SheriC’s Reviews > 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories > Status Update

“The Marble Hands” 1915 Capes - maybe where De Palma got the idea for the ending to Carrie

“Making Friends” 1987 Raisor. Ah the adulterated Halloween candy trope.

EDIT: apparently there are still parish clerks, go figure. But the modern role is somewhat different than in 1912, when the expectation was that they lit stoves and candles, dressed the rector, and readied the church for services.

"The Kirk Spook" 1912 (Swain) Not sure of the point of this one, but amused by opening (in jest?) assertion that soon no one will have met a parish clerk, as the profession is nearly extinct. And indeed it is, so extinct that if the story hadn't gone on to describe the duties, I'd have no idea what it was.

"The Jam" 1986 (Slesar) When road ragers get to where they're going. Flash fiction, but fun.

"Examination Day" Slesar, 1984. Predictable in the way you already know the twist long before it happens, but still fun.

"Duck Hunt" was pretty goofy, but I did not see that twist coming. At all. I mean, it started out as one kind of story, and ended as a very different kind of story.

"The Dust" Not entirely sure what was going on with the MC, but I can 100% empathize with a terror of the house dust that gathers in the corners. Hopefully mine never becomes sentient.

"Dragon Sunday" might be the best one yet in this collection, despite the 2nd person POV. It works for this particular story, and the story itself is a delightful surprise of playful misdirection. And nostalgia - I had actually forgotten the boot up time needed for 1970's TV sets, and the description brought it back vividly.

Down by the Sea near the great big rock. Joe R Lansdale. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Great twist at the end, but didn’t get much sense of character