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The Screaming Skull and Other Classic Horror Stories
Scream—and scream again! That’s the only reasonable response to The Screaming Skull and Other Classic Horror Stories, a connoisseur’s collection of some of the best short horror stories published in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
408 pages, Hardcover
First published July 7, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 30, 2011
finally done! it's a strange thing to read a book in such a piecemeal fashion, but because these are short stories- and most of them extremely well done- it was easy to keep the thread and hold on to the creepiness, so it worked out ok this time. i stand by my assertion that these types of old-fashioned stories are far more bone-chilling than (most of) their contemporary counterparts could ever hope to be.
September 19, 2011
I really liked this collection. The stories were all written between 1800 and 1929 (I think that's the last year). The writing was very good. I really appreciated being transported to a different time and style of writing. Some of the stories used set ups and plot twists which have since become cliche, but that's the point, they were original once and all the other authors copied these classics.
October 5, 2011
I give it 3.5 stars, it was a mixed bag of good and awful.
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October 19, 2024The Snout is also printed in the Big Book of the Masters of Horror
March 1, 2011
This is a compendium of late 19th and early 20th century ghost stories. They're stories you've read before, of course, these "classic" and "best" story collections usually feature the same sampling.
It's apparently de rigueur in editing circles to throw a Poe in there, as well as Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" ...which is fine, they are horrifying, and they do deserve a spot. But will I ever escape Algernon Blackwood's "The Willows." I think, too that The Monkey's Paw finds a deserved place in every horror collection I've ever read, as does F. Marion Crawford's "The Screaming Skull." So here you'll find them again. But you'll also find lesser-known or (for me at least) previously unencountered stories, by E. Nesbit, Gertrude Atherton, Perseval Landon.
I consider 3 stars a good mark for a collection, where there's necessarily going to be stuff that you like and stuff that you don't (I hated the Moonstone Mass). The editor did a really good job of winnowing his source material to allow for an equal showing of old favorites and lesser known works, and I think did mostly choose actually scary things rather than automatically throwing in classics like "A Very Strange Bed" or "The Signal-Man." If I never see that strange bed again, it'll be too soon.
For more of the same sort of suspenseful story-telling, look out for the collected works of E.F. Benson (REAMS of stuff, some good some so-so), M.R. James, J.Sheridan Le Fanu, and Robert W. Chambers. Saki, of course. F. Marion Crawford only wrote, I think, three ghost stories, but they're all great.
It's apparently de rigueur in editing circles to throw a Poe in there, as well as Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" ...which is fine, they are horrifying, and they do deserve a spot. But will I ever escape Algernon Blackwood's "The Willows." I think, too that The Monkey's Paw finds a deserved place in every horror collection I've ever read, as does F. Marion Crawford's "The Screaming Skull." So here you'll find them again. But you'll also find lesser-known or (for me at least) previously unencountered stories, by E. Nesbit, Gertrude Atherton, Perseval Landon.
I consider 3 stars a good mark for a collection, where there's necessarily going to be stuff that you like and stuff that you don't (I hated the Moonstone Mass). The editor did a really good job of winnowing his source material to allow for an equal showing of old favorites and lesser known works, and I think did mostly choose actually scary things rather than automatically throwing in classics like "A Very Strange Bed" or "The Signal-Man." If I never see that strange bed again, it'll be too soon.
For more of the same sort of suspenseful story-telling, look out for the collected works of E.F. Benson (REAMS of stuff, some good some so-so), M.R. James, J.Sheridan Le Fanu, and Robert W. Chambers. Saki, of course. F. Marion Crawford only wrote, I think, three ghost stories, but they're all great.
August 14, 2016
For its gorgeously gruesome cover which promises so much, I must confess that this was one long haul of a read. Not unpleasant, mind you, just long. This is not a book you will read in one or two sittings.
There's good reasons for this. The antiquated language used by the authors is a part of it, to be sure, but that can't be helped, and anyway it adds to the charm of reading. It's much more a problem of the book itself, which is poorly edited (this seems to be more and more common, sadly) and the tee-niny typeface, which requires plenty of light, an equal measure of patience, and strong reading glasses, at least for me. It's quite annoying. I don't know who's checking the galley proofs at Sterling, but I know lots of people who could do far better. Myself included.
But. There's always one of those, isn't there? The stories are what you come for, and be assured, there's barely a lemon in the carload. If you dig vintage horror, you'll eat this stuff up. Name a writer of horror or dark fantasy from the 17-18-1900s and they're likely represented. Chances are you've read some of these stories already, but so what? Read them again. Myself, I found only a few that I'd read recently, and it was like being reintroduced to old friends. And the "new" stories were pretty universally terrific.
So, if you can get past the jarring typos and the tiny print, you'll like it. Turn up the lights, put on some appropriate music, and enjoy!
There's good reasons for this. The antiquated language used by the authors is a part of it, to be sure, but that can't be helped, and anyway it adds to the charm of reading. It's much more a problem of the book itself, which is poorly edited (this seems to be more and more common, sadly) and the tee-niny typeface, which requires plenty of light, an equal measure of patience, and strong reading glasses, at least for me. It's quite annoying. I don't know who's checking the galley proofs at Sterling, but I know lots of people who could do far better. Myself included.
But. There's always one of those, isn't there? The stories are what you come for, and be assured, there's barely a lemon in the carload. If you dig vintage horror, you'll eat this stuff up. Name a writer of horror or dark fantasy from the 17-18-1900s and they're likely represented. Chances are you've read some of these stories already, but so what? Read them again. Myself, I found only a few that I'd read recently, and it was like being reintroduced to old friends. And the "new" stories were pretty universally terrific.
So, if you can get past the jarring typos and the tiny print, you'll like it. Turn up the lights, put on some appropriate music, and enjoy!
March 8, 2016
A better than average anthology of horror stories from the late nineteenth century through the first decades of the twentieth. The emphasis here is on the psychological though there are of course several stories that feature the obligatory monsters and wayward spirits. All the classic authors are represented here as well as few who are lesser known, such as Ralph Adams Cram, and deserve to be read. These tales have an unsettling effect that's often missing in stories by modern authors. The collection is best read late at night.
July 23, 2013
A relatively decent collection of classic horror stories. If you enjoy this kind of story, you'll probably enjoy the collection as well. My understanding is that it is only available in ebook now, which is hopefully good - the version I have has several typos and editing issues that tend to grate on the nerves if reading for an extended period of time.
May 3, 2014
I tried to read these and found the good ones were ones I had already read before and most of the stories were much too insipid for my taste in the most part, so just read a few in the big volume and gave up when I thought, "better to not waste time anymore on them." These were not really creepy at all. Others may love them though, so this is just how I feel about them.
June 1, 2011
This book was at least good, not scary at ALL! i got this collection of books in hope to be scared. i think the scary stories tresuery is scarier, and that one is for kids! only two stroies scared me. 7.00 dollers wasted! not entirely. they were good, just not scary
October 31, 2011
Great success! A story a day, for the month of October. I'm really pleased with the results, and if you want to take a look at what I thought of the stories, head over to http://www.jerseyguyscanread.blogspot...
December 1, 2010
Great collection of classic horror stories, perfect for Halloween or stormy nights.
November 22, 2011
I liked this book beacuse, it was interesting and it has so many deatils and it was very good
January 28, 2012
Honestly, the only reason why I rated this book so low is that the typos and spacing drove me crazy. Did anyone proof this before it went to print?
April 1, 2013
Several really good short stories and an abundance of not so enjoyable time stealers
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews