Flight or Fright

Stephen King, horror writer extraordinaire, hates flying. So naturally, he decided that he and Bev Vincent should put together a collection of stories exploring all the terrible things that can happen when you’re in flight. There are stories from a variety of time periods, in a variety of formats, and a couple were written expressly for the collection. Each story is introduced by Stephen King, and Bev Vincent writes an afterword explaining how the collection was put together.

As an aviation enthusiast, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the concept, while not sure whether to expect schlock horror or genuine chills. I’d classify most of these stories as thrillers rather than actual horror, although there were some genuinely creepy show more ones in the batch (e.g., “The Horror of the Heights”) and some breathtaking ones (“Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds”).

My favourite story of the whole collection was Joe Hill’s story, “You Are Released,” both for its technical details and for its utter realism. I found it the scariest story in the collection because it felt so plausible. I also liked “The Horror of the Heights,” written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of all people—that one ended up being genuinely creepy. And while I’m not usually one for zombies, I did like Bev Vincent’s “Zombies on a Plane,” possibly because it was set in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

A few of the stories were set in wartime on various bombers, and they felt a bit similar, but they were all pretty good. The only story I really wasn’t crazy about was Peter Tremayne’s, which had stiff dialogue and was slow enough that I skipped to the end to find out whodunnit. I did also find the James Dickey poem challenging, but I always find free verse poetry to be challenging so that wasn’t really as much of an issue.

I’d recommend this collection if you like to read stories about air travel and if you’re not easily scared. Reading it ON a plane would be the ultimate immersive experience. show less

I haven't stepped foot on an airplane in 24 years following a very, very, very rough landing at KCI International during a storm. Those 10 minutes of silent, white knuckle terror ruined flying for me. I'm terrified to get on a plane. There isn't enough alcohol or happy pills to make a flight enjoyable for me. One lightning filled, turbulent, fast loss of altitude event ...... Done. Completely done. Soaring above the clouds strapped into a metal capsule that weighs upwards of 75 tons is just tempting fate. Not to mention I firmly fear that each of us only gets one extra life, do-over, miraculous save....whatever you want to call it. I got out of one scrape unscathed....the next one, my luck might not kick in. Game over. Know what I show more mean?

Stephen King has spent decades scaring the piss out of me. Vampires. Crazed killers. Telekinetic angry teenagers. Demons. Aliens. CLOWNS. Oh my god....clowns. Hate them! And now he pokes me in yet another fear factor -- flying. When I saw this story anthology, edited by King and Bev Vincent, I knew I had to read every single one of the 17 stories contained within. I can enjoy the horror....while safely on the ground.

I love this book! I knew I was going to love it the minute I saw the dedication list at the beginning. The story collection is dedicated to pilots who landed safely after a harrowing flight....and the list includes Ted Striker. There was absolutely no need for anyone to queue up to slap me as I lost control while reading....I was totally ready for in-flight horror. And, I didn't have the fish.

The stories are varied with selections from classic writers like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Ambrose Bierce to the modern commercial era featuring stories by Joe Hill and E. Michael Lewis. Even Roald Dahl has a tale in this anthology. I enjoyed every single story....none of them crashed and burned. Some were less horrific....others were completely creepy. Each has an introduction giving info on the author and the story. Loved it!

While Stephen King has been scaring me for decades, Bev Vincent is a new author for me. He writes for the Cemetery Dance Magazine, authored the companion book to the Dark Tower series by King, and has an impressive list of magazine short stories listed in his bio. I'm definitely going to look for his work and do some very enjoyable reading! I love it when I discover a new-to-me author that writes in one of my favorite genres! I hope they collaborate on more story anthologies....I really enjoyed this one!

I recommend these tales for anyone who enjoys horror short stories, whether they love flying or hate it. As someone who refuses to get on a plane, I found these stories a bit more distressing than others might....made for a fun experience!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Scribner via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. What you make of this review is your own choice....but I recommend a hat, a broach or perhaps a terradactyl.** show less

Hang on Tight and Buckle Up!

This book was interesting, but here is the nitty gritty, if you are a frequent flyer, I don't think it would be good idea to read this book on your flight. Actually I would advise against it as some of the stories within this book will make you wish that you hadn't read it and it might have you sleeping with the oxygen mask attached to your face the whole trip. There are 17 stories within these pages written by different authors, but I have some favorites listed below.

Favorite stories are:

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet by Richard Matheson

The Flying Machine by Ambrose Pierce

Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds by Dan Simmons

Air Raid by John Varley

You Are Released by Joe Hill

Murder in the Air by Peter Tremayne

The show more Turbulence Expert by Stephen King

Thoughts:

Before I even made it to chapter one, I was already dreading what was ahead of me as the introduction by Stephen King was scary enough to where I never want to fly. Here is a small blurb from his introduction: "Yet you are entering what is basically a tube filled with oxygen and sitting atop tons of highly flammable jet fuel." Now if that doesn't send shivers down your spine, I don't know what will as now I cannot get that image out of my head!

I have flown one time when I was young, but after reading this book, I have decided that I don't even want to attempt stepping foot on a plane ever again.

So with that being said, I did enjoy the book though, but I only enjoyed them, because like I said, I know I won't be "flying the friendly skies". Giving this book four "Fly the Frightful Skies" stars!

For images on this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/2022/03/flight-or-fright-by-stephen-king.ht... show less

Another anthology, meaning another mixed bag:

Cargo: Are the coffins on a plane haunted, or is it just the mental strain of the staff manifesting after tragedy? Solid, melancholy work.

The Horror of the Heights: This reminded me a lot of modern horror about what lurks in the depths of the ocean or vast reaches of space. This is a classic, but it did not age well. We know too much about the sky now.

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Yeah, you know this story, right? You better. It aged surprisingly well and was really effective, despite seeing the Twilight Zone episode for it.

The Flying Machine: This is about 6 sentences that aren't really horror or about airplanes.

Lucifer!: Ahhhh, that's the stuff. The premise is absolutely bizarre, but it show more works. It really distills the worst fear of flying and the worst fears about men. The only downside is that the Futurama series finale had some of the same exact tropes in it - while I recognize that this story predates that by decades, its what I saw first, so now I picture Fry and Leela in the story.

The Fifth Category: Not really about flying, but it does a great job using the airplane as a claustrophobic setting. Cuts to black right at the perfect moment.

Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds: Didn't do much for me.

Diablitos:: Haunted artifact on a plane. It was so-so.

Air Raid: Another absolutely bizarre one. Zombies from the future kidnap people from planes about to crash to settle new planets in a war with aliens...I think? It isn't scary but it is tense.

You Are Released: Probably the most modern story, the most believable story, the most horrible one (in a good way). Gave me nightmares. Although, to be fair, I had similar nightmares after reading Fear, too.

Warbirds: A bit slow, a bit Lovecraftian. Its okay.

The Flying Machine: A tired allegory about stopping to think if we should before getting pre-occupied with if we could.

Zombies on a Plane: Exactly what it says on the tin.

They Shall Not Grow Old: Pilot sees the ghosts of dead aviators. Meh.

Murder in the Air: Its a good little story, except its not really horror at all.

Turbulence Expert: Its King doing what King does best - absolutely ruin a common experience by making it terrifying. Great story.

Falling: Its a poem so trigger warning for those that can't handle different forms of prose. I find the idea behind the poem terrifying (you have so long to think during the fall) but the poem itself doesn't really say horror - it makes it almost beautiful, dream-like.

This anthology had some real shining stories in it, but overall the collection felt vaguely desperate, as if they had difficulty finding stories that fit the bill of horror airplane. (Which, considering the editor outsourced finding stories/authors to Facebook, doesn't seem like a stretch.) There were some stories (and things so sparse I hesitate to call them stories) that just didn't feel on-theme and took up space that could have been a better tale. There are also many stories that, if you read a lot of classic sci-fi or horror, you've likely seen multiple times before.

