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Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories #16
The 16th Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories
Contents:
The Farmer by Steve Rasnic Tem
See How They Run by Terry Tapp
The Wheel by H. Warner Munn
Blackberries by Roger Clarke
The Feet by Mark Channing
Creepogs by Phillip C. Heath
The Horror of Abbot’s Grange by Frederick Cowles
Oblige Me with a Loaf by Dorothy K. Haynes
Mother’s Day by Alison Prince
Switching Off by Roger Malisson
The Burial of the Rats by Bram Stoker
Curleylocks by Mary Danby
The Farmer by Steve Rasnic Tem
See How They Run by Terry Tapp
The Wheel by H. Warner Munn
Blackberries by Roger Clarke
The Feet by Mark Channing
Creepogs by Phillip C. Heath
The Horror of Abbot’s Grange by Frederick Cowles
Oblige Me with a Loaf by Dorothy K. Haynes
Mother’s Day by Alison Prince
Switching Off by Roger Malisson
The Burial of the Rats by Bram Stoker
Curleylocks by Mary Danby
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 6, 2015
Penultimate entry to this classic anthology series, containing:-
The Farmer (1983) by Steve Rasnic Tem. A boy learns that before he can take from the earth, he has to give... Nice little creep-out opener to the anthology with some well-written descriptions. Presumably written for this volume as it doesn't seem to have appeared anywhere else.
See How They Run (1981) by Terry Tap. The rats have turned on man. Gory stuff, but James Herbert did it better. This story's only other appearance was in another anthology edited by Mary Danby, so she likes it!
The Wheel (1933) by R. Warner Munn. A wealthy American is negotiating with a lowly Mexican for the oil rights on some land. They go to the Mexican's torture chamber to discuss it. The American finds himself affixed to the worst torture device as the Mexican reveals that his ancestors were tortured and killed by the American's ancestors. This is a VERY silly story, but good pulpy fun none the less.
Blackberries (1983) by Roger Clarke. A boy is playing with toy soldiers when he is interrupted by his (imaginary?) friend. He is then called inside where he has an adversarial discussion with his mother about where he will go to pick blackberries for the dinner she is making for her new man. He defies her and goes to the quarry where he is chased and killed by the slug-like 'dead man'. A very odd story.
The Feet (1935) by Mark Channing. An aged uncle has taken over the house once owned by a cruel Indian Nawab. He has become convinced that an evil spirit shares the house, and his only protection is the broken-off feet of a statue which he keeps in his curio collection. To prove him wrong, his nephew steals the feet, whereupon the old uncle drops dead. Tightly written pulp silliness.
Creepogs (1977) by Phillip C. Heath. Story about murderous creatures venturing out of the swamp, with a denouement that just doesn't make sense.
The Horror of Abbot's Grange (1936) by Frederick Cowles. Leasing an old house leads to vampire attacks. This is either a joke or a terrible story. I'll be kind and call it a heavy-handed pastiche.
Oblige Me with a Loaf (1983) by Dorothy K. Haynes. A woman 'revisits' the shop she used to rely on as a child and is greeted by very creepy ghosts of the shopkeepers. Not evil, just creepy.
Mother's Day (1983) by Alison Prince. Very well told tale about senile dementia. Should have ended with a real gut-punch shocker of a scene, but the blurb writer chose to spoil that on the back cover of the book.
Switching Off (1983) by Roger Malisson. A touching story of how an unfortunate son of negligent parents, victim of a vindictive school teacher can 'fall between the cracks'. Lovely build up, but the pay-off is weak.
The Burial of the Rats (1891) by Bram Stoker. A young man on an extended stay in Paris explores too deeply the city's seamy underside - and finds himself in a chase for his life! I like Stoker but this story is pretty dopey. Our protagonist's safety is implicitly and explicitly assured so tension is always non-existent, leaving the story feeling over long.
Curlylocks (1983) by Mary Danby. I've just discovered that Mary Danby is the great great granddaughter of Charles Dickens, which is pretty cool. This is the story of a modern girl trapped in an old fashioned marriage, who uses some really old fashioned methods to escape.
So there you go. Something for everyone, as they say.
The Farmer (1983) by Steve Rasnic Tem. A boy learns that before he can take from the earth, he has to give... Nice little creep-out opener to the anthology with some well-written descriptions. Presumably written for this volume as it doesn't seem to have appeared anywhere else.
See How They Run (1981) by Terry Tap. The rats have turned on man. Gory stuff, but James Herbert did it better. This story's only other appearance was in another anthology edited by Mary Danby, so she likes it!
The Wheel (1933) by R. Warner Munn. A wealthy American is negotiating with a lowly Mexican for the oil rights on some land. They go to the Mexican's torture chamber to discuss it. The American finds himself affixed to the worst torture device as the Mexican reveals that his ancestors were tortured and killed by the American's ancestors. This is a VERY silly story, but good pulpy fun none the less.
Blackberries (1983) by Roger Clarke. A boy is playing with toy soldiers when he is interrupted by his (imaginary?) friend. He is then called inside where he has an adversarial discussion with his mother about where he will go to pick blackberries for the dinner she is making for her new man. He defies her and goes to the quarry where he is chased and killed by the slug-like 'dead man'. A very odd story.
