for adults. It was published in the 1970’s, so it is one of those “Parents really let their children read this?” sort of things. Twilight Zone-esque, with a few being a bit more gory. Without giving anything away, my favorite stories involved 15 foot snails in Hawaii, model train horrors and time warps in a vast of Dakota prairie.

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Must have had a different definition of terror and suspense

[Robert Reiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in a closet and didn’t really know where it came from. I’m guessing this was a book from my childhood. It’s a collection of 11 short stories published in 1973. I gotta say the first half of the book had some winners. It opens with “The Triumph of Death” which is a gothic ghost story that leaves you with some spooky imagery. “The Strange Valley” is a pretty clever story that would be hard to describe without giving away the key plot twist. “The Christmas Spirit” was another good one involving a bat’s wing that seems to carry with it supernatural powers. “The Quest for Blank Claveringi” might have been my favorite about a man trapped on an island that happens to be inhabited by two 15 foot tall snails with razor sharp teeth that are hungry. “The Bronze Door” is a tale about a man who purchases a door at an auction with the power to make anyone disappear who walks through it. Perfect for the main character who wants to be rid of his wife and a few others in his life.

So those were the standouts that made this book worth reading in my opinion. The rest of the stories were just okay so hard for me to give this more than 3 stars. It’s a quick read though so if you happen to find this book in YOUR closet and you’re in the mood for some old spooky stories, this might be perfect for you.

[Christopher Carrolli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent collection of short short stories, suitable for both adults, as well as young readers! My favorites in this one are: "The Strange Valley" by T.V. Olsen; "The Bronze Door" by Raymond Chandler; "The Quest For 'Blank Claveringi'" by Patricia Highsmith; "The Pram" by A.W. Bennett, and "Mr. Ash's Studio" by H. Russell Wakefield. This is a collection well worth reading for stories of the Superantural and the Paranormal!

[Shawn]

PLACEHOLDER REVIEWS:

"The Triumph Of Death" by H. Russell Wakefield - Old lady Pendelham, while innocent in outward appearance, takes sadistic delight in keeping her current attendant Amelia (previous attendants have fled or died of fright) constantly frightened and stressed - she achieves this effect through various means (making her read aloud ghost stories and historical accounts of torture) but most specifically by acting as if the house they occupy is not haunted (when it most certainly is) and ignoring the hideous sights and sounds around them, while Amelai begins to think she is going mad. But such a fiendish plot can, and does, backfire... Not bad - a mixing of the conte cruel (Pendelham's sadism) and the supernatural. Nasty, no doubt, but a little *striving* for its effect - feels more like an interesting invention than a full-fledged story. Still, I bumped it up a notch on the re-read.

"Mr. Ash's Studio" by H. Russell Wakefield - A writer, needing quiet to finish his book, rents a small shack in a suburban mews and (while he gets his work done surprisingly well) finds a certain invasive and repetitive oppressiveness about the place. This is another quite nice example of Wakefield shifting the parameters slightly - here, the idea is again how a "haunted" place may infiltrate the consciousness, but set against a creative individual (whose work does not suffer - and he writes "ghost stories" on the side, no less!) and the "haunted" place is not one that a person dwells in (and so, by implication, the "haunting" is a bit more malignant and forward, including some very threatening moths). An effective little piece!

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Some interesting stories that are compelling, some are interesting in concept but not that compelling, others are fairly silly but kind of enjoyable.

Part of the reason i picked this up at all is it contains a story by Raymond Chandler and another by Patricia Highsmith. The Raymond Chandler story was probably my favorite. Not particularly a horror tale but certainly an interesting story about a fairly inadequate and inconsequential man who comes into position of a bronze doorway that disappears things. Out of all the stories i thought it had the most balanced set up and climax. Patricia Highsmiths tale was one of the more silly but still enjoyable tale of a scientist who finds 15 foot tall man-eating snails on a remote island - terrible situational hijinks ensues!

The stories were all fairly breezey. A few i wont remember at all because theyre the type of short story that end the second they get interesting. A cool little anthology none the less though.

[Tepintzin · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, the Goodreads community is amazing. I had been trying to track down a story from a Hitchcock YA collection that I'd read when I was about 10--and I found out the story was called "The Triumph of Death" in about five minutes.

