"The Sadness of Detail" by Jonathan Carroll

...I noticed a number of photographs he had spread out on the table in front of him. Most of the pictures were of my family and me.

A woman takes a break at her favorite coffee shop before heading home to her husband and children. While enjoying a glass of wine and humming to herself, she is confronted by a mysterious man who seems to know things about her that nobody could possibly know. It seems that the woman has a talent, and the strange man has a proposition for her...one that could completely change the woman's future. But who is the man who calls himself "Thursday", and what does he gain from the woman's talent?

Jonathan Carroll quickly draws the reader into the world of his main character, using the setting of a quaint coffee shop as a resting place for a woman who is exhausted of running daily errands. The pacing of the story is perfect, and the "otherworldly" aspects of the tale are introduced in a believable way. The final few paragraphs, which explain the motivation for Thursday and what effect the woman's ability could have on the world as a whole, describe a unique perspective on a subject that many pages have been written on over the course of history.

"You know the sadness of detail, using your phrase. That is what makes you capable of transcendence."

"The Sadness of Detail" can be found in the anthology Poe's Children: The New Horror, which was edited by Peter Straub.

 

"The Griffin and the Minor Canon" by Frank R. Stockton

The poor Minor Canon would rather have had his hand cut off than go out to meet an angry griffin; but he felt that it was his duty to go, or it would be a woeful thing if injury should come to the people of the town because he was not brave enough to obey the summons of the Griffin.

In an old town, there lies a church that is adorned with many sculptures. Among these is a large statue of a griffin, notable because (unbeknownst to the townsfolk) there is only one live griffin that remains in the land. This griffin finds out that there is a sculpture in his likeness, and decides that he would like to see for himself what he looks like. Upon arriving in the town, the Griffin encounters the Minor Canon, a respected figure in the town. Initially, the Griffin means the townspeople no harm, but when they decide that they would like the Griffin gone the burden falls upon the Minor Canon...

This tale was a departure for me, as I usually read stories that are more "horror" in nature. While not a scary story by any means, the premise was interesting and the tale was written well enough to be both whimsical and suspenseful. I found myself feeling bad for the Griffin, as he became the classic "misunderstood monster", but also feeling bad for the Minor Canon, who is tasked with getting rid of a beast who has so much potential for destruction.

"The Griffin and the Minor Canon" can be found in the collection Unnatural Creatures, which consists of short stories (featuring creatures) selected by Neil Gaiman.

"Looker" by David Nickle

For now I could see that what I'd first thought were star-points, were nothing of the sort.

Tommy is at a party when he decides to take a break from the mass of people and head down to the beach for some quiet time. While there, he meets a girl named Lucy. They have a bit to drink, and smoke a little bit as well, while the sun dies on the horizon. Lucy seems to mumble to herself from time to time, but Tommy doesn't seem bothered by her quirky behavior. Once the darkness takes over the beach, they decide to go for a swim. Stripping off their clothes, they frolic in the waters. This moment of exposure is when Tommy first notices that Lucy's skin seems to flicker like the stars against the night sky. As it turns out, Tommy is in for a surprise when he realizes exactly what type of skin condition Lucy has...

This short story appealed to me in the unapologetic way that it portrays a very normal world with a single oddity that drives the action. Rather than attempt to explain why Lucy is the way that she is, David Nickle chooses to describe her without feeling the need to "make sense" of it all. I was also engaged by the perspective, as we are told the story through Tommy's eyes as he attempts to tell the story to an ex-lover. I enjoyed the ending, and the twist that accompanied it, but felt that it could have been fleshed out in a bit more detail. The motivations that drive Tommy to accept his ultimate fate were not clear, which is the only aspect of this tale that I would have liked to be different.

"Looker" can be found in the anthology The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Four, which was edited by Ellen Datlow.

"The Little Green God of Agony" by Stephen King

Answer a question for me, sir. What color is your pain?

Newsome, the sixth-richest man in the world, has been in an accident. He is relegated to his hospital bed, and must rely on nurses to empty his bedpans and clean his body. Being an extremely rich and spoiled man, Newsome has no grit. He refuses to put forth the effort required to recover physically from his accident, instead choosing to seek out someone that can be paid to erase his pain. Many have come and tried (enticed by the thought of getting rich quick), but all have either failed or been exposed as money hungry fakes. Running out of options, Newsome has contacted a man named Rideout, who claims that he can exorcise the pain from Newsome's body.

Is Rideout just another kook, looking to swindle a billionaire into separating from a sizeable chunk of money? Or is Rideout able to legitimately exorcise the pain from Newsome's body?

