- Table View
- List View
Mammoth Books presents Christmas with the Dead (Mammoth Books #415)
by Joe R. LansdaleI wrote 'Christmas with the Dead' simply because I wanted to write a holiday horror story," Lansdale admits. "This was the result.
Mammoth Books presents A Clutch of Zombies: Four Stories by Scott Edelman, Joe R. Lansdale, Albert E. Cowdrey and Karina Sumner Smith (Mammoth Books #226)
by Albert E. Cowdrey Joe R. Lansdale Karina Sumner Smith Scott EldermanIn this grizzly anthology of the undead, four fascinatingly horrid dystopian universes are described, with zombies taking centre stage.Included are:What Will Come After - Scott EdelmanIn this most personal of zombie stories, the author imagines himself as the protagonist, looking ahead to what would happen after his own death . . . and rebirth. Christmas with the Dead - Joe R. LansdaleThe ultimate in holiday horror stories.Fort Clay, Louisiana: A Tragical History - Albert E. CowdreyWhen a young photographer welcomes an elderly man to her house to see the book she has published about a long-deserted 19th century military fort on the Mississippi, watery southern horrors emerge from the past.When the Zombies Win - Karina Sumner-SmithThe ultimate in dystopian what-ifs, Karina Sumner-Smith's story is set after the zombie apocalypse has reached its zenith. When there's no one left to infect, where do the zombies turn?
Mammoth Books presents Cold to the Touch (Mammoth Books #436)
by Simon StrantzasStories often find their origins in unexpected ways," Strantzas reveals. "I was inspired in this case by a photograph of a Zen garden I once used as my computer's desktop background. After staring at it day-in and day-out while I worked, I began to wonder about that dark circle of rocks and just what its true purpose might be. "There was something there in the coldness of the photograph, something that brought to mind the barren vistas of the Canadian Arctic, which ended up being the perfect setting for my tale of tested faith.
Mammoth Books presents Demonic Dreams: Three Stories by Christopher Fowler, Robert Shearman and Norman Partridge (Mammoth Books #261)
by Christopher Fowler Norman Partridge Robert ShearmanOh I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside - Christopher FowlerChristopher Fowler explains "'. . . Seaside' came about firstly because I was commissioned to write a story for the World Horror Convention souvenir book and, as the event was to take place in Brighton, it seemed logical to set a tale on the South coast of England."I had written a fantasy novel, Calabash, some years earlier, hinting at the dark madness of such seaside towns, which are the antithesis of their Mediterranean counterparts. I thought of the depressing Morrissey song "Every Day is Like Sunday", which captures the awfulness of English resorts."Coincidentally, Kim Newman and I were discussing the inherent creepiness of pantomime dames, and I decided it was time to give vent to my horror of these coastal pleasure domes. I wish I'd thought to include screaming gangs of hen-nighters as well. And I thought it was a nice touch to have everyone in the story telling the hero to 'fuck off' until he finally does."Featherweight - Robert Shearman"I don't like writing at home much," admits the author. "Home is a place for sleeping and eating and watching afternoon game shows on TV. There are too many distractions. So, years ago, I decided I'd only write first drafts in art galleries."And the best of them all is the National Gallery, in London, a pigeon's throw from Nelson's Column. I can walk around there with my notebook, thinking up stories - and if I get bored, there are lots of expensive pictures to look at. Perfect."A lot of those paintings, however, have angels in them. They're all over the place, wings raised, halos gleaming - perching on clouds, blowing trumpets, hovering around the Virgin Mary as if they're her strange naked childlike bodyguards. And I began to notice. That, whenever the writing is going well, the angels seemed happy, and would smile at me. And whenever the words weren't coming out right, when I felt sluggish, when I thought I'd rather take off and get myself a beer, they'd start to glare."I wrote this story in the National Gallery. Accompanied by a lot of glaring angels. Enjoy."Lesser Demons - Norman Partridge"I was surprised to receive an invitation for S.T. Joshi's Black Wings," reveals Partridge, "an anthology of Lovecraftian fiction. Although I knew S.T. admired my work, I've never quite seen myself as a Mythos writer."While I respect H.P. Lovecraft and his contribution to horror, I've never felt that his worldview (or maybe I should say universeview) meshed with mine."In the end, that's what made the story work . . . at least for me. I concentrated on my differences with Lovecraft, and approached the material from a place where Jim Thompson would be more comfortable than HPL. And I'm delighted that so many people have enjoyed the tale - it was a lot of fun to write."
