Michel Parry (1947–2014)

Forever Stand the Stones by Joseph F. Pumilia: The first story in the collection starts, unexpectedly for an anthology about a Victorian London serial killer, at Stonehenge in Celtic Britain, then unravels through time. It's an interesting horror-fantasy concept, which the author doesn't quite pull off, but still, it's a reasonable start, and the unexpected is a whetstone for the appetite's edge. 3🗡

The Demon Spell by Hume Nisbet. Written just a few years after the Ripper murders, this show more story starts with appropriate atmosphere in a gaslit Victorian seance, but at a bare five pages Nisbet didn't really give himself enough space to develop his idea. An ok 2.5🗡

The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes. The short story in this collection was so popular on its publication in 1911 that a couple of years later, Lowndes had expanded it into a novel. 12 years after that, it was the source of Alfred Hitchcock's first mass-released film, a silent movie masterpiece which certainly set the tone for the rest of his career. I wish I'd realised sooner that I had this story! A creepily fantastic 4.5🗡
I think seeking out the expanded novel version is definitely on the cards.

In the Slaughteryard by Anonymous. Ha! This was superb pulp fare 😁 A chapter from a "Shilling Shocker" published in 1890, entirely improbable and lurid. The gentlemen and the lady of the Adventurers' Club take it in turns to tell their tales of daring-do, and this exploit of Mr. Horace Jeaffreson in the Whitechapel slaughteryard of Melmoth Brothers explains how the Ripper's bloody reign of terror was brought to an end, Terminator-style! 4🗡

Of the stories I haven't separately reviewed, two are worthy of mention: The Gatecrasher by R. Chetwynd-Hayes, with Jack a demonic, possessing spirit, or a symptom of madness? And, Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper by Robert Bloch, with a twist that was always going to go one of two ways, and for which I think he chose the least interesting.
Favourites were The Lodger and The Slaughteryard, already reviewed above. The collection averages out at 3🗡

What I take from this collection is confirmation of my enjoyment of gothic storytelling (which I didn't really need confirming), and a reaffirmation that I don't really enjoy True Crime narratives, even if couched in fantasy trappings, in which the detailed descriptions of violence, mutilation and torture is part of the supposed spectacle. That The Ripper's victims were sex workers seems to have given most of these (predominantly male) authors licence to use derogatory language and to revel in the details of their murders. Obviously, a less graphic approach lends itself to sanitisation of the horror of violence, so it's a complex thing for me to process. I do find fictional murder-horror stories easier to digest, which is probably one of the reasons why I preferred the two which used the fewest real-life details in their narratives. show less

This book is why some people think I'm an arsehole. See, I used to own this book in the early 1980s and, being young and naïve, when a guy I used to work with (Russ Melling) asked to borrow it from me, I let him. I never saw it again and bitterly regretted having let it out of my clutches. Lesson learned.

Fast-forward to now, and I've just been telling you about how brilliant such-and-such a book is and that you should definitely read it. You ask me if you can borrow it and I think about show more Russ Melling and Strange Ecstacies, and I also think that I don't really know you that well and I don't know that you can be trusted to return it, undog-eared and unspine-cracked, so I'm going to have to say "No," and you're going to think I'm an arsehole. show less

An enjoyably old-fashioned portmanteau about killer cats told with a wraparound featuring Peter Cushing as Wilbur, a fledgling author who believes cats are the masters of humans. He demonstrates by quoting three examples: a wealthy old woman who leaves her money to her cats; a bullied young witch whose cat Wellington sees off her nemesis and finally, actor Valentine De'ath (Donald Pleasance) who kills a litter of kittens and is subsequently menaced by the mother cat. None of the stories are show more particularly clever or memorable, the first being possibly the best of the bunch, but the whole thing is carried off with a charming camp efficiency. Director Denis Héroux keeps everything nice and straightforward avoiding any flashy touches for a simple linear approach. None of the cast are at their best, but even an off-colour Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence and Ray Milland are still fun to watch. show less

This is a decent little book of horror stories.

A Singular Passage in the Life of the Late Henry Harris, Doctor in Divinity as related by the Rev. Jasper Ingoldsby, M.A., his friend and executor by Richard Harris Barham
As the title suggests, this story was long, drawn out and very boring. I had to struggle through it.

The Phantom Regiment by James Grant
While a little confusing at first, this turned out to be a fine story and quite thrilling.

A Night In the Old Castle by G. P. R. James
This was show more quite a thrilling story with an unexpected ending.

The Forsaken of God by William Mudford
A little predictable, but still a good story.

The Monk's Story by Catherine Crowe
I found this story fairly boring.

The North Mail by Amelia B. Edwards
This was one of the better stories in the book and was quite chilling.

The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell
The language was a little difficult to get used to at first and the story seemed longer than the others (except the first one!) but this was the only story that gave me a good fright. This was definitely my favourite in this collection.

The Signalman by Charles Dickens
This was a well-told story with an unexpected ending.

Overall this is a thrilling collection of stories that will be enjoyed by fans of the genre. show less