Ellen Datlow: The Best Horror of the Year. Volume 6

The Mountains of Madness , edited by Robert M. Price (Dullahan Press), is an entertaining theme anthology of twelve stories centering and/or inspired by the H. P. Lovecraft’s novella of the same title. Some notable stories by Stephen Mark Rainey, Edward Morris, and Brian M. Sammons.

Bad Seeds: Evil Progeny , edited by Steve Berman (Prime), has twenty-seven horror stories about really nasty kids. With reprints by Stephen King, Peter Straub, Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Joe R. Lansdale, and others. The best of the five originals is by Joel D. Lane.

Shadows Edge , edited by Simon Strantzas (Gray Friar Press), takes as its theme the edges between nightmare and reality, and although individually each story is quite good, unfortunately, as a group of fifteen, they seem awfully desolate/static. The standouts are those by Richard Gavin, Gary McMahon, Lisa Hannett, Simon Strantzas, Peter Bell, R. B. Russell, and John Langan.

Impossible Monsters , edited by Kasey Lansdale (Subterranean Press), is an entertaining anthology of twelve (all but one new) stories about new monsters. The meatiest stories are Chet Williamson’s tour de force that will make anyone who stays in hotel rooms totally paranoid and Joe R. Lansdale’s new adventures about supernatural sleuth Dana Roberts.

There were two volumes in the Terror Tales anthology series, edited by Paul Finch (Gray Friar Press): Terror Tales of the Seaside has fourteen horror stories taking place in the seaside towns of England. All but two stories are new. The strongest were by Gary Fry, Paul Kane, Reggie Oliver, Sam Stone, and Stephen Volk. Terror Tales of London features thirteen stories, ten published for the first time. The best were by Barbara Roden, Mark Morris, Nina Allan, Adam Nevill, and Rosalie Parker. The Allan is reprinted herein.

Barbers & Beauties , edited by Michael Knost and Nancy Eden Siegel (Hummingbird House Press), is a clever concoction. Created as a double book, with one half dubbed Beautyshop Quartet, consisting of four original stories by women, and the other half dubbed Barbershop Quartet, consisting of four original stories by men. The stories all take place within either a barbershop or beautyshop. The strongest stories are by Lee Thomas, Tim Lebbon, and Rhodi Hawks.

Weirder Shadows over Innsmouth , edited by Stephen Jones (Fedogan & Bremer), is the third in a trilogy of anthologies inspired by the H. P. Lovecraft novella The Shadow over Innsmouth . The volume contains a poem by Lovecraft, sixteen reprints by various writers, and seven originals, including notable work by Conrad Williams, Michael Marshall Smith, Angela Slatter, and Brian Hodge. The Hodge is reprinted herein.

Psycho-Mania , edited by Stephen Jones (Robinson), features thirty-four stories, a little more than half of them new, with interstitial material by John Llewellyn Probert pulling the anthology together (so that all the stories are seen as “case histories” of patients in Crowsmoor asylum for the criminally insane), and an introduction by Robert Bloch (a previously unpublished essay). While all the originals are good, the strongest are by Brian Hodge, Robert Shearman, Rio Youers, Michael Marshall, and Kim Newman. The Shearman and Newman are reprinted herein.

Zombies: Shambling through the Ages , edited by Steve Berman (Prime), has more than thirty zombie stories, eight of them reprints, all taking place from pre-history through the early twentieth century. There are notable originals by Paul M. Berger, Samantha Henderson, Carrie Laben, Livia Llewellyn, L. Lark, and Aimee Payne.

Appalachian Undead , edited by Eugene Johnson and Jason Sizemore (Apex Publications), features twenty all new zombie stories. There are notable ones by Maurice Broaddus, Michael Paul Gonzalez, Paul Moore, Steve Rasnic Tem, and a good collaboration by John Skipp and Dori Miller. Mountain Dead , edited by Jason Sizemore and Eugene Johnson (Apex Publications), is a chapbook extension of the anthology (ebook only) with four more zombie stories.

Zippered Flesh 2: More Tales of Body Enhancement Gone Bad! , edited by Weldon Burges (Smart Rhino), has twenty-two stories, all but three new. The best are by Shaun Meeks, Lisa Mannetti, Christine Morgan, and Michael Bailey.

Space Eldritch II: The Haunted Stars , edited by Nathan Shumate (Gold Fusion Media), is an all original anthology of eleven Locraftian space operas.

For the Night is Dark , edited by Ross Warren (Crystal Lake Publishing), has twenty original stories about fear of the dark, and the best stories are by Ray Cluley, Benedict J. Jones, and Carole Johnstone. One story is by publisher Joe Mynhardt, something I’ve never before encountered. Sometimes editors include their own stories — in the case of big name author-editors, occasionally they are required by their publisher to include their own stories for marketing purposes— because they’re a big name. I personally think it’s a lousy idea because it means there’s no editorial choice at play and that’s one of the most crucial jobs of editing an anthology. There’s no excuse for a non-name to do so. But for the publisher to force his editor to include that publisher’s story? That’s a conflict of interest.

Ill at Ease II (Penman Press, no editor) is a short anthology of seven stories, following up from the 2011 three-writer chapbook Ill at Ease . The most interesting stories this time around are by Mark West and Robert Mammone.

Mister October: An Anthology in Memory of Rick Hautala volumes I and II (Journalstone Publishing) is an all-reprint anthology with 100 percent of the profits going to the Hautala family. Rick Hautala, a well-known figure in horror circles, died suddenly in March 2013. Some of the contributors include Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, Sarah Langan, F. Paul Wilson, Sarah Pinborough, Joe Lansdale, Elizabeth Massie, and other prominent names in horror.

His Red Eyes, Again , edited by Julia Kruk and Tracy Lee (CreateSpace), celebrates the fortieth anniversary of The Dracula Society with thirteen stories, twelve by members. The best stories are by Chris Priestley and Laura Miller.

Chiral Mad 2 , edited by Michael Bailey (CreateSpace), is a mix of twenty-eight new and reprinted psychological horror stories. The best of the originals are by Emily B. Cataneo, James Chambers, Patrick O’Neill, Andrew Hook, and Usman T. Malik.

The Tenth Black Book of Horror , edited by Charles Black (Mortbury Press), has fifteen stories, the strongest by Andrea Janes. This volume in the series is a bit too pulpy for my taste.

Hauntings , edited by Ellen Datlow (Tachyon Publications), is a reprint anthology of twenty-four stories of ghosts and other types of hauntings originally published between 1983 and 2012. Included are stories by Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, Connie Willis, Lucius Shepard, Joyce Carol Oates, and nineteen other writers.

The Transfiguration of Mister Punch by D.P. Watt, Charles Schneider, and Cate Gardner (Egaeus Press) is an anthology of three works commissioned (by publisher Mark Beech) to reinvent the Punch and Judy mythos. The first by Charles Schneider is a fictitious essay interspersed with macabre vignettes about the history and various aspects of the show. The second grouping, by D. P. Watt, has stories within stories, all very dark. And the third is a disturbing novella by Cate Gardner in which Punch and Judy and another character start out in Hell. The book is profusely illustrated (with drawings and black-and-white photographs) throughout.

Limbus, Inc ., edited by Anne C. Petty (Journalstone), is a shared world anthology about an employment agency that uses sketchy methods of hiring employees for unique jobs that might not be survivable. Contributions by Jonathan Maberry, Joseph Nassise, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, Brett J. Talley, and Anne C. Petty.