Mammoth Books presents Featherweight (Mammoth Books #427)
by Robert ShearmanI don't like writing at home much," admits Shearman. "Home is a place for sleeping and eating and watching afternoon game shows on TV. There are too many distractions. So, years ago, I decided I'd only write first drafts in art galleries."And the best of them all is the National Gallery, in London, a pigeon's throw from Nelson's Column. I can walk around there with my notebook, thinking up stories - and if I get bored, there are lots of expensive pictures to look at. Perfect."A lot of those paintings, however, have angels in them. They're all over the place, wings raised, halos gleaming - perching on clouds, blowing trumpets, hovering around the Virgin Mary as if they're her strange naked childlike bodyguards. And I began to notice. That, whenever the writing is going well, the angels seemed happy, and would smile at me. And whenever the words weren't coming out right, when I felt sluggish, when I thought I'd rather take off and get myself a beer, they'd start to glare."I wrote this story in the National Gallery. Accompanied by a lot of glaring angels. Enjoy.
Mammoth Books presents A Ghostly Gathering: Four Stories by Thana Niveau, Mark Morris, Angela Slatter and Ramsey Campbell
by Ramsey Campbell Mark Morris Angela SlatterThe Pier - Thana Niveau"The pier exists," explains Thana Niveau, "and yes, it is decorated with strange plaques and cryptic memorials, although none are quite as morbid as I've invented."It's mostly Clevedon Pier, which is where the story was born. I was reading the plaques one day and a couple of the quirkier ones made me wonder. What if they weren't written by the living to remember the dead at all, but were instead a channel for voices from somewhere else?"Somerset is the original Wicker Man country, after all. It's a place rich in pagan tradition and many of its strange rituals are lost to time. Or are they?"Fallen Boys - Mark Morris"Porthellion Quay, which features in this story, is a real place - only the name is different," says Morris. "My family and I spent a lovely, sunny day there one summer a few years ago during a Cornish holiday."I love Cornwall not only because it's breathtakingly beautiful, but also because it is wild and rugged and desolate, and because past echoes and ancient legends seem to seep out of the very rock. It's a landscape which lends itself perfectly to the kinds of ghost stories I love, of which it seems there are far too few these days - stories which are not cosy and comforting and familiar, but which are dark and insidious, and evoke a crawling sense of dread."Lavender and Lychgates - Angela Slatter"'Lavender and Lychgates' is the second last story in Sourdough and Other Stories," recalls Slatter. "I had ideas I wanted to continue to explore - consequences of actions in an earlier story in the collection - and I had a picture in my head of a young girl in a graveyard."Many years ago, a friend had told me a garbled tale of lilacs and lychgates, the details of which I cannot remember. I managed to garble it even more, and I couldn't get the words 'lavender and lychgates' out of my head, nor the image of shadows swirling in the apex of a lychgate roof above the heads of people passing out underneath. I also wondered what happens when you hang onto a memory too tightly."With the Angels - Ramsey Campbell"My fellow clansman Paul Campbell will remember the birth of this tale," he reveals. "At the Dead Dog party after the 2010 World Horror Convention in Brighton, someone was throwing a delighted toddler into the air. I was ambushed by an idea and had to apologise to Paul for rushing away to my room to scribble notes. The result is here."
Mammoth Books presents A Ghostly Gathering: Four Stories by Thana Niveau, Mark Morris, Angela Slatter and Ramsey Campbell (Mammoth Books #203)
by Angela Slatter Mark Morris Ramsey Campbell Thana NiveauThe Pier - Thana Niveau"The pier exists," explains Thana Niveau, "and yes, it is decorated with strange plaques and cryptic memorials, although none are quite as morbid as I've invented."It's mostly Clevedon Pier, which is where the story was born. I was reading the plaques one day and a couple of the quirkier ones made me wonder. What if they weren't written by the living to remember the dead at all, but were instead a channel for voices from somewhere else?"Somerset is the original Wicker Man country, after all. It's a place rich in pagan tradition and many of its strange rituals are lost to time. Or are they?"Fallen Boys - Mark Morris"Porthellion Quay, which features in this story, is a real place - only the name is different," says Morris. "My family and I spent a lovely, sunny day there one summer a few years ago during a Cornish holiday."I love Cornwall not only because it's breathtakingly beautiful, but also because it is wild and rugged and desolate, and because past echoes and ancient legends seem to seep out of the very rock. It's a landscape which lends itself perfectly to the kinds of ghost stories I love, of which it seems there are far too few these days - stories which are not cosy and comforting and familiar, but which are dark and insidious, and evoke a crawling sense of dread."Lavender and Lychgates - Angela Slatter"'Lavender and Lychgates' is the second last story in Sourdough and Other Stories," recalls Slatter. "I had ideas I wanted to continue to explore - consequences of actions in an earlier story in the collection - and I had a picture in my head of a young girl in a graveyard."Many years ago, a friend had told me a garbled tale of lilacs and lychgates, the details of which I cannot remember. I managed to garble it even more, and I couldn't get the words 'lavender and lychgates' out of my head, nor the image of shadows swirling in the apex of a lychgate roof above the heads of people passing out underneath. I also wondered what happens when you hang onto a memory too tightly."With the Angels - Ramsey Campbell"My fellow clansman Paul Campbell will remember the birth of this tale," he reveals. "At the Dead Dog party after the 2010 World Horror Convention in Brighton, someone was throwing a delighted toddler into the air. I was ambushed by an idea and had to apologise to Paul for rushing away to my room to scribble notes. The result is here."
Mammoth Books presents Lethal Legends: Four short stories by Michael Kelly, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Mark Valentine and Terry Dowling (Mammoth Books #229)
by Mark Valentine Michael Kelly Simon Kurt Unsworth Terry DowlingTHE WOODS - Michael KellyMichael Kelly reveals "The Woods' was written for an anthology seeking regional horror and ghost stories. I'd just read Hemingway's 'Hills Like White Elephant's'. Now, in no way am I comparing myself to Hemingway but I wanted to write a similarly brief tale, with only two main characters, and where the horror was off-stage. As well, the setting had to be distinctly Canadian. What, I thought, could be more Canadian than the frozen north and allusions to mythical beasts?" MAMI WATA - Simon Kurt UnsworthUnsworth reveals, "When I was first asked to contribute to Exotic Gothic 3 (which was to feature Gothic-influenced stories in non-Gothic environments), I agreed without really thinking about it, and then spent a long time struggling, trying to work out how, precisely, I was going to manage it or quite how to make a start."I knew what I wanted to do, sort of, but not exactly how to do it, so one day alarmingly close to the deadline I did a fun thing: I freewheeled through Google. Using a small document about Zambian myths and cultures I found online (I set the story in Zambia for no reason other than an old family friend lives there and it seemed exotic in Gothic terms), I used one Zambian word from it as a search term and read what came up, took one intriguing Zambian term from the search results and searched for that, etc, and disappeared into Google's merry depths."I ended up with an academic paper about a particular myth, a travel blog about a sort of beer made from corn and a weird little 'my God's better than your God' blog by a kid in Africa, and somewhere in the middle of that, the story appeared."THE AXHOLME TOLL - Mark Valentine"In the following story, the book called The MS. in a Red Box really exists," the author reveals. "All of the legends about the Isle, and about Beckett's assassins, are also genuine, except (so far) that of the Toll, and their final place of rest - or unrest."TWO STEPS ALONG THE ROAD - Terry Dowling"Two Steps Along the Road' came out of a conversation with US editor Danel Olson," Dowling explains, "where we discussed me doing a ghost story set in Vietnam for Exotic Gothic 3, and the interesting possibilities it might provide for delivering atmosphere and an interesting perspective on familiar things."Before I knew it, I was blending two separate elements that were demanding attention: the notion of a root-form behind all hauntings, regardless of what form they took, and the unnerving realization that the eyes of a quite attractive teaching colleague would be truly terrifying to behold if they were set just a tad closer together."The ideas were intended for very different stories but, as so often happens, they decided they were meant for each other."
