Tonight’s Read: “The Haunting of Shawley Rectory” by Ruth Rendell (Tales from the Dead of Night: 13 Classic Ghost stories, ed. Cecily Gaylord, 2018 (TOC & Link)

Get the book here!

 

“The Ghost in the Mill”—An Oldtown Fireside Story by Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1872

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“Come, Sam, tell us a story,” said I, as Harry and I crept to his knees, in the glow of the bright evening firelight; while Aunt Lois was busily rattling the tea-things, and grandmamma, at the other end of the fireplace, was quietly setting the heel of a blue-mixed yarn stocking.

In those days we had no magazines and daily papers, each reeling off a serial story. Once a week, “The Columbian Sentinel” came from Boston with its slender stock of news and editorial; but all the multiform devices—pictorial, narrative, and poetical—which keep the mind of the present generation ablaze with excitement, had not then even an existence. There was no theatre, no opera; there were in Oldtown no parties or balls, except, perhaps, the annual election, or Thanksgiving festival; and when winter came, and the sun went down at half-past four o’clock, and left the long, dark hours of evening to be provided for, the necessity of amusement became urgent. Hence, in those days, chimney-corner story-telling became an art and an accomplishment. Society then was full of traditions and narratives which had all the uncertain glow and shifting mystery of the firelit hearth upon them. They were told to sympathetic audiences, by the rising and falling light of the solemn embers, with the hearth-crickets filling up every pause. Then the aged told their stories to the young,—tales of early life; tales of war and adventure, of forest-days, of Indian captivities and escapes, of bears and wild-cats and panthers, of rattlesnakes, of witches and wizards, and strange and wonderful dreams and appearances and providences.

In those days of early Massachusetts, faith and credence were in the very air. Two-thirds of New England was then dark, unbroken forests, through whose tangled paths the mysterious winter wind groaned and shrieked and howled with weird noises and unaccountable clamors. Along the iron-bound shore, the stormful Atlantic raved and thundered, and dashed its moaning waters, as if to deaden and deafen any voice that might tell of the settled life of the old civilized world, and shut us forever into the wilderness. A good story-teller, in those days, was always sure of a warm seat at the hearthstone, and the delighted homage of children; and in all Oldtown there was no better story-teller than Sam Lawson.

“Do, do, tell us a story,” said Harry, pressing upon him, and opening very wide blue eyes, in which undoubting faith shone as in a mirror; “and let it be something strange, and different from common.”

“Wal, I know lots o’ strange things,” said Sam, looking mysteriously into the fire.

“Why, I know things, that ef I should tell,—why, people might say they wa’n’t so; but then they is so for all that.”

“Oh, do, do, tell us!”

“Why, I should scare ye to death, mebbe,” said Sam doubtingly.

“Oh, pooh! no, you wouldn’t,” we both burst out at once.

But Sam was possessed by a reticent spirit, and loved dearly to be wooed and importuned; and do he only took up the great kitchen-tongs, and smote on the hickory forestick, when it flew apart in the middle, and scattered a shower of clear bright coals all over the hearth.
“Mercy on us, Sam Lawson!” said Aunt Lois in an indignant voice, spinning round from her dishwashing.

“Don’t you worry a grain, Miss Lois,” said Sam composedly. “I see that are stick was e’en a’most in two, and I thought I’d jest settle it. I’ll sweep up the coals now,” he added, vigorously applying a turkey-wing to the purpose, as he knelt on the hearth, his spare, lean figure glowing in the blaze of the firelight, and getting quite flushed with exertion.

“There, now!” he said, when he had brushed over and under and between the fire-irons, and pursued the retreating ashes so far into the red, fiery citadel, that his finger-ends were burning and tingling, “that are’s done now as well as Hepsy herself could ‘a’ done it. I allers sweeps up the haarth: I think it’s part o’ the man’s bisness when he makes the fire. But Hepsy’s so used to seein’ me a-doin’ on’t, that she don’t see no kind o’ merit in’t. It’s just as Parson Lothrop said in his sermon,—folks allers overlook their common marcies”—

“But come, Sam, that story,” said Harry and I coaxingly, pressing upon him, and pulling him down into his seat in the corner.

