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Tales of Terror: 58 Short Stories Chosen by the Master of Suspense
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Be afraid--be very afraid: the master of suspense is serving up 58 bloodcurdling tales for your delectation. These suspenseful stories all appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and in the words of Hitch himself, they "are guaranteed to chill and unnerve." Bill Pronzini contributes "The Arrowmont Prison Riddle," Margaret B. Maron has "A Very Special Talent," Barr
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Hardcover, 631 pages
Published
September 28th 2004
by Galahad Books
(first published September 28th 1986)
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Start your review of Tales of Terror: 58 Short Stories Chosen by the Master of Suspense

Alfred Hithcock's portrayal of "scary" stores are nothing short of art in disguise. I'd consider myself a long-time fan, so it was a real treat to add this baby to my collection. A must-read for fellow Hitchcock lovers!
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Aug 11, 2011
Terryann Saint
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Awesome, old school stories. A couple are real gems.

I've read these in order, but haven't gotten too far through. However, I am pleasantly surprised by every single one that I have read; I don't really have any complaints about any of them. They all set the mood well, and none feel cheap and they all seem original. Yea!
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I am reading this now. The stories are indeed full of Terror and Mystery. The terror stories are not horror but what I'd consider "intellectual horror". If you take the time to think abiut the repercussions of the stories, they are scarry.
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Not really my idea of "tales of terror", being mostly mystery stories. As mystery short stories are my least favorite of the genre, I didn't finish it.
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I read this over the course of several months reading a story most nights before I went to bed. This should be your first indicator that these are not so much tales of terror but more so tales of irony, slight creepiness, and some suspense. There were a few in there that haunted my thoughts for a few days but most of them were just interesting short stories (usually crime related) with a plot twist toward the end. But just because they weren’t scary does not mean I didn’t enjoy reading this coll
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This collection was published in the 80s but most of the stories were written in the 60s and were previously published in Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. The title is misleading. None of these tales is really terrifying. About a third of them would have made great episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. They follow that same story formula. Others are more like hard boiled crime stories.

Note: I read the dutch version of this book which only counts 16 stories sadly.
7/10
This book was full of suspenseful, dark and funny tales as the title implies. I'm not sure if the endings should be considered plottwists or punchlines but they were amusing nonetheless. My boyfriend bought this book for me about 2 years ago and I'm glad to have finally read it and liked it as much as I did ...more
7/10
This book was full of suspenseful, dark and funny tales as the title implies. I'm not sure if the endings should be considered plottwists or punchlines but they were amusing nonetheless. My boyfriend bought this book for me about 2 years ago and I'm glad to have finally read it and liked it as much as I did ...more

My daughter bought this for me for my birthday along with a book about Hitchcock's films since we were watching them. These short stories were originally in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine from the 1950's through the 70's. I enjoyed most of them even though some were outdated (but therefore interesting to me). These are not tales of "Terror" as I know it (think Stephen King), but the editor needed a way to divide the short stories into several different books and titles. I think the "terror"
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These 58 short stories of mystery and suspense (not terror—that is a misnomer) were first published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine during the 1960s and 1970s, hand-picked by the great director himself according to the blurb. Most of these narratives are rock-solid entertainment; they engage your attention, give you plenty of “aha” moments, and even elicit the occasional spine-tingle of terror. My favorites include the schoolboy who will kill for good grades, the reporter who writes up ob
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I finally finished this huge collection of stories allegedly chosen by Alfred Hitchcock. Considering there were 58 stories of murder and/or mayhem and that I read at most 3 of them a night...well, you can do the math. Since all of the tales were originally published prior to 1980 (some of them as early as in the 50's), it was like a trip back in time to the old-fashioned, straight-forward crime story that first captured my interest when I was young. Most were well-written and a pleasure to read
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-Good collection of short stories, though nothing terrifying at all. Title was misleading, so points off for that.
-Overall, it is more a book about the irony and sudden nature of death, and how karma is a very real thing in this world.
-Well written short stories, with half being mediocre, and half being decent to very exciting.
7/10
-Overall, it is more a book about the irony and sudden nature of death, and how karma is a very real thing in this world.
-Well written short stories, with half being mediocre, and half being decent to very exciting.
7/10

I dont read much fiction but hey, this is Alfred Hitchcock. Are his books really fiction??
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Most of these are mysteries and detective stories, and not really "horror" as we think of it today, but they're all very good. Some seem to drag on a bit, everything is worth a read. Great stuff if you like to guess where a story is going to go, or whodunnit.
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I like Hitchcock, but I don't think most of the stories in this book are that good, ok...yea. I finished it, out of curiousity
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I had forgotten what great short stories are like until I read this book. Anything associated with Alfred Hitchcock's name is exceptional!
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Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE 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 dire ...more
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 dire ...more
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Kerine Wint is a software engineering graduate with more love for books than for computers. As an avid reader, writer, and fan of all things...
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