Mammoth Books presents Mami Wata (Mammoth Books #463)
by Simon Kurt UnsworthWhen I was first asked to contribute to Exotic Gothic 3 (which was to feature Gothic-influenced stories in non-Gothic environments), I agreed without really thinking about it," Unsworth explains, "and then spent a long time struggling, trying to work out how, precisely, I was going to manage it or quite how to make a start. "I knew what I wanted to do, sort of, but not exactly how to do it, so one day alarmingly close to the deadline I did a fun thing: I freewheeled through Google. Using a small document about Zambian myths and cultures I found online (I set the story in Zambia for no reason other than an old family friend lives there and it seemed exotic in Gothic terms), I used one Zambian word from it as a search term and read what came up, took one intriguing Zambian term from the search results and searched for that, etc, and disappeared into Google's merry depths. "I ended up with an academic paper about a particular myth, a travel blog about a sort of beer made from corn and a weird little 'my God's better than your God' blog by a kid in Africa, and somewhere in the middle of that, the story appeared.
Mammoth Books presents Messing With Your Head: Five Stories by Joel Lane, Kirstyn McDermott, Steve Rasnic Tem, Mark Valentine, Brian Hodge (Mammoth Books #278)
by Brian Hodge Joel Lane Kirstyn McDermott Mark Valentine Steve Rasnic TemBlack Country - Joel Lane"'Black Country' is one of a sequence of weird crime stories set in the West Midlands that I've been working on for years," says Joel Lane. "A collection of them is forthcoming with the title Where Furnaces Burn. 'Black Country' is also a sequel to my earlier story 'The Lost District', which describes another narrator's experience of Clayheath."I'd like to thank The Nightingales and Gul Y. Davis, whose words influenced this story. It was originally published as a chapbook by Nightjar Press, with an enigmatic cover illustration by Birmingham photographer Trav28."We All Fall Down - Kirstyn McDermott"I carried the bones of this story around for quite a few years before I finally stumbled upon its beating heart," explains the author. "In my head was the image of a doll house, huge and not quite right, and a woman searching desperately for something concealed inside. But I could never work a story around it that didn't seem twee. Doll houses, you know?"But then Emma and Holly appeared - trapped within their own fractured, futile relationship - and everything just, well, fell together. Beautifully. Awfully. And now I have a doll house story. Of a kind."Telling - Steve Rasnic Tem"As for the following story," reveals Steve Rasnic Tem, "it began with a dreadful image at the end of a dream. I couldn't remember the other details of that dream, but I was determined to find out where that image might have come from."A Revelation of Cormorants - Mark Valentine"'A Revelation of Cormorants' first appeared in the excellent series of chapbooks published by Nicholas Royle's Nightjar Press," explains Valentine, "and I first encountered the dark grace of the cormorant while visiting Galloway with Jo."Just Outside Our Windows, Deep Inside Our Walls - Brian Hodge"I hardly ever write extended fragments of things and then leave them indefinitely," Brian Hodge reveals, "but that's how 'Just Outside Our Windows, Deep Inside Our Walls' got started."I first wrote the part about the fantasised magic show, plus the earliest bit about Roni moving in, after rereading a Thomas Ligotti collection. It may not be apparent to anyone else, but some flavour of his lingered in me for a little while and wanted to come out, and the magic show was the result."Then it sat idle for three years or so before I knew what more to do with it. Maybe because I had to forget about how it had begun and get back to being myself again."
