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The Year's Best Horror Stories: XIX
A collection of horror stories features the work of such masters as Ramsey Campbell, David Drake, and Ed Gorman
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1991
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About the author
Karl Edward Wagner
243 books384 followersKarl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 13 October 1994) was an American writer, editor and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. His disillusionment with the medical profession can be seen in the stories "The Fourth Seal" and "Into Whose Hands". He described his world view as nihilistic, anarchistic and absurdist, and claimed, not entirely seriously, to be related to "an opera composer named Richard". Wagner also admired the cinema of Sam Peckinpah, stating "I worship the film The Wild Bunch".
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 10, 2014
These things should be must-reads for all young horror writers...
July 17, 2024
“SPEED DEMONS” by Andrew J. Wilson cries out to be a rock ballad. It's one of two motorcycle nightmares in Volume 19, and a winning allegory for what brothers can do for each other.
Plot: A man named Drury is haunted by the sound of an ultrasonic whine after his brother Joey falls into a coma following a motorcycle accident. Drury's friend Moses tells him about a twilight zone that can be entered when one goes too fast, and Drury believes Joey’s soul is trapped there. Drury sets out on a dangerous ride to rescue his brother's soul.
“THE GRIEF CONDITION” by Conrad Hill
A man is consumed by grief after his wife's sudden death. Her body is brought home preceding burial, and he sinks into immobility in the sitting room. Will the wife's adored cat and dog starve due to his neglect? It's a gruesome, close-quarters drama waged
in two rooms.
“FIREBIRD” by J.L. Comeau
Julianna, a ballerina and member of a Detroit police tactical assault team known as “The Nut Squad,” is haunted by the memory of a murdered child. It's a supernatural thriller, ending with a fiery assault on a housing bloc.
“LIFE SENTENCES” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
What if abortions needed to happen as part of God's attempt to balance his books?
Plot: Ray works at Safe Haven House, a facility imprisoning pregnant women after they are kidnapped. One night, the arrival of a new patient and the appearance of two ghostly children challenge Ray.
“TROPHIES” by Richard McMahan
Volume 19 has two motorcycle horror stories, and two teamster horror stories.
Plot: Eric, a judge, accidentally hits and kills a hitchhiker while driving drunk. A truck driver who stops to help seems to take the predicament in stride.
“LORD OF THE CREEPIES” by Sean Brodrick
Plot: Dave, an actor working as a phone horror entertainer, receives a call from a young boy named Joshua. He claims that monsters have taken his dog. Dave dismisses it as a prank, but Joshua calls again the next night to report something even worse.
A carefully executed story of dread and suspense, “Lord of the Creepies” hits all the right Etchisonian beats.
“MONGREL” by Steve Vernon
Rotten underneath, no doubt. Perhaps the whole damned foundation ought to be gutted. Perhaps the whole damned house . . .
A man grapples with his wife's infidelity and the birth of a mixed-race child. Inner turmoil and societal pressures push him to the threshold.
“THE MAN WHO COLLECTED BARKER” by Kim Newman
Other than charming, mother-fixated maniacs, Robert Bloch’s main contribution to horror must be the pocket subgenre of “The Man Who Collected _____” stories. “The Man Who Collected Barker” is one of the funniest and smartest.
Plot: Wringhim, a Clive Barker memorabilia collector, lures a private investigator to his home for a private viewing.
“HIDE AND SEEK” by D.F. Lewis
Lewis’s impressionist prose poems make great demands on the reader. There are no roadmaps.
Five neglected children play hide-and-seek through a strange town as dangers and threats seem to multiply.
“WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT” by C.S. Fuqua
Jeremiah, an aging delivery truck driver, nears the end of ends on a cold dark night on the road. Fuqua handles the analepsis of a flashing lifetime beautifully.
“THE HERMIT” by Joey Froelich
A mercurial and disintegrating fantasy tale. A man lives a solitary life in a treehouse. His only companions are his books, pens, and the monster he obsessively writes about. A low wattage Robinsonade.
