Saturday, September 25, 2010

The Pan Book of Horror Stories

Deja vu? A trip down memory lane (for those with long memories, at anyrate)? Pan has just republished the initial volume of The Pan Book of Horror Stories edited by Herbert van Thal. Just over 50 years ago – in 1959 – this book first appeared, marking the start of an incredible publishing history in the world of horror fiction, one that lasted about 30 years. What's especially pleasing is that Pan has retained the original cover artwork -- including the price of 3/6 (that's about 17.5p in new money); alas but understandably the current price has risen to £7.99.

This volume includes an extra introduction by Johnny Mains, who describes the publishing history of the series. In fact, we must thank Mains for persuading Pan to republish this book.

There are 22 stories here, including tales by Joan Aiken, Jack Finney, L P Hartley, C S Forester, Nigel Kneale and Bram Stoker. If you don’t have a copy of the original book you should buy this.

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