Twisted

by Groff Conklin (Editor)

A collection of weird tales, edited by Groff Conklin. Includes stories by Poe, Lovecraft, Bradbury, Sturgeon, Bierce Maupassant etc.

Genres: Horror

189 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Edward Groff Conklin (September 6, 1904, Glen Ridge, New Jersey - July 19, 1968, Pawling, New York) was a leading science fiction anthologist. Conklin edited 41 anthologies of science fiction, wrote books on home improvement and was a freelance writer on scientific subjects. From 1950 to 1955, he was the book critic for Galaxy Science Fiction.

Reviews

[Johnny · Rating 2 out of 5]

A group of cleverly written short stories which kept me interested even when things became quite boring, because the writing was so good. There a strange tales with shock endings where a character find themselves in situations of witnessing something scary or being transported to their own type of hell or even thwarting an mini alien invasion. The one story which held my interest fixed to the point of almost sweating the book to pieces was about a lady who agrees to drive a young girl into town while on her way to pick her husband up. Even though I expected this to play out as a horror film the atmosphere it creates is terrifying and brilliant. During the Night Drive tension builds up quickly as the young girl finally starts to speak although to the driver her voice does not seem to match that of a young girl or even that of a woman at all. Talk of werewolves and the murder of other women on this road in the recent past only escalates our drivers fears and the fear of who this girl actually is who sits next to her.

[Carl Timms · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and varied mix of short stories published in 1962. I’ll briefly look at each story. The biggest surprise for me is that despite looking like a pure horror collection, this veers into crime thrillers, sci-fi and various oddities whilst being light on ghosts and ghouls.

- The Playground by Ray Bradbury: a strange little black-humoured look at the memories of the trauma, bullying and the feeling of chaos that is the childhood playground. This would not feel out of place as a Twilight Zone episode but is otherwise slight - 6
- The Other Hand by George Langelaan - the trope of the possessed body part as a hand replacement starts causing mayhem to its new owner. Not particularly original, one of the weaker stories - 4
- The Thing in the Celler by David H Keller - pure Lovecraft-style nightmare from one of HP’s contemporaries. Short, sharp and nasty, a thoroughly excellent read, must seek more of his writing! - 8
- The Diary of a Madman by Guy Du Maupassant - interesting 1800s idea but brutally short. I like the idea of the secret sociopath amongst us, but just needed a bit more meat on the bones - 6
- The Upturned Face - Stephen Crane - a soldier is buried in war, the horror is subtle and realistic but the idea is slight and didn’t really work for me. Meh. - 5
- The Little Man Who Wasn’t There - William W Stuart - an excellent, foreboding tale of skid row down and outs coming into contact with malevolence from the other side. Very original, creepy in an understated way, a fine tale! - 8
- Night Drive - Will F. Jenkins - a thriller of roadside murder and revenge. An interesting gender twist and sly ending made this a solid read - 7
- The Song of Marya - Walter M Miller - an interesting spin on the Cold War as a Russian lady becomes a tool of total vengeance against an invading US army. Not a horror as such, but a great portrait of laser-focused revenge and taking advantage of the kindness of others - 7
- Mrs Manifold - Stephen Grendon - a classic Victorian-set tale of ghostly revenge, with a thoroughly dislikable antagonist getting her dues - 7
- A Holy Terror - Ambrose Pierce - an over-written exercise in fear as a gold prospector looking to win the girl of his dreams encounters dark things in a graveyard at night. Mr Pierce swallowed a thesaurus for this one, I found his style grating - 6
- Ambrose - a mad scientist, Body Snatchers style tale with a humourous conclusion that took me by surprise. Nicely worked, a great one-scener - 8
- Brenda - of all the tales, this is one that truly deserves the title Twisted: (spoilers) uptight girl finds blob, blob hunts girl, parents fight blob, girl falls in love with blob?? Nothing is explained, reactions of everyone included. It’s truly weird but at least it was original! - 7
- The Tell Tale Heart - Edgar Allen Poe - Poe’s short classic, a first time read. Very succinct look at the burden of guilt. Very short but wonderfully crafted - 8
- The Shunned House - HP Lovecraft - a classic horror tale from one of the masters. An old abandoned house responsible for multiple generations of death becomes the scene for a battle against a hidden evil force. One of Lovecraft’s strongest tales I’ve read, with a good old fashioned ghost feel about it all. Creeping dread at its best - 8
- The World Well Lost - Theodore Sturgeon - a very surprising tale to close things out as it’s not weird or twisted. It’s a wonderfully written pure sci-fi story about two aliens being escorted back to their planet by two men. What unfolds is extremely progressive for the 1950s, a tale of sexuality and homophobia that doesn’t feel exploitative but tender. The sad thing is the author distanced himself from what he’d written. I’m also slightly saddened that this tale could be considered ‘Twisted’, indicating that perhaps what I see now as raw and tender was in the 60s seen as perversity. Either way, I’m delighted to read something I genuinely didn’t see coming and a marvellous way to end a mixed bit interesting collection - 9

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Groff Conklin edited anthology. I think the guy had pretty good taste. This has stories by Bradbury, Sturgeon, Poe, Lovecraft, Bierce, Walter M. Miller, gud de Maupassant, David H. Keller and quite a few others. Except for the Poe and Lovecraft stories, most of the tales are less collected stories from the writers, which I appreciated. Still, I didn't find anything here that was just awe inspiring.

[Chuck McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic and deeply disturbing anthology of horror tales that frightened me after I read it as a child, and still gives me restless nights today. Includes one of my favourite horror tales of all time, 'The Thing in the Cellar' by David H. Keller, which still lives rent free in the back of my mind.