Hair-Raising: Ten Horror Stories

by Penny Matthews (Editor), Carolyn Burns, Brian Caswell

A collection of ten eerie tales includes the stories of a girl's best friend who hides a monstrous appetite for human beings, and a boy whose perfect features make him decide to get rid of his disfigured little sister.

Ribs / Alison Stewart --
Mara / Verity Laughton --
The golden gate / Ursula Dubosarsky --
There was no good reason / Caroline Macdonald --
Sleeping over at Lola's / Gary Crew --
Pack / Nan Hunt --
His face / Joanne Horniman --
The great debate / Carolyn Burns --
Pay-TV / Brian Caswell --
Goodnight daddy / Libby Hathorn.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror

141 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Raychelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

…I began to be more than a little intrigued by the idea of horror of a less obvious, more subtle tone. The notion that one’s own nature or one’s own decisions could lead to horror had a definite appeal to me…I thought about the horror we are capable of inflicting, either knowingly or unknowingly, on one another. —Libby Hathorn, Goodnight Daddy (Afterword)

So, I normally don’t pre-read reviews of anything I plan to consume: movies, books, TV shows…it just enables me to judge content before I can even form my own opinion of a thing. I happened to glance at the reviews for this book quite fleetingly, but still got the impression that it was a waste of reading time.

I think folks are entitled to their opinion and experience, as we all are. I did not think this was a waste of reading time; like the quote above from one of the authors in this story compilation, I found the flavor of these horror stories to be more subtle, suggestive, and realistic. A lot of horror — particularly of the visual kind we see in movies and television — is gruesome, bloody, and graphic. It doesn’t leave much to the imagination. I do find that I prefer horror that implies more than shows and suggests more than tells. I suppose one would think of this more as psychological horror that builds and creates suspense rather than outright presents it to you.

Was this the best horror compilation I’ve read? No. But I don’t think it deserves that much hate, either. Also, what am I doing — I, a 30+ year old adult — reviewing an obscure Scholastic YA “horror” novel published in 1992, with the context of Australia as the default world? I don’t know. Maybe someone will come upon this review and think differently of this book. Give it a try — we love a deep cut mass market paperback!

[Madame Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a waste of reading time.

[Kristy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The scariest part of the book was how horrible it was.