Horror Times Ten

by Alden H. Norton (Editor), Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft

Ten chilling tales of horror by such masters as Ray Bradbury, August Derleth, Robert Bloch, and H. P. Lovecraft.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was actually surprised by how good this collection of horror stories was! I came across this old paperback published in 1972 (and all of 60 cents back then!) and thought I'd read it because it had stories by so many good authors--Ray Bradbury, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Arthur Conan Doyle, August Derleth, and Robert Bloch. With the exception of the Howard story, "The Dead Remember," I thought that I hadn't read any of the stories included in the book by those authors before. Interestingly, the Bloch story, "The Skeleton in the Closet," was an enjoyable humorous story, not at all what I was expecting from the author of "Psycho.".
There was a story by Max Brand (Frederick Faust), who is today best-known for his Western stories. But when he was turning out stories for the pulp magazines, he wrote fantasy, science fiction, and supernatural stories. His story in this collection, titled "That Receding Brow," was published in "All-Story Weekly" in 1919--and was my favorite of all of the ten tales in the book. It's basically an adventure story, about an expedition into the mountains of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to find the "missing-link." It becomes a story of increasing terror...
Included were three authors who were obscure (to me, anyway). I certainly had never heard of them. One of them was Dorothy Baker and her story,"The Gorgon's Head," was one I had read many years ago, in the 70s--and, amazingly enough, I remembered it. There are stories by W.C. Morrow and Ralph Adams Cram. The Cram one was a really effective horror story--"The Dead Valley," published in 1895. Some might say that one is the best in this collection!
If there's a weak story in the bunch, it's the one by Doyle--"The Captain of the Pole Star"--a tale that he wrote before he wrote the Sherlock Holmes adventures, that is, while he was still trying to make a go of it as a medical doctor! It's still a good horror story.
5 stars for a great read that got me in the mood for Halloween!

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid collection of stories first published in 1967; most of the stories date from the 40s or earlier. Lots of big names, such as Ray Bradbury, Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and others. I have read a few of the stories in other collections, but all were pretty good. Lovely introductions to each story by the editor Alden Norton, situating the story and the author. Recommended for horror fans who enjoy short stories.

[Kristine Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book of classic horror stories I ever read--I was 13, in eighth grade, and bought it at a junior high book sale.** It will always be a favorite for that reason. Some of the stories are dated, yes. Definitely products of their time. But they were my first taste of the eerie. I lost my original copy years ago, but was able to obtain another from a used book store.

Such a great pulpy shudder of a cover.

Around the same time, I discovered the EC horror mags. Creepy. Eerie. I used to read them during math class.

Those were the days.

**yes, we actually were given time out of class to go and hunt through stacks of paperbacks. Cool, huh?

[Michael Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of these stories barely reached three stars for me. But Derleth's "The Lonesome Place," Howard's "The Dead Remember," Morrow's "His Unconquerable Enemy," and Bloch's "The Skeleton in the Closet," were easy five stars and carried the collection. Even the stories I did not particularly like were still worth reading, however. They showed variety and range of some of the best-known names in horror fiction at the time.

[Janet Popish · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are not horror stories for someone who was raised on Stephen King. They are atmospheric, eerie, mysterious, but they're not going to haunt your dreams or keep you up at night. It is interesting to read what passed for horror when this was published in 1967.

[Annabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The foreword promises so much. The authors too, are no small potatoes. And I like that these are obscure stories, spurned by anthologies, unnoticed by compilers of collections (except for H.P. Lovecraft's story, which I read in one of his book of short stories, not from an anthology). Perhaps this is why most are disappointments. Or am I just jaded? It's a pretty old book--1970. I am bound to forget all the tales here, and I've already forgotten the authors (again, except for H.P., "A Cold Draft," I think it was). But there's one story involving revenge that I'm not likely to forget for a long time, and I'm echoing the man who compiled these stories--but he's right. Very, very chilling tale. And for that alone, I give this a three star rating.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. The Trunk Lady by Ray Bradbury
2. Cool Air by H.P. Lovecraft
3. The Lonesome Place by August W. Derleth
4. The Dead Remember by Robert E. Howard
5. The Captain of the 'Pole Star' by Arthur Conan Doyle
6. That Receding Brow by Max Brand
7. His Unconquerable Enemy by W.C. Morrow
8. The Dead Valley by Ralph Adams Cram
9. The Gorgon's Head by Dorothy Baker or Gertrude Bacon?
10. The Skeleton in the Closet by Robert Bloch

