The Mammoth Book of Terror Read online

  STEPHEN JONES lives in London. He is the winner of three World Fantasy Awards, three Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Awards and three International Horror Guild Awards as well as being a fifteen-time recipient of the British Fantasy Award and a Hugo Award nominee. A former television producer/director and genre movie publicist and consultant (the first three Hellraiser movies, Night Life, Nightbreed, Split Second, Mind Ripper, Last Gasp etc.), he is the co-editor of Horror: 100 Best Books, The Best Horror from Fantasy Tales, Gaslight & Ghosts, Now We Are Sick, HP. Lovecraft’s Book of Horror, The Anthology of Fantasy & the Supernatural, Secret City: Strange Taks of London, Great Ghost Stories and The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Dark Terrors, Dark Voices and Fantasy Taks series. He has written Creepshows: The Illustrated Stephen King Movie Guide, The Essential Monster Movie Guide, The Illustrated Vampire Movie Guide, The Illustrated Dinosaur Movie Guide, The Illustrated Frankenstein Movie Guide and The Illustrated Werewolf Movie Guide, and compiled The Mammoth Book of Terror, The Mammoth Book of Vampires, The Mammoth Book of Zombies, The Mammoth Book of Werewolves, The Mammoth Book of Frankenstein, The Mammoth Book ofDracula, The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories By Women, The Mammoth Book of New Terror, Shadows Over Innsmouth, Dark Detectives, Dancing With the Dark, Dark of the Night, White of the Moon, Keep Out the Night, By Moonlight Only, Don’t Turn Out the Light, Exorcisms and Ecstasies by Karl Edward Wagner, The Vampire Stories of R. Chetwynd-Hayes, Phantoms and Fiends and Frights and Fancies by R. Chetwynd-Hayes, James Herbert: By Horror Haunted, The Conan Chronicks by Robert E. Howard (two volumes), The Emperor of Dreams: The Lost Worlds of Clark Ashton Smith, Clive Barker’s A-Z of Horror, Clive Barker’s Shadows in Eden, Clive Barker’s The Nightbreed Chronicks and the Hellraiser Chronicles. You can visit his web site at www.herebedragons.co.uk/jones

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  Constable & Robinson Ltd

  3 The Lanchesters

  162 Fulham Palace Road

  London W6 9ER

  www.constablerobinson.com

  First published in the UK by Robinson,

  an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd 2004

  Collection and editorial material

  copyright © Stephen Jones 2004

  Interior illustrations copyright © Randy Broecker 2004

  Cover art copyright © John Picacio 2004

  www.johnpicacio.com

  All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in

  Publication Data is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 1-84119-949-4

  eISBN 978-1-78033-279-6

  Printed and bound in the EU

  2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

  Acknowledgments

  Introduction:

  Recreating the Terror

  Fruiting Bodies

  BRIAN LUMLEY

  Needle Song

  CHARLES L. GRANT

  Turbo-Satan

  CHRISTOPHER FOWLER

  Talking in the Dark

  DENNIS ETCHISON

  The Circus

  SYDNEY J. BOUNDS

  Foet

  F. PAUL WILSON

  The Candle in the Skull

  BASIL COPPER

  The Chimney

  RAMSEY CAMPBELL

  Dark Wings

  PHYLLIS EISENSTEIN

  Reflection of Evil

  GRAHAM MASTERTON

  Mirror of the Night

  E.C. TUBB

  Maypole

  BRIAN MOONEY

  Under the Crust

  TERRY LAMSLEY

  Tir Nan Og

  LISA TUTTLE

  A Living Legend

  R. CHETWYND-HAYES

  Wake-Up Call

  DAVID J. SCHOW

  The Fourth Seal

  KARL EDWARD WAGNER

  Unlocked

  TANITH LEE & JOHN KAIINE

  Closing Time

  NEIL GAIMAN

  It Was the Heat

  PAT CADIGAN

  Fodder

  TIM LEBBON & BRIAN KEENE

  Open Doors

  MICHAEL MARSHALL SMITH

  Andromeda Among the Stones

  CAITLÍN R. KIERNAN

  Flowers on Their Bridles, Hooves in the Air

  GLEN HIRSHBERG

  Amerikanski Dead at the Moscow Morgue or: Children of Marx and Coca-Cola

  KIM NEWMAN

  Among the Wolves

  DAVID CASE

  INTRODUCTION: RECREATING THE TERROR copyright © Stephen Jones 2004.

  FRUITING BODIES copyright © Brian Lumley 1988. Originally published in Weird Tales No. 291, Summer 1988. Reprinted by permission of the author and his agents, Dorian Literary Agency.