The Feet (1935) by Mark Channing. An aged uncle has taken over the house once owned by a cruel Indian Nawab. He has become convinced that an evil spirit shares the house, and his only protection is the broken-off feet of a statue which he keeps in his curio collection. To prove him wrong, his nephew steals the feet, whereupon the old uncle drops dead. Tightly written pulp silliness.
Creepogs (1977) by Phillip C. Heath. Story about murderous creatures venturing out of the swamp, with a denouement that just doesn't make sense.
The Horror of Abbot's Grange (1936) by Frederick Cowles. Leasing an old house leads to vampire attacks. This is either a joke or a terrible story. I'll be kind and call it a heavy-handed pastiche.
Oblige Me with a Loaf (1983) by Dorothy K. Haynes. A woman 'revisits' the shop she used to rely on as a child and is greeted by very creepy ghosts of the shopkeepers. Not evil, just creepy.
Mother's Day (1983) by Alison Prince. Very well told tale about senile dementia. Should have ended with a real gut-punch shocker of a scene, but the blurb writer chose to spoil that on the back cover of the book.
Switching Off (1983) by Roger Malisson. A touching story of how an unfortunate son of negligent parents, victim of a vindictive school teacher can 'fall between the cracks'. Lovely build up, but the pay-off is weak.
The Burial of the Rats (1891) by Bram Stoker. A young man on an extended stay in Paris explores too deeply the city's seamy underside - and finds himself in a chase for his life! I like Stoker but this story is pretty dopey. Our protagonist's safety is implicitly and explicitly assured so tension is always non-existent, leaving the story feeling over long.
Curlylocks (1983) by Mary Danby. I've just discovered that Mary Danby is the great great granddaughter of Charles Dickens, which is pretty cool. This is the story of a modern girl trapped in an old fashioned marriage, who uses some really old fashioned methods to escape.
So there you go. Something for everyone, as they say.
November 27, 2018
This is one of the best books in this series, with just a couple of duds, but 8 memorable stories.
Among the good ones are Roger Clarke's 'Blackberries' - good characterisation and atmosphere in a tale where a boy argues with his mother and goes to pick blackberries in a haunted field; Phillip C.Heath's 'Creepogs' - an eerie story of little carnivorous creatures emerging from a swampy landscape; Frederick Cowles's 'The Horror Of Abbot's Grange' - suspenseful ghost story in which the image of the haunter disappears from a picture on the wall when he does his haunting; Roger Malisson's 'Switching Off' - another good character story in which a boy takes out revenge, years later, on a teacher who taunted him; and Bram Stoker's ' The Burial Of The Rats' - a gripping chase story in which a man is chased through Paris by ruffians.
Even better are Dorothy K.Haynes's 'Oblige Me With A Loaf' - an enjoyable Twilight Zone type story in which a woman entering a shop, of which she has idyllic memories from previous times, is now in a decayed state; Alison Prince's 'Mother's Day' - a clever observational piece in which a son and his girlfriend go to meet his mentally ill mother [NB. Don't read the back cover of the book as it gives away the ending!]; and finally Mary Danby's 'Curlylocks' - a woman who feels tied to her husband finds a book on witchcraft.
Being what this series of books is, collections of short stories, there's obviously no need to read these volumes in sequence (especially as the earlier ones are not so consistent) - this is a good one to start with!
Among the good ones are Roger Clarke's 'Blackberries' - good characterisation and atmosphere in a tale where a boy argues with his mother and goes to pick blackberries in a haunted field; Phillip C.Heath's 'Creepogs' - an eerie story of little carnivorous creatures emerging from a swampy landscape; Frederick Cowles's 'The Horror Of Abbot's Grange' - suspenseful ghost story in which the image of the haunter disappears from a picture on the wall when he does his haunting; Roger Malisson's 'Switching Off' - another good character story in which a boy takes out revenge, years later, on a teacher who taunted him; and Bram Stoker's ' The Burial Of The Rats' - a gripping chase story in which a man is chased through Paris by ruffians.
Even better are Dorothy K.Haynes's 'Oblige Me With A Loaf' - an enjoyable Twilight Zone type story in which a woman entering a shop, of which she has idyllic memories from previous times, is now in a decayed state; Alison Prince's 'Mother's Day' - a clever observational piece in which a son and his girlfriend go to meet his mentally ill mother [NB. Don't read the back cover of the book as it gives away the ending!]; and finally Mary Danby's 'Curlylocks' - a woman who feels tied to her husband finds a book on witchcraft.
Being what this series of books is, collections of short stories, there's obviously no need to read these volumes in sequence (especially as the earlier ones are not so consistent) - this is a good one to start with!
November 4, 2021
Reading this genre was a pretty novel experience for me, as was the format of collected short stories.
This must have been sitting around in my room for the best part of 20yrs - I believe my ma picked it up for me at a car boot sale.
Anyway, an entertaining read with no pretenses...and an introductory foray into the excellent gothic work of Bram Stoker. (Will be hunting down more of his stuff.)
This must have been sitting around in my room for the best part of 20yrs - I believe my ma picked it up for me at a car boot sale.
Anyway, an entertaining read with no pretenses...and an introductory foray into the excellent gothic work of Bram Stoker. (Will be hunting down more of his stuff.)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews