A few years ago, I read “Shining”, Stephen King’s masterpiece. I didn’t sleep for nights after that. Since then, I tend to avoid his books in particular and other books that seem to scary. These last months, I feel “upset” to have excluded this category of literature. So when I saw this Guardian list, I thought that maybe reintroducing horror in my readings through short stories could be a good idea. This series is introduce by Simon Crook. His book, Silverweed Road, came out in 2022 and is described as a “chilling collection of horror short stories”, all set behind the doors of the houses on the same suburban street. Explaining that short stories are not failed novels, Simon Crook cites Stephen King’s book “Skeleton Crew” that starts by this description of short stories as: “quick kiss in the dark with a stranger … but those kisses can be sweet”. Next step ? Guardian’s top ten horror novels.
Short stories read
Survivor Type – Stephen King (1982)
The Landlady – Roald Dahl (1959)
The Horla – Guy de Maupassant (1887)
In the Bag – Ramsey Campbell (1978)
The Tower – Marghanita Laski (1955)
Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Comme To You, My Lad – M. R. James (1904)
The Lottery – Shirley Jackson (1948)
The October Game – Ray Bradbury (1948)
The Dunwich Horror – H. P. Lovecraft (1929)
The Forbidden – Clive Barker (1985)