Again this suffers from the anthology problem where the quality isn't really consistent and it was hard to pick stand outs as stuff kind of blurred together. There's only 1 outright bad story here I think but i get the feeling some weaker stories were chosen just because they're more obscure and not printed before or whatever. Which is interesting in its own way! But difficult to rate on a pure enjoyment level.

My favourite was really barely a horror story, California Burning by Michael Blumlein - about the aftermath of death and what we really know about someone. Also stylistically I found myself drawn more to the older stuff from Victorian era and a bit after - even when the horror is bad and cliche the approach really works for me ( )

This book is a collection of horror stories across the ages from the late 1800s to one new to this volume. I enjoyed the selection and order of stories but would have preferred a stronger story at the end. Before each story is a brief literary history of the author and the date the selected story is written. The latter is imperative in my opinion for short story collections of older works. A great selection of stories which I mostly loved and only one dud. Many of the stories appear here for the first time. A pleasure to read this collection of unique stories.

1. Aunty Green (1977) - Reprinted here for the first time since original publication. Aunty Green abused little Jimmy terribly as a child but now he's a multimillionaire and is coming to visit her for the first time since then. Predictable but pleasant reading. (3/5)

2. Miss Mack by Michael McDowell (1986) - The headmaster is jealous of the relationship between two teachers. This is a well-written story with fully developed characters and very enjoyable but the ending was disappointing. (3/5)

3. School Crossing by Francis King (1979) - A man has visions of children crossing the road at a school crossing. The ending is predictable but the story is fun and only hints at other of the man's problems. (4/5)

4. A Psychological Experiment by Richard Marsh (1900) - Talk in the smoking room had been about murder and suicide. As the room emptied Mr Howitt turns to a remaining stranger and says what dreadful talk. The stranger then proceeds to tell him a story of a murder that he'd heard of. I didn't like this one. It's rather tedious reading and the twist was not much. (2/5)

5. The Progress of John Arthur Crabbe by Stephen Gregory. (1982) - A woman gives birth late in life. Unfortunately, her husband died one month before. The boy is mentally challenged and has slight physical deformities. However, he has the gift to heal animals. This is short and the twist comes with the last sentence. Well told and interesting until we start wondering and that last sentence grabs us. (5/5)

6. The Frozen Man by John Trevana (1912) - Set in the Frozen Canadian North. Three men, one of them an "Indian", set out going north with a dog sledge. One man is ill and that evening the Northern Lights shine red bringing spirits with them. Well-written having the essence of Jack London. A delightful tale of the Canadian North where the spirits of the Natives meld with those of the Whiteman. (4/5)

7. California Burning by Michael Blumlein (2009) - This story is very long. A man takes his father's body to a crematorium but the bones refuse to burn. A well-written piece of grief horror. The man's father is a developed character owing to the length. The plot goes to unexpected places. (4/5)

8. Let Loose by Mary Cholmondeley (1890) - Written seven years before "Dracula" this is a somewhat vampiric tale set in an antiquated village in Yorkshire. This is my favourite story so far. Well-written and engrossing. (5/5)

9. Out of Sorts by Bernard Taylor (1983) - A woman has been married for twenty-five years and is fed up with her husband's continuous affairs. So she plans to make sure it never happens again. A fun story. I never even expected what the twist turned out to be. Loved it! (4/5)

10. The Head and the Hand by Christopher Priest (1972) - A man who is crippled from his performance art of self-mutilation returns to the stage for one more time. This was gruesome in the thought of what has happened to the man and while I didn't foresee the tiny twist it wasn't shocking. Well-written and unsettling. (4/5)

11. The Ghost of Charlotte Cray by Florence Marriage (1883) - A man is hounded by a woman who is in love with him. Though he must see her as she is a client but he does not feel the same. Then he marries someone else and she continues to stalk him. Then she died. This is excellent and well-told with a bit of literary writing. Not creepy but probably would. have been at the time of writing. It's a lot of fun. (5/5)

12. The Grim White Woman by M.G. Lewis (1808) - I started this with apprehension as it is written in prose. I do not like most poetry, however, story poems I find readable. This is about a knight who dumps his lady friend and so she curses him in the name of the Grim White Woman. It's ok as far as the story goes. It's written in AABB rhyme making it easy to read and the galloping rhythm also helps those not fond of poetry. I'd give this a 2 simply for being a poem, though that is not fair so I'm giving it a 3. (3/5)

13. The Terror on Tobit by Charles Birkin (1933) - Two teenage girls insist on spending the night on a small island that people disappear from. This totally creeped me out. I couldn't stop thinking about it last night. I must read more of the author. My favourite story. (5/5)

14. Furnished Apartments by Forrest Reid (unpublished) - A man in a pub tells the tale of his first night in a furnished room in London. Extremely atmospheric and weird. I don't really get it but it is certainly well-told and strange. (4/5).

15. Something Happened by Hugh Fleetwood (2016) - Four servants look after the Boss' Switzerland home which he never visits and where nothing ever happens. One day Boss' friend comes for a visit and something happens. This is like a fairy tale and sweet. (3/5)

16. The Tarn by Hugh Walpole (1923) - A man who preferred his own company out in the country has a friend, whom he despises, spend a couple of nights. He keeps dreaming of killing him. This was very atmospheric and I found the lead-up to be more creepy than the actual ending. A good story. (3/5)

17. The Gentleman All in Black by Gerald Kersh (1946) - The Devil bargains for a man's time. Very short. Pretty boring but well-written. (3/5) ( )

The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories: Volume One is one of my favorite collections of this year, and that's saying a lot because I've read some STELLAR collections in 2016.

This is one of the rare times that every. single. story. worked. The stand-outs to me were:

Miss Mack by Michael McDowell. It's McDowell. How could it not be good? This starts out as such a nice story about a friendship between two women and then it takes a sharp turn into darkness. Permanent darkness.

Furnished Apartments by Forest Reid (I would be remiss if I did not mention the excellent intro to this little known author's story. This, and the story itself made me want to immediately read more of Reid's work.) This is a creepy little story about (surprise!) a furnished apartment for rent.

A Psychological Experiment by Richard Marsh Most known these days for his novel, "The Beetle", Richard Marsh wrote over 80 books and 300 short stories. This particular tale is a delicious story of revenge featuring some creepy crawlies. I absolutely loved it.

The Progress of Arthur Crabbe by Stephen Gregory Stephen Gregory is another favorite author of mine. He's not as prolific as I wish he would be. Valancourt somehow dug up this nasty tale, (which, once again, features a bird), originally published in the Illustrated London News back in 1982. I am so glad they did! I have read everything I could get my hands on from Mr. Gregory. Without Valancourt, I would never have had the opportunity to read this gem.

California Burning by Michael Blumlein Michael Blumlein is another author introduced to me via Valancourt Books. They published his collection: The Brains of Rats which contains one of the most disturbing short stories I've ever read. Once again, Blumlein knocked my socks off with this story of a man whose bones would not burn.

The Terror on Tobit by Charles Birkin A beautifully written tale and one I found to send chills up my spine. Not only because of the spookiness of the story, but because of the amazing prose. I've never even heard of this guy before, but now I want to read everything he's written.

The Head and the Hand by Christopher Priest Probably most well known in horror circles for his novel The Prestige , Christopher Priest's contribution to this collection was superb. It reminded me a bit of Katherine Dunn's Geek Love and makes me wonder if she ever read The Head and the Hand. It's a rather weird tale, but I loved it. Plus it made me REALLY want to read The Prestige which has been sitting on my Kindle for well over a year.

I could go on and on, because as I said every story in this collection worked for me. I can't write a review that's a long as the book though, so just a few more things. The intros to these stories were excellent. Many of them talk about how these authors were prolific back in their day and now have been forgotten. I love that Valancourt is dedicated to bringing these authors back into the public eye. I'm going to do my best to read more of the authors that appealed most to me, like Priest and Birkin.

This collection receives my highest recommendation! Every single story is thought provoking and even the introductions to the tales are well written and informative. Plus, these aren't a bunch of stories that you've already read in countless other collections and anthologies. Valancourt worked hard to bring you enticing pieces that will likely be unfamiliar to most contemporary horror readers. All I can say to that is BRAVO! (And MORE, PLEASE!!)

Get your own copy here: The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories

*A free copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review. This is it!* ( )

The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories, Volume One is a collection of rarely anthologized tales. Editors James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle have a sharp eye for assembling a collection that exhibits an unwavering thread of dark malevolence. The stories range from the Gothic to the Victorian Era and through to the present day. And for the most part, these are solid, well-crafted tales with a certain crispness in style and sharpness in their storytelling. And Valancourt thoughtfully precedes each story with a short blurb, neatly placing both the author and story in historical and literary context. Only a handful fail to intrigue, including Michael Blumlein’s “California Burning” (a darkly humorous story of a corpse that refuses to be cremated, against a backdrop of raging California wildfires), Christopher Priest’s “The Head and the Hand” (just too gruesome for my taste), and Hugh Fleetwood’s “Something Happened” (a curious tale of a Marek, a “lazy good-for-nothing“ and his magical encounters with the mysterious Mr. Smith) all of which are among the more recent tales in this anthology. That said, these ten are the standouts:

Aunty Green - John Blackburn.... A terrific dark tale of revenge.
Miss Mack - Michael McDowell... Another dark tale of jealousy and revenge. This one’s horror seems to linger with you...
A Psychological Experiment - Richard Marsh.... A group conversation of murders and suicides slides into a one-on-one confrontation, and then further devolves into a taunting accusation.
The Progress of John Arthur Crabbe - Stephen Gregory.... A mentally deficient boy’s strange power to heal small animals is only the the prelude to a more astounding feat.
The Frozen Man - John Trevena.... Wonderfully atmospheric tale of the icy north lands, with some truly chilling moments.
Let Loose - Mary Cholmondeley.... An architect wheedles his way into a long-shuttered crypt to study its frescoes, and learns why entry has been forbidden.
Out of Sorts - Bernard Taylor.... A sly comic tale that culminates with a terrific punchline.
The Ghost of Charlotte Cray - Florence Marryat.... An excellent Victorian ghost story of jealousy and obsession.
The Terror on Tobit - Charles Birkin.... A good little monster story; another one where the chilling dread lingers on...
The Tarn - Hugh Walpole.... Walpole gives a wink and a nod to Poe in this tale of revenge taken by Fenwick for the many times that Foster “interfered” with his happiness. ( )

Read Volume One after Volume Two, and I think it was the weaker of the two. The first volume seemed to contain a more traditional selection of stories. Although sufficiently entertaining, few were surprising. Standouts were the stories by Michael McDowell and Christopher Priest. ( )