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Tales From The Nightside
Such tales as "A Night of Dark Intent," "Something There Is," "Digging," "The Three of Tens," and "The Gentle Passing of a Hand" explore the world of fantasy, horror, and the macabre
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
8 people are currently reading
759 people want to read
About the author
Charles L. Grant
309 books263 followersCharles Lewis Grant was a novelist and short story writer specializing in what he called "dark fantasy" and "quiet horror." He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Geoffrey Marsh, Lionel Fenn, Simon Lake, Felicia Andrews, and Deborah Lewis.
Grant won a World Fantasy Award for his novella collection Nightmare Seasons, a Nebula Award in 1976 for his short story "A Crowd of Shadows", and another Nebula Award in 1978 for his novella "A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye," the latter telling of an actor's dilemma in a post-literate future. Grant also edited the award winning Shadows anthology, running eleven volumes from 1978-1991. Contributors include Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, R.A. Lafferty, Avram Davidson, and Steve Rasnic and Melanie Tem. Grant was a former Executive Secretary and Eastern Regional Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and president of the Horror Writers Association.
Grant won a World Fantasy Award for his novella collection Nightmare Seasons, a Nebula Award in 1976 for his short story "A Crowd of Shadows", and another Nebula Award in 1978 for his novella "A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye," the latter telling of an actor's dilemma in a post-literate future. Grant also edited the award winning Shadows anthology, running eleven volumes from 1978-1991. Contributors include Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, R.A. Lafferty, Avram Davidson, and Steve Rasnic and Melanie Tem. Grant was a former Executive Secretary and Eastern Regional Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and president of the Horror Writers Association.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
June 6, 2020
Absolutely enjoyed those great tales here. Just killers, no fillers. Charles Grant has a way to cause you real goosebumps. His stories are slow, a bit winded, confusing at some parts but extremely intense, dark, introspective and depressing at some times. Here we find tales from the Oxrun Station (my favorites), tales from Hawthorne Street and Tales from the Nightside. His main characters are outsiders (vets, killers, oppressed men, freaks) or such with a different view on reality. The preface was written by Stephen King who highly estimates this author. Those tales truly are from the nightside. No quick read, but intense encounters to enjoy, maybe best in the evening or at night. Highly recommended! Modern classics.
May 22, 2014
Charles Grant's stories are really not comparable to anyone else's, in my humble opinion. He writes with such atmospheric perfection that you will find yourself walking along with the characters, experiencing every chill and sense of uneasy that they feel. Grant has the power to convey such fear and dread with his words without resorting to graphic violence and gore for the sake of shock value. His scares are deeply rooted in the foundations of our minds, and as such, will stay with you long after your journey with him.
I started out by making notes about each of the stories in this collection, but found that there were too many I wanted to make detailed note of in this review! These stories are broken up into three sections: Tales from Oxrun Station, Tales from Hawthorne Street, and Tales from the Nightside. While all the sections contained 5 star reads, or close to them, my particular favorites seemed to be from Oxrun and Hawthorne Street. Some of my own, personal favorites, include "Home", "If Damon Comes", "The Gentle Passing of a hand", "When All the Children Call My Name", "Come Dance With Me on My Pony's Grave", and "The Three of Tens".
This is a book that I will be going back to time and time again.
Highly recommended!
I started out by making notes about each of the stories in this collection, but found that there were too many I wanted to make detailed note of in this review! These stories are broken up into three sections: Tales from Oxrun Station, Tales from Hawthorne Street, and Tales from the Nightside. While all the sections contained 5 star reads, or close to them, my particular favorites seemed to be from Oxrun and Hawthorne Street. Some of my own, personal favorites, include "Home", "If Damon Comes", "The Gentle Passing of a hand", "When All the Children Call My Name", "Come Dance With Me on My Pony's Grave", and "The Three of Tens".
This is a book that I will be going back to time and time again.
Highly recommended!
May 21, 2014
Tales to be read by candlelight, in the long, dark hours before dawn, as the shadows dance to the tune the wind plays in the fallen leaves, and the fog creeps outside the windows, seeking entrance.
This was Charlie's time, Charlie's place. For he was, and is, the Master of the atmospheric, of Quiet Horror. And these are his stories he whispers in your ear, so that they may linger and whisper again in your dreams. Your memory. Your nightmares. As those cold, damp fingers caress the back of your neck, and you pray it's just the fog.....
This was Charlie's time, Charlie's place. For he was, and is, the Master of the atmospheric, of Quiet Horror. And these are his stories he whispers in your ear, so that they may linger and whisper again in your dreams. Your memory. Your nightmares. As those cold, damp fingers caress the back of your neck, and you pray it's just the fog.....
