Alfred Hitchcock Presents 13 More Stories They Wouldn't Let Me Do on TV

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

by Alfred Hitchcock (Editor), Stanley Ellin, Thomas Burke

The moment of decision / by Stanley Ellin -- A jungle graduate / by James Francis Dwyer -- Recipe for murder / by C.P. Donnel, Jr. -- Nunc dimmittis / by Roald Dahl -- The most dangerous game / by Richard Connell -- The lady on the grey / by John Collier -- The waxwork / by A.M. Burrage -- The dumb wife / by Thomas Burke -- Crouching at the door / by D.K. Broster -- The October game / by Ray Bradburry -- Water's edge / by Robert Bloch -- The jokester / by Robert Arthur -- The abyss / by Leonard Andreyev.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Short Stories, Mystery, Anthologies, Mystery Thriller

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (13 August 1899 - 29 April 1980) was an iconic and highly influential film director and producer, who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres.

Following a very substantial career in his native Britain in both silent films and talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood and became an American citizen with dual nationality in 1956, thus he also remained a British subject.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career which spanned six decades, from the silent film era, through the invention of sound films, and far into the era of colour films. For a complete list of his films, see Alfred Hitchcock filmography.

Hitchcock was among the most consistently recognizable directors to the general public, and was one of the most successful film directors during his lifetime. He continues to be one of the best known and most popular filmmakers of all time.

Reviews

[Yvette Adams]

3.5 stars. I love me a bit of vintage horror. I read these short stories between other books over about a year so i don't remember many of them but there were some good ones and some not so good. But i love Hitchcock so was happy to read stories he'd selected. :)

[Josh Hitch]

Overall a very nice collection of thriller tales. I got it mainly to reread Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game but it has a great roster of writers. Roald Dahl, Ray Bradbury, and Robert Bloch just to name the most well known. Though I also really liked the Stanley Ellin story about combative neighbors and the situation one of them, who thought he knew everything, put himself in where he didnt have the answer. Also A.M. Burrage's Waxwork bout a murderer's row in a wax museum and one writer's ideal to spend the night there for a story.

Recommended, all the tales are readable, though a couple are kind of dull. However the duds doesn't hamper the collection much since the gems more then make up for them.

[Kimberly Karalius]

Roald Dahl and Ray Bradbury’s stories were great and it was great reading “Waxworks” because I remember Hitchcock’s adaptation of it (so it’s ironic to be in this collection, since they’re stories he wasn’t allowed to do... and yet he did that one!). The other stories were not as memorable.

[Lisa]

I used to eat these collections up back in the 1980s, when I was first getting into mysteries, so I had to pick this one up when I spotted it at a used book sale. Some good stories here, some duds but over all creepy and entertaining.

[Therese Dotray-Tulloch]

13 stories written by a variety of authors, very scary and worth reading!

[TrumanCoyote]

That thing by Thomas Burke was definitely an ancient artifact. And "The Abyss" was palpably overwritten. Ironically, two of these--"Water's Edge" by Robert Bloch and "The Jokester" by Robert Arthur--were actual episodes on Alfie's show. ;)

[John Evdemon]

A wonderful collection of some of my favorite authors. Well worth a read.

[Jessica Owsley]

Some of the best classic short stories I’ve read!

[LobsterQuadrille]

Worth reading for:
-The Moment of Decision
-A Jungle Graduate
-Nunc Dimittis
-The Lady on the Grey
-The Waxwork
-Couching at the Door
-The October Game
-The Jokester

[Amy VanHym]

Some good suspensful and sad stories, a couple duds too. Nothing scary, except maybe Bradbury's 'October Game.' Other faves: Bloch's 'Water's Edge,' and Dahl's 'Nunc Dimittis.'

[Ronald Wilcox]

Enjoyable collection of suspenseful short stories, many with the twist at the end of the story similar to the Alfred Hitchcock TV series. A few of the stories were a little lame but overall a worthwhile read.