The Pan Book of Horror Stories

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His first Western, Plumb Drillin', was originally set to be a movie starring Steve McQueen before the actor's untimely death in 1980 [ citation needed].

One to be approached with caution by animal-lovers. A man sadistically kills his pets before turning his eye on his wife. This is another one which is not a good story, being noteworthy mainly for its sadism, but it does provide a bit of variety and is very short. Showing all translations. Never display translations Registered users can choose which translations are shown. So, to sum up: Best Story - 'Mrs Manifold' by Stephen Grendon; Worst Story - 'Fried Man' by Martin Waddell. I thought this was going to be a vampire story. I was wrong. The twist is that the lover of the title is a necrophile. It’s a very short story, and adds just the right touch of tasteful depravity to the mix. James McArdwell - The Green Umbilical Chord: Tops! A demon flower story that we overlooked on the old Vegetation thread and not a bad one at that!

As perhaps you might expect from a British book of the 1950’s, it often reads with that British sense of the stiff upper lip, of facing adversity under pressure, intermingled with a feeling of distress and tension, though it must be said that not all are British. (There are two stories reprinted by permission from the great Arkham House, for example, which give a decidedly Weird Tales feel to parts of the collection.) And yet there is that thing that can only really be described as a sense of unease. Although there is, unlike other books later in the series, no profanity, comparatively little grue and a surprisingly substantial amount of psychological subtlety, there are scenes of torture, gross awfulness and violence. We also have adultery, jealousy and the odd bit of nastiness. Though time may have diluted the chills a little, it is a wonderfully nostalgic read. The Cell and Other Transmorphic Tales (2015) - Contains "The Cell," "Strange Roots," "Among the Wolves," "A Cross to Bear," "The Hunter" Ashes to Ashes." My first real encounter with the nastiness of Pan Horror. It's ugly, sneering, and mean. I rather liked it. I’ll Love You – Always’ (Adobe James). A nymphomaniac ghost haunts a house. I thought this was going to be your standard ghost story affair, and was so glad when it wasn’t. As soon as her intentions were revealed, I was definitely hooked (which says a bit about me!). Nicely told, enjoyable tale, with the different take on haunting grabbing your attention.

The Bean-Nighe’ by Dorothy K. Haynes. A woman who lives a tough life runs into a hag-like apparition on her remote journey to work. Her domestic life (constant work, living in a small house with her mother, ill brother and sister who keeps her awake at nights) is every bit as horrific as the apparition she sees. This is a doom-laden tale from one of the most consistent writers in the genre. I have yet to read a bad story from her. The cover of my edition (a head in a hat-box) is clearly inspired by this one. THE BRINDLE BULL TERRIER, by Dulcie Gray: A pair of siblings are left with their teacher over the summer. Bread-and-butter horror in a simply-told tale of revenge. The ending is a little tame considering what happened elsewhere. 3/5 Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) won a special Pulitzer arts award in 2007 for his “distinguished, prolific and deeply influential career as an unmatched author of science fiction and fantasy.” THE FUR BROOCH, by Dulcie Gray: A young woman is desperate to get rid of her slimeball suitor, but he has other ideas. Written in a very genteel and decidedly old-fashioned style, but this somehow THE THING, by R. Chetwynd-Hayes: A man enters a pub with the Grim Reaper behind him, much to the consternation of the patrons. Not a bad idea behind this one, but there's too much waffle and the humour is decidedly iffy. 2/5Here we have a tongue-in-cheek story which is enjoyable if a little corny. A man knows he is bound for Hell and contemplates what horrendous tortures may be awaiting him. He’s surprised to find himself in a very ordinary-looking room. Then he discovers there is nothing to read but Reader’s Digest and no music to listen to but The Sound of Music. A flamboyantly effeminate Satan explains that each Hell, and each Heaven, is tailor-made and that one person’s Hell is another person’s Heaven.

A very well-written, if a little predictable, werewolf story written by Ian Fleming's younger brother. Like so many of the stories in these books, this would make a perfect segment in one of those multi-story horror movies. Edward Lucas White (1866-1934) was an American author and poet. Although he wrote a number of historical novels, he is better known for his horror stories, which he based on his own nightmares. This is a really disgusting piece of jungle-set body horror. If you're a fan of David Cronenberg's early movies, you'll love it. Screaming Terror, published under the Arthur Baker imprint, is a collection from the first three Pan Book of Horror Stories and is also edited by Herbert Van Thal.A U.S edition of the first Pan book was released by Gold Medal, an imprint of Fawcett Publications, and books 3, 4 and 5 were released by Berkley Medallion. While the first book was complete in its contents, the other three books gave only a small selection of their UK counterparts. There is no evidence to support PBoH #2 ever having a US release.