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McCammon's Shoppe of Olde Curiosities: Stories
A collection of genre-bending horror and dark fantasy stories from the award-winning,
New York Times–
bestselling author of the Matthew Corbett novels.
This edition includes an introduction by international bestselling author Joe R. Lansdale.
Featuring two Bram Stoker Award–winning tales, McCammon's Shoppe of Olde Curiosities is a career-spanning collection gathering nineteen short stories showcasing the author's imaginative range of frightening terror, fantastical worldbuilding, and characters confronting the unknown around them and within themselves.
Pursuing a life of celebrity fame, Erik Van Helsing's desire to cash in on his famous family's name as vampire hunters unveils a legacy he cannot escape in "Blood is Thicker Than Hollywood"—a spinoff tale from the novel They Thirst.
A woman surviving in a post-apocalyptic landscape fights off loneliness when she reads aloud to the "Children of the Bedtime Machine"—a tribute to the wondrous storytelling style of Ray Bradbury.
As "Death Comes for the Rich Man" in 1703 Colonial America, Matthew Corbett is hired to delay the Grim Reaper to give a regretful old sinner time to make amends with his estranged daughter.
Experimenting as a mixologist, McCammon presents five drink recipes in A Little Amber Book of Wicked Shots, accompanying stories about a serial killer in a haunted hotel, an athlete's destiny in the face of cosmic horror, a vindictive ad man learning the price of revenge, and an ex-slave on a suicidal and soul-sacrificing mission to serve justice.
Chilling and evocative, weird and humorous, these stories—and a dozen more—reveal why "no one can paint word pictures as vividly as Robert McCammon" (Sandra Brown).
This edition includes an introduction by international bestselling author Joe R. Lansdale.
Featuring two Bram Stoker Award–winning tales, McCammon's Shoppe of Olde Curiosities is a career-spanning collection gathering nineteen short stories showcasing the author's imaginative range of frightening terror, fantastical worldbuilding, and characters confronting the unknown around them and within themselves.
Pursuing a life of celebrity fame, Erik Van Helsing's desire to cash in on his famous family's name as vampire hunters unveils a legacy he cannot escape in "Blood is Thicker Than Hollywood"—a spinoff tale from the novel They Thirst.
A woman surviving in a post-apocalyptic landscape fights off loneliness when she reads aloud to the "Children of the Bedtime Machine"—a tribute to the wondrous storytelling style of Ray Bradbury.
As "Death Comes for the Rich Man" in 1703 Colonial America, Matthew Corbett is hired to delay the Grim Reaper to give a regretful old sinner time to make amends with his estranged daughter.
Experimenting as a mixologist, McCammon presents five drink recipes in A Little Amber Book of Wicked Shots, accompanying stories about a serial killer in a haunted hotel, an athlete's destiny in the face of cosmic horror, a vindictive ad man learning the price of revenge, and an ex-slave on a suicidal and soul-sacrificing mission to serve justice.
Chilling and evocative, weird and humorous, these stories—and a dozen more—reveal why "no one can paint word pictures as vividly as Robert McCammon" (Sandra Brown).
509 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 7, 2026
About the author
Robert McCammon
172 books5,965 followersPseudonyms: Robert R. McCammon; Robert Rick McCammon
Robert McCammon was a full-time horror writer for many years. Among his many popular novels were the classics Boy's Life and Swan Song. After taking a hiatus for his family, he returned to writing with an interest in historical fiction.
His newest book, Leviathan, is the tenth and final book in the Matthew Corbett series. It was published in trade hardcover (Lividian Publications), ebook (Open Road), and audiobook (Audible) formats on December 3, 2024.
McCammon resides in Birmingham, Alabama.
Robert McCammon was a full-time horror writer for many years. Among his many popular novels were the classics Boy's Life and Swan Song. After taking a hiatus for his family, he returned to writing with an interest in historical fiction.
His newest book, Leviathan, is the tenth and final book in the Matthew Corbett series. It was published in trade hardcover (Lividian Publications), ebook (Open Road), and audiobook (Audible) formats on December 3, 2024.
McCammon resides in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 17, 2026
A collection of all the uncollected short stories McCammon had placed in various anthologies over the years including a Matthew Corbett story and a sidequel to his fantastic novel "They Thirst". which happened to be my favorite of the stories, also included his hilarious contribution to the first of the "Hot Blood" anthologies from the 80's and 90's.
Favorite stories:
The Thang
Blood is Thicker Than Hollywood
Eat Me
Lizardman
The Deep End
41/2 * since Goodreads doesn't do halves and quarters
A must have for a McCammon completest
Favorite stories:
The Thang
Blood is Thicker Than Hollywood
Eat Me
Lizardman
The Deep End
41/2 * since Goodreads doesn't do halves and quarters
A must have for a McCammon completest
July 12, 2026
McCammon returns with yet another collection of short stories that prove just what an absolute master of fiction he is.
I would argue that his first collection Blue World is a better overall group of stories (seriously, the title story is still the best short story ever written), but Shoppe of Olde Curiosities is a worthy follow up and example of a McCammon who has matured and developed his craft to even higher standards while exhibiting he hasn’t forgotten his horror roots.
Stories like “The Thang” and “Eat Me” (classic tales from the late 80’s and early 90’s) are classic McCammon splattering-punk with his unique ability to throw emotion and true heartfelt characters into the midst of blood and gore. Even “Strange Candy” taps into the emotion of death and how to deal with it. There’s also a Matthew Corbett short included. It’s not the absolute best, but it’s more evidence that that series was amazing.
The last 3 stories are by far some of McCammon’s best work in years (although let’s be honest…ALL his work is fantastic). “Message from the Overmind”, “DST inc.”, and (the best story in the entire collection) “Queen of Cruelty” are perfect examples of just how varied and talented McCammon truly is and why he remains my favorite author of all time.
I would argue that his first collection Blue World is a better overall group of stories (seriously, the title story is still the best short story ever written), but Shoppe of Olde Curiosities is a worthy follow up and example of a McCammon who has matured and developed his craft to even higher standards while exhibiting he hasn’t forgotten his horror roots.
Stories like “The Thang” and “Eat Me” (classic tales from the late 80’s and early 90’s) are classic McCammon splattering-punk with his unique ability to throw emotion and true heartfelt characters into the midst of blood and gore. Even “Strange Candy” taps into the emotion of death and how to deal with it. There’s also a Matthew Corbett short included. It’s not the absolute best, but it’s more evidence that that series was amazing.
The last 3 stories are by far some of McCammon’s best work in years (although let’s be honest…ALL his work is fantastic). “Message from the Overmind”, “DST inc.”, and (the best story in the entire collection) “Queen of Cruelty” are perfect examples of just how varied and talented McCammon truly is and why he remains my favorite author of all time.
July 31, 2026
It's not often that I read a short story collection and give it 5 stars. Typically a collection will have 1 or 2 really good stories and the rest are ok at best. Not so here. McCammon is a master of his craft that is underappreciated in my opinion. There are several just fantastic stories in this collection. If I was rating stories individually I'm not sure there would be a single one that was less than a 3.5/5. It's a great mix of horror, dark fantasy, and Twilight Zone-esque tales. Some pack better characters, plots, and general storytelling than many full length novels I have read. Also, there is a great Matthew Corbett story in here that any fan of that series would very much enjoy. This collection will very likely make my list of favorite books of 2026.
August 4, 2026
It’s been over thirty years since Robert McCammon put out his iconic short story collection Tales From The Blue World and he just finally released his second collection! It's a bit of an odds and ends thing, with some being stories that were deemed not good enough for Blue World and others simply being newer. I can see why some of these got left out of the first collection, the one where a guy's dick turns into a tentacle monster would have brought down the class by multiple levels. There was also one about two zombies eating each other as they have sex which allegedly won the Stoker for best story of the year lol. As usual with McCammon, my favorites were the ones that had some heart to them, and there were a handful of good tearjerker scenes scattered throughout, although not nearly as many as in Blue World. Best stories were probably A Life In The Day Of (which the Adam Sandler movie Click totally ripped off), The Deep End, and Blood Is Thicker Than Hollywood.
July 25, 2026
4.25/5 some really great stories across a wide range of horror and emotion. Most of them also feel really unique and have interesting ideas whether they be short or long.
August 4, 2026
I do love me some McCammon and he really thrives in these short formats. Not a sour one in the bunch. Plus a very nice Matthew Corbet story which I didn't know was going to be in here. Sweet!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews