Horror Aficionados discussion

These things can be so hit and miss, that I often come away from them with mixed feelings. I'm currently reading one of Datlow's efforts, and I'm starting to think she front-loaded the stories, with best appearing in the first half. I was wondering if any of you had any favorite series and/or individual volumes or stand alone efforts? For example, David Hartwell's Dark Descent is about the best stand alone horror anthology I've ever read. On the other hand, Stephen Jones' yearly effort can be spotty (are there any particular volumes that stand out better than others?). And then there's the Charles Grant and Wagner efforts from years past. Horror works really well in the short form, but finding those cover to cover great anthologies can be tough.

Spotty quality is the reason I usually don't read anthologies.

I've only been (slightly) disappointed with one of Ellen Datlow's anthologies. I've always considered her to be one of the most reliable editors. Try The Dark: New Ghost Stories, Twists of the Tale: An Anthology of Cat Horror or Little Deaths.

Borderlands 1-4, edited by Thomas Monteleone and published by White Wolf, are excellent. They really push the boundaries of the genre.

Other favorites:

Midnight Graffiti
Darkside: Horror for the Next Millenium
The Earth Strikes Back

Thanks, Scott. Those look good. I may have one of the Borderlands efforts downstairs. Actually, the Datlow effort ("Inferno") is really good. I just hit a patch of so-so stories, but it looks like it's back on track. I have a long commute to work, and I could see where these anthologies would make for good on-the-road reading.

glad to hear Inferno is really good. A friend of mine at work gave me it when he realized he had two copies.

My library has that; I was thinking of checking it out at some point.

One anthology that I read recently that I thought was pretty good was Poe's Children: The New Horror: An Anthology put together by Peter Straub.

I usually don't read anthologies cover to cover, so I haven't, by a long shot, read everything in the following. But there is some good stuff to be found in each:

Black Water: The Book of Fantastic Literature

Black Water 2: More Tales of the Fantastic

American Fantastic Tales:Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps

American Fantastic Tales:Terror and the Uncanny from the 1940's Until Now

I bought Poe's Children not too long ago but haven't read it yet (although I may have read a few of the stories elsewhere.)

I couldn't get into Poe's Children. I read a few, skimmed a few. The only feature the stories had in common was the fact that they each kind of pissed me off, for reasons I can't quite pinpoint. Apparently Rusty ain't a literary horror kind of guy.

I pretty much ONLY read horror antholgies at this point (unless I'm reading a classic or something highly recommended) - I think the short form is the best delivery vehicle for horror (or at least what I like in horror) and so I've read many, many anthologies (over 4,000 short stories at last count). The truth is, there's almost no way there can be a perfect antholoy, unless its a "best of the best" type affair like The Dark Descent, simply because people's particular tastes vary so much - I usually go into any new anthology feeling that if I enjoy half of it, it's done a good job.

The David Hartwell followup to DARK DESCENT, which was the book that focused on best of the long-form/novella horror pieces, was very good. I know they split it into 3 books for the paperback, but damned if I can remember the name off the top of my head.

Someday, when I have access to all my books, I'll be able to assemble a horror anthologies shelf in my Goodreads, but that day is not now....

I didn't know that Hartwell had a follow-up. I'll have to check into that.

It was Foundations of Fear (they broke it up into 3 paperbacks: Visions of Fear, Worlds of Fear: Foundations of Fear, Volume II & Shadows of Fear)

I may have one of these downstairs.

I just picked up Inferno from B&N Bargain Bin online for only about $4 for the hardcover if anyone is interested.

Can anyone tell me which Mammoth Book of Best New Horror are the best ones? I would like to read through one (after reading Shawn's review of #19), but don't know where to begin for a good one.

Well, you've got 2 options. They've just done, believe it or not, The Mammoth Book of the Best of Best New Horror, which is a concentration of the best from the series.

Contrarywise, you could go with the ones that got the best ratings on Goodreads, which would be Best New Horror 2 from 1991 (4.5 rating), Mammoth Book of the Best New Horror: 1998 (which is volume 9, I believe) and, the winner, The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 12 from 2001 with a 5. Of course, the rating system isn't very reliable without a lot of ratings...

Shawn wrote: "Well, you've got 2 options. They've just done, believe it or not, The Mammoth Book of the Best of Best New Horror, which is a concentration of the best from the series.

Contraryw..."

That's excellent, thank you. I'm going to get that Best of the Best of anthology, and I think I'll still pick up #19 and #20 just because they're cheap enough. Again, that's very helpful, thank you.

The New Dead is an EXCELLENT anthology of zombie stories! =)

I recall liking PRIME EVIL and CUTTING EDGE quite a bit, but we're going back a few years... Fortunately I was able to acquire them again recently so I can see how the tales hold up.

I just mentioned Prime Evil in the Clive Barker thread. His story Coming to Grief is quite good.

I own and love both of those. The hardback for Cutting Edge is better than the paperback I think. Nothing like a flower with an eye to get your attention.

I love anthologies, I agree some of them can have spotty quality, but they can be a sampler of authors I might want to try later or maybe some new ideas I haven't heard of before. My favorite anthologies have been the ones compiled by Marvin Kaye. Many of the stories he picks are straight from the weird fiction pulps or the gothic-horror era, so sometimes the writing can be a bit dry, but it's a great way for me to read different authors. Many older short stories are better to me than modern ones anyway. I still am only about halfway through his anthologies, he's been pretty prolific in putting them out. But you can tell how widely read he is and that quality is important. A few of my favorites so far:




I also have been loving the Weird Tales anthologies. My favorite of those so far:


But I have a lot to go. Anyone who enjoys pulp era horror or doesn't mind a bit of dryness or longwinded prose might like these.

I am a little hit and miss on anthologies as well, but there are some I could recommend:

Tressa wrote: "Spotty quality is the reason I usually don't read anthologies."

But a regular novel can have spotty areas as well.

I've enjoyed two of Marvin Kaye's collections, Martha. I collect them when I find them at the used bookstore.

This was a great collection that I idiotically traded in.

The Dark was pretty consistent in quality as well.

I thought October Dreams was monotonous but I loved The Dark.

I loved the Lucius Shepard story in The Dark. The Tanith Lee story was good too.

I think my favorite was the one about the stones in the desert.

I liked An Amicable Divorce and Brownie & Me by Charles Grant.

I also think this was the one anthology in which I liked a Joyce Carol Oates story, although I can't remember what it was about now.

I recently read Hellbound hearts, stories based on the Hellraiser mythos. It was truly a great anthology. The same cannot be said for The new dead, which is quite uneven.

Frederic wrote: "I recently read Hellbound hearts, stories based on the Hellraiser mythos. It was truly a great anthology. The same cannot be said for The new dead, which is quite uneven."

I agree with you about Hellbound Hearts. However, I thought The New Dead was excellent. But I'm a sucker for a zombie anthology.

I'd recommend the first four Borderlands collections. I love the old Alfred Hitchcock anthologies since they introduced me to so many writers. A guilty pleasure when they were regularly coming out was the Hot Blood series. An old favorite is It Came From the Drive-In, edited by Norman Partridge and Martin Greenberg.

Speaking of Norm Partridge, his collection The Man with the Barbed Wire Fists is wonderful!

Joel Arnold

Joel wrote: "Speaking of Norm Partridge, his collection The Man with the Barbed Wire Fists is wonderful!

Joel Arnold"

I agree, that is a terrific collection. He's got a new one out I'd like to get. I always enjoy reading his stories.

I actually collect anthologies. One of the better horror anthologies I've read recently was the Stephen Jones & David A. Sutton Dark Terrors (first of a six-part series). Currently I'm reading The Black Book of Horror edited by Charles Black, also the first of a six-part series. So very very good; only one weak entry among the first nine, & a gorgeous cover.

Thanks for the heads up on the Black Book of Horror series, Zybahn! Try to keep a eye out for anthologies but this one slipped under my radar.

In The Dark anthology, what's the name of the Lucius Shepard story? I have a couple volumes of his collected stories but haven't yet dug too far into them.

Mark, the Lucius Shepard story is called, "Limbo." That was an awesome story. I hope it's in the collection I have by him called Eternity and Other Stories.

Thanks Lady Danielle! That story isn't in either of my collections. Book buyin time!

I found a listing on Internet Speculative Fiction Database for your collection and the story Limbo.

Limbo:
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cg...

Eternity:
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?T...

Ok... I've finished The Black Book of Horror and have posted a brief review on Goodreads & a full-length review at Casual Debris.

I highly recommend it. Many authors were new to me & I appreciate being exposed to all this fine talent. Though it does mean I need to add to my shelf (or more appropriately to the piles that have been appearing on the floor).

Thanks, Mark. I'll have to look for Dagger Key and Other Stories, since it's in that collection.

Dang! Dagger Key is like $150 used on Amazon.com.

One book I used to have was Dark Fantasies ed.by Chris Morgan

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "Dang! Dagger Key is like $150 used on Amazon.com."

Looks like his last 4 or 5 collections have been small-press-only, so far. His first "Jaguar Hunter" and his second "The Ends of the Earth" were originally published by Arkham House in limited editions but eventually reissued in trade paperback. Those two are really cheap on the used market. Maybe his latest collections will eventually get the reissue treatment.

One of my all-time favorites is "Dark Forces" edited by Kirby McCauley, from the early '80s.

The Black Pearl wrote: "The New Dead is an EXCELLENT anthology of zombie stories! =)"

I heartily agree! I loved the different takes on the zom-pocalypse! The opening tale of Lazurus really tickled me as well!

IDGS
Grey Dogs: Zombie Survival

Bob wrote: "One of my all-time favorites is "Dark Forces" edited by Kirby McCauley, from the early '80s."
Is that the one with a Stephen King story? I had it ages ago then someon borrowed it.

Bob wrote: "One of my all-time favorites is "Dark Forces" edited by Kirby McCauley, from the early '80s."
Is that the one with a Stephen King story? I had it ages ago then someon borrowed it.