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that the book is a verifiable Boys' Club, with both editors and all story contributors being men. Perhaps if they had reached out to a more diverse set of authors, there would have been more stories that were actually on-theme and truly scary. show less

I fully admit it - I hate flying - or rather flying scares me - a lot. So why in the world would I want to read '17 turbulent tales' about flying? Well, I do love a good, scary read!

Flight or Fright is edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent and features 17 tales (and one poem) from King himself, his son Joe Hill and fourteen other noted authors. There's a wide variety ranging from modern day horror writers such as Dan Simmons and Richard Matheson to historic writers such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and a wealth in between. I loved the intro from King - his story of flying only cemented my unwavering fear. The stories range from horror to mystery to sci-fi, so there's a little bit of something for everyone.

I do love short story collections show more - you can read or listen to one when you have a limited amount of time and still have the satisfaction of an ending. And the same applies to listening. I did listen to Flight or Flight. There are eleven different narrators, some of whom I was familiar with and some new to me. This was a great opportunity to sample new readers. King prefaces each story with an introduction to the author and a quick overview of the tale.

Favorite story? Hmm, hard to pick but I have to say I really liked Joe Hill's You Are Released. My next two faves were The Horror of the Heights by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A fascinating tale considering air travel was quite new at the time of writing. (1913) And of course King's The Turbulence Expert. Listen to an excerpt of Flight or Fright.

And by the end? Yup, still scared of flying....perhaps even more.... show less

I picked this up because Stephen King's name is on the front, and a new short story of his is inside. And I enjoyed his tale, even though it wasn't a horror one. His "Introduction" is good too! As for the other tales that take place inside "a howling shell of death"...

To begin, there are really only 15 "turbulent tales", as one is a poem, and one is less than half a page. The first story was the best, super scary and creepy and I never want to read it again! After that, it's hit-or-miss, and mostly the latter. Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury are their usual awesomeness, and Joe Hill and Bev Vincent deliver nicely! And "Murder in the Air" is a nice who-done-it! So that's 7 out of 17 (or 15, in my opinion) which is less than 50 percent show more - not great. I'd give this only two stars, but that first story, "Cargo" by E. Michael Lewis, pushes a three. My hackles are still up over that little ditty... show less

RECENSIONE A CURA DEL BLOG "GLI OCCHI DEL LUPO" - Pamela Perretta

Immaginate di essere su un aereo che viaggia a centinaia di chilometri orari, nel bel mezzo del cielo, al di sopra delle nuvole, e sotto ai vostri piedi migliaia di metri di vuoto assoluto!
“Odio volare ci mostra senza filtri tutto quello che potrebbe accadere mentre si è rinchiusi in questa enorme scatola di metallo. Immaginate un motore che si rompe mandando l’aereo in tilt, o di affacciarvi al finestrino e vedere un “essere” non perfettamente identificato attaccato su un’ala del veicolo, o di rivivere all’infinito gli ultimi secondi prima dello schianto. Senza contare la cosa più ovvia: siete rinchiusi in un luogo senza possibilità di fuga con una marea di show more persone che non conoscete, e che potrebbero essere capaci di qualsiasi cosa! E queste sono solo alcune delle cose che potrebbero capitarvi!

“Odio volare” è una raccolta di racconti horror terrificanti, almeno per me che soffro di aerofobia! Ebbene si! Il caro Stephen, rendendosi conto che effettivamente non esistevano dei romanzi horror ambientati sugli aerei, ha ben pensato: “Ma sì! Scriviamone uno!” Et voilà! E la cosa buffa è che lui per primo ha paura di volare!
Se siete soliti prendere l’aereo, dopo aver letto questo libro dubito che vorrete ancora salirci! Decisamente una lettura molto molto ansiosa, ma anche per questo mi è piaciuta! Se volete leggere qualcosa che sappia trasmettervi inquietudine, beh, questo è il libro giusto! Ma non leggetelo mentre siete su un aereo! show less