The Campfire Collection- Kit Duane

Gather ye graham crackers and marshmallows, kiddies! We�re about to engage in one of the oldest customs of the human race: telling spooky campfire stories! This anthology is unique in that it separates its stories by the regions in which they take place (Mountains, Beach, Forest, etc.), creating the feel that you�re hearing the best of the best from all four corners of the Earth. The gimmick is somewhat cute and the idea of an ultimate campfire storyteller companion sounds great, but that this book is not. There are some noteworthy tales to be read, for sure, but some are either lackluster in plot or atmosphere while others I could not even imagine reading aloud to my friends during an excursion into the wild. You�re better off with Alvin Schwartz�s "Scary Stories" trilogy, which is saying something. Don�t let this deter you though; if you�re looking for a few good stories to pass the time with, go ahead and give this one a look. I just wouldn�t start pitching up the tent and gathering wood if I were you though.
"ICE SCULPTURES" by DAVID B. SILVA
A writer and other artists are given a grant by the government to interpret the four seasons through their respective mediums on the precipitous Eagle Peak. One bohemian in particular, a hippie sculptor named Billy Dayton, captures the attention of the writer and his photographer friend Margo. But the two soon discover there is something sinister behind Dayton�s ice sculptures of his own likeness, each one transgressing into more horrible forms, when they find Billy�s melted remains in his tent. And there may be more pieces of art scattered across the mountain�
"CREATURE OF THE SNOWS" by WILLIAM SAMBROT
Esteemed magazine photographer Ed McKale is sent on a special assignment by his boss to take part in an expedition to the Himalayan Mountains led by zoologist Dr. Schenk. Seems there have been some fuzzy photos taken of hairy, bipedal creatures roaming about the snowy plateaus and the publicity and scientific world are demanding a specimen. Heading up a mountain peak alone on the last day of their journey, Ed is astounded to see a family of the "Yeti" nearby and experiences the full breadth of the creatures� existence�
"XENOS BEACH" by GRAHAM JOYCE
After splitting up with his wife, a man is recommended by a friend to have a holiday in the beautiful country of Greece. Desiring to get away from all the tourism and commercialism, the man takes a bus ride to a desolate beach where only a crumbling church and several weather-ravaged tents remain. A few days later the man meets a family of fair-haired Greeks and is enchanted by the beautiful daughter. When the girl proposes an insane test of love to the man, he finds himself in over his head and on the road to something dark�
"DEATH TO THE EASTER BUNNY" by ALAN RYAN
A group of four friends from college decides to spend their vacation time in Deacons Kill, a town about four hours into the Catskill Mountains. Leaving their hotel and journeying into the dense forest, they are suddenly assaulted by an old hermit toting a rifle. In a weird trance, the teenagers go with the old man to his home and discuss many things with him, none of which they can remember later. They begin to make these trips frequently and soon the old man starts telling them of dark, perverse intruders invading the world. The legendary Easter Bunny is one such horrible creature, and as the holiday draws near the group prepares for the final showdown�
"WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE FOREST" by NANCY HOLDER
An aging mother lives with her many children in the deep recesses of the forest, fearing of frightening creatures known as Them from the town. Her babies always try to escape but the mother is always able to bring them back to the den� and promptly devour them. When a sick little girl and her mother enter the cannibalistic crone�s home, the witch fears that they might endanger her little ones and bring the wrath of Them upon her family�
"PROLOGUE: AS THE WOLF LOVES WINTER" by DAVID POYER
A man is hiking up a steep, forested mountain as the snow and cold pour mercilessly down from the heavens. Finding the ideal tree to place his radio on, he sets his spiked boots into the bark and makes his way up the tall cherry tree. Once his mission is completed he begins to head back down but notices a German Shepherd is sniffing through his backpack and parka. As the creature howls for his companions to join him, the man realizes that it is a hungry pack of wolves that are waiting for him to descend. Now the man must choose between death by winter�s icy grip or the jaws of the ravenous beasts below�
"CAUGHT IN THE JAWS OF DEATH" by JERRY MACDONALD
