The Year's Best Horror Stories 10 Read online

  THE YEAR’S BEST HORROR STORIES X

  “Horror fiction has held a universal appeal throughout the ages. Every culture has had its myths of demons and ghosts and were-beasts. If Stephen King is read by millions today, so did Victorian readers line up in the streets to buy the latest chapters of the penny-dreadfuls, and eighteenth century readers shivered beside their candles over the pages of the newest Gothic novel. People like to be frightened, whether by a movie or a book or just a good spooky story told by firelight.

  “The question is often asked: Why do people like to be frightened? Perhaps a better question: Why do certain people like to frighten other people? Sorry—a trade secret.

  “Writers of horror fiction want to frighten people, and it is my task to select those who best succeed in this ...”

  —The Editor

  Copyright ©, 1982 by DAW Books, Inc.

  All Rights Reserved.

  Cover art by Michael Whelan.

  For color prints of Michael Whelan paintings, please contact:

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  P.O. Box 88

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  DAW Book Collectors No. 493.

  First Printing, August 1982

  3 4 5 6 7 8 9

  PRINTED IN U.S.A.

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  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Through the Walls by Ramsey Campbell. Copyright © 1981 by Ramsey Campbell. First published by the British Fantasy Society as B.F.S. Booklet No. 5. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Touring by Gardner Dozois, Jack Dann, and Michael Swanwick. Copyright © 1981 by Penthouse International, Ltd. for Penthouse, April 1981. Reprinted by permission of the authors and their agent, Virginia Kidd.

  Every Time You Say I Love You by Charles L. Grant. Copyright © 1981 by Mercury Press, Inc. for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Maya 1981. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Wyntours by David G. Rowlands. Copyright © 1980 by D. G. Rowlands for Eye Hath Not Seen ... Reprinted by permission of the author.

  The Dark Country by Dennis Etchison. Copyright © 1981 by Fantasy Tales for Fantasy Tales, Summer 1981 and Copyright © 1981 by Dennis Etchison for Fantasy Book, December 1981. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Homecoming by Howard Goldsmith. Copyright © 1981 by Howard Goldsmith for Chillers, July 1981. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Old Hobby Horse by A. F. Kidd. Copyright © 1981 by Rosemary Pardoe for Ghosts & Scholars 3. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Firstborn by David Campton. Copyright © 1981 by Stuart David Schiff for Whispers III. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Luna by G. W. Perriwils. Copyright © 1981 by TZ Publications, Inc. for Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine, July 1981. Reprinted by permission of the authors.

  Mind by Les Freeman. Copyright © 1980 by Hugh Lamb for New Tales of Terror. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Competition by David Clayton Carrad. Copyright © 1981 by Running Times, Inc. for Running Times, June 1981. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Egnaro by M. John Harrison. Copyright © 1981 by M. John Harrison for Winter’s Tales 27. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  On 202 by Jeff Hecht. Copyright © 1981 by TZ Publications, Inc. for Rod. Serling’s The Twilight Zone, December 1981. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  The Trick by Ramsey Campbell. Copyright © 1980 by Ramsey Campbell for Weird Tales #2 (under the title, Trick or Treat). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Broken Glass by Harlan Ellison. Copyright © 1981 by The Kilmanjaro Corporation for Gallery, June 1981. Reprinted by permission of and arrangement with the author. All rights reserved.

  To Ramsey Campbell

  I’ve dreamt in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after and changed my ideas. They’ve gone through and through me, like wine through water and altered the colour of my mind.

  —Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights

  INTRODUCTION: A Decade of Fear

  There are times when an editor’s task would be much simpler if he had twice the wordage allotted to an anthology than that which was required. This past year, 1981, produced a bumper crop of excellent horror fiction, and if The Year’s Best Horror Stories had only been a double-size volume, I would have been spared any number of late night decisions, agonizing over which stories I would have to exclude from the final list of contents. While a good horror story is supposed to give its reader a restless night, this isn’t the sort of nail-biting that’s meant.

  For once, there was good news for horror fans on the magazine front, with the appearance in April of a new monthly newsstand periodical, Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine. Under the skillful editorship of T.E.D. Klein (a gifted horror writer himself), the magazine manages to crowd about ten stories into each issue, with articles and reviews, a color photograph section on current fantasy films, and a detailed look at the old Twilight Zone television series, complete with a script of one episode. If you haven’t discovered Twilight Zone Magazine for yourself, by all means do so.

  Chillers, a less well-mounted attempt to combine fiction with horror film features, lasted only three issues before vanishing entirely, a victim of poor distribution. The only other magazines with newsstand circulation and partial fantasy content remain the venerable Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and the ancient Amazing, which began including fantasy as well as science fiction after the death of its companion magazine, Fantastic. By its bootstraps, Amazing managed six bimonthly issues in 1981, but one wonders how much longer this patriarch of all science fiction magazines can continue.

  An effort to revive Weird Tales yet again, this time as a paperback series, resulted in three disastrous anthologies from Zebra Books. Dismal collections of creaky reprints and inept offerings by old hands, the series was saved from total mediocrity by a number of superior horror stories by the genre’s newer writers—proving not so much that writers are better today as that today’s good writers at their best are far better than yesterday’s great names at their worst.