  NEEDLE SONG copyright © Gary Hoppenstand 1979. Originally published in Midnight Sun Number 5. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  TURBO-SATAN copyright © Ch
ristopher Fowler 2004.

  TALKING IN THE DARK copyright © Dennis Etchison 1984. Originally published in Shadows 7. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  THE CIRCUS copyright © Sydney J. Bounds 1980. Originally published in The Thirteenth Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agents, Cosmos Literary Agency.

  FOET copyright © F. Paul Wilson 1991. Originally published in Borderlands 2: An Anthology of Imaginative Fiction. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  THE CANDLE IN THE SKULL copyright © Basil Copper 1984. Originally published in Hallowe’en Hauntings. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  THE CHIMNEY copyright © Stuart David Schiff 1977. Originally published in Whispers: An Anthology of Fantasy and Horror. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  DARK WINGS copyright © Phyllis Eisenstein 1982. Originally published in Shadows 5. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  REFLECTION OF EVIL copyright © Graham Masterton 2004. Originally published in an abridged version as “Half-Sick of Shadows” on www.bbc.co.uk/cult/vampires. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  MIRROR OF THE NIGHT copyright © E.C. Tubb 1988. Originally published in Fantasy Annual #2. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agents, Cosmos Literary Agency.

  MAYPOLE copyright © Brian Mooney 2004.

  UNDER THE CRUST copyright © Terry Lamsley 1993. Originally published in Under the Crust. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  TIR NAN OG copyright © Lisa Tuttle 1999. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 1999. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  A LIVING LEGEND copyright © R. Chetwynd-Hayes 1982. Originally published in Tales from Beyond. Reprinted by permission of the author’s Estate.

  WAKE-UP CALL copyright © David J. Schow 2004.

  THE FOURTH SEAL copyright © Stuart David Schiff 1981. Originally published in Whispers III. Reprinted by permission of The Karl Edward Wagner Literary Group.

  UNLOCKED copyright © Tanith Lee and John Kaiine 2004.

  CLOSING TIME copyright © Neil Gaiman 2003. Originally published in McSweeny’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  IT WAS THE HEAT copyright © Pat Cadigan 1988. Originally published in Tropical Chills. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  FODDER copyright © Tim Lebbon and Brian Keene 2002. Originally published in Shivers. Reprinted by permission of the authors.

  OPEN DOORS copyright © Michael Marshall Smith 2003. Originally published in More Tomorrow & Other Stories. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  ANDROMEDA AMONG THE STONES copyright © Caitlín R. Kiernan 2002. Originally published in Andromeda Among the Stones. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  FLOWERS ON THEIR BRIDLES, HOOVES IN THE AIR copyright © Glen Hirshberg 2003. Originally published on SciFi.com, August 2003. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agents, Anderson Grinberg Literary Management, Inc.

  AMERIKANSKI DEAD AT THE MOSCOW MORGUE OR: CHILDREN OF MARX AND COCA-COLA copyright © Kim Newman 1999. Originally published in 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  AMONG THE WOLVES copyright © David Case 1971. Originally published in Fengriffen: A Chilling Tale. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  This one is for Jay,

  part of my extended Chicago family by marriage, my good friend and drinking companion by choice.

  THE FIRST BOOK I ever edited in the hugely successful Mammoth series was The Mammoth Book of Terror back in 1991.

  At the time, I wanted to assemble a hefty, non-themed horror anthology featuring some classic stories by many of the biggest names in the field, along with a scattering of tales that would be original to the book.

  The result was more successful than I could have imagined. The volume was reprinted in the UK and went through four printings in the United States. There was also a hardcover version, various budget editions and even an Italian translation. Even more importantly, the book was a precursor to an entire series of Mammoth titles that I have continued to edit up to this day.

  So when I was offered the opportunity to put together this follow-up volume, I naturally jumped at the chance. There are still many superb stories of horror and dark fantasy that, for one reason or another are not currently in print, or have never been previously published on one side of the Atlantic or the other.

  It is therefore my pleasure to welcome back to this volume such esteemed authors as Ramsey Campbell, Basil Copper, Dennis Etchison, Brian Lumley, Graham Masterton, David J. Schow, Lisa Tuttle and F. Paul Wilson. Although they are no longer with us, R. Chetwynd-Hayes and Karl Edward Wagner are also both remembered with examples of their finest work, which will most likely be unfamiliar to many readers.

  Such other respected names as Sydney J. Bounds, Phyllis Eisenstein, Charles L. Grant and E.C. Tubb are also represented with classic tales of unease, and there is more recent or original work from Pat Cadigan, Christopher Fowler, Neil Gaiman, Glen Hirshberg, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Terry Lamsley, Brian Mooney, Kim Newman and Michael Marshall Smith, many of whom were only just starting their professional careers when the first volume of Terror was originally published.

