Gallery of Horror
by Charles L. Grant (Editor)
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20 chilling tales by the modern masters of dread, including Stephen King, Eric Van Lustbader and Ramsey Campbell.Tags
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I found very few commendable tales in this Gallery Of Horror. In my experience, most story anthologies, horror or otherwise, are uneven: a few good stories a few mediocre stories. This collection was, to my tastes anyway, mostly mediocre, dull, uninteresting. The best story by far, the only one that I thoroughly liked, was "Nunc Dimittis" by Tanith Lee. "The Typewriter" by David Morrell and "Talent" by Theodore Sturgeon had Twilight Zone-ish qualities and were fine. "Canavan's Back Yard" by Joseph Payne Brennan and Stephen King's "Nona" were fine, too. The remainder of the tales in this 20-story collection had me shrugging and saying "meh"; one or two had me saying a distasteful "ugh." I suppose the enjoyment of an anthology depends on show more how much the tastes of the editor and of the reader are aligned. Seeing as I found editor Charles L. Grant's introductory paragraphs to each story to be trite, uninteresting, and occasionally annoying, I don't thing our tastes align much at all. Oh well, not every read will be a winner. There was just enough in Gallery Of Horror, though, to keep me plugging away to the end. show less
Will leave reviews on each story as I read it, not necessarily in order (and I may choose to not read them all)
**** Something Nasty, by William F. Nolan
Wow. I shouldn't have skipped ahead in this collection, because the first story was incredible. I think this might be my first time reading anything by William F. Nolan, but if his other writings are anything like this you can bet it won't be my last.
A little girl's uncle harrasses her with scary tales, until she turns the tables. Just the right amount a creepiness with a twinkle and a knowing grin, a story you could read to the kids and yet still savor as a horror fan.
** The Crazy Chinaman, by John Coyne
A three-page little ditty that didn't really do much for me. The ending was baffling show more at best.
***** The Typewriter, by David Morrell
I absolutely loved this story! Everything about it. It would make a great episode of The Twilight Zone, and reminded me a little bit of one of my own stories, Whatever Possessed You.
A starving poseur of a writer buys a strange typewriter that types out bestsellers no matter what keys he hits, it seems to have a mind of its own. I'll let you read the rest for yourself.
Wonderful writing on dispay here, will be looking for more by this author.
*** The Rubber Room, by Robert Bloch
A man is in custody, being kept in the padded cell, going crazy - or is he. Lots of Nazi-related delusions ensue. A nicely written, tightly-spun tale, but doesn't really bring anythong fresh or new to the table.
(Next up: Petey, by T.E.D. Klein.
Haven't read anything by Klein before, looking forward to it. I have his DARK GODS and a novel coming in soon from Amazon. This story is 50 pages, so going to save it for another night.)
**** Petey, by T.E.D. Klein
Okay, the amount of praise that has been heaped on this author over the years by everyone is staggering, and puts this Mr. Klein in the position of being a sacred cow. Maybe that's why he quit writing - stop while you're ahead. This was my first time reading anything by this hyped scribe, and so my expectations were through the roof. How could anything live up to that?
I must in all fairness warn you, I have an ingrained response that causes me to hate anything I've been told I MUST love.
So on to the review.
This was a black-and-white story. Not in the sense of morality, but in the sense that I could only picture it in black-and-white in my mind's eye. It had a sense of age to it, like an episode of I Love Lucy mixed with Alfred Hitchcock presents. Older than The Twilight Zone, none of the cool jazz nodding, snapping fingers and knowing winks that series often had.
It took me three nights to finish this very long short story - or is it a novella? I feel asleep while reading it the first two nights.
It was not a great story, plotwise - people getting together at a party and much time spent listening into the uncomfortable idle chatter of old friends trying to make an awkward evening fun. Little glimpses of another story at an insane asylum flashed here and there throughout the tale, told in italics, provide hope that something darker liay beneath. Jars containing fetuses and who-knows-what else in the frigid attic adds the creep factor that things are not quite as they seem.
I do give credit that this story was told in a very original way, and the sense of dread and unease creeps insidiously from along the edges as you read, the comfort found in human company seems hollow and in the isolated countryside of the farmhouse where this tale plays out, the vulnerability to the unknown is acutely felt.
But for me, while this story was very differently told and effective in giving chills that ran down your spine in an authentic way, the big climax was underwhelming and unworthy of the enormous amount of buildup that preceded it. I was not impacted by the ending in any other way than feeling like, "Hmmm. That's it? Really?"
I'm going to go out on a very thick limb and say that this story is quite possibly more brilliant than I have the capacity to appreciate. Maybe one of you smarter people can educate me on why exactly this good story is praised for being the pinnacle of short horror fiction that it is, because I clearly am not smart enough to understand.
I feel confident that the majority of casual horror readers would not have the endurance to make it more than twenty pages into this tale before giving up and finding something else more immediately entertaining.
I've got the full DARK GODS collection and the novel THE CEREMONIES coming in the mail any day now, so I am reserving my final judgement of the venerable Mr. Klein's writing until I have read more, which I will. Until then, I remain somewhat puzzled by the idol worship he receives. Maybe the excessive praise and homage was a requirement back in the day to get published in The Twilight Zone Magazine, and passed down to subsequent generations of horror writers? I may never know.
Commence hate mail to me now. I stand beside your sacred cow, knife drawn - but blood has not yet been shed. show less
**** Something Nasty, by William F. Nolan
Wow. I shouldn't have skipped ahead in this collection, because the first story was incredible. I think this might be my first time reading anything by William F. Nolan, but if his other writings are anything like this you can bet it won't be my last.
A little girl's uncle harrasses her with scary tales, until she turns the tables. Just the right amount a creepiness with a twinkle and a knowing grin, a story you could read to the kids and yet still savor as a horror fan.
** The Crazy Chinaman, by John Coyne
A three-page little ditty that didn't really do much for me. The ending was baffling show more at best.
***** The Typewriter, by David Morrell
I absolutely loved this story! Everything about it. It would make a great episode of The Twilight Zone, and reminded me a little bit of one of my own stories, Whatever Possessed You.
A starving poseur of a writer buys a strange typewriter that types out bestsellers no matter what keys he hits, it seems to have a mind of its own. I'll let you read the rest for yourself.
Wonderful writing on dispay here, will be looking for more by this author.
*** The Rubber Room, by Robert Bloch
A man is in custody, being kept in the padded cell, going crazy - or is he. Lots of Nazi-related delusions ensue. A nicely written, tightly-spun tale, but doesn't really bring anythong fresh or new to the table.
(Next up: Petey, by T.E.D. Klein.
Haven't read anything by Klein before, looking forward to it. I have his DARK GODS and a novel coming in soon from Amazon. This story is 50 pages, so going to save it for another night.)
**** Petey, by T.E.D. Klein
Okay, the amount of praise that has been heaped on this author over the years by everyone is staggering, and puts this Mr. Klein in the position of being a sacred cow. Maybe that's why he quit writing - stop while you're ahead. This was my first time reading anything by this hyped scribe, and so my expectations were through the roof. How could anything live up to that?
I must in all fairness warn you, I have an ingrained response that causes me to hate anything I've been told I MUST love.
So on to the review.
This was a black-and-white story. Not in the sense of morality, but in the sense that I could only picture it in black-and-white in my mind's eye. It had a sense of age to it, like an episode of I Love Lucy mixed with Alfred Hitchcock presents. Older than The Twilight Zone, none of the cool jazz nodding, snapping fingers and knowing winks that series often had.
It took me three nights to finish this very long short story - or is it a novella? I feel asleep while reading it the first two nights.
It was not a great story, plotwise - people getting together at a party and much time spent listening into the uncomfortable idle chatter of old friends trying to make an awkward evening fun. Little glimpses of another story at an insane asylum flashed here and there throughout the tale, told in italics, provide hope that something darker liay beneath. Jars containing fetuses and who-knows-what else in the frigid attic adds the creep factor that things are not quite as they seem.
