This list represents some of the best short fiction I've read, but includes only a few stories published in recent years. I'm foremost interested in classic fiction from the 19th & 20th Centuries. This would include fantasy, horror, mystery, supernatural and science fiction, but does not necessarily exclude stories categorized as mainstream. Most fiction enthusiasts should be familiar with some of the titles admitted here, many are considered classics in their respective genres. I have written brief descriptions for each story to pique curiosity, while trying not to divulge any spoilers. If a new tale makes a bold impression on me, I may add them to the list as well. The inventory here is alphabetical by author only, and not by title.
THE GENTLEMAN FROM AMERICA.
Arlen, Michael. - 1925, short story. There is a story within this story that is as gruesome and frightening as any terror tale ever told. Filmed rather effectively in 1948 as The Fatal Night.
THE BICENTENNIAL MAN.
Asimov, Isaac. - 1976, novelette. Philosophical self-analysis of a robot. Is it, are they, human?
THE FINALE.
Bell, Neil. - 1946, short story. A man teetering on the edge of unconsciousness has a sudden half-lidded awareness, and then an incongruous reveal, which in essence is a horrifying revelation (at least to this reader). First published in Neil Bell's 1946 collection, Alpha and Omega, "The Finale" is one of many similar-struck horror tales (and O'Henry styled yarns) that are collected in that book. All of Bell's science fiction and horror stories are rare and difficult to locate, but worth the effort. His Life Comes to Seathorpe (1946) is an especially worthwhile science fiction novel, as is his 1953 collection of horror stories aptly titled, Who Walk in Fear.
POWERS OF THE AIR.
Beresford, John Davys. - 1918, short story. Deadly malign influences are discovered to be permeating a towering seaside cliff.
FONDLY FAHRENHEIT.
Bester, Alfred. - 1954, novelette. Madness, robots, murder and dopplegangers... whew!
THE WILLOWS.
Blackwood, Algernon. - 1907, novelette. A pair of men float the Danube by canoe and become menaced by an unseen presence. This long yarn has a perfectly controlled atmosphere and constantly mounting suspense, and is understandably, one of the most admired in the supernatural genre.
THAT HELL-BOUND TRAIN.
Bloch, Robert. - 1958, short story. All aboard... whoo whooo.. next stop...
THEY BITE.
Boucher, Anthony. - 1943, short story. The desert-dwelling Carkers wield a savage bite that can snap through bone. Recent irrefutable archaelogical evidence of cannibalism among the Anasazi people of the desert southwest make this yarn even more interesting.
SLIME.
Brennan, Joseph Payne. - 1953, short story. The first creeping slime story that influenced a generation of readers, writers and filmmakers. Steve McQueen's 1958 debut film The Blob and its 1988 remake were both inspired by Slime, as well as Dean Koontz's Phantoms and its 1998 film adaptation. Even Stephen King's excellent short story The Raft, owes a debt of gratitude to Joseph Payne Brennan and his outstanding original yarn.
WHO GOES THERE.
Campbell, John W. - 1938, novella. An Antarctic research station is menaced by a shape shifting alien intruder. Voted by the Science Fiction Writers Association as one of the best novellas ever written. Filmed in 1951 as The Thing (from Another World), but without the shape shifting aspect, and then again in 1982 as John Carpenter's The Thing, with Campbell's basic premise somewhat restored.
THE STAR.
Clarke, Arthur C. - 1955, short story. Spacefarers discover the massive wreckage of inhabited worlds, destroyed by an apparent supernova. Clarke's reputation as a "nuts & bolts" science fiction writer is forever altered here, as he engages dramatically in theological semantics. Another famous short story by Clarke that follows a similar religious theme is The Nine Billion Names of God (1953).
EVENING PRIMROSE.
Collier, John. - 1941, short story: Strange goings on in a department store after hours. A psychologically acute, rather subversive moral tale, typical of this remarkable writers yield.
THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME.
Connell, Richard. - 1924, short story: A shipwreck survivor finds that his island host is a most unusual sportsman-- the possessor of a most macabre, if somewhat insane, sense of humor.
THE UPPER BERTH.
Crawford, F. Marion. - 1886, short story: An unseen horrid thing occupies a steamship cabin. An excellent example of spectral horror.
THE LISTENERS.
De La Mare, Walter. - 1912, poem: Sometimes its only silence itself that answers our knock; yet sometimes the silence itself is alive...
THE GOLDEN MAN.
Dick, Philip K. - 1954, short story: Survival of the fittest, or at least those with precognitive abilities and brightly colored feathers.
THE IMPOSTER.
Dick, Philip K. - 1953, short story: Mistaken-identity motif takes on sinister associations.
THE FATHER-THING.
Dick, Philip K. - 1954, short story: Neighborhood kids sense that beneath the surface of suburban tranquility all sorts of dark activities are going on. This story may have been the inspiration for Jack Finney's The Body Snatchers.
A BOY AND HIS DOG.
Ellison, Harlan. - 1969, novella: Love and loyalty in a post-holocaust environment. A decidedly anti-feminist tale of morality.
JEFFTY IS FIVE.
Ellison, Harlan. - 1977, short story: There are always consequences for holding on the past too firmly.
THE MICROSCOPIC GIANTS.
Ernst, Paul. - 1936, short story: Mining engineers make a startling discovery at forty thousand feet underground.
FUNGUS ISLE.
Fisher, Philip M. - 1923, novelette: Shipwreck survivors find themselves stranded on an island covered entirely with monstrous fungi, and their provisions are running low...
THE YELLOW WALL PAPER.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. - 1899, short story: A tale of mental breakdown, narrated from the disintegrating point of view of its heroine, a woman haunted by specters that dwell behind the elaborated patterns on the wall paper in her room. The anthology where I first encountered this tale was actually missing the last page (a printing error), which of course I didn't realize at the time, and I thought the story was perhaps a bit overated. But then much later I found another reprinting, and whoa, now I know just how important that omitted piece was to the whole-- that last page is a doozie!
THE ISLAND.
Hartley, L. P. - 1924, short story: Superbly controllled story of a visit to a ghostly house on a mist shrouded island, full of suggestive whispers and shadows.
THE TRAVELING GRAVE.
Hartley, L. P. - 1929, short story: No spooks here- instead we have a bizarre mobile killing machine: in essence a metaphor for the mobility and capriciousness of death.
THE VOICE IN THE NIGHT.
Hodgson, William Hope. - 1907, short story: Castaways are transformed by fungus they are obliged to eat. The basis of a 1960's overlooked masterpiece of weird cinema from Toho Films, titled, Matango, or The Attack of the Mushroom People (beware truncated prints!). Of course, Philip Fisher's Fungus Isle is of the same mold, or taste, if you'll pardon my expression.
MYTHAGO WOOD.
Holdstock, Robert. - 1984, novelette: Ryhope Wood is a primeval, intricate, labyrinth of trees, and home to Mythagoes: metamorphic figures that take their essence from the collective unconscious of the British people.
BEYOND THE BLACK RIVER.
Howard, Robert E. - 1935, novelette: Conan enlists his sword to Aquilonian expansionists as they push further westward into hostile Pictish territory. Essentially a colonial frontier story disguised as sword & sorcery, and generally thought to be Howard's finest work-- it's my pick for best adventure story of all time. Howard excelled when writing the Conan yarns, but beware, except no substitutes, read the originals by Robert E. Howard foremost before moving on to the comic and graphic adaptations, or any other pastiches. REH was often imitated, but never equaled. When I was a rock climbing enthusiast (and much younger), I practically memorized the opening pages to Jewels of Gwahlur-- yes, Robert E. Howard is that good!
PIGEONS FROM HELL.
Howard, Robert E. - 1936, short story: Two young men take up lodging inside a desolate, decaying southern mansion, and find unexpected horror waiting for them in the dust laden rooms. One of the scariest stories ever written, and one of Robert E. Howard's most accomplished yarns, brilliantly incorporating his knowledge of regional ethnic folktales with classic horror tropes.
WORMS OF THE EARTH.
Howard, Robert E. - 1932, short story: A Pict king seeks revenge against the omnipotent Roman invaders by unleashing the hideous underground denizens of the dark.
THE THING IN THE CELLAR.
Keller, David H. - 1932, short story: A young boy believes there is something awful dwelling in the cellar. Something hideous and frightening. Can it be true?
MEN WITHOUT BONES.
Kersh, Gerald. - 1954, short story: Cosmic, lovecraftian horror, lurking in the headwaters of the Amazon River. Gerald Kersh's most potent short story, substantiating my belief that he is a master of the fantastic, if not the macabre, and vastly underrated by the literary intelligentsia.
VOICES IN THE DUST OF ANNAN.
Kersh, Gerald. - 1958, short story: A trader finds unexpected surprises in the decayed ruins of an ancient city.
THE PRINCESS OF ALL LANDS.
Kirk, Russell. - 1979, novelette: A supernormal woman finds herself abducted into a demonic realm of depravity and terror. Russell Kirk was a proponent (and father) of "traditionalist conservativism," which emphasized the principles of natural law, moral order, classicism and high culture, philosophies that are often spun into his ghost fiction but without lessening their impact on the reader-- perhaps even enhancing their impact. His supernatural stories rest solidly in the classic tradition of M. R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu and and H. Russell Wakefield, and are strongly recommended.
THERE'S A LONG, LONG TRAIL A-WINDING.
Kirk, Russell. - 1977, novelette: "All heads off but mine!" brayed the berserker. A tramp relives the ghostly events of a pivotal morning after taking refuge in an abandoned old mansion. Russell Kirk's story about the redemption of a wandering sinner was an unexpected winner of the 1977 World Fantasy Award for best short fiction.
THE BODY.
King, Stephen. - 1982, novella: During their Summer break, four boys set out to find a dead body in the woods, and undergo a rite of passage in the process. Stephen King's most heart felt story, a thick slice of pure Americana, served up like succulent watermelon on a plate.
THE MIST.
King, Stephen. - 1985, novelette: Eerie mist envelopes a small town community causing fear and panic among the inhabitants. A siege story, in which the trapped citizens are besieged from within as well as without. I loved the way Stephen King masterfully open-ended his story.
THE GRAVEYARD RATS.
Kuttner, Henry. - 1936, short story: An opportunist is terrorized while tunneling under a Salem cemetery. Henry Kuttner is overlooked, and largely under-appreciated by most horror readers, but early in his career he was briefly associated with the Lovecraft circle. This atmospheric tale comes highly recommended.
FEESTERS IN THE LAKE.
Leman, Bob. - 1980, short story: The sins of a father can be cast upon his children, as we've often witnessed throughout our history. Leman's family chronicle should be considered a bonafide classic of American Dark Fantasy, as much for what he reveals to us, as well as for what he doesn't. That kind of remarkable restraint coupled with decorum shows us a master writer at the top of his game.
WINDOW.
Leman, Bob. - 1981, short story: Military scientists experimenting with telekinesis uncover a strange window to a Victorian past. Everything about the pastoral scene on the other side of the window seems tranquil, but looks are often deceiving. Bob Leman completed only 15 stories in his lifetime, but each one is remarkable for its imaginative summations and succinct invocation of rural America.
ENEMY MINE.
Longyear, Barry B. - 1979, novella: An alien creature at warring odds with aggressive human expansionism, is isolated with its human adversary on a harsh, primitive planet.
THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE.
Lovecraft, H. P. - 1927, short story: If you are willing to suspend your disbelief, then this tale from H. P. Lovecraft will surround you in glowing weirdness. Beware... the "Blasted Heath!"
NOVEL OF THE BLACK SEAL.
Machen, Arthur. - 1895, novella: The little People of Wales have never recieved such a masterful (and frightening) literary treatment. Lovecraft considered Machen foremost among the four "modern masters" of supernatural horror (which includes Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany and M. R. James), and Machen's reputation as the premier writer of fin de siècle supernatural literature remains solid to this day.
NOVEL OF THE WHITE POWDER.
Machen, Arthur. - 1895, novella: A prescription drug envelopes its user in a blasphemous metamorphosis.
THE WHITE PEOPLE.
Machen, Arthur. - 1899, novella: A girls journal describes a series of nearly indescribable mystical visions involving supernatural presences in the woods. One of the genres finest examinations of dark folklore.
NIGHTFLYERS.
Martin, George R. R. - 1980, novella: A spacecrafts onboard computer is capable of psi powers, and it terrorizes the ships crew with its paranormal abilities. I have temporarily given up reading Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Fire and Ice, now in it's fourth or fifth volume (I've lost count), but his outstanding short fiction is always worth pursuing.
SANDKINGS.
Martin, George R. R. - 1979, novelette: A foolish and dangerous preoccupation with some newly acquired pets leads ultimately to disaster.
NIGHTCRAWLERS.
McCammon, Robert R. - 1984, short story: A Vietnam veteran can't prevent the war's horrific memories from materializing during his postwar travels, with catastrophic results.
WHAT WAS IT?
O'Brien, Fitz-James. - 1860, short story: Wrestling with the unknown and the unseen...
THE BECKONING FAIR ONE.
Onions, Oliver. - 1911, novella: Art itself becomes a supernatural phenomenon when the protagonist of this story submits to "the beckoning fair one", the woman of his art. I read a description of the ghostly woman here as in the "category of absolute things", but I'm not quite sure what that means. But this is a multilayered work, and it does represent one of the best efforts in the supernatural genre-- that much I do know. A masterpiece, beautifully written.
THE TELL-TALE HEART.
Poe, Edgar Allan. - 1840, short story: For those few out there who may be sceptical about Edgar Allan Poe's vaulted reputation, or haven't actually read any Poe stories, this is the place to start-- an almost pitch perfect story, guaranteed to win them over to the dark side.
THE HUMAN CHAIR.
Rampo, Edogawa. - 1925, short story: A furniture artisan's finest piece takes on a most bizarre treatment.
THE AUTOPSY.
Shea, Michael. - 1980, short story: A forensic scientist examines the corpses of a serial killer and his victims with altogether terrifying results. One of the scariest stories ever written in the modern era.
THE DWELLER IN THE GULF.
Smith, Clark Ashton. - 1933, short story: Earthmen exploring a deep cavern on the planet Mars discover sightless beings who worship an eidolon of their god.
THE HASHISH EATER.
Smith, Clark Ashton. - 1922, poem: A tour-de-force of imagination and prose that opens up chaotic hallucinogenic vistas and kaleidoscopic nightmares. No, seriously, it really does...
LEININGEN VERSUS THE ANTS.
Stephenson, Carl. - 1938, short story: A jungle plantation is in the destructive path of a huge army of marching ants. Will man's courage, ingenuity, and arrogance be enough to repel this rampaging aberration of nature?
MIMIC.
Wollheim, Donald A. - 1942, short story: A deadly examination of natures protective and predatory cover-- camouflage.
[Copyright © 2008 Berserker Books]