  Finally, I am delighted to present two powerful collaborations between rising stars Tim Lebbon and Brian Keene and the talented writing team of married couple Tanith Lee and John Kaiine, along with David Case’s classic psychological novella “Among the Wolves” which, like all the author’s early work, deserves to be back in print again.

  So there you have it – another bumper volume of contemporary terror, brought to you by some of the finest writers currently working in horror fiction. And remember, if you enjoyed this volume, then there are many more stories out there just waiting to be told . . .

  Stephen Jones

  London, England

  BRIAN LUMLEY WAS BORN on England’s north-east coast nine months after the death of H.P. Lovecraft. He claims that is just a coincidence. He was serving as a sergeant in the Corps of Royal Military Police when he discovered Lovecraft’s fiction while stationed in Berlin in the early 1960s. After deciding to try his own hand at writing horror fiction, initially set in HPL’s influential Cthulhu Mythos, he sent his early efforts to editor August Derleth. The latter’s famed Arkham House imprint published two collections of Lumley’s short stories, The Caller of the Black and The Horror at Oakdene and Others, plus the short novel Beneath the Moors.

  Lumley’s many other books include the Psychomech trilogy, Demogorgon, The House of Doors, Fruiting Bodies and Other Fungi, A Coven of Vampires, The Whisperer and Other Voices and Beneath the Moors and Darker Places.

  More recent publications include Freaks, a collection from Subterranean Press that includes a new story, and a reprinting of Khai of Khem from Tor Books. Delirium has reissued the first Hero of Dreams novel in a very limited leatherbound edition, and the third issue of H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror is a “Brian Lumley Special” that features two original tales.

  These days Lumley is best known as the author of the popular Necroscope vampire series. Published in 1986, the first book in the series made him a best-seller all over the world. That initial volume was followed by Necroscope II: Wamphyri! (aka Necroscope II: Vamphyrif), Necroscope III: The Source, Necroscope TV: Deadspeak and Necroscope V: Deadspawn. The Vampire World trilogy appeared in the early 1990s, and that was followed by the two-volume Necroscope: The Lost Years, the three-volume E-Branch series, and the collection Harry Keogh: Necroscope and Other Weird Heroes! Forthcoming is The Touch, a new “E-Branch” spin-off.

  In 1998 he was named Grand Master at the World Horror Convention, and The Brian Lumley Companion, co-edited with Stanley Wiater, appeared from Tor in 2002.

  “‘Fruiting Bodies’ won a British Fantasy Award in 1989,” reveals the author. “It had some stiff competition and I count myself lucky to have won. Whether it�
��s frightening or not is for you to decide. If it’s entertaining, and gives that certain frisson, then I’m satisfied.

  “One thing’s for sure, there isn’t any blood here: mushrooms don’t bleed.”

  MY GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, and my grandparents after them, had been Easingham people; in all likelihood my parents would have been, too, but the old village had been falling into the sea for three hundred years and hadn’t much looked like stopping, and so I was born in Durham City instead. My grandparents, both sets, had been among the last of the village people to move out, buying new homes out of a government-funded disaster grant. Since when, as a kid, I had been back to Easingham only once.

  My father had taken me there one spring when the tides were high. I remember how there was still some black, crusty snow lying in odd corners of the fields, coloured by soot and smoke, as all things were in those days in the north-east. We’d gone to Easingham because the unusually high tides had been at it again, chewing away at the shale cliffs, reducing shoreline and derelict village both as the North Sea’s breakers crashed again and again on the shuddering land.

  And of course we had hoped (as had the two hundred or so other sightseers gathered there that day) to see a house or two go down in smoking ruin, into the sea and the foaming spray. We witnessed no such spectacle; after an hour, cold and wet from the salt moisture in the air, we piled back into the family car and returned to Durham. Easingham’s main street, or what had once been the main street, was teetering on the brink as we left. But by nightfall that street was no more. We’d missed it: a further twenty feet of coastline, a bite one street deep and a few yards more than one street long had been undermined, toppled, and gobbled up by the sea.

  That had been that. Bit by bit, in the quarter-century between then and now, the rest of Easingham had also succumbed. Now only a house or two remained – no more than a handful in all – and all falling into decay, while the closest lived-in buildings were those of a farm all of a mile inland from the cliffs. Oh, and of course there was one other inhabitant: old Garth Bentham, who’d been demolishing the old houses by hand and selling bricks and timbers from the village for years. But I’ll get to him shortly.