Favorite short horror story...
 

I really love short stories.Which horror story can you recommend?I really love all of Edgar Allan Poes stories...The Black Cat being my fave.I also like The Human Chair,kinda creepy.Let me know what you think.....

I like the Deiver mirror by Stephen king,it's pretty good.

Though they're a little sci-fi too, I really like James Tiptree Jr.'s The Screwfly Solution and Connie Willis' All My Darling Daughters as examples of subtle, harrowing horror short stories.

Sam

I love short horror stories. Reading through two Lovecraft collections and From the Borderlands right now. Just read "The Food Processor", it's a must read.

Not really horror, but most anything by Neil Gaiman. "We Can Get Them For You Wholesale" is one of the best works of fiction that Ive ever read.

Oh, here we go... Some of these verge on SF, but as I've said in the past, the line between SF and horror is often thinner than you might think.

"Dr. Locrian's Asylum" by Thomas Ligotti
"White" by Tim Lebbon
"Details" by China Mieville
"Andy Warhol's Dracula" by Kim Newman
"Flies" by Robert Silverberg
"The Pattern" by Ramsey Campbell
"Riding the White Bull" by Caitlin R. Kiernan
"The Death of Doctor Island" by Gene Wolfe
"The Father-Thing" by Phillip K. Dick

get the short story collection the shadow at the bottom of the world by thomas ligotti

Which of his short story collections is that in?

No, my friend, you need The Nightmare Factory. Basically, it's all of Ligotti's collections (with the exception of My Work is Not Yet Done and In a Foreign Land, In a Foreign Town) in one omnibus collection. It goes for $60+ US on amazon, but it's quite worth it.

Smoke and Mirrors

Lisey's DEATH DREAMS
 

You are all going to think I am f.o.s but the truth is that you will not find a better collection of new short horror tales than my book "Lisey's DEATH DREAMS". I have learned from the best (Lovecraft, Poe, Quinn, Blackwood, Crawford, James, Dunsany, Le Fanu, etc.) and it is my opinion that I am now the best writer of short horror (currently living) in the entire world. I know this is a big claim to make, but I back it up with the quality and originality of my work. You can view the cover and tale summaries at Amazon.com. You can view some of the interior artwork at myspace (profile "Lisey's DEATH DREAMS author") under pics. In fact, if any of you buy it and dislike it, I'll send you a refund check for $9.00 US if you can prove you read it by quoting from the book (I mean this). Just email me at [email protected] with the book title in the title.

Regards,
Chris Robertson

I can't even begin to reply so such monumental arrogance. If you have to tell everyone that you are the greatest, then guess what: YOU'RE NOT.

No he is not exactly horror ,but I love his work anyways:)i have not read any stories from smoke and mirrors yet though.Ill give that one a try.Thanks

I have read "The Father Thing" and "The Pattern" and they were good. Are the others from any anthology.Ill check them out.

Noctuary,

If I were truly the greatest, my sales ranking on Amazon would probably be a bit better. Possibly I intended a bit of dry humor when making that claim... But I can honestly say that I believe my book to be better than any collection of short horror which I have personally read, which has been published since my birth year of 1974. Please send me an email to [email protected] so I can reply with an electronic version of my book for you to review.

I don't intend any arrogance. I am simply frustrated with the sad state of modern horror literature, and I believe that my work is very good. Seriously, please send me an email. I'll shoot you the almost-final version in Microsoft Word (just has a few typos) which includes the interior art. You can read it, hopefully enjoy it, and then send me your opinion.

Thanks,
Chris Robertson

There's definitely alot of great ones out there.

Would have to go with King's Nona
and... The End Of The Whole Mess.

I also really like R. Matheson's I Am Legend.

The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford is fantastic. Rats by M.R. James is peculiar, but I love it for its creepiness. Also, I am not a fan of much of Stephen King's work, but The Reaper's Image is a masterpiece. A Voice in the Night by Hodgson is great also. There's so many others, like The Lottery and The Monkey's Paw...

No, most of his work really couldnt be called horror...Smoke and Mirrors does have a few that come pretty close though.

Mine are the Professor's Teddy Bear by Theodore Sturgeon and the Whimper of Whipped Dogs by Harlan Ellison.

Just to prove that I'm not trolling today, here are a few more stories that you guys may enjoy.

"The Tree is My Hat" by Gene Wolfe
"Canavan's Backyard" by Joseph Payne Brennan
"The Wretched Thicket of Thorn" by Don Tumasonis
"ystery orm" by Brian McNaughton
"Tears Seven Times Salt" by Caitlin R. Kiernan

My favorites are Mask of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe and The Outsider by H.P. Lovecraft. To me they seem to be where virus movies (i.e. - Cabin Fever) and you-done-its (i.e. - Secret Window) come from.

My all-time favorite is The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe

Rats by M.R. James, The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford, The Reaper's Image by King, and Unearthed by me (Chris Robertson).

The Cats Of Ulthar by H.P.Lovecraft.

Vintage

The Lottery - Shirley Jackson
The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask Of Amontillado - Edgar Allan Poe

Modern

Stephen King:

Jerusalem's Lot (same town, different story)
Graveyard Shift
Children Of The Corn
One For The Road (Salem's Lot related)
The Raft
Gramma
The End Of The Whole Mess
The Night Flier
Rainy Season
Crouch End

Bentley Little

The Washingtonians
Paperwork
The Idol
Skin
Confessions Of A Corporate Man

Richard Matheson-Cant really pick a favorite. There are so many and almost all of em are good.

Duel, my favorite Richard Matheson short story:http://stlouisdumptrucks.com/Duel/si...11-683x510.png

Love Stephen King's shorts.

Favourites have to be; Jerusalem's Lot
The Breathing Method
The Langoliers-more Sci-Fi than horror I know, but this was kind of haunting

The novellas!! I forgot about those. The Mist is my absolute favorite.

Pickman's Model and Hands of Erich Zann by H.P Lovecraft
Metzengerstein by Edgar Allan Poe
The Professor's Teddy Bear by Theodore Sturgeon
The Boogeyman by Stephen King
The Deathbird by Harlan Ellison (I know it's more sci fi, but I still think it sort of qualifies)
The Yellow Sign by Robert W. Chambers
The Girl with the Hungry Eyes by Fritz Leiber

Survivor Type by King was pretty good. The Breathing Method was just great.

The Veldt by Bradbury is also a favorite of mine. Too many to list for me. King excels in the short story area. Wish he'd put out another collection.

The Veldt is a wonderful story. My favorite Ray Bradbury stories are The Crowd and Zero Hour.

If we can include Novellas here, then two books that I have read numerous times, which have screwed my head as I come to a different conclusion each time-Turn of the Screw and The Yellow Wallpaper.