And "The Triumph of Death" is really scary! I can understand why I didn't recall it because it was full of imagery and vagaries I wouldn't have "gotten" yet. There's another story by the same author, H. Russell Wakefield, and I'm going to track down collections of his ghost stories.

Plenty of other great tales too. I particularly enjoyed "The Bronze Door" even though I could tell where it was going.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection. There was not a weak one in the bunch. They were all creative, unique, and pretty dang creepy. Two of the stories were by an author named H. Russell Wakefield. I might look for a collection of his stories, because they were both great.

And some of the stories were dark. I think the book was supposed to be for young readers, but not kids. There were dark powers and dark motivations. There were a number of stories that did not end happily.

Weirdly, I think I might have checked out this book from the library when I was in elementary school. There were a couple of stories I know I had read before, but other ones I had no memory of.

[Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine collection of creepy tales, meant for younger readers but can be enjoyed by adults as well. This is one of several Alfred Hitchcock compilation that came out during the sixties and seventies. This particular volume is one that I remember from my school's library back in the seventies and from which I remembered the story The Quest for "Blank Claveringi" by Patricia Highsmith about a scientist on an island of giant snails.
There are eleven stories in total, some spookier than others but all worthy of your time.

[James Flynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terror and suspense? Hardly.

I enjoyed one single story in this collection, The Strange Valley, and that was about it.

You made one of the best horror films of all time Mr.Hitchcock (Psycho), but your reading recommendations were below par.

[Ruthsidra · Rating 5 out of 5]

a childhood favorite :) i have always been partial to short stories ever since i was a kid and it was a pleasure to reread this as an adult :)

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

My review of this book can be found on my Youtube Vlog at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECenJ...

Enjoy!

[Mitchan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Curated by Hitchcock, not as clever as King. Not particularly scary or eerie.

[Re · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a book for the train, but I found it didn't actually got my attention, I had to force myself to finish.

[Staci · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book on my library’s shelf and was curious. They should remove it.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay, so the deal with all the alfred hitchcock books is that i'm trying to find a short story i read when i was really young that really creeped me out. and i thought it was in 'spellbinders in suspense', so i re-bought it recently, but it was not in there. so in a fit of frustration i bought all the AH short story collections i could find in order to track down the story. but it was not to be found. clearly that story has gone the way of the children's book about the bear (amazing book that i read when i was little that i can't seem to verfiy actually exists in the world) that my friends are tired of hearing about.

[Erin (PT) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this (and a number of other Hitchcock Presents books) as a young reader, opening the door to my lifelong fondness for horror and suspense. In rediscovering this anthology, I was kind of amazed at how much and how well I remembered these stories though I hadn't retained their titles or authors.

Even given how much older and more jaded I am, the stories hold up pretty well for the intervening years and even the Evils of the Orient subtext in several of the stories couldn't ruin my pleasure. For horror aficionados, the material's probably a little dated, as most of the stories were first published in the sixties or earlier, but, like Lovecraft or Poe, there's a certain creep factor cachet that can't be dismissed or outdone, even by the torture porn of the modern age.

[Elizabeth Periale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Hitchcock for Young Readers selection ... was Alfred Hitchcock's Supernatural Tales of Terror and Suspense. This is a short story anthology, aimed at an older teen audience than The Three Investigators series. I was pleasantly surprised at how absolutely creepy the stories were, and completely enjoyable for adults, too. Among the 10 authors featured are Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely, The Lady in the Lake) with a very sinister story, "The Bronze Door," as well as Patricia Highsmith (Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr. Ripley), and Muriel Spark (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie).

My full review:

http://xoxoxoe.blogspot.com/2011/09/a...

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent...stories vary from subtle psychological disturbance (madness & butterflies) to blatant terror (giant pink snails). Be warned you'll never see small quaint train sets in the same light ever again.

[Ronda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My uncle gave me an early version of this book--don't remember the copyright date on it--but I still remember some of the stories and the goosebumps they gave me--such as the one about the jade bell.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent creepy tales, including "The Triumph of Death" by H. Russell Wakefield and the horrifying "The Quest for 'Blank Claveringi'" by Patricia Highsmith.

[Trudy Speelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

love, love, love

bought this at a garage sale for 50 cents. it was the biggest bargain ever.