999 (93 page)
Authors: Al Sarrantonio
About the Editor
A
L
S
ARRANTONIO’S twenty-five books include the horror novels
Moonbane, House Haunted, Skeletons
, and
Totentanz
, as well as the critically acclaimed science fiction trilogy
Five Worlds
. He has been an editor, reviewer, and columnist, and has been nominated for the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Award and the Private Eye Writers of America’s Shamus Award. His short stories have appeared in magazines such as
Heavy Metal, Twilight Zone
, and
Realms of Fantasy
, as well as in anthologies including
The Year’s Best Horror Stories, Great Ghost Stories
, and
The Best of Shadows
. A collection of his best horror tales,
Toybox
, has just been published.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
“Dazzling … a devilishly good deal.”
—Boston Herald
“A new benchmark of excellence.”
—Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
“Proof positive that the horror genre is alive and well.”
—Denver Post
“Anyone unable to find something to raise the hair on the nape of the neck in
999
is likely in need of resuscitation paddles.”
—SFSite.com
“It will certainly be around for decades.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“One of the best anthologies of horror and suspense of all time.”
—Rocky Mountain News
“For horror fans,
999
is a romp in paradise.”
—Associated Press
“Here comes horror Utopia. … A surefire fan pleaser.”
—Booklist
“Chock-full of excellent fiction showcasing the breadth of writing that exists in the horror field.”
—Cinescape
“An extraordinary anthology.”
—Interzone
“The hottest horror anthology of the past decade.”
—Maine Sunday Telegram
“Stylistic and modern and spooky … shockingly good fun.”
—Lancaster Times
(Mass.)
“Chock-full of excellent fiction. … Sure to please fans immensely.”
—Wicked
magazine
“Truly astonishing … the horror bible for the new millennium.”
—Rue Morgue
magazine
“Easily in the running for all-time best.”
—
San Antonio Express-News
“A surefire, no-holds-barred, rock ‘em-sock ‘em shock to the system guaranteed to give the reader more than one sleepless night.”
—Charleston Post and Courier
“Great nighttime reading.”
—
Mesa Tribune
(Ariz.)
“A magnificent cross section of horror today and a glimpse of the direction the genre will follow in the future.”
—Abilene Reporter-News
(Texas)
“Your kind of fear is here.”
—
Springfield Republican
(Mass.)
“Amerikanski Dead at the Moscow Morgue” copyright © 1999 by Kim Newman
“The Ruins of Contracoeur” copyright © 1999 by The Ontario Review, Inc.
“The Owl and the Pussycat” copyright © 1999 by Thomas M. Disch “The Road Virus Heads North” copyright © 1999 by Stephen King
“Keepsakes and Treasures: A Love Story” copyright © 1999 by Neil Caiman
“Growing Things” copyright © 1999 by T. E. D. Klein
“Good Friday” copyright © 1999 by F. Paul Wilson
“Excerpts from the
Records of the New Zodiac
and the Diaries of Henry
Watson Fairfax” copyright © 1999 by Chet Williamson “An Exaltation of Termagants” copyright © 1999 by Eric Van Lustbader
“Itinerary” copyright © 1999 by Tim Powers
“Catfish Gal Blues” copyright © 1999 by Nancy A. Collins
“The Entertainment” copyright © 1999 by Ramsey Campbell
“ICU” copyright © 1999 by Lee Seymour
“The Grave” copyright © 1999 by P. D. Cacek
“The Shadow, The Darkness” copyright © 1999 by Thomas Ligotti
“Knocking” copyright © 1999 by Rick Hautala
“Rio Grande Gothic” copyright © 1999 by David Morrell
“Des Saucisses, Sans Doute” copyright © 1999 by Peter Schneider
“Angie” copyright © 1999 by Ed Gorman
“The Ropy Thing” copyright © 1999 by Al Sarrantonio
“The Tree Is My Hat” copyright © 1999 by Gene Wolfe
“Styx and Bones” copyright © 1999 by Ed Bryant
“Hemophage” copyright © 1999 by Steven Spruill
“The Book of Irrational Numbers” copyright © 1999 by Michael Marshall Smith
“Mad Dog Summer” copyright © 1999 by Joe R. Lansdale
“The Theater” copyright © 1999 by Bentley Little
“Rehearsals” copyright © 1999 by Thomas F. Monteleone
“Darkness” copyright © 1999 by Dennis L. McKiernan
“Elsewhere” copyright © 1999 by William Peter Blatty
This is a collection of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the authors or the publishers.
A hardcover edition of this book was published in 1999 by Avon Books, Inc.
999. Collection copyright © 1999 by Al Sarrantonio.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © AUGUST 2010 ISBN: 978-0-062-04632-1
First Perennial edition published 2001.
The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows:
999 : new stories of horror and suspense / edited by Al Sarrantonio.—
1st ed.
p. cm.
1. Horror tales, American. 2. Detective and mystery stories,
American. I. Sarrantonio, Al. II. Title: Nine hundred ninety-nine.
PS648.H6A16 1999
813′.08738—dc21
99-20895
CIP
ISBN 0-380-80518-9 (pbk.)
05 JT/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5
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*
To be fair, and with the comfort of retrospection. I think McCauley’s precursor, Harlan Ellison, had the tougher row to hoe: wrenching the reins of science fiction from the philistines and hacks who had dominated the sf genre from the beginning (indeed, had invented it) was much more difficult than Kirby’s (and, by extension, my own) goal of establishment—after all, horror already had a much more definite literary heritage to draw on. See Hawthorne and Poe for appropriate examples.
*
Faddists, anyone?—though I’m not completely at ease with the faddist theory, which might actually put the cart before the horse. There might be a core audience that will read
anything
, but I think there is a much larger one that will read quality work,
literature
, when it’s given to them.
**
If you haven’t figured it out already, the tide’s meaning is twofold: a contraction of the year the book was originally published, at the cusp of the millennium; and 666 inverted—which means that the tide makes sense even if the booksellers suck it upside-down!
