Personal histories pulse with creeping inertia (4/5)
The Whispers anthology
series was recommended to me some time back as being one of the best horror
anthologies. I had known that some of the horror in Whispers V was
infused with fantasy, but my fingers were cross that the horror would outshine
any bit errant fantasy (because, as you know, I have a low toleration for
fantasy).
Psychological and body
horror impress me much more than supernatural, demonic haunting horror. Save
for one or two stories, none of them reek of the stereotypical horror that
keeps me from reading some of the “favorite” books in the genre. So, my hats
goes off to the editor, Stuart David Schiff, for providing what he calls in his
preface as “something a little bit different”—the “out-of-common story, the
beyond-the pale work, the unusual twist”. Indeed, Mr. Schiff; good show!
The star in this anthology
is easy to pick out. My favorite story is also the shortest: Wade Kenny’s
3-page shortstory “A Country Home” (1985). It’s brevity is key to its punch
and, boy, what a punch! My jaw slackened and I whispered a few expletives… it
was that good. I had never heard of Wade Kenny before, which is no surprise
because I only know three of the authors: Connie Willis, F. Paul Wilson, and Jerry
Sohl. Sadly, Wade Kenny only wrote one additional short story, “A Telephone
Booth” (1982), for another one of Schiff’s anthologies: Death (1982).
That’s going on my to-buy list!
------------
Willis, Connie: Substitution
Trick (1985, shortstory) – 4/5
Houdini had mystified and
fooled many with his attempts at escapism, but his wizened mind grew skeptical
because of his entertaining deceit. Prior to his mother’s death, they shared
moments unknowable to others; these memories Houdini has been unable to experience
through mediums—thus his calling them fakes. After Houdini’s own death, he
meets his mother who comforts him in the seasickness of the afterlife and helps
him to contact his wife Bess through a medium. 9 pages
Drake, David: Dreams in Amber
(1985, shortstory) – 4/5
A bead of amber drapes the
neck of Saturnus, sending mental images and thoughts to the man so that he can
fulfill a task for its occupant. Saturnus finds the Respectable Allectus, Chief
of Imperial Accounts, for the mission of infiltrating the castle, gain entry to
the strongroom, and confront the force there and its implications for not only
the Roman Empire, but also the world. 13 pages
Cave, Hugh H.: Footprints in
Perdu (1985, shortstory) – 5/5
An American nurse and doctor
couple in Haiti
catch wind of a girl in the hills who’s ostracized by the village for being a
werewolf. The local lore makes no impression on them, so they continue to the
squalid village
of Perdu. Meat, and food
in general, is difficult to come by so the locals smoke a weed that suppresses
their appetite. The couple meet an influential man who is gracious enough to
feed them meat and give directions to find the baby-eating werewolf. 11 pages
Wilson, Paul F.: The Last “One
Mo’ Once Golden Oldies Revival” (1985, shortstory) – 4/5
Philip Goodloe has kicked
the bucket. He used to rock, used to produce hit after hit, used to collaborate
with Lenny Winter for his fame and fortune. Philip, birth name of Flip, can
only blame himself for his downfall: young women and smack. When Lenny hears of
Flip’s death, the radio begins to play a string of hits which he had helped
support when he was an opportunistic DJ. Soon, the coincidences are too much.
14 pages
Kenny, Wade: A Country Home
(1985, shortstory) – 5/5
With bucolic bliss comes
responsibility; the toil of continual daily chores and the need to do one’s own
dirty, yet necessary, work. The Casselman family—a husband and wife with their
baby daughter Katie—live in such simplicity. Doug’s duty was to drown the
kittens while his wife was out. He dug the hole, retrieved the sack his wife had
seemingly filled, then drowned and buried its contents. His wife returns,
looking for Katie. 3 pages
Nolan, William F.: Of Time
and Kathy Benedict (1984, novelette) – 3/5
For the 80th anniversary of
the Ford Motor Company, research specialist Kathy has the assignment of
researching automobiles from 1902, specifically the “999” racing machine of
lore. Relaxing out in a lake alone, a freak storm and wave capsize her boat.