I do give credit that this story was told in a very original way, and the sense of dread and unease creeps insidiously from along the edges as you read, the comfort found in human company seems hollow and in the isolated countryside of the farmhouse where this tale plays out, the vulnerability to the unknown is acutely felt.
But for me, while this story was very differently told and effective in giving chills that ran down your spine in an authentic way, the big climax was underwhelming and unworthy of the enormous amount of buildup that preceded it. I was not impacted by the ending in any other way than feeling like, "Hmmm. That's it? Really?"
I'm going to go out on a very thick limb and say that this story is quite possibly more brilliant than I have the capacity to appreciate. Maybe one of you smarter people can educate me on why exactly this good story is praised for being the pinnacle of short horror fiction that it is, because I clearly am not smart enough to understand.
I feel confident that the majority of casual horror readers would not have the endurance to make it more than twenty pages into this tale before giving up and finding something else more immediately entertaining.
I've got the full DARK GODS collection and the novel THE CEREMONIES coming in the mail any day now, so I am reserving my final judgement of the venerable Mr. Klein's writing until I have read more, which I will. Until then, I remain somewhat puzzled by the idol worship he receives. Maybe the excessive praise and homage was a requirement back in the day to get published in The Twilight Zone Magazine, and passed down to subsequent generations of horror writers? I may never know.
Commence hate mail to me now. I stand beside your sacred cow, knife drawn - but blood has not yet been shed. show less
Maybe it's just me but this is the second collection of short stories that I've read in the last month which hasn't done much for me. OK, yeah, some of the stories were pretty good but at times it seemed to be really dragging and I didn't feel like finishing the book. That's pretty weird to have happen since I generally like to read the entire book. Plus a lot of collections save the best stories for last. This time I wasn't too impressed over all, except for the ones below.
"The Conqueror Worm" by Stephen R. Donaldson - A bug helps to destroy a marriage
"Out of Sorts" by Bernard Taylor - A wife helps her husband to end an affair
"The Typewriter" by David Morrell - A writer gets helped and hurt by a unique typewriter
"Talent" by Theodore show more Sturgeon - A gifted child meets Precious show less
"The Conqueror Worm" by Stephen R. Donaldson - A bug helps to destroy a marriage
"Out of Sorts" by Bernard Taylor - A wife helps her husband to end an affair
"The Typewriter" by David Morrell - A writer gets helped and hurt by a unique typewriter
"Talent" by Theodore show more Sturgeon - A gifted child meets Precious show less
An anthology of twenty tales of horror includes works by Stephen King, Tanith Lee, Eric Van Lustbader, John Coyne, Robert Bloch, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and other masters of the genre.
Setting aside 5.24.15. at 54%
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Gallery of Horror
- Original title
- The Dodd, Mead Gallery of Horror
- Alternate titles*
- Gallery of Horror
- Disambiguation notice
- The Dodd, Mead Gallery of Horror was later republished as The Gallery of Horror.
Contents:
Something Nasty - William F. Nolan
Canavan's Back Yard - Joseph Payne Brennan
The Conqueror Worm - Stephen R. Donald... (show all)son
Death to the Easter Bunny! - Alan Ryan
The Rubber Room - Robert Bloch
Petey - T. E. D. Klein
Out of Sorts - Bernard Taylor
The Sunshine Club - Ramsey Campbell
Down Among the Dead Men - Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann
The Crazy Chinaman - John Coyne
Gravid Babies - Michael Bishop
The Chair - Dennis Etchison
The Typewriter - David Morrell
Nunc Dimittis - Tanith Lee
Derelicts - Steve Rasnic Tem
In Darkness Angels - Eric Van Lustbader
The Arrows - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Talent - Theodore Sturgeon
Aim for the Heart - Craig Shaw Gardner
Nona - Stephen King
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Horror, Fantasy
- DDC/MDS
- 813.0873808 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Horror fiction; Ghost fiction Horror fiction Anthologies Collections
- LCC
- PS648 .H6 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Collections of American literature Prose (General)
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 255
- Popularity
- 126,728
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.35)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 8
- ASINs
- 3
