The Year's Best Horror Stories 12 Read online

  “The candles are kept in the kitchen. That’s the second door on the right, about twenty feet along.”

  I heard him feeling his way along the wall. The moments seemed to pass interminably, and when I heard his voice again it seemed curiously muffled. “Gifford! You did say it was the second door on the right, didn’t you? Only I must have gone twenty feet already, and I haven’t come across a door yet.”

  Something like fear touched me then. I had not lived long at the vicarage, but long enough to know where all the rooms were. Then came the voice again, clearer this time but fainter: “There seems to be a bend in the hallway here. I don’t remember that.” Neither did I; I knew that the hall ran straight from the front to the back of the house.

  A moment later the faint voice said, “There’s no door here.” Then there was a dreadful long pause, and I heard my friend’s voice for the last time, seeming to reach me from an infinite distance. The words were simple and, in the circumstances, terrifying: “Dear God!” The sound seemed to ring, echoing, as though from an abyss ...

  —from The Wall Painting

  by Roger Johnson.

  Copyright ©, 1984, by DAW Books, Inc.

  All Rights Reserved.

  Cover art by Segrelles.

  DAW Collectors’ Book No. 603

  First Printing, November 1984

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

  PRINTED IN U.S.A.

  Wickerman eBooks

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Uncle Otto’s Truck by Stephen King. Copyright © 1983 by Yankee Publishing Inc. for Yankee, October 1983. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agent, Kirby McCauley Ltd.

  3.47 AM by David Langford. Copyright © 1983 by David Langford for The Gruesome Book. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Mistral by Jon Wynne-Tyson. Copyright © 1983 by TZ Publications, Inc. for Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine, July/August 1983. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Out of Africa by David Drake. Copyright © 1983 by David Drake for From the Heart of Darkness. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  The Wall-Painting by Roger Johnson. Copyright © 1983 by Rosemary Pardoe for Saints and Relics. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Keepsake by Vincent McHardy. Copyright © 1983 by Quarry Press, Kingston, for Quarry Magazine, Spring 1983. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Echoes by Lawrence C. Connolly. Copyright © 1982 by TZ Publications, Inc. for Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine, January/February 1983. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  After-Images by Malcolm Edwards. Copyright © 1982 by Interzone for Interzone, Spring 1983. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  The Ventriloquist’s Daughter by Juleen Brantingham. Copyright © 1983 by Stuart David Schiff for Whispers No. 19-20. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Come to the Party by Frances Garfield. Copyright © 1983 by Stuart David Schiff for Whispers IV. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  The Chair by Dennis Etchison. Copyright © 1983 by Dennis Etchison for The Dodd, Mead Gallery of Horror. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Names by Jane Yolen. Copyright © 1983 by Jane Yolen for Tales of Wonder. Reprinted by permission of the author and Schocken Books Inc.

  The Attic by Billy Wolfenbarger. Copyright © 1983 by Billy Wolfenbarger for Dark Horizons 26. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Just Waiting by Ramsey Campbell. Copyright © 1983 by TZ Publications, Inc. for Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine, November/December 1983. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  One for the Horrors by David J. Schow. Copyright © 1983 by Stuart David Schiff for Whispers No. 19-20. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Elle Est Trois. (La Mort) by Tanith Lee. Copyright © 1983 by Stuart David Schiff for Whispers IV. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Spring-Fingered Jack by Susan Casper. Copyright © 1983 by Susan Casper for Fears. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  The Flash! Kid by Scott Bradfield. Copyright © 1983 by Interzone for Interzone, Autumn 1983. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  The Man with Legs by Al Sarrantonio. Copyright © 1983 by Al Sarrantonio for Shadows 6. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  DEDICATION

  To Robert S. Hadji

  Who has pondered over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore

  INTRODUCTION: Of Fads and Frights

  Word on the street is that the popularity of horror fiction and films has peaked, and that publishers are now in search of a new genre to tempt the fickle tastes of the reading public. A more accurate assessment would be that the public’s appetite for junk-food horror has been sated, and that readers have become more sophisticated in their tastes and expectations. To the bewilderment of those who have cashed in on the high tide of the horror fad, people are no longer standing in line to see films like Rototiller Dentist or assaulting the paperback racks to buy novels about giant maggots gobbling up Los Angeles or possessed teenagers turning other teenagers inside out. Readers have been affronted by enough garbage served up as horror; now they demand something better.

  Fortunately there is an answer to this continuing demand for the highest quality in horror fiction: The Year’s Best Horror Stories, the annual anthology of the finest of the year’s frights and frissons.

  You are now holding Series XII, nineteen stories representing the cream of the crop of 1983’s harvest of horrors. This collection is the result of a year’s work, of reading through hundreds of stories published in books and magazines of all descriptions from the United States and Europe in order to select the best of the best. Many of the top authors in the horror genre are represented here, but alongside them you will find exceptional work from new and unfamiliar writers. Some of these stories first appeared in major collections or large-circulation fantasy magazines, others appeared in obscure publications and small press fanzines. Virtually all types of horror fiction are represented here: traditional, New Wave, historical, contemporary, psychological, science fiction, mainstream. The only criterion for selection was excellence. The Year’s Best Horror Stories is intended for the novice horror fan as well as the jaded sophisticate, and Series XII is the latest collection of the very best for those readers who expect the very best.

  While the market for trash horror novels may be dwindling, 1983 was an excellent year for short fiction, despite uninformed consensus that this is a declining if not lost literary form. With respect to fantasy and horror, this was a good year for magazines and fanzines, and a bumper year for collections and anthologies.

  On the magazine front, the best news continues to be Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone Magazine, which has significantly increased circulation through a major subscription campaign and a new bimonthly publication schedule. Under the intelligent direction of editor T.E.D. Klein, The Twilight Zone Magazine continues to publish the best fiction of any science fiction/fantasy magazine today—all of this crammed in with articles, reviews, columns and coverage of the latest films and vintage television programs, served up with color and black-and-white photographs and transcripts of Twilight Zone telecasts. Its only competition is the British magazine, Interzone—a well-produced communal project that publishes the best non-formula and experimental science fiction and fantasy since the New Wave movement of the 1960s. Regrettably, Interzone publishes only a few issues a year and is rarely seen by American readers. It is more than worth the effort to seek it out.

  Horror fans had reason to applaud in 1983 as magazines generally considered restricted to science fiction alone began to include fantasy and horror fiction along with all the rocket ships an
d aliens. Omni, under the editorship of Ellen Datlow, went so far as to run a gripping serial concerning psychic vampirism, while Shawna McCarthy has injected a strong fantasy element into the contents of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. The venerable Amazing Stories, being held aloft by its bootstraps by the determination of editor George Scithers, continues to include a wide variety of fantasy and horror—making good its claim to have combined with former companion magazine, Fantastic Stories. And under Edward L. Ferman, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction inexorably cruises along with a steady twelve well-bred issues a year.

  The fan press continued to expand during 1983, with a good showing of newcomers joining the ranks of established fanzines and semiprozines (the latter being a somewhat cumbersome term for amateur magazines that pay for their material). Stuart David Schiff’s Whispers, still far and away the best in its field, appeared with one double-sized issue in 1983, while its British counterpart, Fantasy Tales edited by Stephen Jones and David Sutton, also managed a single issue. Greater frequency for both publications is expected for 1984. W. Paul Ganley’s Weirdbook, a patriarch among fantasy/horror semiprozines, brought out two more issues in 1983, and Jessica Amanda Salmonson’s long-dormant Fantasy and Terror suddenly reappeared with a new issue—this published by Richard Fawcett, who also publishes Fantasy Macabre, edited by Dave Reeder and now in its fourth issue.

  Other long-running fantasy/horror publications continued to show progress with new issues during 1983. Gordon Linzner’s Space and Time reached its sixty-fifth issue (which must be a record for this sort of magazine). Michael Ambrose’s Argonaut appeared in its ninth issue, as did Gerald J. Brown’s Night Voyages, and so did Crispin Burnham’s Eldritch Tales. (Is there something about number nine?) From Canada, Lari Davidson’s Potboiler saw its sixth issue; also from Canada, Charles de Lint brought out a fourth issue of Dragonfields in addition to two chapbooks of his own writing. Also going strong with new issues throughout the year were Fantasy Book and Sorcerer’s Apprentice—two semiprozines with production values that surpass those of the mass-circulation magazines they most resemble.

  Two very different small press projects came into their own most impressively during 1983. Thomas Wiloch’s Grimoire reached six issues with its own peculiar blend of avant-garde magic and madness. From a more settled extreme, Robert M. Price achieved the eighteenth issue of Crypt of Cthulhu, a scholarly journal devoted to in-depth studies of the works of H. P. Lovecraft—with an occasional issue devoted to Lovecraftian fiction. Not to show monomania, Price also published Bran Mak Morn: A Play, and Others—a chapbook of obscure fragments and stories by Robert E. Howard.

  From England, Rosemary Pardoe continued to do a great service to fans of M.R. James and to lovers of the traditional ghost story in general with the fifth annual issue of Ghosts & Scholars and a special Christmas chapbook, Saints and Relics. Meanwhile, the British Fantasy Society continued to hold the torch on high for fantasy/horror fans everywhere through its various publications, including its literary journal, Dark Horizons edited by David Sutton, and its news publication, British Fantasy Newsletter, revamped and revitalized by Stephen Jones and Jo Fletcher.

  Newcomers with impressive beginnings in 1983 included The Horror Show from David B. Silva, Space Grits from J.R. McHone, and Joey Froelich’s Whispered Legends. This has by no means been a complete listing. The reader interested in a more thorough guide to each year’s small press fantasy magazines should investigate The Index to the Semi-Professional Fantasy Magazines, compiled by Jerry Boyajian and Kenneth R. Johnson for Twaci Press (P.O. Box 87 MIT Branch, Cambridge, MA 02139)—just one of the valuable fantasy reference sources from this publisher.

  If this weren’t enough activity (and I’ve neglected to mention the innumerable fantasy/horror stories published in nongenre fiction and general interest magazines), 1983 was one of the best for short story collections.

  With regard to fantasy/horror anthologies, Doubleday again favored readers with its brace of continuing collections, Whispers IV edited by Stuart David Schiff and Shadows 6 edited by Charles L. Grant. Grant, as skilled an anthologist as he is an author, also edited Fears for Berkley Books and the mammoth Dodd, Mead Gallery of Horror. Jessica Amanda Salmonson edited Tales by Moonlight, a collection of horror stories from new writers, published in a deluxe hardcover edition by Robert T. Garcia. From Zebra Books came the fourth and last volume in its abortive revival of Weird Tales; new editors are currently seeking a new publisher to attempt yet another rebirth of this hallowed magazine. From England, Ramsey Campbell edited The Gruesome Book for Piccolo Books (Pan)—a volume of real horror stories for young readers. Also from England came The 24th Pan Book of Horror Stories edited by Herbert van Thal and The 16th Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories edited by Mary Danby—proof that annual horror anthologies can survive against all odds. Not to be left out, Paul Collins edited Frontier Worlds, another in a series of fine anthologies from Australia’s Cory & Collins.

  Single-author collections also flourished during 1983 with several fine volumes of fantasy/horror stories. The Ice Monkey and Other Stories (Victor Gollancz Ltd) was the long-awaited collection of contemporary nightmares from M. John Harrison. From Dark Harvest, a new small press, came Songs the Dead Men Sing by George R. R. Martin. From an academic press, Texas A & M University Press, came The Nightcharmer and Other Tales by Claude Seignolle. Schocken Books brought out Tales of Wonder, Jane Yolen’s first fantasy collection compiled for an adult audience. In paperback, DAW Books published Tanith Lee’s collection of grim fairy tales, Red as Blood, and Tor Books published David Drake’s collection of very grim horror stories, From the Heart of Darkness. For readers curious to sample some of my own writing, Warner Books brought out a collection of my contemporary horror fiction, In a Lonely Place.

  All of this should serve to give you an impression of the wealth of material being published for the serious horror fan. Keeping informed of all that is current is a difficult task, even for the longtime fan. Fortunately there is a means to keep in touch with the field: a subscription to Fantasy Review (formerly Fantasy Newsletter) will bring you monthly news and reviews—all for $18.00 a year from 500 NW 20th Street, Boca Raton, FL 33431. And for readers who don’t have access to a friendly neighborhood science fiction and fantasy bookstore, monthly catalogs of the best in current books and magazines can be obtained through Robert Weinberg, 15145 Oxford Drive, Oak Forest, IL 60452.

  In the meantime, settle back and enjoy The Year’s Best Horror Stories: Series XII—nineteen stories carefully chosen to give you the finest in nightmares.

  And while you’re reading, I’ll be busy sifting through the new horror fiction from 1984, to be presented in The Year’s Best Horror Stories: Series XIII. Better save a few tranquilizers for next time.

  —Karl Edward Wagner

  UNCLE OTTO’S TRUCK by Stephen King

  Stephen King is an author who has paid his dues. Today King is probably the best known horror writer in the world, thanks to an impressive string of best-selling novels: Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, The Stand, The Dead Zone, Firestarter, Cujo, Christine, Pet Sematary—most of which have been made into major films. Success, however, was slow in coming. King started writing at age twelve, trying to sell short stories. By college his first two sales had netted him a total of $65. Working in a laundromat for $60 a week—before landing a $6400-a-year high school teaching job—King sold occasional stories to the men’s magazines, notably to Cavalier. Checks were small and far between, but as King recalls, a check might mean he and his wife could afford to buy antibiotics for their daughter’s ear infection. Determination—and talent—paid off, and since publication of Carrie in 1974 King has been able to support himself and his family through his writing.

  Born September 21, 1946 in Portland, Maine, King has resisted all temptations to move away from the state he loves and where he currently lives with his wife Tabitha (who is also a writer) and their children in a large Victorian house in Bangor. Fan
s of King’s short fiction will be interested to learn that King is gathering a new collection of his recent horror stories, to be titled Skeleton Crew. “Uncle Otto’s Truck,” with its Down East flavor, reflects an actual experience King had in the Maine countryside. It also points out that Stephen King stands well to become an important regionalist.

  It is a great relief to write this down.

  I have not slept well since I found my Uncle Otto dead, and there have been times when I have really felt I have gone insane. In a way it would all have been more merciful if I did not have the actual object here in my study, where I can look at it, or pick it up and heft it if I should want to. I don’t want to do that; I don’t want to touch that thing. But sometimes I do, almost against my will.

  If I hadn’t taken it away from his little one-room house when I fled from it, I could begin persuading myself it was all only a hallucination—a figment of an overworked and overstimulated brain. But it is there. It catches the light. It has weight. It can be hefted in the hand.