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65 Great Spine Chillers
65 Great Spine Chillers [Hardcover] Danby, Mary
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
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October 1, 2020Placeholder review
"The Snake" by Dennis Wheatley is probably the first piece of short (or long) fiction I've ever read by the author - Wheatley being a figure most familiar to me as having written the source for the fun film THE DEVIL RIDES OUT. Outside of that, I'm not really in a rush - descriptions of his novels make me feel like he's some sort of reactionary Robert Ludlum writing supernatural novels. But here we have a story, told over drinks, where a rich man explains why he believes in black magic, relating a story that goes back to his poverty-stricken beginnings in South Africa, where his bootlegging/arms-dealing boss runs afoul of the local witch doctor when he tries to collect on a debt. This is one of those traditional "native magic works on unbelieving white man" stories (see the much better "Pollock And The Porroh Man" by H.G. Wells) which plays out mostly like you'd expect (although there's a final, dramatic, unexpected twist) but pretty much does so in a workmanlike way - and Wheatley lives up to my low expectations by insulting Italians, Jews and Black Africans within the first few pages. Eminently forgettable.
"The Dancing Partner" by Jerome K. Jerome - an expert maker of clockwork figures turns his skills towards the complaints of young women of his association who are unhappy with their choice of dancing partners at the grand balls. But ingenuity ends in tragedy. There's so much to like about this piece - its succinctness, its restraint (it lets you know that awfulness has happened without spelling it fully out), its prescience (as we enter the age of AI, for good or ill), its (possible) awareness its own lineage (I imagine Jerome must have read Hoffmann's "The Sandman" and incorporated its tale of the proto-android Olympia). A good 'un.
In Lady Eleanor Smith's "Satan's Circus", we are introduced to the reputation of the Austrian Circus Brandt, which, while considered a fine and professional show, has a bad reputation that follows it as it travels across Europe, especially from its workers who don't stay on very long. And one such man, a juggler, tells his story of why he left, a story involving a circus worker named Anatole, the Brandt's corrupt ways, and the sudden need for a lion tamer... Again, while a bit subdued, it has a certain European charm, with faint echoes of the Decadent writers.
"The Snake" by Dennis Wheatley is probably the first piece of short (or long) fiction I've ever read by the author - Wheatley being a figure most familiar to me as having written the source for the fun film THE DEVIL RIDES OUT. Outside of that, I'm not really in a rush - descriptions of his novels make me feel like he's some sort of reactionary Robert Ludlum writing supernatural novels. But here we have a story, told over drinks, where a rich man explains why he believes in black magic, relating a story that goes back to his poverty-stricken beginnings in South Africa, where his bootlegging/arms-dealing boss runs afoul of the local witch doctor when he tries to collect on a debt. This is one of those traditional "native magic works on unbelieving white man" stories (see the much better "Pollock And The Porroh Man" by H.G. Wells) which plays out mostly like you'd expect (although there's a final, dramatic, unexpected twist) but pretty much does so in a workmanlike way - and Wheatley lives up to my low expectations by insulting Italians, Jews and Black Africans within the first few pages. Eminently forgettable.
"The Dancing Partner" by Jerome K. Jerome - an expert maker of clockwork figures turns his skills towards the complaints of young women of his association who are unhappy with their choice of dancing partners at the grand balls. But ingenuity ends in tragedy. There's so much to like about this piece - its succinctness, its restraint (it lets you know that awfulness has happened without spelling it fully out), its prescience (as we enter the age of AI, for good or ill), its (possible) awareness its own lineage (I imagine Jerome must have read Hoffmann's "The Sandman" and incorporated its tale of the proto-android Olympia). A good 'un.
In Lady Eleanor Smith's "Satan's Circus", we are introduced to the reputation of the Austrian Circus Brandt, which, while considered a fine and professional show, has a bad reputation that follows it as it travels across Europe, especially from its workers who don't stay on very long. And one such man, a juggler, tells his story of why he left, a story involving a circus worker named Anatole, the Brandt's corrupt ways, and the sudden need for a lion tamer... Again, while a bit subdued, it has a certain European charm, with faint echoes of the Decadent writers.
September 19, 2010
Very good anthology.A lot of the stories I have seen in other books but this doesn't detract from the winning selection of horror short stories.There also is not a lot of blood and guts so fans of Splatterpunk will be let down.The stories are also a little dated but this I find that I like.
Overall a worthwhile read.
You would like it Danielle.
Overall a worthwhile read.
You would like it Danielle.
November 3, 2013
Sixty-five great old-school horror stories. These tales are more psychological, cerebral, if you will, than blood and guts. My kind of horror.
November 16, 2013
massive collection of good, some excellent, stories
January 3, 2013
Definitely a mixed bag of stories. Most tended to follow a British or European ghost story trope where somebody marries, moves into a haunted house, has a horrible time, and then something ghastly happens to make them abandon it yet again. Of course, there are always little variations, but after awhile it got stale. There are also a few more modern stories, like King's "Suffer the Little Children", and many others featuring creepy hordes of insects and psychological issues. Stories are arranged alphabetically by author, so no real organization beyond the selection by the editor, who didn't proofread my edition that well either.
Warning: There is one H.P. Lovecraft story in this collection that features a black cat the narrator has chosen to name, "Nigger-Man". (It's set in the 1920s. I'm not asking.) He plays a pivotal role in the story and sticks close to the narrator, so it's impossible to avoid reading his name multiple times. Hilarity or shock may result.
Warning: There is one H.P. Lovecraft story in this collection that features a black cat the narrator has chosen to name, "Nigger-Man". (It's set in the 1920s. I'm not asking.) He plays a pivotal role in the story and sticks close to the narrator, so it's impossible to avoid reading his name multiple times. Hilarity or shock may result.
November 2, 2012
As with any book of short stories, some were better than others. However, where else can you get Sir Winston Churchill and Stephen King in the same book?
July 7, 2026
I'm a sucker for an old school horror anthology so this was right up my street. There's very little dross here, although the Bram Stoker story is pretty poor - maybe he was having an off day. Given that many of these stories are quite old some of the attitudes and language choices do seem quite dated but largely this just adds to the books gothic charm. The one exception is the Dennis Wheatley story, which is explicitly racist and would never be published today. I'm quite surprised it made it into this volume, published in the 80s. I've previously read one of Wheatley's novels which turned out to be just as reactionary and racist, so he's someone who hopefully will get left in the last century. I would have given this book 5 stars but I've knocked one off due to the piss-poor copy proofing, particularly towards the end of the book, where there are a number of typos that really should have been picked up.
August 18, 2024
A terrific 'all star' anthology of classic (and often hard-to-find) horror tales, from such masters of the genre as Ramsey Campbell, R. Chetwynd-Hayes, Stephen King, Robert Bloch, Dennis Wheatley, John Wyndam, and many dozens more. An invaluable addition to the collection of any fan of great horror fiction.
July 9, 2017
As I read, I look to find something about the authors, other things they have written. Quite an education, Alger self taught, about some amazing writers.
December 31, 2021
A mixed bag of horror stories but generally a great anthology with range jump scares to subtle spine tinglers!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews