Midnight

by Charles L. Grant (Editor), Leanne Frahm (Contributor), Robert Bloch (Contributor)

Terror rules when the clock strikes Midnight

Sometimes a dream needs the stroke of twelve to shimmer into a nightmare. When the bell tolls the hour that belongs to the terror hiding in familiar things, to the shadowed alley that separates madness and reason, then nothing can help us … Sweet dreams.

Introduction by Charles L. Grant
Old Clothes (1985) shortstory by Ramsey Campbell
Road to Granville (1985) shortstory by Joseph Payne Brennan
The Visitor (1985) shortstory by Leanne Frahm
Sweets to the Sweet (1947) shortstory by Robert Bloch
Masks (1985) shortstory by Douglas E. Winter
The Fly-by-Night (1976) novelette by R. Chetwynd-Hayes
The Extension (1985) shortstory by Thomas Sullivan
The Sacrifice (1985) shortstory by Julie Stevens
The Spot (1980) shortstory by Dennis Etchison and Mark Johnson
Overnight Guest (1985) shortstory by Craig Shaw Gardner
Intimately, With Rain (1978) shortstory by Janet Fox
Spring Fever (1985) shortstory by Susan Casper
Pictures of a Woman Gone (1985) novelette by Leslie Alan Horvitz
The Green Man (1983) shortstory by Kelvin I. Jones
Ceremony (1985) novelette by William F. Nolan
Of Memories Dying (1985) shortstory by Michael Bracken
A Tapestry of Little Murders (1971) shortstory by Michael Bishop
No Other Gods (1985) novelette by Reginald Bretnor

Genres: Horror, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Stories

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1985

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

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection of stories by Grant here, the stand out Being "Old Clothes" by Ramsey Campbell. This does feature some mid listers such as Robert Bloch, R. Chetwynd-Hayes and Leslie Ann Horvitz, but most of the authors were new to me. Grant weaves them together with little vignettes introducing each story. Most of the stories are from the 80s (this was first published in 1985) although a few were first published in venues like Weird Tales in the 40s. Most were pretty good with only a few duds. I always liked Grant's slow burn style and most of these stories reflect that. 3 midnight stars!!!

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid collection of horror/fantasy stories. The major standout is "Masks" by Douglas E. Winter. I wish Winter wrote more fiction because the uneasy, off-putting atmosphere in his entry is second to none. "The Fly-by-Night" by R. Chetwynd Hayes and "A Tapestry of Murders" by Michael Bishop are great as well. The rest are all three-star caliber but I like the milieu of horror/fantasy literature from this era so I had a good time with every story overall.

[Conal Cochran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid collection of horror/dark fantasy stories by a mix of well-known (Bloch, Chetwynd-Hayes, Nolan, Bishop, Etchison, Brennan) and much more obscure authors. Some of the stories here (mostly in the first half, oddly) are a bit slight, or hackneyed, or otherwise non-descript, but all (mostly) bear the hallmarks of a Grant anthology: Tasteful and well-written explorations into the unknown.

[Lacy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cool cover had me excited for this book, unfortunately I was very disappointed. I'm not sure how a lot of these stories are considered horror. I only cared for maybe 4 out of the 18.

[Ishra Aroni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read a good portion of these and they are creeeeepy! Could totally visualize these being made into a horror anthology like American Horror Stories or VHS.

[Kathryn Grace Loves Horror · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Bill Borre]

"Overnight Guest" by Craig Shaw Gardner - George thinks he's cheating on his wife Alice with Julie but is distracted by sound that ultimately grows louder until he realizes the mirror that shows a younger image is just a lie and the sound becomes the inarticulate wail of hundreds of doomed men Julie has seduced.

"Road to Granville" by Joseph Payne Brennan - This story is very similar to Tales from the Crypt's "Reflection of Death."

"Masks" by Douglas E. Winter - Dad's new girlfriend Janice decapitates Danny's brother on Halloween.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anthology of various writers. Very fine.

[Ryan Daley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Features one of my all-time favorite Halloween stories, Masks, by Douglas Winter. Scared me stupid when I read it as a teenager.