My Current Read: Small Ghosts, a Horrifying Novella of a Serial Killer & the Ghosts of His Victims by Paul Lewis, 2017, Info+Links

Cover art by Daniele Serra.

When his grandfather, a former policeman, is hospitalized after suffering a stroke, recently-widowed journalist Tom Maitland returns to his home town to support his mother, despite their strained relationship. Tom ends up staying at his grandfather’s (a former police officer) now-empty cottage, where he becomes intrigued by a disturbing murder case the old man had once investigated and failed to solve. The more Tom looks into the case, the more unsettling it all becomes, as events start to take a decidedly supernatural turn…

Blurbs by Two Authors I Highly Recommend!

“Small Ghosts is a compelling novella that tackles one of society’s greatest fears in a refreshing and original way. Lewis gives us a story that spans more than the bounds such a short form should allow, with characters that convince and intrigue and a plot that refuses to take you where you might expect. Engaging, entertaining, and expertly told.”

– Ray Cluley, author (Ray Cluley’s Website)…Some Books by Ray Clulely:

“Small Ghosts is a dark surprise. A story of misgiven detection and dreadful revelations, elegantly crafted against a background of supernatural dread.”

– Paul Meloy, author (Check Paul out on Wiki)…Some books by Paul Meloy:

A Short Review from the Graveyard…

Ex-journalist Tom Maitland is still trying to get his life in order after the unexpected loss of his beloved wife, when he learns that his grandfather is in hospital near death from a stroke. He has no love for the man, but agrees to meet his mother (the sick man’s daughter) at a café. She persuades him to check that his grandfather’s bungalow is secure. Once there he catches a glimpse of a boy who simply vanishes. But this is just the start of a bigger mystery. News clippings are discovered dating back to when his grandfather led the police investigation into the deaths of two young boys and a third who was still missing. Curiosity piqued, Tom’s journalistic instincts take over to the point it begins to take over his life…

This is an 108-page novelette written by Paul Lewis (comedy sketch writer and author of The Savage Knight) and published on good quality paper by Telos. The prose makes for comfortable reading, and the story avoids convoluted plot strands. Thankfully, it keeps to the point and concentrates on characterisation; namely, the protagonist and his mother. I would say that the witnesses and the all the answers he seeks fall comfortably into Maitland’s hands, without the requirement to venture very much out of the local area of his grandfather’s bungalow. Additionally, certain elements of the tale are somewhat predictable. However, I did get drawn in by the human element, and was only half right when predicting the ending.

It’s an enjoyable but regrettably short book, which may well cause people to balk at the £9.99 RRP. A nice saving grace is that my copy is one of a limited number of signed copies by the author.

(http://www.reviewgraveyard.com/00_revs/r2017/book/17-04-02_small-ghosts.html)

Get the novella, in collectible paperback format, from the publisher, here…

https://telos.co.uk/shop/horror-dark-fantasy-and-science-fiction/small-ghosts/

Get the ebook from Amazon, here…

“Monty” James & The Ghost Story—There’s Nothing More Frightening Than Reading “the Master”…

I watched a BBC documentary today on YouTube (link below), narrated by the brilliant Mark Gatiss (Sherlock), about 19th-century ghost story writer Montague Rhodes James, aka. M. R. James—or, if you knew him well: just plain ol’ “Monty” James. I’m not sure whether “knowing him well” would have been a plus or a minus after having watched the documentary, entitled M. R. James: Ghost Writer, which focused on James’ keen ability to write terrifying ghost stories.

It was uncanny. What the heck went on in that antiquarian head of his? Do we even want to know? I mean—the man could scare the trousers off a college boy.

(A little inside joke— no offense, Monty.) 😏

Robert Lloyd Parry as M. R. James in the 2013 BBC documentary “M. R. James: Ghost Writer” (YouTube below).

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James is known the world over as the undisputed master of the “English” ghost story—although, why we need to qualify these stories as “English” is beyond me…slow your roll, Liz—your fanny may be on the throne, but that doesn’t mean you have the power to run the rest of us! 👑🤚

We are all collectively “human” in the end, aren’t we?

Monty James was, and still is, the master of the “human” ghost story.

If you haven’t read the ghost stories of M. R. James, you should.

You can own the complete stories in a book that fits in the palm of your hand (see my photo below)—or a larger, illustrated edition; or a collectible first edition—whatever suits your ghostly fancy.

Just be warned. These stories aren’t for the night time—well, I mean they are—but they aren’t—it’s all about the resolve of your nerve. (I was going to say “it’s all about the size of your balls”…but Liz is listening.🍒)

The story that caught my attention—“Lost Hearts”—is one I’ve not yet had the pleasure of reading. In the documentary today, Monty—brilliantly acted by Robert Lloyd Parry, a man who not only resembles M. R. James, but has a little snarl to his smile that sorta makes you wonder—is reading “Lost Hearts” to a group of 19th-century Oxford boys, at night, with nothing but the golden glow of a candle…quivering.

He reaches the point in the tale where the spectre of a young boy appears to Stephen Elliott—anoher young boy, this one very much alive—and Stephen notices the spectre’s clawlike fingernails—which have left scratch marks on the bedroom door, and tears in Stephen’s nightshirts—over the chest area…

Haunted Castles—A Neo-pagan Gothic Horrorfest by Ray Russell

“Beneath the haunted castle lies the dungeon keep: the womb from whose darkness the ego first emerged, the tomb to which it knows it must return at last. Beneath the crumbling shell of paternal authority, lies the maternal blackness, imagined by the Gothic writer as a prison, a torture chamber—from which the cries of the kidnapped anima cannot even be heard. The upper and the lower levels of the ruined castle or abbey represent the contradictory fears at the heart of Gothic terror: the dread of the super-ego, whose splendid battlements have been battered but not quite cast down—and of the id, whose buried darkness abounds in dark visions no stormer of the castle had ever touched.”

—Leslie A. Fielder, Love and Death in the American Novel

About the Penguin Horror Series

Penguin Horror is a collection of novels, stories, and poems (in the Poe volume) by masters of the genre, collected and Introduced by filmmaker and lifelong horror reader Guillermo del Toro.

More here…

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/BM8/penguin-horror

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Guillermo Del Toro on Russell’s Haunted Castles from his Introduction to the Penguin Horror series…

(Followed by More of Del Toro’s Introduction to the overall series…)

‘The case of Ray Russell offers us a chance to talk about one of the most peculiar horror writers. Russell links postpulp literature and the Grand Guignol tradition, with the modern sensibilities of America in the 1960s. Within him resides a neo-paganistic streak that is passed from Algernon Blackwood and Sax Rohmer to him and other writers of unusual proclivities, such as Bernard (aka. Bernhardt) J. Hurwood. A fascinating combination of the liberal and the heretic.

Russell was born in the early twentieth century and saw action during World War II. He held a variety of jobs and published in a variety of publications. He was part of the resurgence of fantastic literature in American letters. As executive fiction editor of Playboy in the magazine’s infancy (1954–1960), Russell probably knew his share of excess and power, but he utilized this power to provide refuge to a host of valuable genre writers, among them the brilliant Richard Matheson and the precious Charles Beaumont, but also heralded the birth of adult fantastic fiction by publishing also Vonnegut, Bradbury, Fredric Brown, and many others.

‘Russell authored numerous short stories and seven novels—including his most famous one, The Case Against Satan, which pioneers and outlines the plights of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist. But, in spite of this and his continued collaborations with Playboy throughout the 1970s, Russell remains a forgotten writer. A sort of writer’s writer, an acquired taste. This in spite of being a recipient of both a World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.

In fact, in the last few decades, so little has been published about Russell that the only quote, oft repeated, is Stephen King’s blurb, in which he enthrones Sardonicus as “perhaps the finest example of the modern gothic ever written.”

Remember ‘The Mammoth Books of Best New Horror, ed. by Stephen Jones’?—Here are the Tables of Contents & Covers from ALL 29 BOOKS!

