Happy Goat Horror

Back in 1971, British publisher Sphere Books issued New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural edited by David A. Sutton, one of many original paperback horror anthologies that were appearing in newsagents and bookshops up and down the country during that time. They followed it up the next year with another volume of new horror fiction before the series was abruptly terminated prior to the third volume appearing (it was subsequently published by another imprint under a different title).

However, that first volume had a profound impact on a young horror fan who had recently left school, and helped shape his future ambitions in the genre. Now, more than fifty years later, multiple award-winning editor Stephen Jones is reviving the title for PS Publishing, carrying on the numbering from those first two volumes (which themselves are available again as a trade paperback omnibus). Once again, New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural is showcasing some of the very best original stories by authors both relatively new to the field and those who are established names in the genre. It may be an old title, but horror has a new home . . .

Dark bleatings, my spooky tribe! Some of you may remember David A. Sutton’s anthologies from a wee while ago, and some of you may have no idea what I’m talking about, but in any case, here’s an omnibus! Let’s dive in, shall we?

‘Under the Tombstone’ by Kenneth Bulmer

What sounds like a joke initially soon transpires to be a genuine vampire hunt conducted by a group of investigators. They go down into a tomb and realise that the danger is different and potentially worse than they first thought…

It was enjoyable!

‘The Time of Waiting’ by Richard Davis

I was very unsettled by the disorientating mysteriousness of this one. The story is about a man waiting outside of the delivery room for his wife to give birth. He has anxieties, naturally, but is there something more to them then what’s normal?

‘The Inglorious Rise of the Catsmeat Man’ by Robin Smyth

Loved this one. Sweeney Todd meets Psycho in this tale of a boy and his mother, and the business they fall into.

‘The Hollow Where’ by Michael G. Coney

It starts with a coin toss between two brothers, and ends with one of them – Ron – having his world blown apart. He’s sitting there with his lovely sister-in-law one day, when some of what she says just makes no sense. It takes him only moments to realise, with horror, that everything is off, actually. One of my favourites!

‘Mr. Nobody’ by R. W. Mackelworth

A guy meets a man – a drunk man – in a bar, who claims he has some little green man that no one else can see attached to him. Our protagonist doesn’t believe this, of course, until he does…

It was a short, spiky little story and I liked it.

‘The Farmhouse’ – by David A. Riley

Two words – creepy crawlies.

Well, actually, here are some more words: “this story made my skin crawl.”

‘The People Down Below’ – by Julia Birley

Paranoia, or a legitimate haunting? You decide in this creepy, spooky story of a woman terrified of a house she resides in, and a man who won’t hear any such “nonsense”. This one kind of plays into a trope that I really dislike. However, the execution and the atmosphere of the story rescued me from my bias, and I enjoyed it.

‘Phantasmagoria’ by William Thomas Webb

This story plays to the same trope as the previous one, and unfortunately for my personal tastes, it wasn’t a favourite because of it. A man suspects an acquaintance of delusions, that is until he investigates a little further. There seems to be another world beyond ours, peeking in…

‘Prison’ by Bryn Fortey

A group of outsiders at a fairground initially seem fine, but then show us why they’re a group of outsiders. Or are they trapped by something? It’s a bit vicious, this one!

‘Charley’s Chair’ by David Rome

This feels more like a snapshot than a full story, and I wasn’t so much spooked by it as intrigued by the things that might have happened surrounding this little snippet.

‘Broadcast’ by Ramsey Campbell

I was creeped out (as always, by Ramsey’s stories) with this tale of an interaction in a broadcasting station. Technology has developed so much in my lifetime, but I still find radio the most eerie when it comes to things that supernatural entities might use…

‘Goat’ by David Campton

Goat is an unpleasant man that gleefully takes the credit for scaring a little girl half to death. When people are rightly outraged by this, they start…dying. The final scene is ever more unsettling, especially once you reach the final page.

‘The Winter’ by E. C. Tubb

This one was a lot of a fun. A film crew set on making a film about a witch coven performing a ritual set things up, but with disregard for “real witchcraft”. They are especially flippant with a combination of actual and fake ingredients needed for the brew. Of course, things go awry.

‘A Bottle of Spirits’ by David A. Riley

A man applies for a job as a helper to Preskett, some sort of magician…or is he? I really enjoyed this story. The ending is delightfully dark and offered something that had not yet come up in the previous stories.

‘Television Wife’ by William Thomas Webb

A woman is suspected of terrible things by the entire town, it seems, when her husband just disappears one day. She isn’t responsible, but she has an idea of what happened to him, and tries to follow…

Very weird and fun idea.

‘The Darkness’ by Robert Holdstock

This wasn’t a favourite, I’m afraid, because I’m just not a fan of this type of story. A man finds himself in a strange, starless, timeless place, where many other men are gathered. He’s driven by a single question, but will he ever have his answer?

‘Grooley’ by James Wade

Loved this one! An awesome, classic monster story. Timmy has an imaginary friend that wants things, and if Timmy doesn’t deliver, there will be consequences!

‘Shrewhampton North-East’ by Bryn Fortey

A woman and son are stuck at a train station that they, and everyone else, have never heard of, and they even question its real existence. The train never seems to be coming and things start to seem desperate…

‘Demoniacal’ by David A. Sutton

Two unlikely friends get hold of a record that apparently has demonic incantations on it. It’s just silly superstition, right? RIGHT?! A classic type of horror story, and deliciously dark.

‘Infra-man’ by Roger Parkes

Ahhh I’m so sorry to the author for this one but sadly for me, this story uses a trope that I hate. A woman’s navy officer husband goes missing, and one night a photographer snaps a pic of her and her husband is in it. She takes pics of his favourite chair, afraid he’s dead and haunting her, only to discover he might be there after all! Very spooky, and I’m sure people without my particular hang-up (I can’t tell you what it is because it’s a spoiler) will love this.

‘The Ghosts in the Garden’ by Rosemary Timperley

This one wasn’t my cup of tea, but it’s delightfully odd. A woman sees a vision of something through her window, something that can’t possibly be there. She doubts herself at first but it soon becomes her reality, regardless of why it’s there.

‘Marianne’s Boy’ by Elizabeth Fancett

An eerie story about a psychologist who receives a new patient. Marianna is worried about her son, who speaks as though he’s much older all of a sudden, and seems full of contempt. She understandably believes that something in him went awry after his stepfather was captured during the war (so they believe). I loved where this one went.

‘The Other House’ by Ramsey Campbell

This is a very odd story about all sorts of things – a building and certain residents, first and foremost, but also tortured relationships. It wasn’t my favourite of the stories in this book but I love Campbell’s writing and the atmosphere (he’s always so good with the atmosphere!).

Overall, this is a solid anthology and the ideas in it range from classic, spooky, gothic horror, to bizarre, weird and wonderful. The editor has a great eye for how and what to put together, and though this is cliche to say in a review, there really is something in there for every horror fan.

If you’d like to check out the book, I’ve popped a link below for you:

NEW WRITINGS IN HORROR & THE SUPERNATURAL: OMNIBUS

Bleeeeat!