This is an archived issue. Click to return to the current issue . In the seasonal bag of literary treats, there are choice morsels of terror, tasty confections seasoned with the poison pens of authors like Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Rice and David Ambrose. In their new works, horrid images spring to life on page after page as mothers mysteriously die, bloodthirsty vampires feud and feast, a man-made specter kills its creators, and nightmares overpower reality.
Real terror begins on the page.
Oates has compiled 27 stories of mystery and the paranormal, of psychosis and suspense. In tales that wake up childhood fears and revive sleepless nights, Oates transforms the ordinary into extraordinary. Decadence, devil worship, blood and bacchanalia are just a few of the elements here that allow Anne Rice to retain her crown as the Queen of Halloween. Mystery and suspense mingle with love and loss. Based on a true parapsychological experiment in Toronto in the early '70s, Ambrose's story introduces the character of Sam Towne, a psychologist who believes that the human mind is capable of creating ghosts.