
I’ve had this copy of Ramsey Campbell’s Fine Frights: Stories that Scared Me on my shelves since 1988, the year the book was published. I finally got around to reading it and found some gems.
My favorite story in this anthology is Joseph Payne Brennan’s creepy “The Horror at Chilton Castle.” The narrator of the story tells how he was involved in a bizarre ritual in the bowels of an ancient castle that holds a horror centuries old. Very atmospheric! I also liked “The Clerks of Domesday” by John Brunner. I’ve read a lot of Brunner’s work but somehow missed this story about the prelude to a nuclear war.
Ramsey Campbell provides informative introductions to the stories and reveals why he selected them. If you’re in the mood for some scary stories, Fine Frights will fit the bill. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction / Ramsey Campbell — ix
Child’s play / Villy Sørensen — 1
More sinned against / Karl Edward Wagner — 15
Lost memory / Peter Phillips — 43
The fifth mask / Shamus Frazer — 67
The horror at Chilton Castle / Joseph Payne Brennan — 91
The clerks of domesday / John Brunner — 119
Thurnley Abbey / Perceval Landon — 157
Cutting down / Bob Shaw — 187
The necromancer / Arthur Gray — 219
The greater festival of masks / Thomas Ligotti — 235
The war is over / David Case — 251
Upon the dull earth / Philip K. Dick — 269