The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series VIII

"I've always thought that the short story was the ideal format for spooky fiction. While there are no more magazines like Weird Tales or Unknown, the publisher of Daw Books remains true to the tradition. The Year's Best Horror Stories anthology seems destined to become as important a fixture as the old magazines were. The latest one indicates a healthy level of craftsmanship and imaginative fertility in a field which has so few outlets for budding writers."So wrote Don Hutchison in his review of the previous collection. This year continues the high tradition with a spine-chilling selection by the series' new editor, the well-known writer of fantastic adventure, Karl Edward Wagner. The eighth annual includes such favorite writers as Harlan Ellison, Eddy C. Bertin, Russell Kirk, Hugh B. Cave, Charles L. Grant, Ramsey Campbell, and many more!Contents:Introduction: Access to Horror by Karl Edward Wagner.The Dead Line by Dennis Etchison.To Wake the Dead by Ramsey Campbell.In the Fourth Year of the War by Harlan Ellison.From the Lower Deep by Hugh B. Cave.The Baby-Sitter by Davis Grubb.The Well at the Half Cat by John C. Tibbetts. My Beautiful Darkling by Eddy C. Bertin.A Serious Call by George Hay.Sheets by Alan Ryan.Billy Wolfe's Riding Spirit by Kevin A. Lyons.Lex Talionis by Russell Kirk.Entombed by Robert Keefe.A Fly One by Steve Sneyd.Needle Song by Charles L. Grant.All the Birds Come Home to Roost by Harlan Ellison.The Devil Behind You by Richard A. Moore.