Classic Tales of Horror and the Supernatural

by bill-pronzini-barry-n-malzberg-and-martin-h-greenberg-with-an-introduction-by-stephen-king, Barry N. Malzberg, Stephen King (Designer)

A spellbinding collection of forty-one of the genre's finest—and most chilling—tales, here is the definitive, the reliable, the indispensable volume of horror and the beyond, compiled by three of the field's top contributors and authorities and introduced by the current undisputed master of the supernatural, Stephen King.
--back cover

Hop frog / Edgar Allan Poe --
Rappaccini's daugher / Nathaniel Hawthorne --
Squire Toby's will / J. Sheridan Le Fanu --
The squaw / Bram Stoker --
The jolly corner / Henry James --
"Man overboard!" / Winston Churchill --
The hand / Theodore Dreiser --
The valley of the spiders / H.G. Wells --
The middle toe of the right foot / Ambrose Bierce --
Pickman's model / H.P. Lovecraft --
Yours truly, Jack the ripper / Robert Bloch --
The screaming laugh / Cornell Woolrich --
A rose for Emily / William Faulkner --
Bianca's hands / Theodore Sturgeon --
The girl with the hungry eyes / Fritz Leiber --
Shut a final door / Truman Capote --
Come and go mad / Fredric Brown --
The scarlet king / Evan Hunter --
Sticks / Karl Edward Wagner --
Sardonicus / Ray Russell --
A teacher's rewards / Robert Phillips --
The roaches / Thomas M. Disch --
The jam / Henry Slesar --
Black wind / Bill Pronzini --
The road to Mictlantecutli / Adobe James --
Passengers / Robert Silverberg --
The explosives expert / John Lutz --
Call first / Ramsey Campbell --
The fly / Arthur Porges --
Namesake / Elizabeth Morton --
Camps / Jack Dann --
You know Willie / Theodore R. Cogswell --
The mindworm / C.M. Kornbluth --
Warm / Robert Scheckley --
Transfer / Barry N. Malzberg --
The doll / Joyce Carol Oates --
If Damon comes / Charles L. Grant --
Mass without voices / Arthur L. Samuels --
The oblong room / Edward D. Hoch --
The party / William F. Nolan --
The crate / Stephen King.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Science Fiction

599 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average rating: 2.45/5 🌟

Individual ratings:

3/5 🌟Hop-Frog • (1849) • short story by Edgar Allan Poe

4/5 🌟Rappaccini's Daughter • (1844) • novelette by Nathaniel Hawthorne poisonous flora and people

2/5 🌟Squire Toby's Will • (1868) • novelette by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

4/5 🌟The Squaw • (1893) • short story by Bram Stoker cats and torture

1/5 🌟The Jolly Corner • (1908) • novelette by Henry James

2/5 🌟"Man Overboard!" • (1898) • short story by Winston Churchill

3/5 🌟The Hand • (1919) • short story by Theodore Dreiser

3/5 🌟The Valley of Spiders • (1903) • short story by H. G. Wells

1/5 🌟The Middle Toe of the Right Foot • (1890) • short story by Ambrose Bierce

2/5 🌟Pickman's Model • (1927) • short story by H.P. Lovecraft

3/5 🌟Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper • (1943) • short story by Robert Bloch

2/5 🌟The Screaming Laugh • (1938) • novelette by Cornell Woolrich

3/5 🌟Bianca's Hands • (1947) • short story by Theodore Sturgeon

3/5 🌟The Girl with the Hungry Eyes • (1949) • short story by Fritz Leiber

1/5 🌟Shut a Final Door • (1947) • short story by Truman Capote

3/5 🌟Come and Go Mad • (1949) • novelette by Fredric Brown

4/5 🌟The Scarlet King • (1955) • short story by Evan Hunter card games and madness

5/5 🌟Sticks • (1974) • novelette by Karl Edward Wagner cults, art and creepy woods

3/5 🌟Sardonicus • (1961) • novelette by Ray Russell

2/5 🌟A Teacher's Rewards • (1970) • short story by Robert S. Phillips

3/5 🌟The Roaches • (1965) • short story by Thomas M. Disch

3/5 🌟The Jam • (1958) • short story by Henry Slesar

2/5 🌟Black Wind • (1979) • short story by Bill Pronzini

2/5 🌟The Road to Mictlantecutli • (1965) • short story by Adobe James

2/5 🌟Passengers • (1968) • short story by Robert Silverberg

1/5 🌟The Explosives Expert • (1967) • short story by John Lutz

2/5 🌟Call First • (1975) • short story by Ramsey Campbell

2/5 🌟The Fly • (1952) • short story by Arthur Porges

1/5 🌟Namesake • (1981) • short story by Elizabeth Morton

4/5 🌟Camps • (1979) • novelette by Jack Dann concentration camps and experiments

1/5 🌟You Know Willie • (1957) • short story by Theodore R. Cogswell

2/5 🌟The Mindworm • (1950) • short story by C.M. Kornbluth

2/5 🌟Warm • (1953) • short story by Robert Sheckley

2/5 🌟Transfer • (1975) • short story by Barry N. Malzberg

3/5 🌟The Doll • (1980) • novelette by Joyce Carol Oates

3/5 🌟If Damon Comes • (1978) • short story by Charles L. Grant

2/5 🌟Mass Without Voices • (1979) • shortfiction by Arthur L. Samuels

2/5 🌟The Oblong Room • (1967) • short story by Edward D. Hoch

2/5 🌟The Party • (1967) • short story by William F. Nolan

3/5 🌟The Crate • (1979) • novelette by Stephen King

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the three best horror anthologies, along with Dark Forces and Dark Descent. It's a huge book -- if you can only have one, get this one.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Halloween scares.

