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A review by abomine
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories That Scared Even Me by Miriam Allen DeFord, John Wyndham, Basil Copper, William Wood, John A. Burke, Theodore Sturgeon, William Sambrot, Nugent Barker, Algis Budrys, Margaret St. Clair, Ray Russell, Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Leiber, Donald E. Westlake, Robert Sprecht, Gerald Kersh, E. Phillips Oppenheim, Adobe James, T.H. White, Damon Knight, Ellis Peters, Irvin S. Cobb, Robert Arthur, Thomas M. Disch, Robert Somerlott, Henry Slesar
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I watched a lot of Twilight Zone (and a little bit of The Hitchcock Hour) in my teen years, so quite a few of the "twists" in these stories didn't quite have the shock factor for me, simply because I had already seen those same twists before, but done better.
However, there were some genuinely creepy stories in this book, which I recommend checking out either in this collection or elsewhere:
--Fishhead by Irwin S. Cobb: Unnerving, but not for the reasons the author intended. Watch out for horrendous racism.
--A Death in the Family by Miriam Allen deFord: Morbid and chilling without being overly gruesome or disgusting.
--X Marks the Pedwalk by Fritz Lieber: A darkly comic and satiric story about an alternate history of big city traffic.
--The Cage by Ray Russel: This story brought back the same feelings I had when reading Edgar Allan Poe for the first time, which is very high praise.
--It by Theodore Sturgeon: Sturgeon really gets into the head space of an inhuman creature, which is impressive to read. This should go without saying, but no relation to Pennywise.
--Guide to Doom by Ellis Peters: A bit predictable, but it's still an old-fashioned spooky read. Bonus points for having an experimental writing style; only the narrator speaks and there's no dialogue.
--The Troll by T.H. White: A bit like Coraline in that it taps into deep, primeval, childhood fears, but with an adult male protagonist. Watch out for horrendous racism.
--Evening at the Black House by Robert Somerlott: Not necessarily scary, but thrilling and satisfying.
--One of the Dead by William Wood: Easily my favorite out of all these stories, beginning with a palpable sense of unease that slowly builds to bonafide horror.
--Master of the Hounds by Algis Budrys: I love dogs. They're sweet, they're loving, and they fill our lives with childlike joy. It takes a damn good horror writer to make dogs scary for me, and Algis Budrys is that kind of writer.
However, there were some genuinely creepy stories in this book, which I recommend checking out either in this collection or elsewhere:
--Fishhead by Irwin S. Cobb: Unnerving, but not for the reasons the author intended. Watch out for horrendous racism.
--A Death in the Family by Miriam Allen deFord: Morbid and chilling without being overly gruesome or disgusting.
--X Marks the Pedwalk by Fritz Lieber: A darkly comic and satiric story about an alternate history of big city traffic.
--The Cage by Ray Russel: This story brought back the same feelings I had when reading Edgar Allan Poe for the first time, which is very high praise.
--It by Theodore Sturgeon: Sturgeon really gets into the head space of an inhuman creature, which is impressive to read. This should go without saying, but no relation to Pennywise.
--Guide to Doom by Ellis Peters: A bit predictable, but it's still an old-fashioned spooky read. Bonus points for having an experimental writing style; only the narrator speaks and there's no dialogue.
--The Troll by T.H. White: A bit like Coraline in that it taps into deep, primeval, childhood fears, but with an adult male protagonist. Watch out for horrendous racism.
--Evening at the Black House by Robert Somerlott: Not necessarily scary, but thrilling and satisfying.
--One of the Dead by William Wood: Easily my favorite out of all these stories, beginning with a palpable sense of unease that slowly builds to bonafide horror.
--Master of the Hounds by Algis Budrys: I love dogs. They're sweet, they're loving, and they fill our lives with childlike joy. It takes a damn good horror writer to make dogs scary for me, and Algis Budrys is that kind of writer.