A resident in an insane asylum explains how he ended up there. Kind of amusing, but not believable. A body with a dismembered corpse in it is going to weigh a lot more than a suitcase with documents in it. THE MAN WHO HATED FLIES, by Charles J. Benfleet: A man asks his friend to prove to him the existence of reincarnation, with unexpected results. A very slight and comic story, but written in a style that's designed to entertain. 3/5 His Beautiful Hands’ is the first of several truly great stories in this collection. It’s also wonderfully gruesome.

The series lasted from the late 50s to the 1980s, thirty years of dismemberments, vats of acid, shrunken heads, spiders in the bedroom, child vampires, mistaken revenge, eyeballs in the beef stew, homicidal ants, homicidal cats, homicidal babies, psychotic surgeons, straightforward sex-murders, not so straightforward sex-murders, florid torturers and uncannily accurate sculptures which turn out to be taxidermy - ha haaah. THE WORDS OF THE DUMB, by Alex Hamilton: A man discovers his ability to talk to the animals. Whimsical, funny and disturbing all at the same time, this one. 4/5 The House of Horror’ features some now-classic horror themes – a demented old man, a secluded house and medical horror. Not bad. But that final grave scene did ford the author the opportunity for a bit of wordplay with the title, clearly allowing the titular “Man” to be applicable to either the journalist or Locie.

Series: Pan Books of Horror Stories

THE BATS, by David Grant: A young boy breeds some unusual pets in the garden shed. There's a bleak, E.C. Comics-style atmosphere to this one, but Grant shies away from the expected grue. 3/5 I know I am being more than a touch pedantic here, but the biological details of the story did annoy me a bit. Spiders breathe atmospheric air of which there is none to found inside the human body, so that first one which crawled up inside the General would have drowned had it attempted to burrow into the membranes. Lunatic aunt keeps pretty blonde girl relative prisoner and convinces her she’s ugly. Great study of insanity. The Copper Bowl’ is based around some truly gleeful stereotyping about the cruelties of a nineteenth century Chinese villain. Great fun.

The authors, most of whom were of obscure origin and who remained obscure, had several obsessions. Darkest Africa and the mysterious East was one (cue immeasurable fathomless cruelty); in case you think they were all racist blighters, they also seemed to think that behind the façade of every English country house was a retired surgeon just aching to graft your normal legs onto the body of his stunted daughter. Or chain you in the library and gradually eat bits of you. I'LL LOVE YOU - ALWAYS, by Adobe James: A man buys an old Civil War mansion meaning to renovate it but soon falls foul of a succubus. James seemed to have a thing for sexy horror stories and this tale of a nymphomaniac ghost is no different. Contains a spectacularly politically incorrect ending. 3/5 Young lad had secret solo river swim sessions. Woman bursts on to the riverbank during one such, pursued by a man. She falls in the river and is drowned. The man is later arrested for murder. Beautifully written. Originally published in 1967. 8 out of 20 good stories make this one of the lesser books in this series so far, especially considering that 6 really are bottom of the barrel space-fillers (in my humble!). The other 6 I’d place firmly in the middle-of-the-road. Having said that, the good stories are good.

The early editions of the Pan Book of Horror Stories were notable for their lurid cover art [2] and Van Thal's introduction of stories by new authors alongside classics of the genre. The first edition included works by Peter Fleming, Muriel Spark, Bram Stoker and C. S. Forester. Later volumes featured Ray Bradbury and Lord Dunsany among others. Basil Copper made his debut in fifth volume, with the story "The Spider". [3] The series also published work by Charles Birkin, R. Chetwynd-Hayes and Alex Hamilton. [4] After volume nine, Van Thal placed a heavier reliance on new authors. The series grew in popularity and was the stepping stone for much new talent. [1] In the 1970s, the increasingly violent content of the Pan Books provoked some controversy. [4] In the early 1980s a slow decline in standards was observed. Popularity rose again in the late decade, but a multitude of reprint stories from Stephen King and a severe slide in quality ended the iconic series in 1989. The last book is now a rare collectors item, owing to the small print run it received.

There’s another evil surgeon ‘Behind the Yellow Door’ in a low key tale from Flavia Richardson. Marcia Miles goes to be a companion to an eminent doctor and her daughter and gets an unpleasant surprise. All in all, medical reputations are not enhanced by this book. The Man Who Hated Flies’ (by Charles J. Benfleet). A man who believes in reincarnation dies. This may be slow for much of its time but it builds to a truly surprising climax. In tribute to this once ubiquitous set of books, here’s the cover art, accompanied in each case by a listing of the stories, and featuring also an index of the stories, listed by author. THE COFFIN MAKERS, by Raymond Williams: In Victorian times, two coffin makers have a falling out. Another disappointment, going for the gore but with no discernable atmosphere or decent plotting. 2/5John Keir Cross (1914-1967) was a British author of young adult science fiction novels, adult horror stories and television adaptations of literary classics. This is a particularly unusual story, told from the point of view of someone who appears to be losing his mind. It suggests more than it really makes clear, but it has a poetry and a sense of probing into profound and forbidden thoughts that makes it quite unsettling. I'm hugely indebted to Mr Duncan Ball, who very kindly provided me with scans and contents listings for the volumes I had missing - many thanks to him. Due to his contribution, this is now a complete listing of all thirty volumes. The ‘bean-nighe’ or ‘washerwoman’ is a figure of Scottish folklore - a female spirit who is a harbinger of death. When a girl encounters this being she thinks it is obvious who is going to die, but, of course, you can’t count on the obvious in a horror story. A well-written slice of folk horror.

For the record, my 6 bottom of the barrels are – ‘My Dear How Dead You Look And Yet You Sweetly Sing’ by Priscilla Marron; ‘The Janissaries of Emilion’ by Basil Copper; ‘The Computer’ by Rene Morris; ‘Sugar And Spice’ by A. G. J. Rough; ‘The Most Precious’ by John D. Keefauver; and ‘Playtime’ also by A. G. J. Rough.

How to Vote

Martin Wadell is an Irish writer who is now best known for children’s books, especially the Little Bear picture books he began writing in the late 80s. Early volumes in Pan’s horror anthologies contain quite a few stories he wrote when he was young.