Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural (Modern Library)

This is a reprint of a classic collection Random House published in the 1950s (?) co-edited by Bennet Cerf’s wife! The stories are amazing, by wonderful writers, many now forgotten.

In 1952, I was a high school freshman in a tiny country school but I was lucky to discover in our small library--with books donated by local residents--this tome. It was during a harsh winter and I remember beginning to read the stories and discovered I couldn't stop reading. Armed with a pot of coffee and a platter of homemade brownies, I could hardly wait to resume reading story after story that left me exhilirated and eager to read the next one. Even today at the age of 80, this is probably my fourth copy that I keep on my nightstand and when it storms or snows here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, I eagerly pick up this volume and once more delight in such masterpieces as "Afterward," by Edith Wharton, "The Rats in the Wall" and "The Dunwich Horror" by H.P. Lovecraft, "Sir Edward Orme" by Henry James,' and all those other masterpieces like "They," "Ancient Sorceries", "O Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad", "How Love Came to Professor Guildea." They definitely influenced by writing career and the books and story collections I've written as 'Jason Fury' ("The Secret of Jimmy X) and "The Creaking Door" as 'Andrea d'Allasandra." These stories introduced me to the great story tellers at that time that I had never heard of, especially the ultimate horror masterpiece, "The Great God Pan" by Arthur Machen. In fact, my novel, "Screams of Pan," writing as 'Jason Fury', was greatly inspired by this masterful story.Even if you're a young reader and might be put off that this book was published in 1943, don't let that discourage you. Great writing never goes out of style. These stories were written in a different era by writers now long dead. Give this collection a try and very likely, like myself, you'll keep this thick book on your nightstand for many years.

Strange things happen in October. Leaves take flight on chilly nights; tall oaks' long fingers reach out on moonlit roads; pumpkins appear in fields everywhere, some even leering at visitors from shadowy porches; the moon rises bone-white, casting eerie shadows on lawns and chimneys; owls may call your name; and even small children morph inexplicably into fantastical creatures who walk the night from house to house on October 31...But none of these is as strange and forbidding as are the bizarre and terrifying stories within this volume. "The Most Dangerous Game" concerns a highly intelligent creature who provides hunting's ultimate challenge, and on an island, no less; also, I must warn you not to "whistle" in the dark or something you don't want may come to visit you; and then there's "The Monkey's Paw." How could a dead monkey's paw possibly harm you? But it might on the night of October 31. Be sensible and pitch it into your crackling fire. WARNING: Don't read "The Monkey's Paw" by yourself after dark. It will make you get up and check your locks. I promise. Not that it will do any good, of course.There are many others, too, including the fellow who keeps a screaming skull in his house. No accounting for individual tastes, eh? In "Afterward" you won't recognize the shade until it's too late - for you, that is. And if you're up north, watch out for the silent, secret snow. It covers all, including you if you're not careful.All the great old dead truly rise in this volume: Faulkner, the Southern ghost, whose most recognized quote is, "The past is never dead. It's not even past;" Poe, the mad specter; Bierce, the vanishing ghost (we still don't know what happened to him); even Hemingway, Dickens, Blackwood, Wharton, and both Jameses: Henry and M.R. They're all here. So be careful. To open this tomb... er, tome - is to release their spirits into your home. Buy, but remember... not to be opened until Halloween night, ideally when the house is quiet and abed. And don't forget to put some wolfsbane and garlic on your door... just to be on the safe side, of course.

When I was 11 or 12 I signed this book out of my school's library several times. It was hard-backed and weighty. I loved the classic tales of horror and enjoyed scaring myself reading them.I am an old man now. When I discovered Amazon sells copies of "Great Tales" I knew I had to buy the book! It's the paperback version, but the stories are all there and haven't changed.

The copy I received didn't have the last two tales from the Terror section, and also part of Hamingway's 'The Killers'. Nothing was torn or tampered with, tho. Otherwise all good.

Great book, good quality of the cover and the other materials. Great stories. The introductions of the writers I appreciate. But it are the stories of course that made me buy the book. I didn't regret the purchase. The stories just have the length to read them without putting the book away for the next day. I like that. The stories are terrific! The first story already tells of a horror that you can't imaging. The cruelty of the betrayed husband and the logic he uses to reach his purpose are beyond your imagination. And the book is full with such stories. The one a little more terrifying than the other. I can recommend the book to whoever likes this kind of tales.H.J. Gordijn, The Netherlands.