Mammoth Books presents Monsters in Our Midst: Three Stories by Michael Marshall Smith, Gary Kilworth and John Langan (Mammoth Books #357)
by Gary Kilworth John Langan Michael Marshall SmithSubstitutions - Michael Marshall SmithMichael Marshall Smith recalls: "This story came about in the simplest way, the way I always enjoy most - something happening in real life that makes you think 'What if?' "Our household gets a lot of its food via an online delivery service, and one day when I was unpacking what had just been dropped at our house I gradually realised there was something...not quite right about the contents of the bags."There's two things that are strange about that experience. The first is that - given that every household is likely to buy at least some things in common - you don't realise straight away that you've been given the wrong shopping. You don't immediately think 'This is wrong', more like . . . 'This is weird'. The second is how personal it is, gaining accidental access to this very tangible evocation of some other family's life. You can't help but wonder about the people the food was really destined for."In real life, I just called up the delivery guy and got it sorted out: but in fiction, you might tackle things slightly differently . . ."Out Back - Garry Kilworth"'Out Back' was written for a group of friends," Kilworth recalls, "who appear as characters in the story under their initials, as I do myself. Those who know me well will recognise the protagonists."Iken is a real village on the edge of the marshes behind Snape Maltings in Suffolk. Two years ago I wandered along the periphery of the reed beds which stretch down towards the coast as a green and golden sea, the waves created by the winds that blow across the flatlands. Looking at the church that sits on a knoll above the marshes I thought, 'This is a perfect setting for a horror story.' And so . . ."City of the Dog - John Langan"This story arose from my desire to see what I could do with the figure of the ghoul," reveals Langan, "and as I've tried to indicate within the narrative, I drew inspiration both from H.P. Lovecraft ('Pickman's Model') and Caitlín R. Kiernan (Daughter of Hounds)."The miserable years in New York State's capital, though, were mine alone."
Mammoth Books presents More Than Human: Two short stories by Stephen Volk and Brian Lumley
by Stephen Jones Brian Lumley Stephen VolkAfter the Ape - Stephen Volk"The notion of 'what happened next?' following a classic monster movie - probably the biggest and best - was an intriguing one to me," says Stephen Volk, "and not only the initial considerations of public health issues."Somehow kicking this off and shadowing its development was reading somewhere that King Kong was Hitler's favourite film. Why?"Anyway the ape is not the monster in this tale. Far from it."The Nonesuch - Brian LumleyBrian Lumley reveals "readers who attended the KeoghCons in Torquay, Devon, will immediately recognize the only slightly disguised location in which this story is set... two previous tales in this sequence ('The Thin People' and 'Stilts') were narrated first-person by the protagonist, an unfortunate fellow who, where weird or unconventional collisions are concerned, appears to be accident prone - in spades! And being a recovering alcoholic hasn't much helped his case, because pink elephants just don't compare with the creatures he's wont to bump into."The earlier tales are alluded to, but briefly, which barely interferes with the pace of the current story. As to why I wrote this one: it's simply that I have a fondness for trilogies, let alone outré encounters . . ."
Mammoth Books presents More Than Human: Two short stories by Stephen Volk and Brian Lumley (Mammoth Books #394)
by Brian Lumley Stephen VolkAfter the Ape - Stephen Volk"The notion of 'what happened next?' following a classic monster movie - probably the biggest and best - was an intriguing one to me," says Stephen Volk, "and not only the initial considerations of public health issues."Somehow kicking this off and shadowing its development was reading somewhere that King Kong was Hitler's favourite film. Why?"Anyway the ape is not the monster in this tale. Far from it."The Nonesuch - Brian LumleyBrian Lumley reveals "readers who attended the KeoghCons in Torquay, Devon, will immediately recognize the only slightly disguised location in which this story is set... two previous tales in this sequence ('The Thin People' and 'Stilts') were narrated first-person by the protagonist, an unfortunate fellow who, where weird or unconventional collisions are concerned, appears to be accident prone - in spades! And being a recovering alcoholic hasn't much helped his case, because pink elephants just don't compare with the creatures he's wont to bump into."The earlier tales are alluded to, but briefly, which barely interferes with the pace of the current story. As to why I wrote this one: it's simply that I have a fondness for trilogies, let alone outré encounters . . ."
