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In a Lonely Place
Experience the world of Karl Edward Wagner, master of fear!
Where the ghost of a beautiful woman, haunts you, taunts you... makes you kill!
Where you learn the horrifying answer to the question no sane person should ever ask... is it art? Or is it life?
Where a lost civilisation survives for centuries by burrowing underground!
Where a charming old house promises refuge... but envelops you in nightmare!
Contents:
In the Pines.
Where the Summer Ends.
Sticks.
The Fourth Seal.
.220 Swift.
The River of Night’s Dreaming.
Beyond Any Measure.
Where the ghost of a beautiful woman, haunts you, taunts you... makes you kill!
Where you learn the horrifying answer to the question no sane person should ever ask... is it art? Or is it life?
Where a lost civilisation survives for centuries by burrowing underground!
Where a charming old house promises refuge... but envelops you in nightmare!
Contents:
In the Pines.
Where the Summer Ends.
Sticks.
The Fourth Seal.
.220 Swift.
The River of Night’s Dreaming.
Beyond Any Measure.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
84 people are currently reading
2743 people want to read
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 - 30 of 129 reviews
December 8, 2022
It's a toss-up for me between this -- Karl Wagner's first horror collection -- and Ligotti's Songs of a Dead Dreamer for favorite 80s horror collection.* "Sticks" just may be the scariest story I've ever read, with its Lovecraftian cosmic horrors and creepy stick lattices in the woods later made famous in The Blair Witch Project, while the surreal and nightmarish imagery of the King in Yellow-inspired "River of Night's Dreaming" never fails to give me a feeling of both dread and awe, no matter how many times I revisit it. And "Where the Summer Ends" somehow makes something as innocuous as kudzu seem ominous and threatening. The aforementioned tales are the standouts for me, but the rest are very near the same quality.
This book can be hard to come by for a reasonable price these days, at least online (I semi-frequently come across it for cheap while out book-hunting), so thankfully Valancourt is planning to reprint it in the near future. I encourage every fan of weird and horror fiction to give it a go. I do so every few years.
*Ramsey Campbell's Dark Companions, Lisa Tuttle's A Nest of Nightmares, and T.E.D. Klein's Dark Gods are all serious contenders as well.
This book can be hard to come by for a reasonable price these days, at least online (I semi-frequently come across it for cheap while out book-hunting), so thankfully Valancourt is planning to reprint it in the near future. I encourage every fan of weird and horror fiction to give it a go. I do so every few years.
*Ramsey Campbell's Dark Companions, Lisa Tuttle's A Nest of Nightmares, and T.E.D. Klein's Dark Gods are all serious contenders as well.
Read
March 30, 2023Now available from Valancourt Books.
August 30, 2020
This is a really, really good collection of dark horror tales from Karl Edward Wagner, one of the masters of the genre who passed tragically early. Some of the stories are beginning to show their age, but that happens to all stories, and no one knocks Poe for not talking about smart phones. The River of Night's Dreaming is a Robert Chambers-inspired story that's always been a favorite of mine, and serves as an example of Wagner's appreciation and knowledge of the history of the field. I've read pieces from many famous genre writers naming Sticks as their favorite all-time horror short story. I'll echo Peter Straub's introduction and say there's not a story in the book that isn't superior. This is one of the best.
April 14, 2010
I finally was able to run down a copy of Wagner’s In a Lonely Place, via Interlibrary Loan. It’s ridiculous, given the quality of the stories within this collection, that it’s out of print, and prohibitively expensive if you decide to purchase a used copy. Wagner was a very interesting guy, a Pulp writer who trained to be a doctor, and psychiatrist. If interested to know more, there’s long piece on him from a high school friend, John Mayer, with whom he shared a real interest in Pulp, at: http://www.popcultmag.com/obsessions/...
As I said above, the stories in A Lonely Place are of high quality, the influences varied, though Lovecraft seems prominent. In several stories Wagner’s own biography plays out a bit beneath the surface, but if I hadn’t of read the article, I wouldn’t of known that. Briefly:
1: “In the Pines.” A modern day ghost (or is it?) story set in the mountains of Tennessee. A couple tries to put their lives back together after an automobile accident. Wagner really captures the area, and the people of the mountains really well. And he wisely incorporates the old blues song “In the Pines” into the story. It’s a dark, haunting song, and Wagner delivers a worthy story to accompany it.
2: “Where the Summer Ends.” Great story, with a goofy title (I would of called it “Kudzu”). Hints of Lovecraft. A college student, and collector (like Wagner himself), befriends an old antique store owner in the “Red Hook” part of Knoxville.
3: “Sticks.” A much anthologized (and for good reason) story of an ancient race, a war veteran (and artist), and some strange art work found in the woods. I can’t help but wonder if the makers of “Blair Witch Project” took the weird things hanging from the trees from this story. Again, Lovecraft influenced. Also, something of an homage to Pulp artists.
4: “The Fourth Seal.” Not bad, but not great either, story of medicine, doctors, and secret cults. Wagner’s personal biography plays out some here.
5: “More Sinned Against.” A shift in style, telling a modern day Hollywood Babylon/Life in the Fast Lane story, that involves porn, drugs, and Voodoo. Not bad, but not great either.
6: “.220 Swift.” Completely crazy story involving secret gold mines, little people, mountaineers, moonshine, folk lore, a hit man, Spanish conquistadors, and, ultimately, an albino king from the underworld. Wonderful.
7. “The River of Night’s Dreaming.” A dreamlike (and nightmare like) story involving an escapee from a prison, an old dark house, and some kinky stuff. Wagner’s background in psychiatry is evident here. Very good.
8. “Beyond Any Measure.” Wild story involving reincarnation, drugs, sex, black magic, set in a very decadent modern-day London. There’s a party scene that seems right out of “Eyes Wide Shut.” Good, with a very twisted ending.
As I said above, the stories in A Lonely Place are of high quality, the influences varied, though Lovecraft seems prominent. In several stories Wagner’s own biography plays out a bit beneath the surface, but if I hadn’t of read the article, I wouldn’t of known that. Briefly:
1: “In the Pines.” A modern day ghost (or is it?) story set in the mountains of Tennessee. A couple tries to put their lives back together after an automobile accident. Wagner really captures the area, and the people of the mountains really well. And he wisely incorporates the old blues song “In the Pines” into the story. It’s a dark, haunting song, and Wagner delivers a worthy story to accompany it.
2: “Where the Summer Ends.” Great story, with a goofy title (I would of called it “Kudzu”). Hints of Lovecraft. A college student, and collector (like Wagner himself), befriends an old antique store owner in the “Red Hook” part of Knoxville.
3: “Sticks.” A much anthologized (and for good reason) story of an ancient race, a war veteran (and artist), and some strange art work found in the woods. I can’t help but wonder if the makers of “Blair Witch Project” took the weird things hanging from the trees from this story. Again, Lovecraft influenced. Also, something of an homage to Pulp artists.
4: “The Fourth Seal.” Not bad, but not great either, story of medicine, doctors, and secret cults. Wagner’s personal biography plays out some here.
5: “More Sinned Against.” A shift in style, telling a modern day Hollywood Babylon/Life in the Fast Lane story, that involves porn, drugs, and Voodoo. Not bad, but not great either.
6: “.220 Swift.” Completely crazy story involving secret gold mines, little people, mountaineers, moonshine, folk lore, a hit man, Spanish conquistadors, and, ultimately, an albino king from the underworld. Wonderful.
7. “The River of Night’s Dreaming.” A dreamlike (and nightmare like) story involving an escapee from a prison, an old dark house, and some kinky stuff. Wagner’s background in psychiatry is evident here. Very good.
8. “Beyond Any Measure.” Wild story involving reincarnation, drugs, sex, black magic, set in a very decadent modern-day London. There’s a party scene that seems right out of “Eyes Wide Shut.” Good, with a very twisted ending.
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November 12, 2019'Sticks' was phenomenal and so tightly streamlined it made most of the other stories feel overwritten. It is no wonder this story has been anthologized so much. 'The River of Night's Dreaming' (a King in Yellow story) was also somewhat good, although it went in a much less interesting direction than I had hoped for after the intrigue of the opening scenes. '.220 Swift' held promise, but ultimately relied too much on a somewhat tedious build-up that grew muddy and failed to deliver much of substance, considering the investment. At times Wagner employs the male gaze to a ridiculous extent, like in 'Beyond Any Measure' where the two roommates are lounging around together in their lingerie (because that's normal?) and he feels the need to describe how the one woman's 'straining thigh muscles shaped her buttocks nicely' as she reached for a book. Seriously? Beyond that, many of these stories are weighed down with the kind of banal and unnecessary expository detail for which I long ago lost any patience.
January 18, 2024
I met at eve the Prince of Sleep,
His was a still and lovely face.
He wandered through a valley steep.
Lovely in a lonely place.
A master of horror writes about the Prince of Sleep: I discovered Karl Edward Wagner through my love for sword & sorcery pulps, first in his re-issues of classic Robert E Howard Conan adventures, and later in his own Kane books. My admiration for Wagner’s skill as a storyteller and for his vast knowledge of the horror genre authors and of their work has grown with each story I read.
In a Lonely Place would have been maybe an even better place to start on his bibliography since it showcases some of the best scary novellas he wrote over a long and troubled career. The title borrows both from the poet Walter de la Mare and from Dorothy B. Hughes, who wrote a story concerning a writer who is a little too close to the edge.
Wagner’s training as a psychiatrist, his personal experiences and what dreams he managed to record in his notebooks serve as inspiration for the novellas, as important probably as the nods to his favorite authors, musicians and stories that are hidden like Easter Eggs in the text. H P Lovecraft, Jim Morrison, Manly Wade Wellman, Aleister Crowley, Nicholas Ray and in particular Robert W Chambers – ‘The King in Yellow’ are some of the reference points that will help navigate these troubled waters.
”You’ve got that lost look about you, son. Maybe you can hear that Hell-bound train a-calling to you. But don’t you listen to its call. Son, don’t climb on board!”
The daring reader who chooses to ignore these words of warning may embark on a disturbing journey that will stop at the following stations:
In the Pines
Where the Summer Ends
Sticks
The Fourth Seal
More Sinned Against
.220 Swift
The River of Night’s Dreaming
Beyond Any Measure
>>><<<>>><<<
In the Pines
The first story is inspired by a Tennessee folk song. Wagner, like his friend Wellman, is adept at using scenery to create mood and at mining the rich folklore and oral traditions of his native land.
There is an atmosphere of unutterable loneliness that haunts any ruin – a feeling particularly evident in those places once given over to the lighter emotions. Wander over the littered grounds of an abandoned amusement park and feel the overwhelming presence of desolation.
Flimsy booths with awning tattered in the wind, rotting heaps of sun-bleached papier-mache. Crumbling timbers of a roller coaster thrust upward through a jungle of weeds and debris – like ribs of some titanic unburied skeleton.
The wind blows colder there, the sun seems dimmer. Ghosts of laughter, lost strains of raucous music can almost be heard. Speak, and your voice sounds strangely loud – and yet curiously smothered.
I used the passage in its entirety as an illustration of the way the author can draw you into the setting: here a derelict holiday cabin from the Depression era, a place haunted by a crime committed in the past. New visitors cannot escape from the ghosts of the place, hungry for a taste of the living:
These places are best left to the loneliness of their grief ...
Where the Summer Ends moves to an urban landscape dominated and destroyed by an invasive species of plant, kudzu.
“I’m surprised it hasn’t covered the whole world!”
A couple of students try to live on these weed-infested streets and houses, hunting for bargain salvage furniture and household items from a scrapyard dealer. But the kudzu jungle is hiding an even bigger threat to humans.
Sticks is again an exploration of old, abandoned places, like a former railway track taken over by secondary forest. The searcher comes across bizarre arrangements of sticks and ropes that resemble the paintings of a pulp-era illustrator. They may serve as path markings or as warnings to the unwary traveller to stay away from underground places where ancient evils of a Lovecraftian nature still lurk.
The Fourth Seal is a doozy of a conspiracy theory about the medical profession, a career choice the author tried and later renounced. His bitterness is reflected in the cynical view that doctors are not interested in curing diseases, but in using them as a path to secret power.
The social organism is subject to disease just like any other entity. To be trite, it isn’t murder to excise a cancerous growth. Regulation treatment – sometimes drastic treatment – is essential if the organism is not to perish.
More Sinned Against is a sleazy Hollywood expose about the women abused by the porn industry and by the pimps who pushed them on the street and got them addicted to hard drugs.
.220 Swift is an Ozark wilderness adventure set in abandoned mines that may be portals to an ancient, lost civilization
The River of Night’s Dreaming combines a daring escape from prison over a stormy bay with a haunted house where ‘lamia’ are hidden. This is where the classic story The King in Yellow features prominently, also here is the first drifting towards sensory deprivation and soft pornography in the author’s interests.
She was cut off from everything in those moments, cut off from space and from time and from reality. There was only the grayness and the rain, pressing her deeper against the dark water.
also,
Cassilda: I tell you, I am lost! Utterly lost!
Camilla (terrified herself): You have seen the King ...?
Cassilda: And he has taken from me the power to direct or to escape my dreams.
Beyond Any Measure continues the exploration of the subconscious and of lesbian relationships in a London setting where an Aleister Crowley clone is hypnotizing a young lady in order to access the source of her nightmares.
The fact that the phenomenon has so many designations is ample proof that dreams of a previous existence are a very real part of the unconscious mind. It is undeniable that many people have experienced, in dreams or under hypnosis, memories that cannot possibly arise from their personal experience.
>>><<<>>><<<
To those who end up liking these stories, I recommend the second anthology of from Karl Edward Wagner, titled Why Not You and I?
November 17, 2025
An EXCEPTIONAL collection of short stories that happen to fall into the horror genre. With a heavy influence of the Southern Gothic tradition, this book is a clear child of Faulkner and O’Connor at their most grotesque and a forefather to works like True Detective. Of the 8 stories, I would characterize 5 of them as 5 star classics. The others are good to middling. It is really worth your time to seek it out and give it a read. My favorites were Sticks and .220 Swift. My least favorite was Beyond Any Measure.
I can’t wait to dig into Wagner’s sword and sorcery.
Read on Valancourt Books paperback.
I can’t wait to dig into Wagner’s sword and sorcery.
Read on Valancourt Books paperback.
October 23, 2014
Introduction - Peter Straub pretty much raves about KEW, high praise from one of his peers. It's really interesting reading this in comparison to the introduction he did to Walk on the Wild Side: The Best Horror Stories of Karl Edward Wagner, Volume 2.
Prologue to In the Pines [“Lonely Places”] is a mood setting page that paints a bleak picture.
"In the Pines" - is wonderfully macabre. The descent of the main character is perfectly done & more horrible for its relation to the author.
"Where the Summer Ends": Wow. I last read this years ago & remembered it as creepy, but ... wow. Such a cool idea & so well done. I felt the heat of the night.
"Sticks" - I like it when I have difficulty telling when I stepped out of reality & into the supernatural. Perfect!
"The Fourth Seal" is perhaps one of the best & most believable conspiracy theories I've ever read.
".220 Swift" takes several tropes that Robert E. Howard used in his stories, an old Greek myth, blended uniquely & served superbly! I kind of knew where it was going, but the ending still horrified me.
"The River of Night’s Dreaming": So often the supernatural element is obvious. In this story, the POV is so unreliable as to toss reality up for grabs. What really happened? I'm not sure, but it was one hell of a trip. I'm not sure it's over, either. How cool.
"Beyond Any Measure": Why hasn't this happened more often? It's such a wild twist, but seems almost obvious when it finally happens. Seriously, this should be held up as a standard for all these PNR/UF writers. They could learn a thing or three.
August 5, 2016
i'd been looking for this book for about ten years, could never find it for less than $50, finally stumbled on it by accident at the LA paperback book festival, $20, couldn't afford not to buy it, went home and read it straight through, filled with glee... now, was it worth it? well, i would say no, although "Sticks" is of course a great story, scary as hell (and often anthologized), and ".220 Swift" is pretty good and "Where the Summer Ends" and "The River of Night's Dreaming" are both excellent... okay so i guess it's worth it already... but then... THEN!!! the last story, "Beyond Any Measure," which frankly isn't really all that good (lots of goofy 80s leather S&M cocaine party nonsense, and chicks makin out in the shower for our enjoyment), suddenly, on the last two pages, pulls out this amazing premise, holy shit! such a great idea. couldn't believe it. just really brilliant. wish the story itself was better, but hey... it's a once-in-a-century type story idea and if wagner never did anything else in his life, that idea alone would last him forever. much respect.
May 13, 2023
I am simply blown away by the beauty and subtle horror of these short stories. Where has Karl Wagner been my whole life in my search of disturbing, erotic and poetic tales? Glad I finally found him. Highly recommend.
June 29, 2017
While I am proud of the fact that I was even able to obtain a copy of this book (for merely being a 1984 mass market paperback, this book can cost upwards of $40 in online shops - keep an eye out in your local used bookstores!), and even more so that I finally read the thing, I have to say I was a little underwhelmed by my first exposure to Karl Edward Wagner.
The first three of the seven stories herein are nearly brilliant, and cemented Mr. Wagner as an author I wish to continue to explore in the immediate future. The other four, however, left me rather frustrated, mainly because after the bar had been set *so* high from the earlier stories, these were actually pretty disappointing.
Take, for instance, "The Fourth Seal," a conspiratorial tale of the medical world. It's paced perfectly (more on that later), and its great revelations are well-executed; yet the ending just felt hamfisted and kind of predictable.
".220 Swift," a particular favorite of Peter Straub, started out nicely: two archaeologists explore a series of mines in the west, with signs quickly growing in number and certainty that something inhuman had created the warren of tunnels beneath the ground. Sounds neat and creepy, doesn't it? It is, quite so, for the first half; yet just when things seem to come to a dark conclusion...it takes a strange turn, showing what appears to be an epilogue of sorts, which quickly expands into a whole other stretch of revelation which, frankly, I found quite out-of-place in the overall framework and context of the story. And to top it off, the denouement, while tying back into the original promise of the story, felt somewhat forced into a different direction, and I wasn't left very satisfied with it.
"The River of Night's Dreaming" had a most astonishing buildup, with a bus containing mental hospital patients crashing off of a road and into a river, and an unnamed woman, having narrowly survived the river, wandering into a creepy, seemingly deserted town. Like ".220 Swift," however, the turn it takes from there was kind of out of the proverbial left field, and at times got kind of exploitative and aimless. By the ending, I was downright frustrated, and really wished Mr. Wagner might have consulted more writer/editor friends before setting pen to paper for its second half.
Finally, "Beyond Any Measure" - a spin on the classic hypnosis-gone-wrong trope - was frankly, at times, a bit of a mess. Overlong and rambling at times, there were some truly great curiosities at work, but (again) exploitative to a fault, and the grand revelation, dropped in at the very end through *monologue,* felt lazy and forced.
BUT! I did give this three out of five stars, remember.
Those three stars owe mainly to the first three stories, which are so powerful and memorable that I still have much faith in my continued exploration and appreciation of Mr. Wagner's works.
Take, for instance, "In the Pines." After a beautifully moody introductory companion piece, this quiet and densely atmospheric ghost story takes the reader into the rented summer house of a broken couple, and the curious discoveries they make in their woodland abode. Although by strokes it takes a few familiar turns that may have some jaded readers rolling their eyes, the prose and pace are downright perfect, and it's a perfect opening story for the collection.
I'll get back to the second story in a moment...
I'd read "Sticks" several years ago, during my anything-post-Lovecraft binge reads, but could not quite recall much of it. Having re-read it, I was astonished by the atmosphere and the sweeping timeline (taking place just before the protagonist goes off to World War II, and in the years after his return), and all the moreso by its brilliant use of cosmic horror and sinister architecture. The titular bundles of broken branches are more than a little reminiscent of both The Blair Witch Project and the first season of True Detective, which can't be a coincidence; be sure to read the author's afterward (immediately following the story) for an informative, if somewhat unsettling, backstory to "Sticks."
And then there's "Where the Summer Ends." My gods, but what a story. An all-too-realistic starving artist frequents a junkyard/thrift shop in a small, kudzu-choked midwest college town, and...I really don't know if I want to share much more than that. This will in all likelihood stay with me as one of the most perfectly-paced horror stories I've ever read, with the creeps only very gradually venturing forth from the shadows, with blink-and-you'll-miss-it hints of what's to come buried throughout the narrative. (Full disclosure: I read this story while sitting in the laundromat with my wife, and when the ending came (THAT ENDING!), I actually burst out laughing. It was *that* good.
While my Odyssey of hunting down a copy of In a Lonely Place ultimately led to a somewhat mixed reading experience, I'm more than a little glad that I went through with it; and with three absolutely unforgettable stories rocking my world, I know I'll be returning to the works of Karl Edward Wagner again, soon enough.
The first three of the seven stories herein are nearly brilliant, and cemented Mr. Wagner as an author I wish to continue to explore in the immediate future. The other four, however, left me rather frustrated, mainly because after the bar had been set *so* high from the earlier stories, these were actually pretty disappointing.
Take, for instance, "The Fourth Seal," a conspiratorial tale of the medical world. It's paced perfectly (more on that later), and its great revelations are well-executed; yet the ending just felt hamfisted and kind of predictable.
".220 Swift," a particular favorite of Peter Straub, started out nicely: two archaeologists explore a series of mines in the west, with signs quickly growing in number and certainty that something inhuman had created the warren of tunnels beneath the ground. Sounds neat and creepy, doesn't it? It is, quite so, for the first half; yet just when things seem to come to a dark conclusion...it takes a strange turn, showing what appears to be an epilogue of sorts, which quickly expands into a whole other stretch of revelation which, frankly, I found quite out-of-place in the overall framework and context of the story. And to top it off, the denouement, while tying back into the original promise of the story, felt somewhat forced into a different direction, and I wasn't left very satisfied with it.
"The River of Night's Dreaming" had a most astonishing buildup, with a bus containing mental hospital patients crashing off of a road and into a river, and an unnamed woman, having narrowly survived the river, wandering into a creepy, seemingly deserted town. Like ".220 Swift," however, the turn it takes from there was kind of out of the proverbial left field, and at times got kind of exploitative and aimless. By the ending, I was downright frustrated, and really wished Mr. Wagner might have consulted more writer/editor friends before setting pen to paper for its second half.
Finally, "Beyond Any Measure" - a spin on the classic hypnosis-gone-wrong trope - was frankly, at times, a bit of a mess. Overlong and rambling at times, there were some truly great curiosities at work, but (again) exploitative to a fault, and the grand revelation, dropped in at the very end through *monologue,* felt lazy and forced.
BUT! I did give this three out of five stars, remember.
Those three stars owe mainly to the first three stories, which are so powerful and memorable that I still have much faith in my continued exploration and appreciation of Mr. Wagner's works.
Take, for instance, "In the Pines." After a beautifully moody introductory companion piece, this quiet and densely atmospheric ghost story takes the reader into the rented summer house of a broken couple, and the curious discoveries they make in their woodland abode. Although by strokes it takes a few familiar turns that may have some jaded readers rolling their eyes, the prose and pace are downright perfect, and it's a perfect opening story for the collection.
I'll get back to the second story in a moment...
I'd read "Sticks" several years ago, during my anything-post-Lovecraft binge reads, but could not quite recall much of it. Having re-read it, I was astonished by the atmosphere and the sweeping timeline (taking place just before the protagonist goes off to World War II, and in the years after his return), and all the moreso by its brilliant use of cosmic horror and sinister architecture. The titular bundles of broken branches are more than a little reminiscent of both The Blair Witch Project and the first season of True Detective, which can't be a coincidence; be sure to read the author's afterward (immediately following the story) for an informative, if somewhat unsettling, backstory to "Sticks."
And then there's "Where the Summer Ends." My gods, but what a story. An all-too-realistic starving artist frequents a junkyard/thrift shop in a small, kudzu-choked midwest college town, and...I really don't know if I want to share much more than that. This will in all likelihood stay with me as one of the most perfectly-paced horror stories I've ever read, with the creeps only very gradually venturing forth from the shadows, with blink-and-you'll-miss-it hints of what's to come buried throughout the narrative. (Full disclosure: I read this story while sitting in the laundromat with my wife, and when the ending came (THAT ENDING!), I actually burst out laughing. It was *that* good.
While my Odyssey of hunting down a copy of In a Lonely Place ultimately led to a somewhat mixed reading experience, I'm more than a little glad that I went through with it; and with three absolutely unforgettable stories rocking my world, I know I'll be returning to the works of Karl Edward Wagner again, soon enough.
July 24, 2008
This is a collection of Wagner's short horror stories and it's one of my favorite horror collections of all time. Incredible stories that really stay with you long after you read them. It's too bad Wagner died so young.
August 22, 2023
first few stories are very good but the back half of this is banger after banger
October 23, 2023
I don't normally do short story collections. I'm glad I picked this one up and it has changed my find a bit. It was a lot of fun and there were some great and spooky tales to had there. I seen this come across my feed and I just had to check it out. So glad I did.
February 1, 2023
Finally got around to this and I am so glad that I did. I started reading KEW in 2017 with Bloodstone and quickly came to consume all things Kane, but I feel like I get a much stronger read on the man himself from his short horror fiction. His influence on Laird Barron is palpable to me now, just as Barron's influence on my own writing seems obvious to me in hindsight.
March 5, 2023
Holy cow. I’ll need time to process this excellent collection of short stories before reviewing it properly.
April 23, 2023
I’m a big fan of Karl Edward Wagner’s sword and sorcery stories about Kane the Eternal Wanderer and I’ve been looking forward to reading some of his horror fiction. Unfortunately except for ebook editions of Kane, his work is out of print and goes for pretty high prices. Thanks to Valancourt Books we have a new edition of his 1983 horror short story collection, In a Lonely Place.
This 2023 edition includes a new introduction by Ramsey Campbell and an extra story, “More Sinned Against,” which was included in the Scream Press special edition but not in the original paperback. It also includes the afterword from the Scream Press edition in which Wagner briefly talks about writing and then gives details about the origins of each story. While I liked some stories more than others I thought every story was outstanding in its own way.
While reading these stories I also listened to episodes of The Dark Crusade Podcast, a podcast dedicated to the works of Wagner. They cover each story and provide interesting reviews and background information. Highly recommended.
“In the Pines”
A couple is staying at a cabin in the mountains of Tennessee when the husband finds an old painting of a woman. When he talks to the locals he learns about some tragic events connected with the cabin. The more he learns, the more he becomes fascinated with the woman in the painting. Fom the lonely atmosphere of the opening paragraphs, to the use of lyrics from “In the Pines,” an old bluegrass song, to the final lines, this is such a haunting story.
“Where the Summer Ends”
It’s summer in Knoxville, Tennessee and Mercer is refurbishing an old house in a rundown neighborhood. He wants to buy a mantle from junk and antique dealer Gradie. The neighborhood they live in is rundown and the area is covered in kudzu vines. During a visit with Gradie, something startles Mercer’s girlfriend Linda and Gradie blasts it with his shotgun. Was it a rat or something else?
This story features kudzu, an invasive vine native to Japan and southeast China. It was brought to the US as a tool for soil erosion but grows out of control very quickly. It’s something you see a lot of in the south where I grew up. I liked how Wagner makes kudzu seem eerie and ominous.
“Sticks”
Illustrator Colin Leverett is hiking in a remote area of upstate New York. After coming across strange lashed together frameworks of sticks and making sketches of them, he has a terrifying encounter but escapes. Years later he is given an assignment to provide art for a collection of horror books and he uses his old sketches as reference. Bad things start happening. A great story and a great addition to Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.
Wagner based “Sticks” on an experience artist Lee Brown Coye had. When asked why his drawings often featured sticks, Coye told about having once come across “a stick laden farmhouse.” Coye did the illustrations for Manly Wade Wellman’s Worse Things Waiting and Hugh B. Cave’s Murgunstrum and Others. Both were originally published by Carcosa Books, which was founded by Wagner and his two partners, David Drake and Jim Groce.
This story may have influenced the film The Blair Witch Project (1999) as that film also features strange stick figures. Season one of the series True Detective (2014) also features similar figures.
“The Fourth Seal”
After a doctor begins working at a medical research facility he begins to suspect that not is all as it seems. It’s been years since this story about a conspiracy in the medical profession was published but it still holds up today.
“More Sinned Against”
A young woman dreams of becoming a star in Hollywood but finds success elusive and sinks lower and lower. A dark story that involves sex, drugs, and degradation. I wasn’t sure what to think of this one as I was reading it but the ending saved it for me.
“.220 Swift”
Folklore researcher Eric Brandon helps archeologist Morris Kenlaw who is looking for evidence of Spanish mines in the mountains of North Carolina. Brandon brings up the fact that the Cherokee have legends about a race of people who mined in the area even before the Cherokee arrived. Brandon guides Kenlaw to a remote cave and they explore. There was one revelation towards the end that pulled me out of the story a little but it wasn’t enough to ruin it for me. It ties in with the name of the story which is a type of bullet. The other revelations and the ending more than make up for it.
I got a real Manly Wade Wellman vibe from this story. I wasn’t surprised when I read in Wagner’s afterword that he had borrowed Wellman’s research material.
“The River of Night’s Dreaming”
A prisoner survives a bus crash and swims towards distant lights, eventually finding refuge with two mysterious women. A dream-like story that goes from dark to darker. There’s a BDSM scene that took me out of the story but with further reflection it fits with what seems to be one of the themes of the story, constraint. Some of Wagner’s horror stories are much darker than his sword & sorcery stories.
This story is inspired by The King in Yellow stories by Robert Chambers. Nerd that I am, when I got to this story I pulled my copy of the King In Yellow off the shelf and finally read the four stories (they were great) before proceeding. This story reminded me of “The Repairer of Reputations” by Chambers, and not just because Wagner uses a number of names from that story, but also because of how the story played out at the end. Something Wagner points out in his afterword surprised me, something he says most people miss. Sure enough, I didn’t catch it. Although I have mixed feelings about the story it has me wanting to revisit it.
The King in Yellow is also something that shows up in the first season of True Detective.
“Beyond Any Measure”
An American woman in London begins suffering from nightmares. She consults a man named Dr. Magnus, a believer in reincarnation. He says he can help her through hypnosis. Every time I think I know where Wagner is going with a story he surprises me by either going in a different direction or by adding something I wasn’t expecting. The ending may be too wild for some, but I absolutely loved it.
I really like Wagner’s prose, the atmosphere of his stories, and his endings. I also like how Wagner slips in references to books, movies, pulp magazines, and bookstores. They’re fun little additions. This is a fantastic collection. Here’s hoping we get more Karl Edward Wagner in print again soon.
My story ratings:
In the Pines (5/5)
Where the Summer Ends (5/5)
Sticks (5/5)
The Fourth Seal (4/5)
More Sinned Against (4/5)
.220 Swift (5/5)
The River of Night’s Dreaming (4/5)
Beyond Any Measure (5/5)
This 2023 edition includes a new introduction by Ramsey Campbell and an extra story, “More Sinned Against,” which was included in the Scream Press special edition but not in the original paperback. It also includes the afterword from the Scream Press edition in which Wagner briefly talks about writing and then gives details about the origins of each story. While I liked some stories more than others I thought every story was outstanding in its own way.
While reading these stories I also listened to episodes of The Dark Crusade Podcast, a podcast dedicated to the works of Wagner. They cover each story and provide interesting reviews and background information. Highly recommended.
“In the Pines”
A couple is staying at a cabin in the mountains of Tennessee when the husband finds an old painting of a woman. When he talks to the locals he learns about some tragic events connected with the cabin. The more he learns, the more he becomes fascinated with the woman in the painting. Fom the lonely atmosphere of the opening paragraphs, to the use of lyrics from “In the Pines,” an old bluegrass song, to the final lines, this is such a haunting story.
“Where the Summer Ends”
It’s summer in Knoxville, Tennessee and Mercer is refurbishing an old house in a rundown neighborhood. He wants to buy a mantle from junk and antique dealer Gradie. The neighborhood they live in is rundown and the area is covered in kudzu vines. During a visit with Gradie, something startles Mercer’s girlfriend Linda and Gradie blasts it with his shotgun. Was it a rat or something else?
This story features kudzu, an invasive vine native to Japan and southeast China. It was brought to the US as a tool for soil erosion but grows out of control very quickly. It’s something you see a lot of in the south where I grew up. I liked how Wagner makes kudzu seem eerie and ominous.
“Sticks”
Illustrator Colin Leverett is hiking in a remote area of upstate New York. After coming across strange lashed together frameworks of sticks and making sketches of them, he has a terrifying encounter but escapes. Years later he is given an assignment to provide art for a collection of horror books and he uses his old sketches as reference. Bad things start happening. A great story and a great addition to Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.
Wagner based “Sticks” on an experience artist Lee Brown Coye had. When asked why his drawings often featured sticks, Coye told about having once come across “a stick laden farmhouse.” Coye did the illustrations for Manly Wade Wellman’s Worse Things Waiting and Hugh B. Cave’s Murgunstrum and Others. Both were originally published by Carcosa Books, which was founded by Wagner and his two partners, David Drake and Jim Groce.
This story may have influenced the film The Blair Witch Project (1999) as that film also features strange stick figures. Season one of the series True Detective (2014) also features similar figures.
“The Fourth Seal”
After a doctor begins working at a medical research facility he begins to suspect that not is all as it seems. It’s been years since this story about a conspiracy in the medical profession was published but it still holds up today.
“More Sinned Against”
A young woman dreams of becoming a star in Hollywood but finds success elusive and sinks lower and lower. A dark story that involves sex, drugs, and degradation. I wasn’t sure what to think of this one as I was reading it but the ending saved it for me.
“.220 Swift”
Folklore researcher Eric Brandon helps archeologist Morris Kenlaw who is looking for evidence of Spanish mines in the mountains of North Carolina. Brandon brings up the fact that the Cherokee have legends about a race of people who mined in the area even before the Cherokee arrived. Brandon guides Kenlaw to a remote cave and they explore. There was one revelation towards the end that pulled me out of the story a little but it wasn’t enough to ruin it for me. It ties in with the name of the story which is a type of bullet. The other revelations and the ending more than make up for it.
I got a real Manly Wade Wellman vibe from this story. I wasn’t surprised when I read in Wagner’s afterword that he had borrowed Wellman’s research material.
“The River of Night’s Dreaming”
A prisoner survives a bus crash and swims towards distant lights, eventually finding refuge with two mysterious women. A dream-like story that goes from dark to darker. There’s a BDSM scene that took me out of the story but with further reflection it fits with what seems to be one of the themes of the story, constraint. Some of Wagner’s horror stories are much darker than his sword & sorcery stories.
This story is inspired by The King in Yellow stories by Robert Chambers. Nerd that I am, when I got to this story I pulled my copy of the King In Yellow off the shelf and finally read the four stories (they were great) before proceeding. This story reminded me of “The Repairer of Reputations” by Chambers, and not just because Wagner uses a number of names from that story, but also because of how the story played out at the end. Something Wagner points out in his afterword surprised me, something he says most people miss. Sure enough, I didn’t catch it. Although I have mixed feelings about the story it has me wanting to revisit it.
The King in Yellow is also something that shows up in the first season of True Detective.
“Beyond Any Measure”
An American woman in London begins suffering from nightmares. She consults a man named Dr. Magnus, a believer in reincarnation. He says he can help her through hypnosis. Every time I think I know where Wagner is going with a story he surprises me by either going in a different direction or by adding something I wasn’t expecting. The ending may be too wild for some, but I absolutely loved it.
I really like Wagner’s prose, the atmosphere of his stories, and his endings. I also like how Wagner slips in references to books, movies, pulp magazines, and bookstores. They’re fun little additions. This is a fantastic collection. Here’s hoping we get more Karl Edward Wagner in print again soon.
My story ratings:
In the Pines (5/5)
Where the Summer Ends (5/5)
Sticks (5/5)
The Fourth Seal (4/5)
More Sinned Against (4/5)
.220 Swift (5/5)
The River of Night’s Dreaming (4/5)
Beyond Any Measure (5/5)
June 3, 2023
I’m so happy that Valancourt Books reprinted this, I’ve been wanting to read it for years.
There’s not a bad story in the collection, and all of them are very different. Wagner has a reputation as a pulp author, but man, this guy could write! "Sticks" is the most famous and the best. Great, slow build horror with some intermittent terror, and a great ending. It was an obvious influence on "The Blair Witch Project" as well as "In the Mouth of Madness".
"The River of Night's Dreaming" is one the best contributions to "The King in Yellow" pantheon of stories. There are also unique takes on vampires, haunted cabins, Hollywood down-and-outers, haunted hills, et. al. This edition also contains an insightful introduction from Ramsey Campbell, and an afterword from Wagner that discusses in detail his inspirations for the stories. I am sad to report that I am one of the many readers he mentions who missed a key point in “The River of Night’s Dreaming”.
This is a book that should be on every horror lover’s shelf.
There’s not a bad story in the collection, and all of them are very different. Wagner has a reputation as a pulp author, but man, this guy could write! "Sticks" is the most famous and the best. Great, slow build horror with some intermittent terror, and a great ending. It was an obvious influence on "The Blair Witch Project" as well as "In the Mouth of Madness".
"The River of Night's Dreaming" is one the best contributions to "The King in Yellow" pantheon of stories. There are also unique takes on vampires, haunted cabins, Hollywood down-and-outers, haunted hills, et. al. This edition also contains an insightful introduction from Ramsey Campbell, and an afterword from Wagner that discusses in detail his inspirations for the stories. I am sad to report that I am one of the many readers he mentions who missed a key point in “The River of Night’s Dreaming”.
This is a book that should be on every horror lover’s shelf.
January 23, 2023
Loved 'Sticks' and 'The River of Night's Dreaming'. The others, though not my thing, are mostly well done. While I couldn't get into the story or style, I did appreciate the humid atmosphere and ingenious use of the vine that ate the south in 'Where the Summer Ends'.
November 30, 2025
Atmosphere. That word sums up this collection perfectly. This one was recommended by the late-great Joe Pulver...
I’ve never been the strongest reader of short-story collections; it usually takes me a little longer to settle into new characters and settings. That’s entirely a “me” problem, not the book’s. Still, the atmosphere throughout is absolutely haunting—Wagner’s specialty—and that alone makes the book worth every page. If you enjoy Michael McDowell's style of writing, then You'll enjoy this one!
In the Pines: 4*
A wandering musician follows an old song into the deep Georgia pines and finds the ghost of a murdered girl in a painting. a good opener dripping with atmosphere.
Where the Summer Ends: 3*
In a southern town, during a hot summer, overgrown kudzu hides something ancient. Abrupt ending ruined this one for me. Should have been a novella. The Ending was a big let-down, as It was very interesting.
Sticks: 4.5*
A reclusive artist discovers a bunch of sticks in the remote woods—strange, ritualistic patterns. A great little cosmic horror story that deserved a longer format.
The Fourth Seal: 3*
A cynical doctor in modern London stumbles into a conspiracy of plague-bearers who have guarded the same terrible secret since the Black Death. Not a bad story, just too short for me.
More Sinned Against: 4*
The story of a burnt-out actress and the horrors she goes through flees Hollywood for a quiet village. Good tale of revenge with a heart-breaking story.
.220 Swift: 4.5*
The discovery of a gold mine brings something other than gold to the prospectors. Great story! Loved this one.
The River of Night's Dreaming: 3.5*
A woman escapes a sanatorium for the criminally insane, after swimming to safety falls into a different kind of asylum. Quite enjoyed this one. I appreciated the King in Yellow reference.
Beyond Any Measure: 4*
A jaded vampire in New York gets tired of eternity, until he meets a woman whose blood sings with memories of every life she never lived.
I’ve never been the strongest reader of short-story collections; it usually takes me a little longer to settle into new characters and settings. That’s entirely a “me” problem, not the book’s. Still, the atmosphere throughout is absolutely haunting—Wagner’s specialty—and that alone makes the book worth every page. If you enjoy Michael McDowell's style of writing, then You'll enjoy this one!
In the Pines: 4*
A wandering musician follows an old song into the deep Georgia pines and finds the ghost of a murdered girl in a painting. a good opener dripping with atmosphere.
Where the Summer Ends: 3*
In a southern town, during a hot summer, overgrown kudzu hides something ancient. Abrupt ending ruined this one for me. Should have been a novella. The Ending was a big let-down, as It was very interesting.
Sticks: 4.5*
A reclusive artist discovers a bunch of sticks in the remote woods—strange, ritualistic patterns. A great little cosmic horror story that deserved a longer format.
The Fourth Seal: 3*
A cynical doctor in modern London stumbles into a conspiracy of plague-bearers who have guarded the same terrible secret since the Black Death. Not a bad story, just too short for me.
More Sinned Against: 4*
The story of a burnt-out actress and the horrors she goes through flees Hollywood for a quiet village. Good tale of revenge with a heart-breaking story.
.220 Swift: 4.5*
The discovery of a gold mine brings something other than gold to the prospectors. Great story! Loved this one.
The River of Night's Dreaming: 3.5*
A woman escapes a sanatorium for the criminally insane, after swimming to safety falls into a different kind of asylum. Quite enjoyed this one. I appreciated the King in Yellow reference.
Beyond Any Measure: 4*
A jaded vampire in New York gets tired of eternity, until he meets a woman whose blood sings with memories of every life she never lived.
March 18, 2024
Almost paid ~$200 for an og paperback of this, like 4 years ago, cause a real head friend of mine loaned me Why Not You And I and I loved it so much. Very grateful Valancourt reissued it so I didn’t have to spend $200 but it would’ve been worth every penny. River Of Night’s Dreaming is worth it alone, easily one of the weirdest and most experimental stories of 80’s horror.
November 8, 2014
I first came across Karl Edward Wagner as the editor of a series of Year's Best Horror Fiction. It was from that series that I encountered some fantastic stories, such as "Tiger in the Snow" by Daniel Wynn Barber, "Egnaro" by M. John Harrison, and "Black Man in a Horn" by T.E.D. Kline.
Karl Edward Wagner studied medicine and psychiatry but became disillusioned and left it, writing Conan the Barbarian novels and short horror fiction. I got this book from the public library.
In some ways, Karl Edward Wagner is an old school horror writer; in other ways, he has a contemporary approach.
"In The Pines" A well crafted and well written story about a seductive female ghost. But as ghost stories go, kind of routine.
"Where The Summer Ends" The story takes place in KEW's homestate of Tennessee. Strange, dangerous creates hide in the kudzu. Kudzu is a vine that will grow a foot a day during the summer and simply overwhelm anything in its path.
"Sticks" This story won the British Fantasy Award and was a runner-up in the World Fantasy Award for best short fiction. Lovecraftian fiction but written in a contemporary style. Earlier on goodreads I had described "paint by numbers" Lovercraftian fiction, and this story exhibits it:
1. Reference to an imaginary and dangerous book
2. God-like space aliens
3. One of the characters goes mad.
"The Fourth Seal" Not so much horror, but more like 1970s style conspiracy fiction, and like some episodes of the X Files. A young, brilliant doctor, encounters a secret organization which: 1) has the cure for various diseases, but withholds it from the public, and 2) occasionally unleashes new diseases. Why does this organization do this? In order to keep the prestige of the medical profession high.
"More Sinned Against" The main character worked in Hollywood, performing in sleazy/porn/torture movies, and with supernatural help, gets revenge on her erstwhile lover who went on greater success in tv and movies.
".220 Swift" Investigation of caves go awry, but one of the characters discovers his kinship with an underground race.
"The River of Night's Dreaming" Hey, a story inspired by The King In Yellow. KEW says of this story: "The protagonist is actually male, but perceiving himself as female in his psychotic state--and the reality of the story is from his/her point of view. The story is deliberately set upon two levels, supernatural and psychotic, and the levels merge and interchange."
The story concludes with remarkable lines from the fictional, dangerous play The King in Yellow. I resist the temptation to reprint them here.
"Beyond Any Measure" A supernatural, suspense story, with reincarnation, vampires, lesbianism, wild parties.
Karl Edward Wagner studied medicine and psychiatry but became disillusioned and left it, writing Conan the Barbarian novels and short horror fiction. I got this book from the public library.
In some ways, Karl Edward Wagner is an old school horror writer; in other ways, he has a contemporary approach.
"In The Pines" A well crafted and well written story about a seductive female ghost. But as ghost stories go, kind of routine.
"Where The Summer Ends" The story takes place in KEW's homestate of Tennessee. Strange, dangerous creates hide in the kudzu. Kudzu is a vine that will grow a foot a day during the summer and simply overwhelm anything in its path.
