A collection of fourteen unsettling tales by a variety of authors.
xi • Introduction (Ready or Not: Here Come Fourteen Frightening Stories!) • (1987) • essay by Joan Kahn 1 • Please, No Strawberries • (1980) • short story by Hayes Wilson 6 • Peter Two • (1946) • short story by Irwin Shaw 18 • The Vinegar Mother • (1976) • novelette by Ruth Rendell 40 • Robert • (1958) • short story by Stanley Ellin 60 • The Doll's Ghost • (1911) • short story by F. Marion Crawford 76 • Paul's Tale • (1945) • short story by Mary Norton 85 • If Big Brother Says So • (1977) • short story by Alice Rudoski 90 • A Private Ghost • (1960) • short story by Joyce Cary 102 • The Playground • (1952) • short story by Ray Bradbury 120 • The Girl in the Mirror • (1976) • short story by Margot Arnold 130 • The Thing Waiting Outside • (1977) • short story by Barbara Williamson 138 • Fair's Fair • (1967) • short story by Jane Speed 149 • A Hell of a Story • (1982) • short story by H. R. F. Keating 155 • The Wish • (1948) • short story by Roald Dahl