October 15, 2023
I have this book for some years and always found a excuse or 3 to put off reading it - however considering now is the season for horror and all things spooky I thought I would give it a go.
I have to say that this would probably have had more impact on a windy dark night (as compared to an unseasonably bright Sunday afternoon) but I am sure the effect would have been just as fun. The stories are broken up in to 3 groups all following a theme or location (ones I have since learnt the author returns to in other works to).
The stories all function using unease and dread rather than violence and gore - that is not to say that they do not have impact - in fact I often think they have an even greater one as it builds and grows (rather than it being smashed over your head). So may be not for every horror fan but I certainly enjoyed them
I have to say that this would probably have had more impact on a windy dark night (as compared to an unseasonably bright Sunday afternoon) but I am sure the effect would have been just as fun. The stories are broken up in to 3 groups all following a theme or location (ones I have since learnt the author returns to in other works to).
The stories all function using unease and dread rather than violence and gore - that is not to say that they do not have impact - in fact I often think they have an even greater one as it builds and grows (rather than it being smashed over your head). So may be not for every horror fan but I certainly enjoyed them
May 22, 2011
Ironically enough, everyone always says they love Charles Grant's short stories better than his novels and novellas, but for me, it's the reverse. His novellas are UBER creepy, and the novels are just substantial. But, this was my first Grant collection, and I liked what I read, so I'll plug on...
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August 31, 2023I'm hitting pause on this collection of Grant short stories. I'll be back, hopefully shortly.
August 11, 2019
I had not heard of Charles L. Grant before a co-worker gave me a copy of this short story collection based on some horror that we had both read. I thought Grant did a great job building characters quickly since none of these stories were very long. I really liked half the stories, but other ones I thought they were good beginnings, but then ended too suddenly for my liking. I really wanted them to continue. I don't mind open-ended stories, but these seemed more like the beginning without a middle or end. I only found a couple of them scary, but I did find all of them entertaining.
June 11, 2012
Grant was an excellent short fiction writer and this may be his best collection. His tales were full of eerie atmosphere and you would usually still be unraveling that scared little knot in your stomach long after reading his stories. One of the better horror writers of the 70s through the 90s.
February 29, 2024
Awesome world building and descriptions of environments and characters. Really cool ideas, but the endings always felt like they fell short. Favourite stories were probably Coin of the Realm and The Key to English.
3.5/5
3.5/5
August 14, 2019
This book is filled with subtle chills. Grant was an advocate of quiet horror, and you can see that form in practice here. Each story builds an eerie world and each has a deliberate and deep impact. Don’t come expecting explanations. These are tales of mystery and dark forces and characters who can’t escape them. Some of my favorites include Oxrun Station entries “Home” and “If Damon Comes,” “The Gentle Passing of a Hand” and the dark “The Three of Tens.” “Come Dance With Me On My Pony’s Grave” is powerful as well. Read in the right frame of mind with the right amount of imagination, these are stunning.
September 13, 2012
Fantastic collection! I don't think anyone could possibly be disappointed with anything by Charles L. Grant, but this collection was pretty outstanding. The last story really leaves you gasping. Makes me wish he was still around to write more. Since he isn't, I treasure every word he's ever written. I have no idea why he isn't up there(success wise) with King because he can certainly write in that caliber.
February 28, 2022
Grant is a master of atmosphere, but I almost always felt cheated by the ending. The ambiguity in the beginning and middle got me really invested only for the veil to never really get lifted by the end. I’m not sure what even happened in some of them.
His writing is gorgeous, if a bit long winded, so I’m rounding up to a 4 assuming this just isn’t my preferred kind of horror/fantasy.
His writing is gorgeous, if a bit long winded, so I’m rounding up to a 4 assuming this just isn’t my preferred kind of horror/fantasy.
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August 14, 2023Gave up on this one.
August 18, 2024
i've always been interested by this book ever since i found it trying to find me some quiet horror stuff which is super atmospheric rather than anything else. when i got around to reading it i devoured this book one story every night or so and that kept me occupied for a few weeks but everything good must end so here we are
this book is split into 3 sections
oxrun station
Hawthorne street
tales from the nightside
i liked all 3 sections, all unique varied and spooky in their own way though some stories hit more than others for me
my fav from oxrun was "if damon comes" this story about this peculiar kid who has a strong attachment to his dad who honestly a POS and then basically the story is about everything turning against the dad
fav from Hawthorne street would be "gentle passing of a hand" and "something there is"
gentle passing of a hand deals with a boy who learns a really powerful magic trick and things go wrong
something there is about an artists who not only wants to learn from the horror greats but triumph them and make his own magnum opus and goes to any length to see that done, even if it's dealing with dark forces beyond his understanding
fav from nightside would have to come dance with me on my ponys grave.