If you’re like me, you love a good horror series. Hell, series are cool, period, right? I remember my 1970s collection of The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor! I treasured those 19 or 20 comics. Add the amazing artwork and illustrations that a series often comes with, and they’re great! Throw in a great editor and the really good writers, telling their most frightening stories—and series are fantastic!!

I have been collecting Stephen Jones’ The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror since around 2003 and I finally have them all in either hard copy or digital editions. But having more isn’t always easier! I’m always going: Where did I place that one book with the killer vampire story in it? Or which book was that crazy story about the “sticks” in? you know by Wagner?

Well, now-a-days it’s very easy to look things up and put a quick name to a book to a page number … and find just what you’re looking for. But back in the day? It was a treasure hunt!

But look no further—because here is the ultimate Master List (thank you ISFDB & StephenJoneseditor.com) of Tables of Contents from all 28 anthologies!—and the covers!*—almost three decades of great short horror fiction! “That’s gotta be like forty-eight hundred teeth!”

Indeed.

(*If an edition had more than one cover, I’ve included both below.)

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The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 1, 1990

 

Table of Contents

xiii • Introduction: Horror in 1989 • [Horror in … Introductions] • (1990) • essay by Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell
1 • Pin • (1989) • short story by Robert R. McCammon
8 • The House on Cemetery Street • (1988) • novelette by Cherry Wilder
33 • The Horn • (1989) • novelette by Stephen Gallagher
57 • Breaking Up • (1989) • short story by Alex Quiroba
66 • It Helps If You Sing • (1989) • short story by Ramsey Campbell
75 • Closed Circuit • (1989) • novelette by Laurence Staig
93 • Carnal House • (1989) • short story by Steve Rasnic Tem
104 • Twitch Technicolor • (1989) • short story by Kim Newman
115 • Lizaveta • (1988) • novelette by Gregory Frost
144 • Snow Cancellations • (1989) • short story by Donald R. Burleson
154 • Archway • (1989) • novelette by Nicholas Royle
176 • The Strange Design of Master Rignolo • (1989) • short story by Thomas Ligotti
189 • …To Feel Another’s Woe • (1989) • short story by Chet Williamson
205 • The Last Day of Miss Dorinda Molyneaux • (1989) • novelette by Robert Westall
236 • No Sharks in the Med • (1989) • novelette by Brian Lumley
275 • Mort au Monde • (1989) • short story by D. F. Lewis
279 • Blanca • (1989) • novelette by Thomas Tessier
303 • The Eye of the Ayatollah • (1990) • short story by Ian Watson
312 • At First Just Ghostly • [Kane] • (1989) • novella by Karl Edward Wagner
370 • Bad News • (1989) • short story by Richard Laymon
383 • Necrology: 1989 (Best New Horror) • [Necrology (Jones & Newman)] • (1990) • essay by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman

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The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 2, 1991

 

Table of Contents

xvii • Introduction: Horror in 1990 • [Horror in … Introductions] • essay by Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell
1 • The First Time • (1990) • short story by K. W. Jeter
14 • A Short Guide to the City • (1990) • short story by Peter Straub
25 • Stephen • (1990) • novelette by Elizabeth Massie
47 • The Dead Love You • (1989) • short story by Jonathan Carroll
60 • Jane Doe #112 • (1990) • short story by Harlan Ellison
70 • Shock Radio • (1990) • short story by Ray Garton
89 • The Man Who Drew Cats • (1990) • short story by Michael Marshall Smith
105 • The Co-Op • (1990) • short story by Melanie Tem
115 • Negatives • (1990) • short story by Nicholas Royle
126 • The Last Feast of Harlequin • [Cthulhu Mythos] • (1990) • novelette by Thomas Ligotti
159 • 1/72nd Scale • (1990) • novelette by Ian R. MacLeod
185 • Cedar Lane • (1990) • short story by Karl Edward Wagner
194 • At a Window Facing West • (1990) • short story by Kim Antieau
205 • Inside the Walled City • (1990) • novelette by Garry Kilworth
222 • On the Wing • (1990) • short story by Jean-Daniel Brèque
230 • Firebird • (1990) • novelette by J. L. Comeau
252 • Incident on a Rainy Night in Beverly Hills • (1990) • novelette by David J. Schow
272 • His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood • [Cthulhu Mythos] • (1990) • short story by Poppy Z. Brite

Vintage Creepiness! I wanted to share the artwork in this cool old ghost story book with you! Check it out!