When she awakens, she realizes that it’s the year 1902 and the her hero is one
of the men responsible for the famous “999”. Love blossoms, the car races, and
a lake date looms. 22 pages
Etchison, Dennis: Deadspace
(1985, novelette) – 3/5
The Holmly Hotel is Beverly Hills is like a
closed universe where the same people perform the same actions, only Wintner is
a stalker among the sheep. Wintner, a producer, aims to meet an actor named Joe
Gillis so that he can cast him in a lead role, but Gillis never picks up the
phone. As a hidden pool, Wintner has passing conversations with a sunbathing
beauty and the hulking figure of a woman in a tent. News breaks his reverie;
his universe shrinks. 22 pages
Sohl, Jerry: Cabin Number
Six (1985, shortstory) – 2/5
A clairvoyant elderly lady
and her son Henry own a rundown motel just off the new interstate. As she
predicts, a couple arrive at the motel with a booking from Dr. Woodford, a
marriage counselor. The exuberant rate of $50 for the room and $5 for ice makes
George, the husband, sour with frustration while his troubled wife Joan
antagonizes his foul mood. From outside, a sinister duo peer through the
window; from within, the demons attack and claw the couple. 12 pages
Tem, Steve Rasnic: Father’s
Day (1985, shortstory) – 4/5
Will didn’t have the most
ideal childhood. His father was—still is—an alcoholic and starved Will of
affection while his mother stood by her man. How with his own son, Will hasn’t
visited his parents for seven years and his own wife insists they visit the
lonely couple. Will realizes his authoritative relationship with his son is too
tense, but the victimized child in himself is also the vindictive predator. 10
pages
Ryan, Alan: The East
Beaverton Monster (1985, shortstory) – 4/5
The quiet town of East Beaverton is a sleepy
town where the men work 9 to 5 in the city and where the housewives are bored
alone at home… unless the exotic telephone repairman visits. When Dr. Lavalette
opens a new women’s weight clinic in town, Beatrice and Candace are ager to
shift their village gossip to the unexpected. They get wondrous results from
the weight treatment but ignore the follow-up warning as they continue to watch
their weight. 16 pages
Tinker, Libby: The Horse (1985,
shortstory) – 3/5
Life is breathed into a
newborn foal while its mother passes away amid its bloody birth. Struggling to
stand on its own four legs, a woman comes to act as a wet nurse to the young
colt, offering it sweetened fingers to suck on. Though born fingered and
clawed, the woman applies her maternal instinct however, on its fourth day
alive, the dreaded dusk approaches. 6 pages
Farber, Sharon N.: Return of
the Dust Vampires (1985, shortstory) – 3/5
Dr. Insomnia treat a B-grade film star of yesteryear—Rich
Dutcher. Though he’s not proud of the work he had done, he memories are still
alive in the doctor, one of his fans from the “Time Seekers” series. With Rich
dying of metastasizing cancer, Dr. Insomnia tries to treat his mind with
positive resonance so that he can fight the death with will. As the same time,
the doctor, herself, comes down with illness. 12 pages
Morrell, David: For These
and All My Sins (1984, shortstory) – 4/5
Driving eastward home
through Nebraska,
a man becomes stranded outside a small town just off the interstate. There to
find a mechanic, he witnesses the grotesque ugliness of all the town’s people.
Having to resort to asking for a beer and chips at the town’s only diner, the
closed diner’s waitress takes him home, where she feeds him in the dark the
best meal of his life. She also tells him of the town’s ugly history and of his
ugly meal. 13 pages
Wagner, Karl Edward: Beyond
Any Measure (1982, novella) – 3/5
Though much of Lisette’s
family’s history is placed in London, she was
born in America
to her American parents. Now studying art in London, since her arrival, she has been
experiencing a recurring dream involving a mirror, an antique watch, and blood.
Her roommate suggests Dr. Magners, a fringe-science psychotherapist interested
in hypnotizing her for free. After each session, memories of her past life
effervesce and her own life is changed in undetectable ways. 45 pages
No comments:
Post a Comment