Ghosttide: Tales Of Horror, Dark Fantasy and Suspense

by Claudia O'Keefe (Editor), Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Contributor), William Browning Spencer (Contributor)

This anthology contains:
Model Lover by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith
The Creatures That Walked in Darkness by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Force of Habit by Susan Palwick
The Mountains of Time by Hugh B. Cave
Neighbors by Kathryn Ptacek
The Power of the Mandarin by Gahan Wilson
Her Mother's Cries by Janna Silverstein
Iron Mask by Robert Bloch
Irrational Fears by William Browning Spencer
The Ghosts of Mice and Bugs by Tavish MacMinn
Player by Barb Hendee
Penetration by David J. Schow
Annoyed to Death by Keelin Cole
Soul Searching by Dave Smeds
De Profundis Clamavi by S. A. Stolnack.

Genres: Horror, Anthologies

221 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read two stories in this, to knock them off my "to read" list:

"Neighbors" by Kathryn Ptacek has a unneighborly disagreement over yard maintenance escalate far beyond what the bully expects when his neighbor proves to be a practicing witch. Eh.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's "The Creatures That Walked In Darkness" is set in old Scotland and follows a man escaping from imprisonment, having ended up there for defending his sister against charges of witchcraft. She was burned alive and he charged with sorcery, but this is all part of the larger puritanical purge going on across the countryside, led by a hellfire preaching, devout Reverend. Who our prisoner happens to meet on the road as he flees....coincidentally...or not? Not bad - nice sadistic/misogynist psychology of the moral purist played out here.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of eclectic stories was good and interesting! It just wasn’t great. And my biggest disappointment was that the best stories were written by authors who seem to have no other published works. Several stories toyed with dark fantasy. Several were solidly horror. Most meandered through a variety of genres. The editor was going for something different and this certainly was, it just should have had a clearer voice. There was a phenomenal story about two friends driving each other crazy on a plane by Keelin Cole. Another outstanding story offered a wonderful solution to dealing with horrible neighbors by Kathryn Ptacek. There were also two other memorable tales by Gahan Wilson and Tavish Macminn. I just wish I could recommend the entire volume. Anthologies are tough sometimes, and this one just could have been so much more.