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Guest

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2000 5:28 pm Post subject:

I know we did lists not too long ago, but I really love short stories, and since I was sick all weekend I got to reread some of my favorites. I'm curious as to what short stories have had the greatest impact on everyone. By that, I guess I mean staying power. Which are the stories, not necessarily favorites, that have stayed with you (haunted you)? Here's mine: Eumenides in the Fourth Floor Lavatory by Orson Scott Card Fairy Dust by Charles Birkin The Professor's Teddy Bear by Theodore Sturgeon The Night Wire by H.F. Arnold A Dress of White Silk by Richard Matheson Red by Richard Christian Matheson Submitted By: rachaela

Guest

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2000 7:32 pm Post subject:

Before I add my list, I must comment that I believe that the stories that stay with me and haunt me generally become my favorites, so it's hard to separate the two! But, trying to stay within that criteria, here goes... "The Hog" by William Hope Hodgson -- mixing science with psychology... it'll make you rethink those noises you hear on the verge of sleep... that is, if you can sleep again! "House of the Hatchet" by Robert Bloch -- is it the power of pop-culture kitsch or a veritable supernatural force? you decide... "The Signalman" by Charles Dickens -- the setting alone is enough to give me chills! "The Confession of Brother Blaise" by Jane Yolen -- very unsettling account of the beginning of Christianity... makes you re-evaluate everything you ever thought you believed in "Pickman's Model" by HP Lovecraft and "Orange is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity" by David Morrell -- both question the nature of artists' inspiration and of course, "The Wendigo" by Algernon Blackwood -- because it'll make you never want to go into the woods again I'm sure I'll think of 87 more in five minutes... Submitted By: Deena

Guest

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2000 9:38 pm Post subject:

I've read some of those stories, Deena. Good choices! You also reminded me of another one: "The Hungry House" by Robert Bloch I should hunt down the Wendigo story, I've heard so much about it! Submitted By: rachaela

Guest

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2000 10:29 pm Post subject:

Yeah, I was torn between including The Hungry House and The House of the Hatchet. Both are excellent and haunting! Submitted By: Deena

Guest

Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2000 1:12 am Post subject:

I too have been reading a lot of short stories lately, a lot of Simon Clark. Well, the story that had the most impact on me is also my all time favorite--"The Deathbird" by Harlan Ellison. This story totally blew me away when I first read it. I'd read a couple other Ellison stories before ("The Whimper Of Whipped Dogs" and "The Beast That Shouted Love Into The Heart of The World") but this one was the first story that threw my world for a loop. "My Dead Dog, Bobby" by Joe R. Lansdale. This story is just so weird that you can't help but love it. "Popsy" by Stephen King. When reading this story I didn't think to much of it until that last couple of pages. I find the climax to be genuinely freaky. "Pig Blood Blues" by Clive Barker. This is another story with a wonderfully twisted climax. I'm not sure if it's my favorite Barker story ("The Midnight Meat Train" is probably my favorite) but this one is always at the back of my head. "Dead Man's Hand" by Norman Partridge. The sequel to "The Bars On Satan's Jailhouse," this one has that wonderful image of frogs jumping around in a cowboy's belly. Those are the stories that are always with me. Submitted By: Mr Self Affliction

Guest

Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2000 3:26 am Post subject:

Sorry, kidz, I'm going to be even more long-winded than usual... INPO: 1. Window by Bob Leman 2. The Tooth Fairy by Del Stone Jr. 3. They Bite by Anthony Boucher 4. Bad Guy Hats by David J. Schow 5. The Man Who Sold Rope To The Gnoles by Margaret St. Claire 6. A Tropical Horror by William Hope Hodgson 7. Shadow, Shadow, on the Wall by Theodore Sturgeon 8. It's a GOOD Life by Jerome Bixby 9. The Treader of the Dust by Clark Ashton Smith 10. Blood Son by Richard Matheson 11. He'll Come Knocking at Your Door by Robert R. McCammon 12. Spike Jones and the Reverend Sister Claudine by Rex Miller 13. And Don't Forget the One Red Rose by Avram Davidson 14. In the Hills, the Cities by Clive Barker 15. Thus I Refute Beelzy by John Collier 16. The Mezzotint by M. R. James 17. Nadelman's God by T. E. D. Klein - ok, ok, so it's a novella... 18. The Painted Mirror by Donald Wandrei 19. The Unspeakable Betrothal by Robert Bloch 20. The Outsider by H. P. Lovecraft - my first-ever Lovecraft - I still cry over it 21. The Crooked Man by Charles Beaumont 22. The Snail Watcher by Patricia Highsmith - Phango, for your sanity's sake: STAY AWAY from this one!!! 23. Home Delivery by Stephen King 24. The Dark Came Out to Play by Zenna Henderson 25. Hop Frog by Edgar Allen Poe 26. The Man Upstairs by Ray Bradbury 27. Jeremy in the Wind by Nigel Kneale 28. The Jewbird by Bernard Malamud 29. A Scent of Roses by Jeffrey Goddin 30. Sticks by Karl Edward Wagner - I'm positive the "Blair Witch" people read this one... 31. Grab Bags Are Dangerous by Frank Belknap Long 32. The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke 33. How Love Came to Professor Guildea by Robert S. Hichens 34. Ladies in Waiting by Hugh B. Cave 35. The Picknickers by Brian Lumley 36. The Moon-Lens by Ramsey Campbell -And you should've seen the list BEFORE I edited it down! [o the agony...] Bye now, RomanyX Submitted By: RomanyX

Guest

Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2000 2:00 pm Post subject:

RomanyX- How could I forget Hop Frog by Poe?! I cry every time I read that. Most of the time I can't even get through it, even though I know how it ends. I've read about 10 of those and I agree with you - all excellent stories. Doesn't Highsmith have more than one snail story? I've read one with a different name, a scientific name like Snailus Claverengi (I know that's not right!), and it was creepy. "Sticks" is epic... "How love came..." was a little strange, and I think I need to read it again because I don't think I got everything... "Spike Jones..." is great too. "In the Hills, In the Citites" was the first thing I ever read by Clive Barker and it completely blew my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks. Submitted By: Deena

Guest

Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2000 2:58 pm Post subject:

Deena, I've read that Highsmith story, also. I think it's called "The Quest for Blank Claverengi." You're right--very creepy! And good list, Romany X. I forgot about the Bixby story. Submitted By: rachaela

Guest

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2000 2:40 pm Post subject:

Man, what a tough job... from Barker, my favourite is The Yattering & Jack, by far, then Son of Celluloid, Sex, Death and Starshine, Inhuman Condition, Confessions of a Pornographer's Shroud... In The Hills, The Cities, Midnight Meat Train... I could go on. I'm not a big fan of the novels, I adore Weaveworld and Damnation Game, but can't live with the Art books... I love Friends Best Man and Uh oh City by Jonathan Carroll. Then Fritz Leiber's Smoke Ghost... I could throw in The Dreams of Albert Moorland, Belsen Express, Secret Songs, Gonna ROll The Bones... I tend to find that I like authors rather than individual short stories, some guys just shake my tail, you know? it's rare that I come across an individual story that has half the impact of one of those up there... But that is just me Steve Submitted By: Steve Savile

Guest

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2000 4:08 pm Post subject:

Steve, I totally forgot about "The Yattering and Jack." That's definitely my favorite Barker story as well, then "Pig Blood Blues." Also, I don't read enough Leiber. I've read a story hear and I've read a story there but I've never actually sat down and read a bunch of his stories at one time or even a single novel. There's a book out now that contains two of his novels THE CONJURE WIFE and something I don't recall. I think the book itself is called DARK LADIES but I'm not sure. Jonathan Carroll's another author I enjoy but I've only read one of his short stories, "The Panic Hand." I'll have to check out more of him. Submitted By: Mr Self Affliction

Guest

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2000 11:49 pm Post subject:

There are so many great short stories that I don't know where to begin, or should I say choose. A story that has stuck in my mind is "The Graveyard Rats" by Henry Kuttner. The ending had a disturbing psychological effect, truly outstanding. Here's a few stories that come to mind: "Survivor Type" Stephen King "Yours truly, Jack the Ripper" Robert Bloch "Dread" Clive Barker "The Outsider" Lovecraft "Moonlight Sonata" Alexander Wolcott Submitted By: psychoman1888

Guest

Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2000 1:51 am Post subject:

Well I'd have to say the author that writes better short stories than anyone I have yet to read is of course Edgar Allan Poe. So here we go kids. "The Tell-Tale Heart" "The Black Cat" "The Fall of the House of Usher" "The Masque of the Red Death" "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" "The Cask of Amontillado" "The Pit and the Pendulum" "The Oval Portrait" Okay that's just the beginning but I think u get the idea. Edgar Allen Poe had the beauty in horror literature and poetry that nobody else has ever had as far as I am concerned. There u have heard my opinions of short stories and Edgar Allan Poe. LOL Submitted By: Misty

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