I’m reading every ghost story book, magazine, article, periodical entry, &tc. I can possibly find as research for my new Ghost Story anthology coming Christmas 2019 (See: The Greatest Ghost Stories Ever Told, in Two Volumes, ed. sanguine Woods, 2019, 2020!). I came across this cool old copy on a Public Domain archive and wanted to share the cover, ToC and some of the artwork with you. I recommend this collection/these stories (most of which are available free to read in various places online—email me if you want to find one…glad to help: thesanguinewoods@gmail.com). Click the thumbnails to enlarge…

🌱Namaste

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wicked Stephen King Art Print ($10 USD) from Bangorfest! Check this out!

Hidden in this amazing artwork are references to 21 Stephen King books and stories. Can you find them all?

This limited-edition 11″x17″, hand-signed print by artist Mortimer Glum, comes with a diagram showing all the hidden King references. The print was created for a recent Bangorefest appearance in Stephen King’s hometown of Bangor, Maine, and we’re now offering it online for the first time.

Get yours before they’re gone!

Click here for more information…

Tales by Moonlight II, a Follow-up Anthology of Horror Stories, ed. by Jessica Amanda Salmonson, TOC

Cover art by Jill Bauman.

Table of Contents

1 • A Glimpse of Supernatural Literature and the Small Presses • (1989) • essay by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
11 • Proem: The Haunted Street • (1950) • poem by Marion Zimmer Bradley
12 • Dream of a Mannikin, or the Third Person • (1983) • short story by Thomas Ligotti (variant of Dream of a Mannikin 1982)
28 • Marilyn and the King • (1983) • short story by Ruth Berman
33 • The Area • (1986) • short story by Stefan Grabiński? (trans. of Dziedzina 1918) [as by Stefan Grabinski]
45 • The Return of Noire • (1987) • short story by Michael Bullock
55 • A Light from Out of Our Heart • (1987) • short story by Jules Remedios Faye [as by Jules Faye]
61 • Mr. Templeton’s Toyshop • (1986) • short story by Thomas Wiloch (variant of Selections from “Mr. Templeton’s Toyshop”)
69 • The Devil Frolics with a Butler • (1726) • short story by Daniel Defoe (variant of The Friendly Demon)
73 • The Cats of Ulthar • [Dream Cycle] • (1920) • short story by H. P. Lovecraft
77 • Dead Dogs • (1985) • short fiction by Denis Tiani
80 • “W.D.” • (1986) • short story by David Starkey
85 • The Drabbletails • (1980) • short story by Stephen Gresham
95 • The Gravedigger and Death • (1983) • short story by Rosemary Pardoe [as by Mary Ann Allen]
103 • Taking Care of Bertie • (1985) • short story by Janet Fox
110 • Cardinal Napellus • (1986) • short story by Gustav Meyrink (trans. of Der Kardinal Napellus 1915)
122 • The Coffeepot • (1985) • short story by Théophile Gautier (trans. of La cafetière 1831)
130 • Seven • (1987) • short fiction by Stephen-Paul Martin
134 • Chocolate • (1984) • short fiction by Wendy Wees
136 • Mousewoman • (1987) • short fiction by Wendy Wees
138 • Mother Hag • (1987) • short story by Steve Rasnic Tem
148 • Good Thoughts • (1973) • short story by W. Paul Ganley
152 • Shirley Is No Longer with Us • (1978) • short story by Jody Scott
158 • The Ghost of Don Carlos • (1977) • short story by Michel Tremblay (trans. of Le Fantôme de Don Carlos unknown)
167 • Live on Tape • (1977) • short story by Spider Robinson
175 • The Head of the Hydra Flower • (1989) • short story by Carol Reid
183 • The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridged) • (1984) • short story by John Varley
189 • An Image in Twisted Silver • (1986) • short story by Charles L. Grant
195 • What Used to Be Audrey • (1984) • short story by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
200 • The Day • (1969) • short story by David Madison
206 • A Thief in the Night • (1981) • short story by Jayge Carr
211 • Silhouette • (1985) • short story by Don Beckett [as by D. Beckett]
222 • Laugh Kookaberry, Laugh Kookaberry, Gay Your Life Must Be • (1981) • short story by John Domini
242 • Azrael’s Atonement • (1987) • short story by Archie N. Roy
250 • The Eldritch Horror of Oz • (1981) • short story by L. Frank Craftlove
264 • O, Christmas Tree • (1979) • short story by W. H. Pugmire and Jessica Amanda Salmonson [as by Jessica Amanda Salmonson and W. H. Pugmire, Jr.]
279 • The Pacific High • (1988) • short story by Grant Fjermedal
293 • Jack in the Box • (1983) • short story by Ramsey Campbell
299 • Envoy: The Scythe of Dreams • (1985) • poem by Joseph Payne Brennan
300 • Appendix I: How to Publish Your Own Shoestring Horror Magazine (Tales by Moonlight II) • (1989) • essay by Peggy Nadramia
303 • Appendix II: Current Small Press Horror Magazines (Tales by Moonlight II) • (1989) • essay by uncredited