Mammoth Books presents Oh I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside (Mammoth Books #260)
by Christopher Fowler'Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside' came about firstly because I was commissioned to write a story for the World Horror Convention souvenir book and, as the event was to take place in Brighton, it seemed logical to set a tale on the South coast of England."I had written a fantasy novel, Calabash, some years earlier, hinting at the dark madness of such seaside towns, which are the antithesis of their Mediterranean counterparts. I thought of the depressing Morrissey song "Every Day is Like Sunday", which captures the awfulness of English resorts."Coincidentally, Kim Newman and I were discussing the inherent creepiness of pantomime dames, and I decided it was time to give vent to my horror of these coastal pleasure domes. I wish I'd thought to include screaming gangs of hen-nighters as well. And I thought it was a nice touch to have everyone in the story telling the hero to 'fuck off' until he finally does.
Mammoth Books presents Out and Back (Mammoth Books #421)
by Barbara Roden"My cousin-by-marriage Sean Lavery, knowing my love for weird and outré websites, sent me a link to the Dark Roasted Blend site (www.darkroastedblend.com)," reveals the author, "where I found several pages featuring photographs of abandoned places. "My imagination was fired by pictures taken at Chippewa Lake Park in Medina, Ohio, which opened in 1878 and was abandoned in 1978, with the buildings and rides left to rot where they stood, and I began looking around for some information about the park. "I've always had a fondness for amusement parks, ever since I was a child visiting Vancouver's Pacific National Exhibition with my father and my brother: an annual trip which was one of the red-letter days on my childhood calendar. The photographs of Chippewa Lake Park were equal parts eerie and sad, for anyone who has ever thrilled to the sights and sounds of a midway, and the story sprang, almost fully-formed, into my head; one of the few times that's happened." To see some of the pictures that inspired the following story, visit: www.defunctparks.com/parks/OH/ChippewaLake/chippewa-lake.htm.
Mammoth Books presents Princess of the Night (Mammoth Books #355)
by Michael KellyKelly recalls: "The genesis of 'Princess of the Night' is a little murky. It was written for an anthology of Halloween tales. Alas, it didn't make it into the book. The tale then sold to a slick new professional magazine, where it promptly languished for four years until the magazine (which published four issues, I believe) folded before publication. I forgot about the story for a while. Then, one day, as I was looking through my files for possible stories to include in a new collection, I chanced upon it again.
Mammoth Books presents The Reunion (Mammoth Books #423)
by Nicholas RoyleThe Reunion" is based on actual events," reveals the author, "but the story only really came into focus for me when I was invited to contribute to Ellen Datlow's Poe anthology. Poe is brilliant. I was at a conference recently where a teacher revealed that she had read Poe's 'The Black Cat' to a lecture theatre full of schoolchildren. She switched off all the lights and used a torch to read by. A number of parents lodged complaints, which she took as a measure of the event's success. My tale is inspired by a different Poe story.
Mammoth Books presents Substitutions
by Stephen Jones Michael Marshall SmithTaken from The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 22, edited by Stephen Jones.As Smith recalls: "This story came about in the simplest way, the way I always enjoy most - something happening in real life that makes you think 'What if?' "Our household gets a lot of its food via an online delivery service, and one day when I was unpacking what had just been dropped at our house I gradually realised there was something...not quite right about the contents of the bags."There's two things that are strange about that experience. The first is that - given that every household is likely to buy at least some things in common - you don't realise straight away that you've been given the wrong shopping. You don't immediately think 'This is wrong', more like . . . 'This is weird'. The second is how personal it is, gaining accidental access to this very tangible evocation of some other family's life. You can't help but wonder about the people the food was really destined for."In real life, I just called up the delivery guy and got it sorted out: but in fiction, you might tackle things slightly differently . . ."
Mammoth Books presents Substitutions (Mammoth Books #434)
by Michael Marshall SmithTaken from The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 22, edited by Stephen Jones.As Smith recalls: "This story came about in the simplest way, the way I always enjoy most - something happening in real life that makes you think 'What if?' "Our household gets a lot of its food via an online delivery service, and one day when I was unpacking what had just been dropped at our house I gradually realised there was something...not quite right about the contents of the bags."There's two things that are strange about that experience. The first is that - given that every household is likely to buy at least some things in common - you don't realise straight away that you've been given the wrong shopping. You don't immediately think 'This is wrong', more like . . . 'This is weird'. The second is how personal it is, gaining accidental access to this very tangible evocation of some other family's life. You can't help but wonder about the people the food was really destined for."In real life, I just called up the delivery guy and got it sorted out: but in fiction, you might tackle things slightly differently . . ."
Mammoth Books presents Telling (Mammoth Books #451)
by Steve Rasnic TemThe author reveals the following story "...began with a dreadful image at the end of a dream. I couldn't remember the other details of that dream, but I was determined to find out where that image might have come from."
Mammoth Books presents That Haunted Feeling: Six short stories by Barbara Roden, Reggie Oliver & M.R. James, Chris Bell, Richard Christian Matheson, John Gaskin and Michael Kelly (Mammoth Books #194)
by Barbara Roden Chris Bell John Gaskin M.R. James Michael Kelly Reggie Oliver Richard Christian MathesonSix short stories to shake you to your core.Out and Back by Barbara RodenAn abandoned amusement park attracts unwary thrill seekersThe Game of Bear - Reggie Oliver & M. R. JamesReggie Oliver completes M. R. James' unfinished classic.Shem-el-Nessim: An Inspiration in Perfume - Chris BellVenturi - Richard Christian MathesonParty Talk - John GaskinPrincess of the Night - Michael Kelly
Mammoth Books presents The Unexpected: Six short stories by Michael Marshall Smith, Ramsey Campbell, Simon Strantzas, Nicholas Royle, Robert Shearman and Rosalie Parker (Mammoth Books #204)
by Michael Marshall Smith Nicholas Royle Ramsey Campbell Robert Shearman Rosalie Parker Simon StrantzasWhat Happens When You Wake Up in the Night - Michael Marshall SmithFor Michael Marshall Smith, this was one of those stories that dropped straight into his head, but the problem was that he didn't want it: "It wasn't an idea I liked. It was clearly some part of my brain serving up a notion simply because it could, and because it knew it could frighten me with it."It did frighten me, and so I did what I always do when that happens - which is write it down, in the hope it will go away."Respects - Ramsey Campbell"'Respects' was suggested by a local incident in which a car thief in his early teens killed himself while fleeing the police," recalls Campbell. "A lamp standard at the site of his demise is still decorated with flowers years after the incident, and the tributes on the obituaries page of one Wallasey newspaper were at least as grotesque as the ones I've invented - the romanticisation of a petty criminal.Cold to Touch - Simon Strantzas"Stories often find their origins in unexpected ways," Strantzas reveals. "I was inspired in this case by a photograph of a Zen garden I once used as my computer's desktop background."There was something there in the coldness of the photograph, something that brought to mind the barren vistas of the Canadian Arctic, which ended up being the perfect setting for my tale of tested faith."The Reunion - Nicholas Royle"'The Reunion' is based on actual events," reveals the author, "but the story only really came into focus for me when I was invited to contribute to Ellen Datlow's Poe anthology."Poe is brilliant. I was at a conference recently where a teacher revealed that she had read Poe's 'The Black Cat' to a lecture theatre full of schoolchildren. She switched off all the lights and used a torch to read by. A number of parents lodged complaints, which she took as a measure of the event's success. My tale is inspired by a different Poe story."Granny's Grinning - Robert Shearman"I love Christmas," says Shearman. "Always have done, and always a bit too passionately. The intensity with which I loved Christmas was delightful when I was eight years old, slightly unusual by the time I was eighteen, and increasingly disturbing thereafter."I was the last one to grow up. It suddenly dawned on me one year, looking into the faces of my parents, and of my sister, that they were all older, and fatter, and less and less festive. And that they were trying so hard to keep me happy each Christmas, pretending they wanted all those presents I'd bought, all those sausage rolls and Quality Street chocs. That what I was trying to do, each December, was somehow reach back into the past and resurrect a time that was dead, that was long dead."I still love Christmas. But now I recognize - as I still make them perform party games, as I still make them open their gifts and smile and say thank you - that they're zombies now. All of them, zombies. I'll never get my childhood back again, not really, or the innocence of that family get-together. So I'll make do with the dead, and pretend."This is a story all about that."In The Garden - Rosalie Parker"'In the Garden' was written after I challenged myself to write a horror story about gardening," explains the author. "It emerged more quickly and easily than anything I've ever written. I think of it more as a prose poem than a story."