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This anthology had a nice mix of authors (Lovecraft, Bradbury, Bloch, along with some lesser known ones), but the stories themselves were pretty lackluster. Even those entries by notable authors were without exception minor works. Lovecraft's "Cool Air" was probably the best of the bunch, but it's a far cry from Lovecraft's best. Overall this anthology is decent, but not worth seeking out.

[A.K. McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect book to have on your bedside table during the Halloween season. The stories are dated but fun and spooky. There’s some language in a couple stories that isn’t PC today, which is a little cringey, but overall this is a cozy, eerie read with some excellent stories.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty decent collection, but the stories aren't the best by these authors, which includes Bradbury, Howard, Derleth, Brand, and Lovecraft.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an old horror anthology and I found only one or two of the stories worthwhile. Most of them could easily be found in other anthologies.

[Ander · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed collection of several classic horror stories that range in pacing, tone, and genre. The back half of the book definitely worked better for me than the front half as far as well paced stories went.

1. The Trunk Lady by Ray Bradbury
An enjoyable who-done-it where our protagonist is a young child just looking for a simple answer- who killed the trunk lady?
4 / 5

2. Cool Air, by H.P. Lovecraft
I always enjoy Lovecraft's writing but I do feel like he gets lost in some of his pseudoscience.
3 / 5

3. The Lonesome Place, by August W. Derleth
So far the best of this collection, for where else could you find a great monster than in that of a child's fear?
5 / 5

4. The Dead Remember, by Robert E. Howard
Another solid story involving a cursed man, and his last moments of life. A confession, the witness statements, and a coroner's report summing up the last night of James A. Gordon.
5 / 5

5. Captain of the Pole Star, by Conan Doyle
An interesting story isolated omens a whaling vessel. A character study of mostly a captain going deep into his own madness, begging us to ask if his madness was brought on by natural or supernatural cause.
3 / 5

6. That Receding Brow, by Max Brand
An interesting tale of trying to find the missing link, adding curses and superstitions into the equation with the accounts of a mission gone wrong in the style of a mostly uninterrupted monolog.
3 / 5

7. His Unconquerable Enemy, by W.C. Morrow
A short story of torture and revenge.
4 / 5

8. The Dead Valley, by Ralph Adams Cram
A story where yes, the dog dies but in a folk horror twist it is the land itself that is the villain.
5 / 5

9. The Gorgon's Head, by Gertrude Bacon
A second surprise folk horror story put into a collection of mostly sci fi esque horror stories. Yes it is THE Greek Gorgon if you needed to know.
4/5

10. The Skeleton in the Closet, by Robert Bloch
A funny tongue in cheek horror comedy about the literal skeleton in the closet.
4/5

[Ciara Thorpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chilling fact... while I was perusing the shelves of the used bookstore where I purchased this book, a severe car accident occurred just outside its doors. Because of this, I will always think of this book as Horror Times Eleven.

From voodoo to phantoms to revenge, this collection of short stories is sure to have something for everyone. So much of the writing is deliciously haunting, and it'll make you yearn for an era where writing truly was a craft. While the short story by one of my favorite authors did somewhat disappoint, I discovered not only my new favorite chilling tale, The Dead Valley, but also my new favorite short story, The Skeleton in the Closet.

Here are my rankings from least to most horrifying:

10. The Dead Remember
9. The Trunk Lady
8. Cool Air
.. The Lonesome Place & The Gorgon's Head
5. The Skeleton in the Closet
4. That Receding Brow
3. His Unconquerable Enemy
2. The Captain of the 'Pole Star'
1. The Dead Valley

[Tac Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not your usual stories from some very well known authors - as well as a few unknown. Older stories that hold up to varying degrees.