Nightmares

by Charles L. Grant

CONTENTS

Introduction · Charles L. Grant ·
Suffer the Little Children · Stephen King ·
Peekaboo · Bill Pronzini ·*
Daughter of the Golden West [“A Feast for Cathy”] · Dennis Etchison ·
The Duppy Tree · Steven E. McDonald · *
Naples · Avram Davidson ·
Seat Partner [Saint-Germain] · Chelsea Quinn Yarbro ·
Camps · Jack M. Dann ·
The Anchoress · Beverly Evans ·
Transfer · Barry N. Malzberg ·
Unknown Drives · Richard Christian Matheson
The Night of the Piasa · George W. Proctor & J. C. Green ·
The Runaway Lovers · Ray Russell ·
Fisherman’s Log · Peter D. Pautz ·
I Can’t Help Saying Goodbye · Ann Mackenzie ·
Midnight Hobo · Ramsey Campbell ·
Snakes and Snails · Jack C. Haldeman, II ·
Mass Without Voices · Arthur L. Samuels ·
He Kilt It with a Stick · William F. Nolan ·
The Ghouls · R. Chetwynd-Hayes

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

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

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big old anthology of late '70s-era short horror stories from editor Charles L. Grant, and aside from the King and Chetwynd-Hayes efforts these were all unfamiliar to me (which is always a great thing). They tend towards dark thrillers on the most part and most are worth at least a cursory look.

PEEKABOO, by Bill Pronzini, is a simple set-piece about a guy searching his house at night and all about the suspense, which comes in bucketloads. Dennis Etchison's DAUGHTERS OF THE GOLDEN WEST feels like a grindhouse movie in a story, notable for some ghastly moments and interesting setup. Steve McDonald's THE GUPPY TREE is notable for its Caribbean setting although a little heavy on the vernacular.

Avram Davidson's NAPLES is appallingly obtuse – no idea what that was about at all – while Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's SEAT PARTNER is a jokey vampire effort, although I'd have preferred it serious. CAMPS is by Jack Dann and a rather unpleasant recollection of WW2 concentration camps, while Beverly Evans' THE ANCHORESS is a creepy thing about a farmer's wife with a strange collection.

TRANSFER sees Barry Malzberg delivering a somewhat obscure and unsatisfying lycanthropic effort, while Richard Christian Matheson's UNKNOWN DRIVES is a top little thriller – imagine DUEL condensed into something sweet and suspenseful. Geo Proctor's NIGHT OF THE PIASA is almost exactly like the film/novel WOLFEN except considerably shorter and I'm not sure whether he or Strieber came first.

Ray Russell's RUNAWAY LOVERS is pretty trashy, a medieval torture effort let down by reams of cod Shakespearian dialogue, but Peter Pautz's FISHERMAN'S LOG is better, a tale of a childhood fishing trip ending disastrously. Ann Mackenzie's I CAN'T HELP SAYING GOODBYE sticks with the kids to strong effect with an original voice, while MIDNIGHT HOBO is one of Ramsey Campbell's strongest efforts, another extraordinarily creepy ghost story with a background of urban decay.

Jack Haldeman's SNAKES AND SNAILS is a traditional vampire story with a good setting in the swamplands of southern Georgia, while Arthur Samuels' MASS WITHOUT VOICES is a gruesome short-short about a violinist's revenge. Meanwhile, William F. Nolan's HE KILT IT WITH A STICK is a gruelling one about a man who hates cats – animal lovers, look away – and his comeuppance.

[Stormcrow Hayes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was purchased at a vintage paperback show held once a year in Glendale, California, and I love going to this show. You never know what you might find. Some of the vendors will have deals, like buy 10 books for $25 and that's how I picked up this -- I needed a tenth book.

It's a horror anthology so I figured I couldn't go wrong. Well, it's not terrible, but...

This book was tough to finish and took me more than five months to do so, only dipping in and out it between novels. I read all the stories but one (just couldn't get into it) and finished the last "Camps" last night just to knock it off.

I came very close to putting this as DNF, but I'd already read more than half so I pushed through. And the remainder of stories weren't bad, they just weren't good.

The only story I really enjoyed felt like it belonged in a fantasy anthology more than this one. It was set in medieval times and had the rather boring title of "Runaway Lovers".

And while some stories were just boring, a few started well or were well written, but just fell flat by the end. That's where about half of this anthology lies - well written enough, but bland.

I should probably purge this from my collection, but it has kind of a neat psychedelic cover so it'll sit around for now. But I would NOT recommend it.

[Joshua Hair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love old collections like this. Not only is it highly entertaining to read blurbs about world-renown authors such as Stephen King from a time when they had only a book or two published, but it's also nice to see that so many stories from almost forty years ago are still so pertinent and poignant today. With the exception of a story or two I loved the entire collection, which is why I jumped straight into its companion volume, Shadows. Expect a review of that one coming soon.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great anthology collection edited by Grant of various horror authors. There are some masterpieces here.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great stories. Some not so great. And some that gave me the heebie jeebies. I'd recommend this.

[Steven]

Some hotshot kid named McDonald hobnobbing with his betters in this collection. I wonder whatever happened to him?