“THE SOLDIER” by Roger Johnson
If you find a church in the City of London that smells of incense, gums, and spices, you are in the streets Machen and Michael Harrison knew.
A young boy named Richard Henry Wenlock, living in London in the 1880s, discovers a hidden church dedicated to a mysterious military order called the Worshipful Company of Militia. He becomes involved with the brethren, and is drawn into a world of their ancient rituals.
“BOOKS OF BLURBS, VOL I” by Mike Newland
This is a humorous fictional book review of a collection of Stephen King's book cover blurbs.
(N. B.: The day someone realizes King's blurbs are a monkey's paw curse. Clive Barker is a great example).
“YOU'RE A SICK MAN, MR. ANTWHISTLE” by Robert Hood
The narrator observes Mr. Antwhistle, a peculiar man who attends weekly poetry readings and seems to take pleasure in the disturbances that occur during the events.
“ELFIN PIPES OF NORTHWORLD” by David Drake
This is a short-short humorous parody of fairy tale tropes, starring a young elf on a quest to find his missing mother.
“A BAR CALLED CHARLEY'S” by Charles Ardai
A first-rate wrong-time wrong-place noir of manners and misfortunes.
Marty Jensen, an aging traveling salesman, stops at a bar called Charley's and meets the owner, who reveals a surprising connection to a famous businessman.
“GREAT EXPECTATIONS” by Kim Antieau
Dollie, a young girl struggling to survive in a neglectful family, discovers the benefits of making soup for her older and more popular siblings.
“CUSTER AT THE WHEEL” by James B. Hemesath
Unsettling events and disturbing parallels to Custer's last stand rise up to shadow Charley and Karen’s road trip to the Custer Battlefield. Relationships and perceptions of reality are tested.
“IDENTITY CRISIS” by Patrick McLeo
A well-wrought tale of psychological crisis, and a mind-screw à la Rod Serling or Harlan Ellison.
Plot: Marian Rice experiences a series of bizarre and unsettling events after a visit to her therapist. Her car is stolen, her dog disappears, and she finds herself in a house with a man who claims to be her husband.
“NEGATIVES” by Nicholas Royle
Linden, working in a new office and stuck with a green screen computer monitor, experiences a strange visual phenomenon where white objects appear red. His life unravels into a series of increasingly bizarre and disturbing events.
“A CANDLE IN THE SUN” by David Niall
This sweeping and ambitious story brilliantly reimagines the biblical tale of Jesus' temptation in the desert and his encounters with Mary Magdalene.
“THE WORST FOG OF THE YEAR” by Ramsey Campbell
Gaunt, a film critic attending a press screening of a horror movie, finds himself inexplicably drawn into the film's narrative.
“I'LL GIVE YOU HALF-SCAIRT” by Wayne Allen Sallee
Jesse Leland, a writer, receives a disturbing painting from his friend, the artist Alyn Matusak, and is challenged to write a story about it.
“DIFFERENT KINDS OF DEAD” by Ed Gorman
Another traveling salesman lands in the soup. Ralph Sheridan picks up a beautiful woman stranded on a snowy highway. As they drive, she reveals that she is Carlotta Sloane, the wife of a local banker who was recently murdered.
“FULL THROTTLE” by Philip Nutman
Time for one last motorcycle horror story before midnight.
Alex and Staff, two teenage friends in 1970s England, embark on a night of reckless adventure and violence. After a series of escalating events, including a confrontation with a childhood bully, their friendship is tested, and their lives are….
* * *
Recommended stories from Volume 19:
“The Soldier” by Roger Johnson
“A Candle in the Sun” by David Niall.
“Firebird” by J.L. Comeau
* * *
Plot: A man named Drury is haunted by the sound of an ultrasonic whine after his brother Joey falls into a coma following a motorcycle accident. Drury's friend Moses tells him about a twilight zone that can be entered when one goes too fast, and Drury believes Joey’s soul is trapped there. Drury sets out on a dangerous ride to rescue his brother's soul.
“THE GRIEF CONDITION” by Conrad Hill
A man is consumed by grief after his wife's sudden death. Her body is brought home preceding burial, and he sinks into immobility in the sitting room. Will the wife's adored cat and dog starve due to his neglect? It's a gruesome, close-quarters drama waged
in two rooms.
“FIREBIRD” by J.L. Comeau
Julianna, a ballerina and member of a Detroit police tactical assault team known as “The Nut Squad,” is haunted by the memory of a murdered child. It's a supernatural thriller, ending with a fiery assault on a housing bloc.
“LIFE SENTENCES” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
What if abortions needed to happen as part of God's attempt to balance his books?
Plot: Ray works at Safe Haven House, a facility imprisoning pregnant women after they are kidnapped. One night, the arrival of a new patient and the appearance of two ghostly children challenge Ray.
“TROPHIES” by Richard McMahan
Volume 19 has two motorcycle horror stories, and two teamster horror stories.
Plot: Eric, a judge, accidentally hits and kills a hitchhiker while driving drunk. A truck driver who stops to help seems to take the predicament in stride.
“LORD OF THE CREEPIES” by Sean Brodrick
Plot: Dave, an actor working as a phone horror entertainer, receives a call from a young boy named Joshua. He claims that monsters have taken his dog. Dave dismisses it as a prank, but Joshua calls again the next night to report something even worse.
A carefully executed story of dread and suspense, “Lord of the Creepies” hits all the right Etchisonian beats.
“MONGREL” by Steve Vernon
Rotten underneath, no doubt. Perhaps the whole damned foundation ought to be gutted. Perhaps the whole damned house . . .
A man grapples with his wife's infidelity and the birth of a mixed-race child. Inner turmoil and societal pressures push him to the threshold.
“THE MAN WHO COLLECTED BARKER” by Kim Newman
Other than charming, mother-fixated maniacs, Robert Bloch’s main contribution to horror must be the pocket subgenre of “The Man Who Collected _____” stories. “The Man Who Collected Barker” is one of the funniest and smartest.
Plot: Wringhim, a Clive Barker memorabilia collector, lures a private investigator to his home for a private viewing.
“HIDE AND SEEK” by D.F. Lewis
Lewis’s impressionist prose poems make great demands on the reader. There are no roadmaps.
Five neglected children play hide-and-seek through a strange town as dangers and threats seem to multiply.
“WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT” by C.S. Fuqua
Jeremiah, an aging delivery truck driver, nears the end of ends on a cold dark night on the road. Fuqua handles the analepsis of a flashing lifetime beautifully.
“THE HERMIT” by Joey Froelich
A mercurial and disintegrating fantasy tale. A man lives a solitary life in a treehouse. His only companions are his books, pens, and the monster he obsessively writes about. A low wattage Robinsonade.
“THE SOLDIER” by Roger Johnson
If you find a church in the City of London that smells of incense, gums, and spices, you are in the streets Machen and Michael Harrison knew.
A young boy named Richard Henry Wenlock, living in London in the 1880s, discovers a hidden church dedicated to a mysterious military order called the Worshipful Company of Militia. He becomes involved with the brethren, and is drawn into a world of their ancient rituals.
“BOOKS OF BLURBS, VOL I” by Mike Newland
This is a humorous fictional book review of a collection of Stephen King's book cover blurbs.
(N. B.: The day someone realizes King's blurbs are a monkey's paw curse. Clive Barker is a great example).
“YOU'RE A SICK MAN, MR. ANTWHISTLE” by Robert Hood
The narrator observes Mr. Antwhistle, a peculiar man who attends weekly poetry readings and seems to take pleasure in the disturbances that occur during the events.
“ELFIN PIPES OF NORTHWORLD” by David Drake
This is a short-short humorous parody of fairy tale tropes, starring a young elf on a quest to find his missing mother.
“A BAR CALLED CHARLEY'S” by Charles Ardai
A first-rate wrong-time wrong-place noir of manners and misfortunes.
Marty Jensen, an aging traveling salesman, stops at a bar called Charley's and meets the owner, who reveals a surprising connection to a famous businessman.
