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Average Customer Rating:

Relative Perfection...

Customer Rating:

as others here have elaborated on, and detailed some of the mastery compiled within this amazing collection, i'll be brief with my comments... if you're seriously looking for "the perfect horror anthology..." put simply: you've found it. this deliciously thick volume has been one of the cornerstones of my macabre short story collection for quite some time.... and, honestly... i'm quite certain it always will be. it has earned it's place amongst the very best within my bookshelves. for any / all fans of horror this tome is simply a must-have. PERIOD. another standard, must-have volume for you die-hards is "The Dark Decent," edited and compiled by David G. Hartwell... both of these tomes collectively should represent the basic core of any horror short story collection... from the beginner to the advanced reader....

Absolutely Excellant

Customer Rating:

This was the best introduction of horror short stories for me. I am aware of so many top-notch writers due to this compilation. Modern short stories have become a let-down to me after reading this book. You have to go backwards to find solid reading material. There is really no need to get into specifics because the proof is on the pages - many of these stories have left me amazed, and if you do not already possess the stories in this anthology, I strongly recommend this book. It is the main source of my awareness of the classic horror short story genre. I read this book and tried to find more like it, and many anthologies do not live up to this selection as far my tastes are concerned. I only wish that Herbert Wise would edit more anthologies. I love short stories, and though I am not a die-hard short story fanatic, I believe that these writers are so superior that anybody would become an instant fan reading them.

Excellent collection of classic tales	Customer Rating:
A book to keep by the bedside; tales to enjoy again and again. A haven for those familiar with the genre, and, for the novice, a menu of the fine writers of dark imagination.

Essential -- the roots of modern short horror fiction

Customer Rating:

This book is, quite simply, the best collection of 19th and early-20th century short fiction of the dark variety in existence. First published in the 1940s, this single (albeit fat) volume is a goldmine of the roots of modern horror, a great way to see where today's horror heavyweights got their inspiration and influence. Some authors whose stories appear within: Bierce, Blackwood, Dickens, Faulkner, Hawthorne, Hemingway, James (both Henry & M.R.), Kipling, Lovecraft, Machen, Poe, Wells, and many more, a good mixture of horror genre regulars and more conventional or 'literary' authors to whom dark fiction was a departure from the norm. If many of those above names are unfamiliar to you and you consider yourself a fan of dark fiction, you owe it to yourself to read this book. [Sidenote: The book also contains two of my all-time favorite short stories from two slightly lesser-known authors: Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," and W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw." As far as I know, this is the only single volume that includes both. The latter story is, in my humble opinion, THE most perfect scary story of all time.] Once again: Wagner & Wise's collection is the best thing of its kind.

A deadly little jewel

Customer Rating:

If you're looking for a little fear on your pallet, this book will dish it out in buckets. The authors are old world craftsmen who wrote these stories on dark and stormy nights. As you read, the wind will howl, dead children will laugh, and the scurry of rats will make you look around your room. Drink a glass of wine, eat dark chocolate, and curl up to this one in bed. Dead men do write good tales.