Tales by Moonlight I, an Anthology of Horror Stories, ed. by Jessica Amanda Salmonson, TOC

Table of Contents

v • Foreword (Tales By Moonlight) • essay by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
vii • Introduction (Tales By Moonlight) • essay by Stephen King
1 •  The Nocturnal Visitor • interior artwork by Allen B. Cox
2 • The Nocturnal Visitor • novelette by Dale C. Donaldson
19 •  Flames • interior artwork by Jeffrey Potter
20 • Flames • short story by Jeffrey Lant
31 •  An Egg for Ava • interior artwork by Wendy Adrian Shultz
32 • An Egg for Ava • short story by Richard Lee Fulgham [as by Richard Lee-Fulgham]
40 • See the Station Master • short story by George Guthridge [as by George Florance-Guthridge]
55 •  A Tulip for Eulie • interior artwork by Stephen Fabian
56 • A Tulip for Eulie • novelette by Austelle Pool
70 • Cobwebs • short story by Jody Scott
79 •  The Toymaker and the Musicrafter • interior artwork by Paul Sonju
80 • The Toymaker and the Musicrafter • short story by Phyllis Ann Karr
85 •  Witches • interior artwork by Stephen Jones
86 • Witches • short story by Janet Fox
96 • A Night Out • short story by Nina Kiriki Hoffman [as by N. K. Hoffman]
100 •  A Night Out • interior artwork by Earl Geier
103 •  Jaborondi Jazz • interior artwork by Randy Broecker
104 • Jaborondi Jazz • short story by Gordon Linzner
112 • A Wine of Heart’s Desire • novelette by Ron Nance
132 •  A Wine of Heart’s Desire • interior artwork by Thomas Clark
139 •  Spring Conditions • interior artwork by Randy Broecker
140 • Spring Conditions • short story by Eileen Gunn
146 • The Sky Came Down to Earth • short story by Steve Rasnic Tem
153 •  Joan • interior artwork by Paul Sonju
154 • Joan • short story by Rosemary Pardoe [as by Mary Ann Allen]
160 • The Night of the Red, Red Moon • short story by Elinor Busby
165 •  Toyman’s Name • interior artwork by Paul Sonju
166 • Toyman’s Name • short story by Phyllis Ann Karr
175 •  Dog Killer • interior artwork by Brad W. Foster [as by Brad Foster]
176 • Dog Killer • short story by William H. Green
185 •  The Mourning After • interior artwork by Wendy Adrian Shultz
186 • The Mourning After • short story by Bruce McDonald
193 •  The Hill is No Longer There • interior artwork by Randy Broecker
194 • The Hill is No Longer There • short story by John D. Berry
199 •  The Hill is No Longer There [2] • interior artwork by Randy Broecker
201 •  The Inhabitant of the Pond • interior artwork by Wendy Adrian Shultz
202 • The Inhabitant of the Pond • novelette by Linda Thornton