“GREAT EXPECTATIONS” by Kim Antieau
Dollie, a young girl struggling to survive in a neglectful family, discovers the benefits of making soup for her older and more popular siblings.
“CUSTER AT THE WHEEL” by James B. Hemesath
Unsettling events and disturbing parallels to Custer's last stand rise up to shadow Charley and Karen’s road trip to the Custer Battlefield. Relationships and perceptions of reality are tested.
“IDENTITY CRISIS” by Patrick McLeo
A well-wrought tale of psychological crisis, and a mind-screw à la Rod Serling or Harlan Ellison.
Plot: Marian Rice experiences a series of bizarre and unsettling events after a visit to her therapist. Her car is stolen, her dog disappears, and she finds herself in a house with a man who claims to be her husband.
“NEGATIVES” by Nicholas Royle
Linden, working in a new office and stuck with a green screen computer monitor, experiences a strange visual phenomenon where white objects appear red. His life unravels into a series of increasingly bizarre and disturbing events.
“A CANDLE IN THE SUN” by David Niall
This sweeping and ambitious story brilliantly reimagines the biblical tale of Jesus' temptation in the desert and his encounters with Mary Magdalene.
“THE WORST FOG OF THE YEAR” by Ramsey Campbell
Gaunt, a film critic attending a press screening of a horror movie, finds himself inexplicably drawn into the film's narrative.
“I'LL GIVE YOU HALF-SCAIRT” by Wayne Allen Sallee
Jesse Leland, a writer, receives a disturbing painting from his friend, the artist Alyn Matusak, and is challenged to write a story about it.
“DIFFERENT KINDS OF DEAD” by Ed Gorman
Another traveling salesman lands in the soup. Ralph Sheridan picks up a beautiful woman stranded on a snowy highway. As they drive, she reveals that she is Carlotta Sloane, the wife of a local banker who was recently murdered.
“FULL THROTTLE” by Philip Nutman
Time for one last motorcycle horror story before midnight.
Alex and Staff, two teenage friends in 1970s England, embark on a night of reckless adventure and violence. After a series of escalating events, including a confrontation with a childhood bully, their friendship is tested, and their lives are….
* * *
Recommended stories from Volume 19:
“The Soldier” by Roger Johnson
“A Candle in the Sun” by David Niall.
“Firebird” by J.L. Comeau
* * *
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2025
3.5/5, rounded down.
A solid collection of stories, and as usual with an anthology, some were terrific, others decent, and some didn’t do much for me. It’s hard for a collection of stories by various authors to score high because the tone and quality is usually all over the place. With a series like this edited by Wagner, the quality of the writing is never poor, but that’s doesn’t mean that I found every style appealing to me personally. Some standouts were: Speed Demons by Andrew J. Wilson, Trophies by Richard McMahan, The Man Who Collected Barker by Kim Newman, The Soldier by Roger Johnson, A Bar Called Charley’s by Charles Ardai, Identity Crisis by Patrick MacLeod, The Worst Fog of the Year by Ramsey Campbell and Full Throttle by Philip Nutman.
A solid collection of stories, and as usual with an anthology, some were terrific, others decent, and some didn’t do much for me. It’s hard for a collection of stories by various authors to score high because the tone and quality is usually all over the place. With a series like this edited by Wagner, the quality of the writing is never poor, but that’s doesn’t mean that I found every style appealing to me personally. Some standouts were: Speed Demons by Andrew J. Wilson, Trophies by Richard McMahan, The Man Who Collected Barker by Kim Newman, The Soldier by Roger Johnson, A Bar Called Charley’s by Charles Ardai, Identity Crisis by Patrick MacLeod, The Worst Fog of the Year by Ramsey Campbell and Full Throttle by Philip Nutman.
October 19, 2013
This anthology features a story (Trophies by Rick Mcmahan) in which I am run over and well.....read the story.
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September 15, 2025"Walking After Midnight" by C.S. Fuqua - wc
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews