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Tandem Horror 2
Could this be? Could such horrors happen… to you? These frightening tales of psychological terror will start you wondering, worrying, stealing quick glances over your shoulder. For these stories, although most are set in today’s real world, go one step beyond reality – into fear!
No tired, oft-repeated tales, this is a collection of fresh, new work by talented authors. Some of these authors are well known, and all of them will be. Tandem Horror 2 is a chillingly suitable second to the highly successful First Tandem Book of Horror Stories.
No tired, oft-repeated tales, this is a collection of fresh, new work by talented authors. Some of these authors are well known, and all of them will be. Tandem Horror 2 is a chillingly suitable second to the highly successful First Tandem Book of Horror Stories.
- GenresHorror
Paperback
Published January 1, 1968
11 people want to read
About the author
Richard Davis
40 books4 followersRichard Davis is an Australian author who writes in two genres:
* biographies of opera singers and classical musicians, and also
* popular ghost stories.
His full name is Richard Michael Davis.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
* biographies of opera singers and classical musicians, and also
* popular ghost stories.
His full name is Richard Michael Davis.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 16, 2020
Notable primarily as an outlet for a couple of the earliest "J" Ramsey Campbell stories.
I tried reading the first of these, "Reply Guaranteed", but struggled mightily to follow (or care) what was going on. Felt like something for a 60's teen mag.
Not planning on following through with any of the other tales, as I suspect this volume to be more valuable as an interesting collectible rather than a consistently gripping read.
I tried reading the first of these, "Reply Guaranteed", but struggled mightily to follow (or care) what was going on. Felt like something for a 60's teen mag.
Not planning on following through with any of the other tales, as I suspect this volume to be more valuable as an interesting collectible rather than a consistently gripping read.
October 8, 2023
The second of just two little-known paperback horror anthologies put out by Tandem in the late 1960s and edited by Richard Davis, who has a good eye for fresh material. TANDEM HORROR 2 consists of short horror efforts largely from new authors, with Ramsey Campbell the most famous name collected here. It's not one of the best horror anthologies out there, but collectors will lap it up anyway and it compares favourably with a Pan Horror sequel from the era. The one story I skipped was Campbell's REPLY GUARANTEED, which I had already encountered in one of his collections.
Angus James opens the collection with WORKING FOR MISS ARETHUSA, an extremely subtle tale about two elderly ladies who employ a succession of young men. It's rather ambiguous overall, but the psychological approach works nicely. THE DOOLEY STREET CENTRE-FORWARD is by a long-forgotten author called Robin Smyth, incorporating some quite wonderful black comedy and having a really good working class setting. I fully recommend this and also PERFECT LADY and THE INGLORIOUS RISE OF THE CATSMEAT MAN from the same author. Rosemary Timperley's ICE IN THEIR LAUGHTER is about a haunted hospital ward and is extremely cold and disturbing, telling of a malign building. A little like the horror film SESSION 9.
DEAD ON HIS FEET is the first dud of the book, and by Julia Birley. It captures the swinging sixties mood rather well, but the whole thing is too depressing for my taste. Walter Harris' THE FORGIVER is about a priest and a madman and incorporates a religious debate within the story. THE INHERITANCE sees Simon Pilkington tackling a remote craggy rock on the coast of Scotland, and is full of local character and flavour. It's one of the more enjoyable British horror stories of the 1960s that I've encountered, with a consistently high quality.
I'M NOT MAD YET is by Elizabeth Fancett and a post-holocaust scenario let down by some very poorly-written dialogue that I couldn't take seriously. D.E. Piper's FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT is about a scientific experiment to recall ghosts through hypnosis, but unfortunately it's even worse, with a disorientating writing style. One "J" Ramsey Campbell is here for THE STOCKING, a really chilly psychological thriller which is oddly unsettling like all of his work from this era, although I struggled to get a grasp on his characters; THE SCAR is better.
Davis himself contributes THE LADY BY THE STREAM, a brief psychological effort which is readable but hardly remarkable. Timperley's VOICES IN THE NIGHT is much better, a genteel ghost story about an old woman disturbed every night by the couple next door arguing. Finally, noted horror anthology Michel Parry pops up with THE LAST BUS, a simple twist-in-the-tale story with a great climax even if the subject matter is quite familiar.
Angus James opens the collection with WORKING FOR MISS ARETHUSA, an extremely subtle tale about two elderly ladies who employ a succession of young men. It's rather ambiguous overall, but the psychological approach works nicely. THE DOOLEY STREET CENTRE-FORWARD is by a long-forgotten author called Robin Smyth, incorporating some quite wonderful black comedy and having a really good working class setting. I fully recommend this and also PERFECT LADY and THE INGLORIOUS RISE OF THE CATSMEAT MAN from the same author. Rosemary Timperley's ICE IN THEIR LAUGHTER is about a haunted hospital ward and is extremely cold and disturbing, telling of a malign building. A little like the horror film SESSION 9.
DEAD ON HIS FEET is the first dud of the book, and by Julia Birley. It captures the swinging sixties mood rather well, but the whole thing is too depressing for my taste. Walter Harris' THE FORGIVER is about a priest and a madman and incorporates a religious debate within the story. THE INHERITANCE sees Simon Pilkington tackling a remote craggy rock on the coast of Scotland, and is full of local character and flavour. It's one of the more enjoyable British horror stories of the 1960s that I've encountered, with a consistently high quality.
I'M NOT MAD YET is by Elizabeth Fancett and a post-holocaust scenario let down by some very poorly-written dialogue that I couldn't take seriously. D.E. Piper's FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT is about a scientific experiment to recall ghosts through hypnosis, but unfortunately it's even worse, with a disorientating writing style. One "J" Ramsey Campbell is here for THE STOCKING, a really chilly psychological thriller which is oddly unsettling like all of his work from this era, although I struggled to get a grasp on his characters; THE SCAR is better.
Davis himself contributes THE LADY BY THE STREAM, a brief psychological effort which is readable but hardly remarkable. Timperley's VOICES IN THE NIGHT is much better, a genteel ghost story about an old woman disturbed every night by the couple next door arguing. Finally, noted horror anthology Michel Parry pops up with THE LAST BUS, a simple twist-in-the-tale story with a great climax even if the subject matter is quite familiar.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews