Horrors

by Charles L. Grant (Editor), Dennis Etchison, Michael Reaves

Ghouls rising from their graves. Dolls with teeth. Your pet cat that really isn't a cat. Something hiding in your backyard pool. A toy you threw away that keeps returning. Doctors using you for their organ banks.... Your ultimate fears come true.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies

223 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 15, 1981

About the author

Charles 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.

Reviews

[Shawn]

another placeholder review, as I read or re-read some Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, In this case, the whole of this book will have to eventually come up on my re-read schedule before I'm able to review the whole thing, but there may be piecemeal additions.

"Savoury, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme" is Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's story about a teenage Appalachian girl who, wounded by her sweetheart's cooled ardor, makes the perilous trip up the mountain to visit the old conjure/herb woman in search of some love spell. But the Herb Woman knows a lot of things, and wisdom is not always easily accepted. This is a solid, entertaining story - Yarbro has a real skill with the main character's voice and a subtle understanding of the psychology of an intellgent girl suffering through her first love (and how self-justification works) - and I like how the narrative combines both folkloric magic and the insertion of academic knowledge. On the other hand, and in line with the Charles Grant (editor) remit of "quiet horror", I'd also argue that this is not horror but dark fantasy - and well done dark fantasy at that.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy the weird, this book's for you. I won't say I loved every single story, but it's definitely recommendable.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this may have been a very early anthology edited by Grant. Contains stories by many authors and some truly wonderful tales.

[James Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved all of Grant's edited anthologies.

[Niall O'Leary · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with many books of this sort, it's a mixed bag, poorer than most perhaps, with some exceptions from Yarbro, Houston, and Nolan. Most are short enough not to outstay their welcome. The standout by a country mile is King's 'The Monkey'. There is a reason why King is so revered and this work, a little jewel, perfectly demonstrates his talents. I have no wish whatever to see Perkin's movie adaptation which by all accounts uses the basic premise as a springboard for gory comedy. The short story is not in any way humourous, just scary, gripping, and memorable. Skip the rest, read this.

[×× ri ×× · Rating 3 out of 5]

i had high hopes for this one. charles l. grant provides short blurbs about an author preceeding each story, which i thought was cute. however, almost none of the stories selected stand out in my memory. by far the best story in the collection is dollburger. i was really unsettled by the atmosphere and the absurd quality of the invented story that seemingly becomes real. but the ending was just so random, and it made me go "awww man, what the fuck was that". the author really dropped the ball on that one.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1989. An anthology edited by Grant.

[Edward Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any anthology edited by Charles L. Grant is always going to be good. And this is another one.

[Wesley Rodgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection.

[Bill Borre]

"A Demon in My View" by Melisa Michaels - This story is kind of a variant on The Twilight Zone's "It's A Good Life". Johnny is a little boy with similar omnipotent powers but when he makes all the people and telephones disappear this angers his mother and she asks him to bring them back. He confides to her that it is easier to make them disappear than it is to bring them back.

"Dollburger" by Lisa Tuttle - A girl's father tells her a story about people who eat dolls in an effort to get her to pick up her toys but when she discovers the remnants of her favorite doll she believes him. She stashes her toys in the attic to protect them unaware that one of her dolls is cannabalizing the others.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book of short stories