Mammoth Books presents Unexpected Encounters: Four Stories by Richard L. Tierney, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Mark Samuels and Caitlín R. Kiernan (Mammoth Books #356)
by Caitlín R. Kiernan Mark Samuels Richard L. Tierney Simon Kurt UnsworthAutumn Chill - Richard L. TierneyInspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Donald Wandrei, Robert E. Howard and Frank Belknap Long, Tierney's poetry has been collected in Dreams and Damnations, The Doom Prophet and One Other, the Arkham House volume of Collected Poems, Nightmares and Visions, The Blob That Gobbled Abdul and Other Poems and Songs and Savage Menace and Other Poems of Horror.S.T. Joshi has described Tierney as "one of the leading weird poets of his generation."The Lemon in the Pool - Simon Kurt Unsworth"In the summer of 2009, I went on holiday with my family - the extended version. As well as my wife and son, Wendy and Ben, there were my parents, my sister and her husband, and my mother-in-law all sharing a villa in Moreira, Spain."One of the delights of the holiday was having a private pool, and seeing Ben enjoy himself in the water, where over the course of seven days he learned to swim. Perhaps even more fun was seeing his joy when things started to appear in the pool on a daily basis - a tomato, a lemon, two courgettes, three green chillies."I have no idea where they came from, but I suspect that children in a neighbouring villa were playing a joke on us and Ben loved it. It got to be one of the most exciting things about the holiday, waiting to see what would appear that day. After the appearance of the courgettes, my sister said, 'This'll find its way into one of Simon's stories,' and everyone laughed and someone (I think my mum) said, 'Even he couldn't write a story about this.'"Mum, if it was you that said that, this story is entirely your fault."Losenef Express - Mark SamuelsAbout the story, Mark Samuels explains: "I think most fans of horror will recognise at once the late, great American author upon whom the central character of this tale is based (or, perhaps more accurately, filtered through my imagination).We never met, although I did once catch sight of him across a room at the 1988 World Fantasy Convention in London and, prompted by curiosity, took a hasty, half-obscured photograph."A number of my friends knew him well, and I regret I myself never had the chance to do so. Sadly, I only discovered his brilliant work years after his untimely death."As Red as Red - Caitlín R. Kiernan"I don't know that 'As Red as Red' had any single source of inspiration," says Kiernan. "It coalesced from numerous experiences and accounts of the supernatural in Rhode Island. Also, I very much wanted to write a non-conventional vampire story which was also (and maybe more so) a werewolf story and a ghost story."It's also true that I was just coming off having finished The Red Tree, and, in some ways, 'As Red as Red' is an extended footnote to that novel. I was still trying to get The Red Tree out of my system."
Mammoth Books presents We All Fall Down (Mammoth Books #400)
by Kirstyn McDermottI carried the bones of this story around for quite a few years before I finally stumbled upon its beating heart," explains the author. "In my head was the image of a doll house, huge and not quite right, and a woman searching desperately for something concealed inside. But I could never work a story around it that didn't seem twee. Doll houses, you know?"But then Emma and Holly appeared - trapped within their own fractured, futile relationship - and everything just, well, fell together. Beautifully. Awfully. And now I have a doll house story. Of a kind.
Mammoth Books presents With the Angels (Mammoth Books #202)
by Ramsey CampbellCampbell reveals, "My fellow clansman Paul Campbell will remember the birth of this tale. At the Dead Dog party after the 2010 World Horror Convention in Brighton, someone was throwing a delighted toddler into the air. I was ambushed by an idea and had to apologise to Paul for rushing away to my room to scribble notes. The result is here."