Boris Karloff (1887–1969)

A sturdy, readable hodgepodge of stories by all the usual suspects (Poe, Lovecraft, Bloch, Derleth), but the standouts are "Man from the South," Roald Dahl's classic tale of macabre suspense, and Frank Gruber's "The Thirteenth Floor," a deliciously scary pulp horror piece by a master of the field. The Dahl story has probably been over-anthologized (and even if you've never read it, chances are that you've seen it dramatized on Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Tales of the Unexpected), but "The show more Thirteenth Floor" is a rare bird, and this book is worth picking up for Gruber's tale alone. I think of it as the greatest Twilight Zone episode that never was. Overall, a good item to add to your drugstore paperback horror collection. show less

This collection contains an intriguing mixture of classic horror stories with some lesser known, but still chilling, selections. From Edgar Allan Poe to Roald Dahl and several entertaining authors in between there are enough stories to keep you awake on a dark and stormy night.

Quite a good anthology, despite its cheesy, early attempt at cross-marketing.

Contents list: The Thirteenth Floor by Frank Gruber; Child of the Winds by Edmond Hamilton; The Opener of the Crypt by John Jakes; The Thing That Walked on the Winds by August Derleth; The Scarlet King by Evan Hunter; The Graveyard Reader by Theodore Sturgeon; The Mindworm by C. M. Kornbluth; Back from the Grave by Robert Silverberg; Man from the South by Roald Dahl; The Opener of the Way by Robert Bloch; The Haunter of the Dark by H. P. Lovecraft.

A so-so collection with the same old names show more as usual. It really is copyrighted by Boris Karloff (believe it or not), but I can guess who really picked these out. show less