  Although there were no shelf-bender-class original anthologies as there were the year before, 1981 was another good year for horror anthologies. Best of these was Whispers III from Doubleday, editor Stuart David Schiff’s third collection of the best of Whispers magazine together with an excellent lineup of new horror fiction—as well as interior art and what has to be the best dust jacket from Doubleday since the First World War. Doubleday also published Shadows 4, the fourth in Charles L. Grant’s series of “quiet” horror anthologies. Grant was also editor of the less quiet Horrors from Playboy Paperbacks, and he was author of two fine collections of his own short fiction, A Glow of Candles from Berkley Books and Tales from the Nightside from Arkham House.

  Modern Masters of Horror (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan), edited by Frank Coffey, was an interesting collection of short fiction by authors known for the most part as “names” in the film and the best-seller industries. Arbor House offered Creature!, another of Bill Pronzini’s theme collections of new and reprint Fiction, as well as the mammoth Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural—worth mention here despite its being a reprint anthology. A number of paperback original anthology series continued to offer fantasy during 1981, notably The Berkley Showcase and New Dimensions.

  Overseas the horror anthology did well, despite the severe recession in British publishing. Of particular merit was Hugh Lamb’s New Tales of Terror (Magnum Books), an excellent anthology of all original horror fiction that was sadly overshadowed by the super-anthologies, Dark Forces and New Terrors, when Lamb’s collection was belatedly released. A number of long-l
ived paperback horror series again appeared during 1981. The 22nd Pan Book of Horror, edited by Herbert van Thal, was a distinct improvement over recent volumes in the series. Fontana Books offered superior fare in their rival, The 14th Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories, edited by Mary Danby. Danby also edited The 13th Armada Ghost Book for younger readers, as well as 65 Great Tales of Horror—this last almost entirely reprint. From Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes came The 17th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories, along with The 6th Armada Monster Book. These annual series publish a good deal of original horror fiction as well as reprints, and it’s a loss for American horror fans that they aren’t readily available in the States. Finally, from Australia came Distant Worlds, another of editor-publisher Paul Collins’ fine anthologies of science fiction and fantasy.

  The amateur press continues to be the most active market for horror fiction, both for beginning writers and well-known professionals alike. Produced as labors of love by industrious fans, amateur publications run the gamut from mimeographed booklets stapled together on the living room floor to slick paper and color cover productions that exceed the quality of professional magazines. Similarly, rates of payment can run from less than nothing to better than professional magazine rates. It is rumored that there was once a fan publisher who made a profit, but this is unsubstantiated. The significant aspect of amateur publishing is the dauntless enthusiasm with which those involved approach the field.

  A new magazine, Fantasy Book, was the most ambitious new face of 1981 in the semi-pro field (that is, an amateur-produced magazine that pays professional rates but lacks nationwide newsstand distribution). Technically a revival of William Crawford’s pioneering Fantasy Book of the late 1940s and early 1950s, the new Fantasy Book brought out two thick issues at the close of 1981 and planned to maintain its bimonthly schedule throughout 1982. A similar publication was the new science fiction semi-prozine, Rigel. Sorcerer’s Apprentice, predominantly a fantasy gaming magazine that includes some fiction as well, continued to improve with each issue in 1981, reaching its twelfth. Night Voyages, maturing with each issue, published its eighth issue by the close of the year. Two other ambitious and well produced continuing publications were Wyrd and Canada’s Miriad. Also from Canada and coming on fast was Potboiler. Another newcomer of considerable promise was Owlflight.

  There were a few casualties in 1981; among them, Gothic, a very literate semi-prozine ceased publication. Whispers, the leader of the field, again failed to publish an issue during the year, but two double issues are planned shortly. On the brighter side, Myrddin, an outstanding publication assumed moribund, reappeared under a new title, Night Flights. Nothing was heard from Charles de Lint and Charles Saunders’ Dragonfields, but de Lint did produce a nice chapbook, A Pattern of Silver Strings. W. Paul Ganley’s Weirdbook, one of the first of the semi-prozines, appeared in its fifteenth issue, after skipping a year, while Amra, the great-grandfather of epic fantasy fanzines, re-emerged after a long silence and produced its twenty-fifth anniversary issue. Another long-lived publication, Space and Time, reached its sixty-first issue. Meanwhile, Crispin Burnham’s Eldritch Tales turned back the clock on itself to bring out its second issue; the fanzine had already published its seventh issue, but various problems had delayed the second issue until 1981. That’s seeing it through.

  From overseas came the fourth issue of Kadath, an English-language magazine luxuriously produced by Italy’s Francesco Cova. England’s Fantasy Tales appeared twice in 1981; this outstanding semi-prozine published by writer-editor David Sutton and artist Stephen Jones is the European equivalent of Whispers. The British Fantasy Society was active again, with its B.F.S. Bulletin continuing to expand under editor Carl Hiles, and its literary journal, Dark Horizons, being revamped under new editor David Sutton. Rosemary Pardoe published a third Ghosts & Scholars, a worthwhile fanzine devoted to M.R. James, that features fiction and articles, as well as a fine booklet of David G. Rowlands’ Father O’Connor stories, Eye Hath Not Seen ... Spanning the Atlantic with co-editors Dave Reeder in England and Richard Fawcett in the States, the second issue of Fantasy Macabre also appeared.

  It all adds up to a long shelf of reading material—the more so considering that a great many horror stories are published outside genre sources; men’s magazines, general fiction anthologies, even in magazines that wouldn’t be thought to carry fiction (I mean, Running Times?). It isn’t easy to keep up with it all. Here in Chapel Hill, I rely on Larry Shapiro of The Foundation Bookstore (the largest science fiction and fantasy bookstore in the southeast) to keep me supplied. As of now Larry doesn’t issue catalogs, but if you need something, drop him a card at 136 East Rosemary Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514; it might just be in stock. For those fans not fortunate enough to have a local specialty bookstore, two established dealers who issue regular catalogs of almost all inprint fantasy books and publications are Robert Weinberg (15145 Oxford Drive, Oak Forest, IL 60452) and J.S. Hurst (P.O. Box 236, Vienna, MD 21869). To keep abreast of what’s being published, an indispensable reference is the monthly news magazine, Fantasy Newsletter. Subscriptions are $16.00 per year from new editor Robert A. Collins, 500 NW 20th Street, Boca Raton, FL 33431.

  This is the tenth volume in DAW Books’ The Year’s Best Horror Stories. The series originated in 1971, edited by Richard Davis for Sphere Books in England. The DAW edition of Series I was, appropriately, DAW Book No. 13. Gerald W. Page became editor with Series IV, after DAW Books continued the series on its own, and I took over with Series VIII when Page elected to devote more of his time to his own writing career. Ten years is a longish time for an anthology series, and during its decade of existence The Year’s Best Horror Stories has remained unique. While there have been a number of “year’s best” anthologies devoted to science fiction, this remains the only best-of-the-year horror anthology.

  Horror fiction has held a universal appeal throughout the ages. Every culture has had its myths of demons and ghosts and were-beasts. If Stephen King is read by millions today, so did Victorian readers line up in the streets to buy the latest chapters of the penny-dreadfuls, and eighteenth century readers shivered beside their candles over the pages of the newest Gothic novel. People like to be frightened, whether by a movie or a book or just a good spooky story told by firelight.

  The question is often asked: Why do people like to be frightened? Perhaps a better question: Why do certain people like to frighten other people? Sorry—a trade secret.

  Writers of horror fiction want to frighten people, and it is my task to select those who best succeed in this. There are many levels of fear, and good writers are constantly seeking effective avenues by which to reach these fears within us all, whether visceral as an axe-wielding maniac or psychological us a subtle erosion of reality. Not all stories work for all readers, for we do not all have the same fears. Or admit to having them.

  Here, then, is The Year’s Best Horror Stories: Series X, marking the end of a decade. Once again, I have tried to select the best of the many fine horror stories published during the past year. Some of these stories are by well known authors, others represent a first or second sale; some are from familiar publications, others are from obscure sources; some represent traditional approaches to horror fiction, others demonstrate radical departures from the popular concept of horror fiction. My only intent was to bring together the best horror stories of the year, regardless of various considerations and taboos that otherwise might concern an anthologist.

  This collection is traditional in one respect only: it marks the end of a decade for this unique annual series, and after ten years The Year’s Best Horror Stories has become a tradition. Don’t worry. If your heart has survived the past decade of fear, you can look forward to ten more years of carefully chosen nightmares.

  That’s if you survive Series X.

  —KARL EDWARD WAGNER

  THROUGH THE WALLS by Ramsey Campbell

  When a 16-year-old kid writes a volume of horror stories, it’s self-evident that he’s a lo
st soul, and Ramsey Campbell has devoted the last twenty years to living up to his early horrifying promise. Born in Liverpool on January 4, 1946, Campbell has seemingly dedicated his adult life to convincing the world that his native city is inhabited by cannibals, psychotic killers, and a jostling horde of nightmare creatures beside which the aforementioned fiends seem quite mundane. Since his first book, The Inhabitant of the Lake & Less Welcome Tenants (Arkham House, 1964), a collection of stories written during that adolescent Lovecraft phase that so many horror writers have gone through, Campbell has developed his own approach to horror fiction and has firmly established himself as one of the foremost stylists in this genre.

  Ramsey Campbell’s more recent books include novels: The Doll Who Ate His Mother, The Face That Must Die, To Wake the Dead (retitled The Parasite for the U.S. revision), and The Nameless; in addition to short story collections: Demons by Daylight, The Height of the Scream, and Dark Companions; as well as anthologies which he has edited: Superhorror (a.k.a. The Far Reaches of Fear), New Terrors, New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, and The Gruesome Book. This last is an anthology of horror stories for young readers, being the very same stories that scared Campbell as a child. As the twig is bent.

  “Through the Walls” was published as a separate booklet, in an edition of 500 and nicely illustrated by David Lloyd, by the British Fantasy Society in time for Fantasycon VII in Birmingham this last July. This nerve-racking tour de force deserves a wider audience.