And so I did my first column for CD twenty years ago, and it’s still going strong. I am listed on the masthead as a “contributing editor” although I don’t really “edit” anything—even my column. I have always trusted Rich or his Editor-in-Chief to get my rants under syntactical control. I often crow it’s the longest running column in the history of the genre, but I have absolutely no evidence to back that up. In fact, I invite any of the bibliographer-fanatics among you to prove me either right or wrong so I can finally shuddupabouddit.
But enough about me—other than to say I’m extremely proud to have been a small part of what has become the classic horror magazine of our time. The book you hold in your hands is a celebration of twenty-five years in which countless new writers have been discovered, where new artists received a chance to be seen, and where established veterans were honored with special issues.
It’s been a fantastic voyage, and if you’ve been along since 1988 or even anywhere along the way, you didn’t really need to read my little homage. Of course, that wasn’t going to stop me from having my say,
Rich, amico mio, you are the best.
Tom Monteleone
Fallston, MD
October, 2013
With special thanks to Norman Prentiss, Robert Brouhard, Serenity Richards, Rick Lederman, Dan Reilly, and Hank Wagner for proofreading this spontaneous anthology
[1] Black, Blood, Bone, Cold, Dark, Dead, Demon, Moon, Night, and Shadow.
[2] I’m not even sure they had email back then—other than some weird stuff on Prodigy and GEnie (remember those?)
[3] Okay, there were a couple of clunkers which shall go un-named to protect the guilty...I mean, I did say “for the most part,” right?
[4] For you non-sports fans, he was a pretty good shortstop for the Red Sox.
Table of Contents
Turn Down the Lights... an Introduction by Richard Chizmar
Summer Thunder by Stephen King
The Western Dead by Jack Ketchum
An Instant Eternity by Brian James Freeman
In the Room by Bentley Little
Flying Solo by Ed Gorman
The Outhouse by Ronald Kelly
Lookie Loo by Steve Ransic Tem
Dollie by Clive Barker
Afterword by Thomas F. Monteleone
Acknowledgements