Review: Wonderful collection of largely forgotten 19th century horror tales
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 24, 2012
I was immediately attracted to this well-crafted collection because its title contained the word "macabre." Ever since I first saw the William Castle movie of that name back in 1958, the word has fascinated me. Gruesome, horrible, grim, ghastly...MACABRE!  (The movie wasn't very good, but at least it taught me a new word.)This creepy collection consists of 25 tales written from the 1820's to the 1890's; their older and articulate writing style betrays their age but also contributes to the overall feeling of eerieness. These are the type of stories one might hope to discover in some ancient volumes hidden away in dark alcoves and musty, cobweb-laden attics. This collection is such a trove. While reading these hoary tales one can almost smell the rotting paper and moldy, disintegrating leather covers (which on a Kindle is no mean feat).Admittedly I have not yet read all the stories; I am deliberately reading them slowly and savoring them. But so far, I like what I've read. The horror is subtle, suggestive and rather Poe-like; it is not blatant, crass or blood-splattered. There is more grim than gore. (Remember, this is "respectable" 19th century horror.) Contemporary tastes and expectations may have to be adjusted a tad to fully appreciate them. And yes, they may seem tame to some modern readers.But I like them especially because I haven't read them before, by which I mean they have not been over-anthologized. For that matter, most have not been anthologized at all. Aside from a few authors in this set whose names (such as Lafacadio Hearn, G.P.R. James, and Erckman-Chatrian) and works ("Torture by Hope," for example) are known to me, most of these authors and titles are not. That sense of discovery and newness (paradoxical, perhaps, given the age of these works) makes this set potentially appealing to both the longtime horror afficionado and the discerning newcomer.I also like the content variety and the story length; no massive, easily-obtained-elsewhere, public domain novels pad this Megapack. Come across a tale not to your liking and it's quickly read, skimmed or skipped--but just as quickly followed by one (indeed, many) you WILL enjoy.Of course you certainly cannot beat the price. You don't usually get so much for a dollar these days; elsewhere in the Kindle store many a single short story is being sold for a buck. I only hope there might be subsequent Megapacks like this one to rescue even more little-known but well-written and highly entertaining horror tales from undeserved obscurity.I highly recommend this well-formatted Megapack collection to all those in search of the MACABRE!ADDENDUM: Since the above was written two additional "Macabre Megapacks" have appeared. #2 is not as wonderful as this first one. Its tone is different, perhaps because half of its stories were originally translated from the German and have a folk-tale "feel" to them (not as much to my liking); I would NOT rate that one 5-stars. #3 is more reflective of the usual, somewhat uneven Megapack mix; there are some new-to-me tales but much that is very familiar from well-known authors (Poe, John Buchan, Jack London, Balzac, W.W. Jacobs, etc.). #1 remains the best of the 3, but there is still enough good stuff in #'s 2 & 3 (given their low price) to warrant purchasing them, too.