The Top 10 Short Stories - The 20th Century - Horror

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author's brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.

In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted 'Top Tens' across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions - Why that story? Why that author?

The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature.

Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something.

In this volume Horror and its evil intents try to burrow into our heads and cavort around as only demons, monsters, phantoms and ghosts can do. They probably have other partners and friends too. And you, sitting there all alone, and listening..... oh dear.

1 - The Top 10 Short Stories - 20th Century - Horror - An Introduction
2 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 1 by H P Lovecraft
3 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 2 by H P Lovecraft
4 - The Horror of the Heights by Arthur Conan Doyle
5 - Lost Hearts by M R James
6 - The Music on the Hill by Saki
7 - The Waxworks by A M Burrage
8 - Caterpillars by E F Benson
9 - The Novel of the White Powder by Arthur Machen
10 - The Voice in the Night by William Hope Hodgson
11 - August Heat by W F Harvey
12 - For the Blood is the Life by F Marion Crawford