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Ramblings of Mr. Maurice
Category Archives: horror
The following stories are the best short horror stories of all time – in my opinion, at least. After many of the stories there’s a number that corresponds to an anthology or collection that can be found at the bottom of the post. If there is no number, I found the story in the public domain:
The Death Wagon Rolls On By Andersson, C. Dean 28
The Night Wire Arnold, H. F.
The Dead and The Countess Atherton, Gertrude
The Room in the Tower Benson, E. F.
A Tough Tussle Bierce, Ambrose
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Bierce, Ambrose
The Boarded Window Bierce, Ambrose
The Damned Thing Bierce, Ambrose
The Middle Toe of the Right Foor Bierce, Ambrose
The Moonlit Road Bierce, Ambrose
The Secret of Macarger’s Gulch Bierce, Ambrose
The Suitable Surroundings Bierce, Ambrose 20
Medusa’s Coil Bishop, Zealia 34
The Curse of Yig Bishop, Zealia 34
The Mound Bishop, Zealia 34
First Hate Blackwood, Algernon
Running Wolf Blackwood, Algernon
The Wendigo Blackwood, Algernon
The Willows Blackwood, Algernon
The Ensouled Violin Blavatsky, Helena
Fane of the Black Pharaoh Bloch, Robert 23
Notebook Found in a Deserted House Bloch, Robert 9
The Rubber Room Bloch, Robert 5
The Shadow from the Steeple Bloch, Robert 9
Curfew Boston, L. M. 11
All Summer in a Day Bradbury, Ray 12
Next in Line Bradbury, Ray 13
Skeleton Bradbury, Ray 13
The Jar Bradbury, Ray 13
The Wind Bradbury, Ray 13
Canavan’s Back Yard Brennan, Joseph Payne 5
Bells of Oceana Burks, Arthur J. 25
The Grave Cacek, P. D. 30
The Chimney Campbell, Ramsey 32
The Guide Campbell, Ramsey 11
Among the Wolves Case, David 32
The Limping Ghost Chetwynd-Hayes, R. 11
Fishhead Cobb, Irvin S. 7
Man Overboard! Crawford, F. Marion
The Dead Smile Crawford, F. Marion
The Screaming Skull Crawford, F. Marion
The Horla De Maupassant, Guy
The Terror De Maupassant, Guy
Was It a Dream? De Maupassant, Guy
Ithaqua Derleth, August 23
The Peabody Heritage Derleth, August 41
The Thing That Walked on the Wind Derleth, August 23
The Oram County Whoosit Duffy, Steve 39
Charon Dunsany, Lord
The Entrance Durrell, Gerald 6
A Rose for Emily Faulkner, William
The Shadows on the Wall Freeman, Mary Wilkins
The Mummy’s Foot Gautier, Theophile
The Yellow Wallpaper Gilman, Charlotte Perkins
Innsmouth Bane Glasby, John 16
The Old One Glasby, John 37
August Heat Harvey, William F.
The Horror in the Burying-Ground Heald, Hazel 34
The Horror in the Museum Heald, Hazel 34
Out of the Aeons Heald, Hazel 34
Winged Death Heald, Hazel 34
How Love Came to Professor Guildea Hichens, Robert
Keys and Locks and Open Doors Hicks, Jane Wallis
A Voice in the Night Hodgson, William Hope
Out of the Storm Hodgson, William Hope
Dig Me No Grave Howard, Robert E. 19
Recompense Howard, Robert E.
The Callenge From Beyond Howard, Robert E.; Lovecraft, H. P.; Long, Frank Belknap; Moore, C. L.; & Merritt, A. 19
The Hoofed Thing Howard, Robert E. 19
The Thing on the Roof Howard, Robert E. 19
Worms of the Earth Howard, Robert E. 19
The Floor Above Humphreys, M. L. 25
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Irving, Washington
Wolfert Webber, or Golden Dreams Irving, Washington
The Sticks Jacob, Charlee 28
The Aquarium Jacobi, Carl 23
The Monkey’s Paw Jacobs, W. W.
Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad James, M. R.
The Ash Tree James, M. R.
The Church at Garlock’s Bend Kaufman, David 29
The Thing in the Cellar Keller, David Henry
The Church Grim Kincaid, Jack 24
Children of the Corn King, Stephen 10
Graveyard Shift King, Stephen 10
Gray Matter King, Stephen 10
Jerusalem’s Lot King, Stephen 10
One for the Road King, Stephen 10
Sometimes They Come Back King, Stephen 10
Suffer the Little Children King, Stephen 20
The Man who Loved Flowers King, Stephen 10
Bells of Horror Kuttner, Henry 23
The Crawling Sky Landsdale, Joe R. 39
Mad Dog Summer Landsdale, Joe R. 30
Green Tea Le Fanu, J. Sheridan
In Amundsen’s Tent Leahy, John Martin 25
Where Does the Town Go at Night? Lee, Tanith 16
A Madman Level, Maurice
The Shadow, The Darkness Ligotti, Thomas 30
At the Mountains of Madness Lovecraft, H. P. 15
Cool Air Lovecraft, H. P. 15
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family Lovecraft, H. P.
Herbert West – Reanimator Lovecraft, H. P.
Imprisoned with the Pharaohs Lovecraft, H. P. 15
Pickman’s Model Lovecraft, H. P. 14
The Beast in the Cave Lovecraft, H. P.
The Call of Cthulhu Lovecraft, H. P. 14
The Colour Out of Space Lovecraft, H. P. 14
The Haunter of the Dark Lovecraft, H. P. 14
The Lurking Fear Lovecraft, H. P.
The Rats in the Walls Lovecraft, H. P. 14
The Shadow Out of Time Lovecraft, H. P. 14
The Shadow over Innsmouth Lovecraft, H. P. 14
Aunt Hester Lumley, Brian 31
Cement Surroundings Lumley, Brian 40
Fruiting Bodies Lumley, Brian 32
Recognition Lumley, Brian 40
The Fairground Horror Lumley, Brian 39
The Diary of Alonzo Typer Lumley, William 34
The Night Sea-Maid Went Down Lumley, Brian 40
Discovery of the Ghooric Zone Lupoff, Richard A. 9
Novel of the Black Seal Machen, Arthur 25
Novel of the White Powder Machen, Arthur 25
Remembering Melody Martin, George R. R. 4
Crickets Matheson, Richard 26
He Wanted to Live Matheson, Richard 16
The Doom that Came to Innsmouth McNaughton, Brian 39
The Yellow Dressing Gown Monette, Sarah 33
The Ghost of the Capuchins Montfort, Eugene 8
Orange is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity Morrell, David 3
What Nature Abhors Morris, Mark 38
The End of Wisdom Myers, Gary 22
Major Prevue Here Tonite Nolan, William F. 17
The Beckoning Fair One Onions, Oliver
Berenice Poe, Edgar Allan
The Black Cat Poe, Edgar Allan
The Cask of Amontillado Poe, Edgar Allan
The Fall of the House of Usher Poe, Edgar Allan
The Man in the Crowd Poe, Edgar Allan
The Narative of Arthur Gordon Pym Poe, Edgar Allan
The Oval Portrait Poe, Edgar Allan
The Tell-Tale Heart Poe, Edgar Allan
The Disinterment Rimel, Duane W. 34
The Spheres Beyond Sound (Threnody) Rainey, Stephen Mark 29
The Last Reel Rucker, Lynda E. 38
The Tale of Toad Loop Sargent, Stanley 37
Ghasta, or The Avenging Demon!!! Shelley, Percy Bysshe
The Double Shadow Smith, Clark Ashton
Listen Smith, James Robert 35
The Body Snatcher Stevenson, Robert Louis
The Squaw Stoker, Bram 2
Beyond the Door Suter, Paul 25
Resettling Tem, Steven Rasnic & Tem, Melanie 17
Spawn of the Green Abyss Thompson, C. Hall 23
The Howler in the Dark Tierney, Richard L. 27
Drums Trotter, William R. 35
The Fare Vail, Chris 22
Blind Man’s Bluff Wakefield, H. R. 8
Along About Sundown Wellman, Manly Wade 21
Goodman’s Place Wellman, Manly Wade 21
Rock, Rock Wellman, Manly Wade 21
The Pineys Wellman, Manly Wade 21
The Country of the Blind Wells, H. G.
The Tomb of the Old Ones Wilson, Colin 36
The Barrens Wilson, F. Paul 18
Moonlight Sonata Woollcott, Alexander 1
1. Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural
2. The Colour Out of Space – Tales of Cosmic Horror
3. Prime Evil
4. Fears
5. Gallery of Horror
6. Visions of Fear
7. The World’s Greatest Horror Stories
8. Ghosts
9. Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos
10. Night Shift
11. The World’s Greatest Ghost Stories
12. A Medicine for Melancholy
13. The October Country
14. Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre
15. The Road to Madness
16. H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror – Vol 2
17. Post Mortem – New Tales of Ghostly Horror
18. Cthulhu 2000
19. Nameless Cults – The Cthulhu Mythos of Robert E. Howard
20. Nightmares and Dreamscapes
21. The Devil is Not Mocked and Other Warnings: The Selected Works of Manly Wade Wellman Vol. 2
22. Strange Tales Issue No. 8
23. Tales of the Lovecraft Mythos
24. Insidious Reflections No. 6
25. H.P. Lovecraft’s Favorite Weird Tales
26. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
27. The Howler in the Dark
28. Cemetery Dance #57
29. The New Lovecraft Circle
30. 999
31. The Whisperer and Other Voices
32. The Mammoth Book of New Terror
33. Weird Tales March/April 2008
34. The Horror in the Museum
35. Song of Cthulhu
36. The Antarktos Cycle
37. The Tsathoggua Cycle
38. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror #18
39. The Book of Cthulhu
40. Haggopian and Other Stories
41. The Watchers Out of Time
Thanks to Chad Fifer and Chris Lackey at The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast for using music from Al Azif in Episode 114 – In The Walls of Eryx. As usual, they pulled off another entertaining episode. Sadly, they are coming to the end of Lovecraft’s body of weird tales with only two episodes left. They have mentioned that they will next be discussing weird tales that inspired Lovecraft, so I’m looking forward to that.
Thanks, Guys!
http://hppodcraft.com/2012/06/06/episode-114-in-the-walls-of-eryx/
This is artwork paying tribute to some of my favorite authors of horror:
The following are links to some good stuff on YouTube about Lovecraft (some serious, most funny):
A Lovecraft Dream
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC0Gqt8VRKk
The Elder Sign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWT07iRvI9M
The Love Craft
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnbE8VGLnZw&feature=related
Fishmen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tTHn2tHhcI
Lovecraft Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jQtkGJMtH0&feature=related
Awake Ye Scary Great Old Ones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9gRtHX6c08&feature=related
Trying to define just what the genre of Horror Fiction encompasses is a rather difficult task. The problem is that horror is based on the emotion of fear, and fear is a basic part of the human experience. It would be akin to trying to lump all tales, stories, myths, and novels that have any element of anger in them under a genre called Mad Fiction. The emotion of fear and elements of horror are an integral part of a good tale. Even before the invention of the written word, tales involved elements of fear and horror. One could very well imagine early man sitting around a campfire listening to a storyteller recount some myth or legend with everyone cringing at a part where the hero faced some horrifying event. But over the years tales that were specifically designed to delve into the fears of humans have evolved into a complete genre of fiction. Trying to classify all tales of horror into their well-organized sub-genres is a really difficult task and is most likely impossible. However, I would like to try and throw out many of the sub-genres that are in existence and give an archetypical description of that sub-genre.
Dark Fiction is many times seen as a term that is synonymous with Horror. Unfortunately, the term just hasn’t caught on as well as Horror and will probably never usurp the throne. It sounds like a more dignified term but people are used to the word Horror.
Dark Fantasy sounds similar to Dark Fiction but it is usually used to describe Fantasy stories that are set in an ominous or dark atmosphere – sort of a merging of Fantasy with Horror. When I think of Dark Fantasy I usually think of the Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock. Elric’s world is a world of sword and sorcery but the tone of the tales are dark and horrific in nature.
Supernatural Horror is used to describe horror stories that host creatures that are classically considered to be supernatural creatures. The typical list would include ghosts, spirits, demons, vampires, werewolves, and zombies. There have also been many sub-genres sprung out of these specific creatures – most notably are Vampire Horror, Ghost Stories, and Zombie Horror. Supernatural Horror doesn’t necessarily have to use creatures of myth and legend. There are also Supernatural Horror stories where there is an unknown or unnamed presence or force that produces the supernatural element needed for the classification. The Willows by Algernon Blackwood is a good example of a Supernatural Horror story that uses an unknown supernatural force to produce a quite effective sense of fear. Stories about haunted places also fall under the canopy of supernatural.
Weird Tales and Weird Fiction are two terms popularized by the pulp magazine Weird Tales. Although the magazine tried to publish stories that crossed many genres or couldn’t be categorized due to the fact that the tales were just too weird to fit a category, the terms have been hijacked by horror writers influenced by H.P. Lovecraft or who were influences to Lovecraft. Other sub-genres that have evolved that are akin to Weird Tales are Lovecraftian Horror, Lovecraft Mythos, and Cthulhu Mythos. These sub-genres are largely Lovecraft pastiches and/or writers who influenced or expounded on Lovecraft’s style or subject matter. Incidentally, I haven’t seen the word pastiche used so much as in connection with H.P. Lovecraft. I think it is a right of passage to write a Lovecraftian Horror pastiche at some point in a horror writer’s life.
Gothic Horror is another of the larger sub-genres of Horror Fiction. Gothic Horror describes the formative styles of horror elements in eighteenth-century English literature. Typically, the stories have oppressive, dark atmospheres and are set in large, brooding castles or locales. It was this type of literature that influenced the early horror writers of the short story format in both England and the United States. When I think of the quintessential Gothic Horror story I think of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Alan Poe.
Dark Suspense and Thriller are two categories used to denote a sub-genre that is a mixture of Horror and Mystery in the former and Horror and Adventure in the later. Algernon Blackwood’s John Silence stories are good examples of Dark Suspense and Robert E. Howard wrote many horror stories that have his typical flare for adventure in them.
Psychological Horror is used to denote horror that is designed to affect the reader by building tension and fear within the psyche. Usually, this type of horror is more subtle in its presentation and doesn’t use external forces to explain the horror. It is common for Psychological Horror to present an altered or warped sense of reality. When I think of Psychological Horror the first short story that comes to mind is The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Contemporary Horror is the name given to the modern style of short horror writing that emerged around the 1960’s and 70’s. This style of writing abandoned the Gothic Horror style and dispensed with verbosity of writing, ancient settings, and a reliance on subtler storytelling to achieve the intended effect on the reader. Contemporary Horror typically uses modern settings and tends to be more graphic in nature. Sub-genres that have emerged from Contemporary Horror are Erotic Horror, Noir, and Splatterpunk, which push the limits of what is acceptable in the mainstream by using blatantly graphic sex and violence and is usually set in an urban environment.
References:
Visions of the Dark 