"Sticks" This story won the British Fantasy Award and was a runner-up in the World Fantasy Award for best short fiction. Lovecraftian fiction but written in a contemporary style. Earlier on goodreads I had described "paint by numbers" Lovercraftian fiction, and this story exhibits it:
1. Reference to an imaginary and dangerous book
2. God-like space aliens
3. One of the characters goes mad.
"The Fourth Seal" Not so much horror, but more like 1970s style conspiracy fiction, and like some episodes of the X Files. A young, brilliant doctor, encounters a secret organization which: 1) has the cure for various diseases, but withholds it from the public, and 2) occasionally unleashes new diseases. Why does this organization do this? In order to keep the prestige of the medical profession high.
"More Sinned Against" The main character worked in Hollywood, performing in sleazy/porn/torture movies, and with supernatural help, gets revenge on her erstwhile lover who went on greater success in tv and movies.
".220 Swift" Investigation of caves go awry, but one of the characters discovers his kinship with an underground race.
"The River of Night's Dreaming" Hey, a story inspired by The King In Yellow. KEW says of this story: "The protagonist is actually male, but perceiving himself as female in his psychotic state--and the reality of the story is from his/her point of view. The story is deliberately set upon two levels, supernatural and psychotic, and the levels merge and interchange."
The story concludes with remarkable lines from the fictional, dangerous play The King in Yellow. I resist the temptation to reprint them here.
"Beyond Any Measure" A supernatural, suspense story, with reincarnation, vampires, lesbianism, wild parties.
October 31, 2024
“Sticks” has long been one of my favorite short stories in the horror genre. It works for me because KEW produces a sense of the uncanny.
I recently re-read this as a group read. I think this was my fourth reading of the story, and my first in probably 10 years. I still enjoyed it, but I don’t think it is any longer one of my favorites. I’m sorry “Sticks”, it’s not you, it’s me. We’ve grown apart.
The uncanniness of it still stands, but I’ve grown too jaded for complete enjoyment of stories that use the old trick of convenient letters written to convey information dumps.
One thing that did occur to me with this reading, I think KEW based his Colin on Clark Ashton Smith. CAS was one of the big three of Weird Tales fame with Robert E Howard and HP Lovecraft, and the only one of the three not to die young. CAS died in 1961, but disappeared from the literary scene well before that, occasionally turning up as an artist; almost like KEW’s protagonist of Sticks.
I recently re-read this as a group read. I think this was my fourth reading of the story, and my first in probably 10 years. I still enjoyed it, but I don’t think it is any longer one of my favorites. I’m sorry “Sticks”, it’s not you, it’s me. We’ve grown apart.
The uncanniness of it still stands, but I’ve grown too jaded for complete enjoyment of stories that use the old trick of convenient letters written to convey information dumps.
One thing that did occur to me with this reading, I think KEW based his Colin on Clark Ashton Smith. CAS was one of the big three of Weird Tales fame with Robert E Howard and HP Lovecraft, and the only one of the three not to die young. CAS died in 1961, but disappeared from the literary scene well before that, occasionally turning up as an artist; almost like KEW’s protagonist of Sticks.
August 8, 2020
I sought out this out-of-print book because I loved the much-anthologized story "Sticks." Turns out that's the only great story in here. One epic story, two OK ones, and four clunkers. Plus, tons of cringey descriptions of women's bodies and women having sex with each other. Like, you're trying to read it for the scary bits, but the image of Wagner typing this stuff one-handed is completely intrusive. Yuck.
June 24, 2011
"Sticks" and "The Fourth Seal" are two of the most terrifying stories I've read.
November 15, 2023
As much as I do love a good psychological horror where the reader is left to draw their own conclusions sometimes a straightforward succubus, lich, or little monster creature story hits the spot. As an added bonus, these tales are over 40 years old but don't particularly date themselves mostly due to the fact that Wagner was looking backwards over his shoulder for inspiration a lot of the time. Also, my man was really, really thirsty and that really started to shine through with the last two stories.
In The Pines - Oh no evil succubus but I have no idea what this cabin clinging to the side of the mountain looks like and that really annoyed me. Also kind of repetitive with retelling the history.
Where the Summer Ends - I think I've mentioned before how any American southern gothic tale has to include one mention of kudzu. Here is an entire story about it. The creepiest thing was the chick eats a marijuana roach.
Sticks - I don't know why this one was so highly regarded, maybe it was because it was so meta for its time?
The Fourth Seal - One of the first truly horrifying tales where an idealistic medical researcher discovers an evil cabal.
.220 Swift- What a whacky weird wild one, I loved it.
The River of Night's Dreaming - A very kinky version of the classic movie "Carnival of Souls". Though Wagner is kind of pretentious in talking about it in the afterword. Felt like a Hammer film.
Beyond Any Measure - Sexy . Openly acknowledges it's a Hammer film.
If it sounds like I am dragging the stories a bit, it's because they are easily draggable. But they aren't boring, except in my version there was an additional story which was a pretty typical "aspiring actress falls further and further into ruin but gets her revenge via voodoo" tale.
In The Pines - Oh no evil succubus but I have no idea what this cabin clinging to the side of the mountain looks like and that really annoyed me. Also kind of repetitive with retelling the history.
Where the Summer Ends - I think I've mentioned before how any American southern gothic tale has to include one mention of kudzu. Here is an entire story about it. The creepiest thing was the chick eats a marijuana roach.
Sticks - I don't know why this one was so highly regarded, maybe it was because it was so meta for its time?
The Fourth Seal - One of the first truly horrifying tales where an idealistic medical researcher discovers an evil cabal.
.220 Swift- What a whacky weird wild one, I loved it.
The River of Night's Dreaming - A very kinky version of the classic movie "Carnival of Souls". Though Wagner is kind of pretentious in talking about it in the afterword. Felt like a Hammer film.
Beyond Any Measure - Sexy . Openly acknowledges it's a Hammer film.
If it sounds like I am dragging the stories a bit, it's because they are easily draggable. But they aren't boring, except in my version there was an additional story which was a pretty typical "aspiring actress falls further and further into ruin but gets her revenge via voodoo" tale.
February 8, 2024
Close to a 5 star collection. Most of the pieces were great, a few didn't quite do it for me. Almost too few to detract from the rating I ended on, but not too few. 4.5 would be most appropriate.
March 26, 2024
The plots for a few of the stories are surprisingly trite and thin, but his prose style is in top form on all of them.
August 16, 2025
“Sticks” is a great story and heavily anthologized elsewhere. My excitement meter on the rest of the stories was middling.
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