Horror stories are short stories...

The lazy horror lists on Amazon, Goodreads etc. have bounced around the same 2 dozen novels for over a decade. First off... these fat-arsed horror novels - with scant few exceptions - can barely sustain the fear for more than 20 per cent of their total word count. Second we've read them already...haven't we?

Real fear lies in the short story format.. which of course derives from the ancient oral tradition of the fireside parable. Usually intended to shit-scare children into obedience.

Horror appreciation works on different levels. But on its most basic level it is of course extremely simple to identify. As with the relationship between laughter and comedy,  the horror artifact must provoke physical or mental discomfort in the audience. Of course you might still enjoy the story, some of the characters, the setting etc. But if the work didn't un-settle or disturb you in a notable fashion - well sod it..


LIST RULES: 1

Un-hierarchical and un-numbered. The stories are too diverse to be compared. But they were all chosen because they scared me. I might occasionally flag something up as being particularly interesting for a particular reason. 

LIST RULES: 2

Only one story per author on list. Painful but necessary otherwise the list will be just filled with Machen, Aickmann, M R James, Lovecraft, Barker and  Ligottti stories.

LIST RULES: 3

Where possible avoid mainstream popular selections. I don't want to waste your time. I am not expecting readers of this blog to be PHD horror experts.  But no-one really wants to read the "Pit and the Pendulum" again. As a consequence the list may skew heavily to the "weird" spectrum of the genre. This is not the strange backwater it used to be 30 years ago. Weird fiction is a concept that has exploded onto the mainstream.

LIST RULES: 4

I wont be posting up links to the stories. Its your job to track them down. That is where half the fun lies. The hunt, the anticipation...

LIST RULES: 5 

Long form reviews, split into three sections: authorial biography, spoiler free synopsis, and subsequent spoiler friendly analysis. 

Okay, ground rules set....pull on your travelling boots, load your pistol, wind your timepieces, inject morphine, lie down and sleep....