The Cell: Three Tales of Horror (1969) - Contains the stories "The Cell", "The Hunter", and "The Dead End" A gruesome tale about a man awaiting execution for horrendous crimes against humanity. Definitely a character to make your skin crawl. Where the story goes may be a little too obvious, but it is appropriate. Some volumes may have a higher percentage of great stories, but for me each collection is a treasure, the grab bag nature of which is half the fun. Not that this detracts from what is a quality piece of writing – certainly the strongest entry to the Pantheon for some years. A thirteen-year-old orphan girl is very fond of the obese bachelor who visits her regularly. His intentions are anything but wholesome. A disturbing tale of sexual menace.

This story was filmed as part of Season 2, Episode 9 of Night Gallery, Nov 17, 1971 starring John Astin. (Once again the character names were changed.) MY LITTLE MAN, by Abraham Ridley: A literal "madwoman in the attic" story. Unfortunately, the terrible quality of the writing makes this one virtually unreadable. 1/5 Miss Fletcher's Plum Tree." Almost threw the book across the room at this point. The author is a decent writer, but the story can't decide if it wants to be shota spanking porno or a torture porn movie, and so it goes for both. But once the dancer invites the twins into her bed, the already dark tale becomes more Tod Browning’s Freaks, with the twins wreaking a vicious revenge upon the philandering “normals”. The rather flannelly, waffley closing paragraph where the man recalls the swans they had had encountered earlier in the day perhaps holds some deeper Wild Swans at Coole type meaning, but if so it was lost on my simple mind.I thought this was going to be a vampire story. I was wrong. The twist is that the lover of the title is a necrophile. It’s a very short story, and adds just the right touch of tasteful depravity to the mix.

THE ISLAND OF REGRETS, by Elizabeth Walter. A newly-engaged couple's holiday to Brittany turns sour. Tons of atmosphere and suspense in this old-fashioned ghost story which is up there with the best of M. R. James. It sits out of place in this anthology, almost as if it's too good for it. 5/5John D. Keefauver had a story each in the fifth and sixth volumes in this series. He is also known for the bisexual-themed pulp novel Tormented Virgin (1962). THE FUR BROOCH, by Dulcie Gray: A young woman is desperate to get rid of her slimeball suitor, but he has other ideas. Written in a very genteel and decidedly old-fashioned style, but this somehow works; a gore story written by a prim and proper old lady - at least that's what it feels like. 3/5 he saw with a final glance that Laffler and Sbirro were already at the kitchen door, Sbirro holding the door invitingly wide with one hand, while the other rested, almost tenderly, on Laffler’s meaty shoulders.

The authors, most of whom were of obscure origin and who remained obscure, had several obsessions. Darkest Africa and the mysterious East was one (cue immeasurable fathomless cruelty); in case you think they were all racist blighters, they also seemed to think that behind the façade of every English country house was a retired surgeon just aching to graft your normal legs onto the body of his stunted daughter. Or chain you in the library and gradually eat bits of you. Raymond Henry Williams (1921-1988) was a Welsh Marxist theorist, academic, critic, novelist and short story writer. During the war, he took part in the Invasion of Normandy, commanded a tank unit and was involved with the liberation of a Nazi concentration camp.

The Fontana Series

Just to mix things up a bit, this one is a poem. A morbidly humorous tale of uxoricide. Very enjoyable.