its about this native kid who has more to him than it shows.
an interesting point of all the stories in the book is that all the characters are going through a rough patch and they accidently make things worse or luck is simply not in their favour which helps great an dreary atmosphere, something this book is great at, damn near excellent actually, never lets up
speaking of the structure of the stories themself are crazy intricate you don't realize while reading but the ending really opens up how much things were already foreshadowed or set in stone without you realizing it. the short story format really lets grant wave his intricate hand work brilliantly.
the structure itself is we begin with a very prominent and mood setting description of an atmosphere we get introduced to characters they talk about present stuff with hints of the past , thing of the horror starts and everything crumbles
the themes of the book are usually about heavy regrets and baggage of that. the characters usually all die in the end. the strength of this book is in its story and atmosphere, even plot, the characters themselves are developed but they are just moving vehicles for the story they feel developed but not alive if you get what i mean.
the writing style of the book is unclear simplicity, you won't be stopped or bewildered by big words or something but the writing is a puzzle and you have to pay attention to the pieces to connect, that's what's fun about this book
and yeah thats about it, really enjoyed it, anticipated it and did not disappoint
8/10
this book is split into 3 sections
oxrun station
Hawthorne street
tales from the nightside
i liked all 3 sections, all unique varied and spooky in their own way though some stories hit more than others for me
my fav from oxrun was "if damon comes" this story about this peculiar kid who has a strong attachment to his dad who honestly a POS and then basically the story is about everything turning against the dad
fav from Hawthorne street would be "gentle passing of a hand" and "something there is"
gentle passing of a hand deals with a boy who learns a really powerful magic trick and things go wrong
something there is about an artists who not only wants to learn from the horror greats but triumph them and make his own magnum opus and goes to any length to see that done, even if it's dealing with dark forces beyond his understanding
fav from nightside would have to come dance with me on my ponys grave.
its about this native kid who has more to him than it shows.
an interesting point of all the stories in the book is that all the characters are going through a rough patch and they accidently make things worse or luck is simply not in their favour which helps great an dreary atmosphere, something this book is great at, damn near excellent actually, never lets up
speaking of the structure of the stories themself are crazy intricate you don't realize while reading but the ending really opens up how much things were already foreshadowed or set in stone without you realizing it. the short story format really lets grant wave his intricate hand work brilliantly.
the structure itself is we begin with a very prominent and mood setting description of an atmosphere we get introduced to characters they talk about present stuff with hints of the past , thing of the horror starts and everything crumbles
the themes of the book are usually about heavy regrets and baggage of that. the characters usually all die in the end. the strength of this book is in its story and atmosphere, even plot, the characters themselves are developed but they are just moving vehicles for the story they feel developed but not alive if you get what i mean.
the writing style of the book is unclear simplicity, you won't be stopped or bewildered by big words or something but the writing is a puzzle and you have to pay attention to the pieces to connect, that's what's fun about this book
and yeah thats about it, really enjoyed it, anticipated it and did not disappoint
8/10
October 17, 2020
This book just did not grab me. I read the first few stories in the book and see that they are well written and well thought out. One of them managed to raise a shiver in me, but they just aren't the sort of stories that I find interesting.
April 16, 2023
Great short story collection. The moment-to-moment writing is just masterful at setting a mood. Most of the stories don’t go far beyond mood, often ending before a plot starts to form, but that unresolved discomfort is well suited to this brand of quiet horror.
May 17, 2025
got thoroughly bored reading it, the characters developed were not fun at all, i am sure many people love it but this nightside concept itself didnt work for me at all - why would you build an entire world and then tell below-average stories with no element of mystery
December 13, 2017
Take a step into the dark realms in this horror collection
September 25, 2022
Charles Grant’s particular brand of quiet horror makes for a thoroughly excellent collection. Some real gems in this book.
Read
July 7, 2023Rather boring, nice style but the the endings were not gripping enough.
March 20, 2024
Much better than I expected. Several diffuse duds, but half a dozen superb stories of horror.
June 8, 2024
I like CLG's horror more than his sci fi
Read
April 28, 2025DNF at 23%. The 3 or 4 stories I read did not compell me.
December 14, 2010
Started off great, but as the mystery unfolded I lost interest. This was the first Noir book I have read in a long time, I thought I could get into the genre...
August 29, 2013
Great bunch of stories, my favorite was "Coin of the Realm" excellent take on the phantom tollbooth.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews