Status Updates From Alfred Hitchcock Presents: ...

Too Many Coincidences by Paul Eiden
I liked this one, although it was predictable. If reminded me of a Nora Roberts book, i think it was The Obsession or Blue Smoke or something that I really liked. This is definitely a common plot nowadays. I wonder if it was an original when Eiden wrote it. Not too bad of a one to end on.

Four O'Clock by Price Day
I think this is the most original and off the wall story in the whole book. It would be cool to write my own version of this story. It was well-paced and even though we knew the outcome given the reach and the parrot it was still good. A solid idea.

I thought the Duel would end up more like The Shining. And it did a bit. I thought the setting of a large, isolated place would cause one of them to go insane and harm the other, but this one had a bit of a twist.

The Duel by Joan Vatsek
I've preferred the stories written by women in this collection. I liked this one. The description of the landscape and bedroom was great. So easy to follow as I read and pictured. I like the scary stories that end up showing us that people can be the real monsters. I can't believe Janine was dumb and believed Roderick loved her, what a dingus. If I were Laurence I would've been terrified.

Terrified by C.B. Gilford
The title caught me and made me excited to read this one. With a name like that I thought it would be a little more bloodied. It was a car crash and two kids trying to play God. I loved the scary practical Ness and indifference of the kids. I thought this was a good one, probably my fourth favorite, I think. The writing felt real, simple.

New Murders for Old by Carter Dickson
This one was ehh. Whenever there is a narrator telling the story with breaks in between the telling because he's talking to another person as well, I always imagine there being a split screen. The story being told on half with a blurred line and the narrator and his companion sitting round a fire and talking. It makes it a bit comical. It needed more atmosphere, more draw detail

I liked this one. It's in my top three with The Birds and Spring Fever. It easily catches attention with the line, "how'd you like it if someone stuck a knife into you?". The little girl was a nice creepy touch. I didn't understand if the girl was extremely interested in the man and a bit protective or if she had just figured it out. The ending line about not wanting to be around two tigers was good. Sequel!

The Crate at Outpost 1 by Matthew Gant
This was kind of a fun suspense story. It seemed all serious because of them being soldiers and being given orders to watch the crate. But in the end it sounded like a scary story a librarian would tell because the crate that needed to be protected and that the Enemy could never have was filled with books. Books are very important and the knowledge within them, so yeah.

Spring Fever by Dorothy Salisbury Davis
This story took a while to get going, but as soon as there was action it drew you in. Davis did a great job at drawing the reader in and making them feel the paranoia and suspense. My heart quickened with this story. It did remind me of The Birds, but that could've just been from being trapped by natural causes. I feel like I missed something important with the pills/stimulant?

Sentence of Death by Thomas Walsh
I hate the way that Walsh writes. He uses run on sentences, and semi colons, and dashes so unnecessarily that it made me irritated and unable to focus on what he was actually writing. The story wasn't bad, a cliche, but who knows if it was more original a few years back. A whodunnit where the wife lies to cover up and affair. For some reason Walsh added a possible romance at the end.

I don't know if the sign of a good short story is finishing it and wishing there was more to it. Or finishing it and being like, "oh, okay, that's it", not necessarily satisfied, but aware that it was pretty nicely wrapped up.
The Inexperienced Ghost by H.G. Wells was one that I thought could've easily been shorter. I thought there were a few really nice descriptors and the ending was well done, albeit predictable.

The Enemy by Charlotte Armstrong

I hope this one will be my least favorite. It's a simple who-dunnit, but instead of a person being slain it was a dog. The way the boys had a mob mentality reminded me of Lord of the Flies. But I thought that Russell's interest was quite overdone, but I guess the author showed he was perhaps an overly emotional person by his monologue on 93-94. It was ehh.

*They Bite by Anthony Boucher
I like how quick all these stories are. Sometimes I get a bit bummed by the lack or depth or character building, but Hitchcock even alludes to this in the Preface through Henry James who said "when fiction is too carefully interpreted, explained and annotated, it is like having a dinner guest brought to the house by a policemen". This was a simple tale of folklore and greed.

"...incredible only to the unimaginative and horrifyingly real to the shrewd and daring"
*The Birds by Daphne Du Maurier
I didn't think I'd be able to get into this short story, already knowing what it was about. However, Maurier's imagery and the quote above that was placed at the beginning of the book kept me at attention. Drawing me in.
*Man with a Problem by Donald Honig
Loved the simple plot and twist ending.