Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories Not for the Nervous

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

by Alfred Hitchcock (Editor)

Abridged from the October 1965 Random House edition, the thirteen tales in this collection are:

To the Future by Ray Bradbury
River of Riches by Gerald Kersh
The Man With Copper Fingers [novelette] by Dorothy L. Sayers
Levitation by Joseph Payne Brennan
Miss Winters and the Wind by Christine Noble Govan
The Dog Died First [novelette] by Bruno Fischer
The Twenty Friends of William Shaw by Raymond E. Banks
The Other Hangman by Carter Dickson
Dune Roller [novelette] by Julian May
No Bath for the Browns by Margot Bennet
The Uninvited by Michael Gilbert
The Substance of Martyrs by William Sambrot
Don't Look Behind You by Frederic Brown

-------------

A Brief Message From Our Sponsor

The title of this volume is Stories Not for the Nervous. There are those who will argue that this title could apply to any of the various tomes of terror, sagas of suspense, or groupings of grue which I have, from time to time, gathered together for the delectation of my readers. And indeed the point is well taken.

For I am not a man to cater to the nervous. If you are in the habit of chewing your fingernails, jumping from your chair when a door slams, or swooning when someone playfully shouts "Boo!" in your ear, I have only two words of advice--pass on.

If, however, you have nerves which are under good control, nerves which are pleasantly tickled by a touch of terror or agreeably stimulated by a soupçon of suspense, then I invite you to join me.

Take a seat, any seat, and start wherever you wish. Break for an intermission whenever you choose and return when you are ready. Informality rules in your enjoyment of this smörgåsbord of stories. There is, I think, something for every taste.

Except, that is, or the nervous.

And now my sixty seconds are up.

-Alfred Hitchcock

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Horror, Mystery, Anthologies, Thriller, Suspense

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (1899-1980) was an iconic and highly influential film director and producer, who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres.

Following a very substantial career in his native Britain in both silent films and talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood and became an American citizen with dual nationality in 1956, thus he also remained a British subject.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career which spanned six decades, from the silent film era, through the invention of sound films, and far into the era of colour films. For a complete list of his films, see Alfred Hitchcock filmography.

Hitchcock was among the most consistently recognizable directors to the general public, and was one of the most successful film directors during his lifetime. He continues to be one of the best known and most popular filmmakers of all time.

Reviews

[Maria Lago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Son de esos relatos que hacen que parezca sencillísimo escribir un relato, pero... ¡lo difícil que es a veces la lectura fácil!
Sí, creo que he sido tacaña con mi puntuación, pues de puro fácil de leer, este libro se lee solo y entretiene ...¡a horrores!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not all of the stories were winners, but I had a lot of fun reading them.

[Glire · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Limítese a permanecer sentado y descanse. Trate de divertirse con esto: es el último cuento que va usted a leer en su vida."

En el capítulo de hoy de "Gliré Recomienda":

Libro para iniciarse en el mundo del thriller: Prohibido a los nerviosos.

Antología de cuentos cortos recopilados por "The Master of Suspense", que por su brevedad e incursión gradual en el terror psicológico resulta ideal para aquellos quienes desean adentrarse al genero y no saben por donde comenzar.

Hitchcock sabía lo que hacía and I cannot lie.

Cuento destacado: No mires hacia atrás.


Disclaimer: Las recomendaciones se basan en gustos personales. La empresa no se hace responsable por disconformidad, discrepancia o incompatibilidad de opiniones pero, en caso de que ocurran, escribir una reseña (preferiblemente con muchos gifs) y notificar en los comentarios ;)

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another collection of stories "presented" by Alfred Hitchcock (with an intro from Hitch and everything...). This collection is billed as particularly cold-blooded and disturbing and definitely not for the faint of heart or the easily spooked. Personally, I don't think they're all that chilling even though the mysteries are generally solid and interesting. ★★★

"To the Future" by Ray Bradbury: A man and his wife, fugitives from the future--a future full of war and disease and despair--hope to find refuge through time travel to the year 1938.

"River of Riches" by Gerald Kersh: An Englishman walks into a bar, meets a smooth-talking fellow countryman with tales of riches in South American, and walks out again with gold. Or does he?

"The Man with Copper Fingers" by Dorothy L. Sayers: A story of jealousy and a well-known sculptor's plan for revenge. Fortunately, Wimsey is on hand to prevent the artist from completing the second half of his masterpiece.

"Levitation" by Joseph Payne Brennan: A hypnotist dies of a heart attack in the middle of his levitation performance. What happens when a hypnotized, levitating man has no one to tell him to come down?

"Miss Winters & the Wind" by Christine Noble Govan: Miss Winters believes the wind to be evil and that it is out to get her. She may be right...

"The Dog Died First" by Bruno Fischer: The only way Dot Hall will be able to escape a murder rap is to convince the cops that she really did kill.

"The Twenty Friends of William Shaw" by Raymond E. Banks: William Shaw had always been generous with his friends. Now his butler has been sent to ask them all for a little favor in return. But our narrator isn't quite sure about what's being asked of him...

"The Other Hangman" by Carter Dickson: A man is convicted (on circumstantial evidence) of the murder of his partner and sentenced to hang. New evidence appears...but will it save him?

"Dune Roller" by Julian May: An ecologist is studying life in the tide pools of Lake Michigan when he discovers the reality behind local legends of a ravenous beast that comes from the lake "in search of a man" to kill...and then retreats until its hunger forces it from the lake once again.

"No Bath for the Browns" by Margot Bennett: The Browns manage to find a house in London when houses are scarce. But the bath is most inconveniently placed. When they decide to move the the bath, they get a terrible surprise...

"The Uninvited" by Michael Gilbert: Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens are old hands at the Great Game of spying. One of Mr. Calder's foes is planning to pay a surprise visit...the two elderly men may have a surprise or two of their own.

"The Substance of Martyrs" by William Sambrot: A mystery only in the religious sense. A golden crucifix is said to be the source of miracles. Does the power of the crucifix come directly from heaven or does it take a detour through the blood of the fallen?

"Don't Look Behind You" by Frederic Brown: Two men run a counterfeiting business in New York City and it's going well until one of them gets murdered. Then things start to get interesting for the remaining man...

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Erika L. Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of short stories collected by its namesake, Alfred Hitchcock. This was a book that wound up in my library purely by chance when my brother moved away, leaving his entire library. First of all, I don't know what he was thinking but score one for me!! The title alone always made me 'nervous' - too nervous to read it but I finally buckled down and read it.

The stories vary from short stories to novelettes and each live up to the title of the book. They weren't scary, per se, but there was just a bit of drama and buildup that left me on the edge of my seat as I read them. I'm now interested in finding the rest of the books and reading more from such a wide collection of authors.

So once again, do not read this book expecting to be scared. It is meant to raise your anxiety, make you nervous for the characters and what is going on and why!

[Josh Hitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid collection, though very eclectic. Doesn't really have a theme, the stories are all over the place from sci fi to crime even horror. However no real duds so that's a plus.

Recommended if you just like random out of the blue stories, few are fantastic but again none are really terrible.

[Tamsyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a long time ago, and I mostly remember that "Don't look behind you" scared me for weeks. It's a good book if you like that sort of thing.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of "fun" stories: it's Hitchcock, there WILL be a bit of humor to lighten things up.

[Shawn]

PLACEHOLDER REVIEWS

"The Man With Copper Fingers" by Dorothy L. Sayers - In a club story (The Egoists Club - frequented by Lord Peter Wimsey), we are told by a professional athelete turned movie actor, Varden, how he made the acquaintance of a sculptor named Loder, who has some rather odd tastes in the figures he sculpts and how he sculpts them. Eh, mystery/detective stories are not my thing - and this is one twice over, as we are told the proceedings and THEN told how Wimsey came into them. Eh, bah!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice collection of well-written, some surprise ending, suspenseful stories.

[R.J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a lot of short story collections, this was a healthy mix of two-, three-, and four-star stories. I don't think there were any one- or five-stars; they all pretty much ranged from "okay" to "pretty good." Most of the stories were predictable and not all that scary...

The stories that stood out to me [no spoilers]:
-River of Riches: Can't have a story collection published in 1965 without a healthy dose of racism, with some sexism thrown in for good measure. This story actually had an interesting premise, and I would've been really into it if it hadn't made me so uncomfortable.
-View from the Terrace: PLOT TWIST!! This was, I think, the only ending that I definitely did NOT see coming.
-Don't Look Behind You: The only one that FREAKED ME THE HECK OUT. Do not read while home alone! I was very glad that my back was to a wall when I read this! (The middle was "meh" at best and there was a weird switch from third- to first-person that I maybe didn't really get, but the beginning and the end were [100 emoji].)
-Dune Roller: hoooooly moly, this "novelette" felt like it was about 900 pages long. Probably not coincidentally, in my secondhand copy of the book, everything in the Table of Contents has a little pencil checkmark by it except for this story. Interesting premise! Booooring execution.
-The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes: I'm sad. :(
-Lemmings: The only one that I wished was longer! I am so into this premise.
-Sorry, Wrong Number: Excellent but for its length. I wish Lemmings and Sorry had switched page counts.

It's hard to write a single-line summary review of a short-story book, so I'll point out the weird quirk of my "first printing" copy: Lemmings was so short that all of White Goddess also had the "Richard Mathieson - Lemmings" header on all the pages. The true horror, of course, is poor format-editing.

[rabbitprincess · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid collection of stories that perhaps had slightly misleading cover art and blurbs. Not that there is anything wrong with the cover: it's actually pretty great, featuring Hitchcock surrounded by various monsters, vampires and aliens. And Hitchcock's introduction is suitably suspenseful, warning against the perils of these stories for people who jump when a door slams or screech when someone shouts "Boo!" in their ear. (Guilty on both counts.) But the stories in this collection, while being weird and consistently interesting, are not really as scary as the cover would have you believe.

There's a fairly diverse group of authors and subject matter represented in this collection: Dorothy L. Sayers and Carter Dickson (aka John Dickson Carr) each contribute more mysterious sorts of stories, while Ray Bradbury and Julian May have more science fiction covered. The other stories fall toward one end or another of the mystery/sci-fi spectrum and seemed to be organized fairly well -- the long stories weren't all grouped together, and the subjects were different enough to distinguish neighbouring stories from each other. My personal favourites were probably "The Dog Died First", "The Twenty Friends of William Shaw" and "Don't Look Behind You", which frankly made me glad that I was reading with my back to the wall. I also enjoyed the Sayers novelette, "The Man With the Copper Fingers".

Overall I would recommend this collection to fans of quick, unusual short stories -- but you can probably read them at night with no fear.

[Air Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories Not For The Nervous is a set of 24 tales compiled by master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock. Most of them are pretty short which makes for a solid and entertaining read, but most tales aren't that special, having the element of wonder but not the element of actual impact or shock, which means a nervous person can read this with no trouble and that Hitchcock was selling some lies here :(

To the future, Miss Winters and the Wind, The other hangman, Walking alone, Sorry wrong number and Don't Look Behind You stand out as the best of the bunch, with 4 or so pretty worthless ones. The rest manage to be entertaining without being particularly amusing or memorable and the mix itself works well enough but going from that title I was expecting something different.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hitchcock anthologies have held up so well--highly recommend, especially since they're generally dirt cheap as a bonus--this one from 1965 is packed full of winners with Ray Bradbury, Dorothy Sayers, and Richard Matheson as the heavy hitters. View from the Terrace, For All the Rude People, and Call for Help were my three favorites in this--with extra bonus of Sorry, Wrong Number (which at 85 pages is the longest in the book) that the film was based on.

[Mario · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the third Hitchcock short story collection I have read (I don't know exactly how that happened), and this one just didn't impress me as much as the others. Only the last one was even moderately scary, the rest were a little boring, sometimes inscrutable. None of the stories stood out as particularly good; the other books each had at least one memorable one.

[Marina Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not particularly impressive, but an undeniably fun book. Most stories are okay, placeholder characters in quirky and at least mildly interesting plots with an old fashioned 'twist' or surprise at the end. Nostalgic in it's vein of 'spooky stories' to stay up late to, much like the Twilight Zone series. It's comforting in that way, and worth the time spent reading it.

[Bonna Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of storie. My favorites included the story by Ray Bradbury (how could it not) and of course the "Dont look behind you" I don't think anyone could read the beginning or end of that story without feeling a chill.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Jerod Starkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little throwback shorts that fit the Alfred Hitchcock vibe to a T.

[Jss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Releer Prohibido a los nerviosos me dejó una sensación doble: por un lado, entendí con claridad por qué me enganchó en la adolescencia; por el otro, hoy veo más nítido lo desigual que es como recopilación (cosa que no me parece un pecado). Hay cuentos que todavía tienen pulso y otros que se apoyan casi por completo en la ocurrencia, como si el “nervio” dependiera más del mecanismo que de la escritura.

Volví a este libro empujado por una resonancia rara: después de leer Proyecto Hail Mary, recordé un texto sobre supernovas y, de golpe, supe exactamente dónde estaba: en un volumen que estaba en casa de mis padres y que me había gustado entonces. Lo recordaba por esa mezcla de ideas potentes y tensión sostenida. En Hitchcock —más anfitrión que autor, acá— encontré esa chispa, pero en un formato más irregular: más vitrina que obra cohesiva.

El relato que yo recordaba como el más impactante —el del chico que predice terremotos— sigue siendo el que más me incomoda, justamente porque convierte el “don” en carga: no hay épica, hay desgaste, y eso lo vuelve más inquietante que cualquier giro.

Y, en esta relectura, el que más disfruté fue el de Bradbury: la pareja que viaja en el tiempo para escapar de su presente. Me gustó porque no romantiza la fuga; la vuelve un dilema, una huida con costo.

No es un libro que hoy me parezca imprescindible, pero sí uno que funciona como explicación personal: ahí están, en miniatura, varias de las razones por las que empecé a leer buscando esa mezcla de peligro, idea y atmósfera. Y aun así, me queda la duda: ¿lo valoro por lo que hace ahora, o por lo que me devolvió de entonces?

Rereading Prohibited to the Nervous left me with a double feeling: on the one hand, I can clearly see why it hooked me as a teenager; on the other, I can now see more sharply how uneven it is as a collection (which doesn’t feel like a sin to me). Some stories still have real pulse, while others lean almost entirely on the clever idea—as if the “nerve” depended more on the mechanism than on the writing.

I came back to this book because of a strange echo: after reading Project Hail Mary, I remembered a text about supernovas and, all at once, I knew exactly where it lived—in a volume that was sitting at my parents’ house, one I’d loved back then. I remembered it for that mix of big ideas and sustained tension. With Hitchcock—more host than author here—I found that spark again, but in a more irregular format: more display case than cohesive work.

The story I remembered as the most striking—the one about the boy who predicts earthquakes—still makes me the most uneasy, precisely because it turns a “gift” into a burden: there’s no heroism, just wear and tear, and that’s more unsettling than any twist.

And on this reread, the one I enjoyed most was Bradbury’s: the couple who travel through time to escape their present. I liked it because it doesn’t romanticize escape; it turns it into a dilemma, a flight with a price.

It isn’t a book I’d call essential today, but it does work as a personal explanation: there, in miniature, are several of the reasons I started reading in the first place—chasing that mix of danger, idea, and atmosphere. And still, the doubt lingers: do I value it for what it does now, or for what it returned to me from then?

[Andrés Zelada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Con este libro me ha pasado una cosa muy curiosa. Me lo descargué y leí hace años, y un relato (Caminando sola, de Miriam Allen Deford) me impactó muchísimo. Tanto que años después, sin recordar el nombre del relato ni el de la antología, quise releerlo. Y claro, eso es un problema, porque anda que no recopiló antologías Hitchcock.

Al final la encontré y aquí vino mi segundo problema. Otros cuentos que yo recordaba de esta antología no estaban, y los que sí estaban no recordaba haberlos leído en mi vida. Ahora que la he terminado, y que están todos los cuentos que recordaba (pero en distinto orden), puedo suponer que olvidé los restantes.

Y después de esta anécdota, ¿qué digo del libro? Pues que estamos ante una veintena de relatos policíacos, de cifi y de fantasía con el denominador común de dar mal rollito. Y que los mejores son muy buenos mientras que los peores son simplemente corrientes, por lo que el nivel general es altísimo.

Mi top:
- Caminando sola: Un hombre que vive una vida absolutamente corriente y triste decide hacer novillos en el trabajo y presencia lo que parece ser un crimen. Pero claro, si lo denuncia todo el mundo sabrá que ese día se escaqueó.
- Voces de muerte: Una joven inválida escucha, en un cruce de líneas, a dos hombres preparar un asesinato. Ella está muy nerviosa porque está sola en casa, su esposo ya debería haber llegado a casa y no lo ha hecho. Casi una novela corta en la cual la joven, a través de sucesivas llamadas de teléfono, va descubriendo una angustiosa trama que la rodea.
- El muchacho que predecía los terremotos: Herbert sale por televisión dos veces a la semana, habla de cosas de adolescentes y hace unas pocas predicciones. Siempre se cumplen.
- Lemmings: Casi un microrrelato. La humanidad en pleno decide tirarse al mar.
- No mires hacia atrás. El último relato del libro. ¿O no lo es?

[Richard Tolleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1965, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour aired its final episode, and Hitch was in production with Torn Curtain, so I doubt if he had very much at all to do with this volume of stories. Nevertheless, most of these stories would be perfect for adaptation on his program. There are a few stories that will land with a thud with the modern reader, and all of them are now considered period pieces (although pretty much every one of them is set in the then-present), but that doesn't take away from the enjoyment of these (in Hitchcock's words) "tomes of terror, sagas of suspense, (and) groupings of grue". The stories are of varying length, including one, "Sorry, Wrong Number" by Lucille Fletcher and Allan Ullman, that was originally published as a slim novel. About that one: before you say, "I've heard that radio play and seen the movie", let me just say there's A LOT they left out of both. My other favorite story was a Ray Bradbury story, "To The Future", that I had never read before. It's about a pair of time-travelling grifters, and it's very exciting.
A final note: I'm a high school English teacher. The stories in this book are the kind that were usually included in our high school English texts in a suspense unit. Let me say that there's nothing in the textbooks we use that's as interesting as these tales.
In short, if you are able to get your hands on this book (and there are lots of used copies reasonably priced on Ebay), you won't be sorry--unless you're the nervous sort.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contiene un total de 24 historias, en su mayoría bastante disfrutables, seleccionadas por el señor Hitchcock. Mis preferidas son:
▪ «Panorama desde la terraza» de Mike Marmer.
▪ «El otro verdugo» de Carter Dickson.
▪ «Llamada de auxilio» de Robert Arthur.
▪ «Voces de muerte» de Lucille Fletcher & Allan Ullman.
▪ «No mires hacia atrás» de Frederic Brown.

Considero que como en toda recopilación, sin duda habrá algunas que el lector (incluyéndome) no encuentre de su agrado, pero en general es entretenido y ofrece variedad de estilos.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were a number of good psychological, twisty stories here. Several of them had twists I could see coming, but when you realize how old the stories are, these stories from old mystery magazines were probably the originals that started the tropes. Then there were other ones that that twisted, then twisted again that I didn't see coming at all. I had to go back and re-read the ending three times to make sure I caught it. And heck, there were a couple of stories when even when I could guess the twist, they still did such a good job of building the suspense, I was tense.

[Winston Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ciertamente resulta una obra con una temática algo anticuada, pero es indudable el manejo de las descripciones de tramas complejas, situaciones extrañas y perturbadoras que envuelven al lector en las más extravagantes e impredecibles historias, tosavía en pleno siglo XXI tienen el poder de cautivar la imaginación del lector y sumergirlo entre los inesperados desenlaces que sólo una mente oscura como la de Alfred Hitchkock puede puede plasmar en la literatura.

Si queremos de verdad divertirnos en unas historias realmente apasionantes y sacadas de la dimensión desconocida de otro universo, Prohibido A Los Nerviosos nos brinda esa atmósfera cargada de misterio y finales insospechados detrás de un flash de cámara.

Pasar un fin de semana leyendo éstas historias es algo refrescante para la mente del lector que ya está acostumbrado al suspenso y una aventura emocionante a quienquiera perderse entre las retorcidas narraciones de el genial Alfred Hitchkock.

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

There wasn't a single short story in this collection that I didn't enjoy. And out of all of the short stories, I would say that only one didn't hold up from a technological perspective. I would have changed the publication order of stories to ensure that Don't Look Behind You was the last story in the collection for maximum impact, but even placing it in the middle of the collection didn't limit my enjoyment. There's not a droll short story in the bunch!

[Eba Munoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selección de 22 relatos a cargo de Hitchcock, con autores como Bradbury, Matheson y Banner, con ese estilo y saber hacer exquisitos de la literatura clásica. Relatos de tensión, suspense, fantasía, ciencia ficción...
Una antología exquisita de la que solo me ha sobrado un relato (largo y aburrido en su forma y contenido).
Historias para recrearse en ellas y dejarse llevar. Una maravilla

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this first edition in a book store for a buck! What a steal! A collection of mystery short stories curated by the Master of Suspense. Fun, quick reads, I read a story every night. Don't expect horror, but all definitely "nerve-wracking" mystery, keeping me on the edge of my seat. I'll definitely seek out more of Hitchcock's collections - apparently this is a whole series.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is awesomely kitschy- some of these stories are just terrible, while others are really entertaining. Most of all it was a reminder to me of how fun it is to read short stories out of their era, these kinds of compilations are great to kill a little time or read before bed. Hitchcock's introduction to the book is a highlight in itself.

[Víctor Rosell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5⭐️

"Prohibido a los nerviosos" de Alfred Hitchcock es una antología fascinante de cuentos de misterio y suspense seleccionados por el maestro del suspense. Este volumen reúne relatos de diversos autores que exploran temas oscuros y perturbadores, garantizando mantener a los lectores al borde de sus asientos. Cada historia está cuidadosamente elegida por Hitchcock, asegurando una mezcla de tensión, giros inesperados y finales impactantes.
Me ha gustado la variedad y la calidad de los relatos, que logran capturar el espíritu del suspense y la intriga que Hitchcock valoraba tanto en su propio trabajo. Sin embargo, apreciaría un poco más de ritmo en algunas ocasiones, ya que algunas historias pueden sentirse un poco lentas en su desarrollo. A pesar de esto, la colección en su conjunto es una buena lectura para los amantes del misterio y fanáticos del histórico director, ofreciendo una experiencia rica y emocionante.