Sunday 12 December 2010

The Pan book of Horror Stories - the first one reissue

The Pan Book of Horror Stories were cooler than cool in years gone by, however the series soon got long in the tooth and the clever stories of early editions were replaced with grim sadistic tales that sickened rather than scared. Though some of the later editions did boast authors as accomplished as Stephen King and Ruth Rendell.

This facsimile of the very first one will be a welcome addition to anyone's library of fantastic tales. The Pan series was one of the most important British horror anthology ever created.

The book was originally published in 1959 and continued until volume thirty in 1989. Originally edited by Herbert Van Thal, a name that sounded as exotic as Bela Lugosi to schoolkids in the Seventies when the series was at its high point in terms of sales, the first volume collected 21 tales of horror and is presented here in a great edition that makes a handsome addition to the bookshelf.

Contents:
Joan Aiken, ‘Jugged Hare’
AL Barker, ‘Submerged’
Oscar Cook, ‘His Beautiful Hands’
George Fielding Eliot, ‘The Copper Bowl’
Joan Aiken, ‘Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket’
Peter Fleming, ‘The Kill’
CS Forester, ‘The Physiology of Fear’
LP Hartley, ‘W.S.’
Hazel Heald, ‘The Horror in the Museum’
Hester Holland, ‘The Library’
Fielden Hughes, ‘The Mistake’
Nigel Kneale, ‘Oh, Mirror, Mirror’
Noel Langley, ‘Serenade for Baboons’
Hamilton Macallister, ‘The Lady Who Didn’t Waste Words’
Chris Massie, ‘A Fragment of Fact’
Seabury Quinn, ‘The House of Horror’
Flavia Richardson, ‘Behind the Yellow Door’
Muriel Spark, ‘The Portobello Road’
Bram Stoker, ‘The Squaw’
Anthony Vercoe, ‘Flies’
Angus Wilson, ‘Raspberry Jam’
Alan Wykes, ‘Nightmare’

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