I have read quite a bit of Stephen King's work, and the master of horror rarely disappoints. This short story will not go down as a classic of his by any means, but it was a fun little read. The story is pretty standard fare as far as plot goes, but a great writer can make gold out of straw on occasion. Once the exorcism begins, the events unfold rather quickly, and the reader is treated to a number of events that are almost comical in the way that they take place. A less talented author would most likely not be able to pull this story off without coming across as cheesy, but King does what he does best and entertains the reader from start to finish.

"The Little Green God of Agony" can be found in the anthology The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Four, which was edited by Ellen Datlow.

"Old Haunts" by Richard Matheson

As he walked back to the room that evening after supper, he had the definite impression that someone was following him.

A nameless protagonist has returned to his college town while on a business trip. He decides to stay a night in the same room that he once rented while he was a student, even going so far as to pay a much higher rate than the room is worth. Walking around the campus, reminiscing, the protagonist starts getting an feeling that something is...off. We, the reader, soon find out that there is...

Richard Matheson writes about the bittersweet past of a solitary man very well. The fact that he does not name or describe the man in great detail makes it easy for the reader to imagine themselves as the main character, and that is where the strength in this story lies. With each scene, Matheson lulls the reader into a melancholy state that anyone can relate to. We all wish that we could go back. To another town, another school, another house...Some of us even realize, much like the protagonist of "Old Haunts", that you can never truly go back.

"Old Haunts" can be found in the short story collection Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, which consists of short stories written by Richard Matheson.

"The Camping Wainwrights" by Ian R. MacLeod

I realized, even as my feet buckled and I slipped back into the mud, there would be other nights, other tents, other holidays - that the lives of us camping Wainwrights would continue to go stupidly and unbelievably wrong.

The Wainwrights are a family that have defined themselves as campers. They look forward to the road trips to the country, the set up of the giant canvas tent, and the cooking of meals on the grill while sitting under the stars. At least, Mr. Wainwright looks forward to these things. The rest of the family (Mom, Terry, and Helen) have grown to despise these camping trips, where things always seem to go wrong in the most unlikely of ways. When Terry begins to notice that these setbacks seem to never involve Dad, he begins to pay closer attention. When the Wainwrights are forced by Dad to wait out a violent storm that has cleared the camp of other vacationers, it appears that the family finds a way to make some things right for once...

Ian R. MacLeod does a wonderful job of describing the Wainwrights lives in a way that is both nostalgic and subtly off kilter. There is clearly something brewing within their family, and the pace that the story takes in leading up to the final act is perfect. I did not expect the events to occur exactly as they did, but I was very satisfied with what actually happened. The real eye opener (and what really makes this story go from enjoyable to unforgettable) is the final twist that MacLeod puts on the story. I will not ruin it here, but I will say that the last six or seven paragraphs make this story a must read.

You really imagine I do all those things, our Terry?

"The Camping Wainwrights" can be found in the anthology The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror: Volume Twenty, which was edited by Stephen Jones.

"In the Rundown" by Joe Hill

Wyatt saw the slash in his throat first, a glistening black line in the approximate shape of a fishhook.

Wyatt works at a video store with a girl named Kensington. The two of them do not get along, and when Wyatt says the wrong thing to the girl, he ends up walking home earlier than he had anticipated. On his way home, he notices a car parked in a strange location, and he recognizes the car as Mrs. Prezar's, a snobby rich woman who Wyatt once mowed lawns for. He recognizes the vehicle easily, as he had seen the car at the hardware store across from the video store only hours earlier. Mrs. Prezar had been acting strange when Wyatt watched her enter the hardware store and then briskly exit only a few moments later, which makes Wyatt feel unsettled as he approaches the car. As he gets closer,  Wyatt sees Mrs. Prezar's baby in the back seat, but something is wrong. Then, as Wyatt moves towards the open driver's door, he sees Mrs. Prezar herself...

I really enjoyed this short story, because I felt that Joe Hill did an excellent job of utilizing surprise. As the story progressed, I never expected Wyatt to encounter Mrs. Prezar in the way he did, but all of the details leading up to the event made sense once he did. Even as the intense segments of the story occurred, Joe Hill made me question the motives of the characters involved, to the point that I am not sure if certain characters are actually good or bad. This possibility for dual interpretations might leave some readers dissatisfied, but I found it refreshing. The story wraps up nicely, as it ties in earlier themes, but leaves that opening for interpretation without making the reader feel like there were loose ends left hanging. Joe Hill is definitely an author that I will look forward to reading again after reading this strong short story.

"In the Rundown" can be found in the short story collection 20th Century Ghosts, which consists of short stories written by Joe Hill.