Dreadful Tales
| Author | Richard Laymon |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Horror fiction |
| Published | 2000 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 436 |
| Preceded by | Fiends |
| Followed by | Madman Stan and Other Stories |
Dreadful Tales (2000) is a collection of short horror stories by American cult writer Richard Laymon. Published the year before his death it collects twenty-five stories, most previously published in magazines.
Stories (in order of arrangement)
- Invitation to Murder
- The Grab
- Saving Grace
- Barney's Bigfoot Museum
- Herman
- The Champion
- The Maiden
- A Good Cigar is a Smoke
- I'm not a Criminal
- Oscar's Audition
- Into the Pit
- Spooked
- The Good Deed
- The Direct Approach
- Good Vibrations
- Phil the Vampire
- Paying Joe Back
- The Fur Coat
- Blarney
- Dracuson's Driver
- Roadside Pickup
- Wishbone
- First Date
- Stickman
- Mop Up
Reception
The collection received positive notices from the horror community, including Shivers, which said that it "knocks all other offerings for six and presents a consistent collection of tales, almost every one of which manages to shock, delight and horrify through numerous ideas, characters and situations... a breath of fresh air in the stale UK Horror climate... Gets my vote as the best of 2000 by a long chalk." (Although Laymon was an American writer, throughout his career his books were more popular in the United Kingdom, a fact he blamed on a botched, heavily-edited American release of his second novel, The Woods Are Dark.) Books Magazine called it a "terrifying collection of short stories that showcases the dark genius of a true master of the macabre."