[Chris Peckover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some duds and some absolutely brilliant chillers. More psychological than gruesome, though there are a few of those. And, wonderfully, some horror stories written by some surprising voices: Winston Churchill, William Faulkner, Truman Capote, and HG Wells.

[Theresa]

I haven't read enough of this to give it a fair rating, but I love everything I have read. It was assigned for school, so I will be reading more of this once the semester is over.

[Dru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the stories you may have read back in your high school days, or when you thought it was cool to be gothic and others you read on your own. While I love this complexity of horror masters, new and old, I wish there was just a bit more, overall. Good read.

[Janae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! I loved having a lot of the classic horror writers in this collection. I wish there could have been a bit more overall but this was definitely a neat find of mine, I might re-read for Halloween.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent anthology. Highly recommended.

[James S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really bad anthology. I like Pronzini and Greenberg is okay, so I think the fault must lie with Barry Malzberg, whose own story in here is terrible. The only interesting/good stories are:

1. "Sardonicus" by Ray Russell
2. "A Teacher's Rewards" by Robert Phillips
3. "Sticks" by Karl Edward Wagner
4. "The Roaches" by Thomas Disch
5. "Black Wind" by Bill Pronzini
6. "The Explosives Expert" by John Lutz

So 6 out of a total of 41 stories are any good, a percentage score of 14.6%. Pretty abysmal, even for this genre (and by the way, although the title promises horror/supernatural stories, many of these are actually science fiction or suspense...).

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/Fci9xrJToYs

Enjoy!

[Tinquerbelle]

1) Hop Frog; Poe, Edgar Allan
2) Rappaccini's Daughter; Hawthorne, Nathaniel
3) Squire Toby's Will; le Fanu, J. Sheridan
4) The Squaw; Stoker, Bram
5) The Jolly Corner; James, Henry
6) "Man Overboard!"; Churchill, Winston
7) The Hand; Dreiser, Theodore
8) The Valley of the Spiders; Wells, H.G.
9) The Middle Toe of the Right Foot; Bierce, Ambrose
10) Pickman's Model; Lovecraft, H.P.
11) Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper; Bloch, Robert
12) The Screaming Laugh; Woolrich, Cornell
13) A Rose for Emily; Faulkner, William
14) Bianca's Hands; Sturgeon, Theodore
15) The Girl with the Hungry Eyes; Leiber, Fritz
16) Shut a Final Door; Capote, Truman
18) Come and Go Mad; Brown, Fredric
19) The Scarlet King; Hunter, Evan
20) Sticks; Wagner, Karl Edward
21) Sardonicus; Russell, Ray
22) A Teacher's Rewards; Phillips, Robert
23) The Roaches; Disch, Thomas M.
25) The Jam; Slesar, Henry
26) Black Wind; Pronzini, Bill
27) The Road to Mictlantecutli; James, Adobe
28) Passengers; Silverberg, Robert
29) The Explosives Expert; Lutz, John
30) Call First; Campbell, Ramsey
31) The Fly; Porges, Arthur
32) Namesake; Morton, Elizabeth
33) Camps; Dann, Jack
34) You Know Willie; Cogswell, Theodore R.
35) The Mindworm; Kornbluth, C.M.
36) Warm; Sheckley, Robert
37) Transfer; Malzberg, Barry N.
38) The Doll; Oates, Joyce Carol
39) If Damon Comes; Grant, Charles L.
40) Mass Without Voices; Samuels, Arthur L.
41) The Oblong Room; Hoch, Edward D.
42) The Party; Nolan, William F.
43) The Crate; King, Stephen

[Melissa Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating an anthology is difficult for me. While there were some five star stories in this book, there were some one star stories too. The average story scored a four.
That aside, the editors did a great job choosing stories that flowed well. The intro to each story was as interesting as the stories themselves. Stephen King's forward may have been my favorite part!
A great book for getting up to snuff on your horror writers- a nice little sampling from many recognizable names. Well worth reading.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent anthology. It's divided into an older section and a newer section. The book was published in 1981 so even the newer section might seem a little on the old side to the modern reader with authors like Fritz Leiber, Steven King and Henry Slesar. A few of the stories were more like mystery or SF than horror. I liked the Robert Silverberg and Robert Sheckley stories.

[Jeannie Sloan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good and some not so good stories.The best are the older ones.Some of the new stories are not scarey but just gross or silly.I don't like a lot of graphic violence which is why I tend to read 'classic' stories.
All over a good book but nothing exceptional.

[bluetyson]

Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural by Bill Pronzini (1981)

[Debra]

Stephen King introduction plus his story "The Crate"