Matthias and Claudia are two German medical students who are enjoying a fun trip into the Canadian wilderness before Matthias begins training at a Seattle hospital. After they ride down the raging rapids, the two friends pitch a tent outside a cabin and call it a night. But the next morning brings anything but tranquility when a massive black bear suddenly attacks the couple, leaving Matthias on the very edge of life. Claudia must find help before her friend bleeds to death and the bear returns to finish the job�
"SURVIVAL EXERCISE" by TALMAGE POWELL
James Kelley and two other members of the U. S. Marines are sent into the steamy wilderness of the Florida Everglades in order to endure a Survival Exercise. This task is found to be even harder than they first thought when a wailing, foul-smelling humanoid invades the camp one night, horribly slaughtering Kelley�s comrades. The creature spares Kelley�s life and he is able to elude the monster�s reaches by escaping into the swamp. Unable to radio for help, Kelley soon discovers that the creature�s desire for him is much more frightening than any thirst for blood�
"SWAMP HORROR" by WILL SMITH and R. J. ROBBINS
A young man is given news that his father has been missing for almost a week and immediately rushes to the elder�s farm by the swamp. After discovering their family dog Wolf running frantically from the swamp and appearing to be completely emaciated, the young man is determined on finding the solution to the perplexing mystery. Entering Marvin�s Swamp and heading to the stagnant waters of Dead River, he finds the corpses of various animals littered about and a crawling, slithering horror that can freeze the blood in man�s veins�
"THE VALLEY OF THE SPIDERS" by H. G. WELLS
A young virgin has just escaped the clutches of the master and now he and two of his servants chase after the feisty damsel on horseback. They enter a lonely valley that is deathly quiet and seemingly devoid of any life, save for the constant flutter of white flowers blowing in the wind. But the persistent trio discovers that the innocent-looking wisps are actually spider�s webs and soon are under siege by the bloodthirsty arachnids and, in the ensuing madness, the master�s true colors emerge�
"WAZIAH" by JOE R. LANSDALE
Trapper Roland McArthur is trudging through the freezing wind of a blizzard up the Black Hills of the Dakotas and is relieved to see a line shack in the distance. Peeking in through a chink in the wood, McArthur is taken aback when the business end of a rifle goes off in his face. Mostly stunned, he awakens inside the cabin and makes the acquaintance of the shooter, an old coot named Crawford, who says he was trying to keep the legendary Wooly-Bugger from breaking in. A Native American girl whom Crawford has named Snowflake is also holed up in the cabin along with her child. Turns out the old man isn�t as crazy as he sounds when the ferocious beast attacks the shack and drags the screaming Snowflake away. Realizing that the Wooly-Bugger has mated with Snowflake and produced the half-human baby, McArthur and Crawford head out to stop the monster in its wake�
"THE SPECTRE BRIDE" by ANONYMOUS
During a magnificently beautiful and white winter evening in Sault Ste. Marie, Ralph Hagadorn is trekking down the snowy roads to arrive at a friend�s house the next morning to act as the groomsman in his wedding. Enchanted by the freezing ice, Ralph is impelled to take out his skates and travel down the frozen river. As the infatuated young man skates along, his frost blurred eyes are shocked to see a mysterious skater in flowing white garments just ahead of him. Before the evening is over, Ralph will realize that he has been watched over by a mysterious guardian who has saved him from the icy clutches of Death�
"BLOODY POLLY" by MICHAEL NORMAN and BETH SCOTT
Polly Brown and her family have just moved into the Kentucky wilderness in 1815 and her father soon turns their cabin into a thriving plantation. When Polly becomes engaged to prospective merchant Harry Geiss, all seems right with the world. That is until Harry turns his attentions to Polly�s beautiful younger sister Frances Clara. Enraged at her sibling, Polly takes Frances out for a walk in the woods only to brutally murder her with an axe. Thinking that she has gotten away with murder, the devious Polly�s plans soon begin to crumble as evidence of the murder begins to rise to the surface and her sister starts to call from the grave�
"THE FACELESS THING" by EDWARD D. HOCH
Buddy is a very old man who returns to the farmhouse of his youth as his memories of the past beckon to him in his autumn years. Despite fond childhood memories, one event in particular has called Buddy back to his home in order to confront it once and for all. When he was around the age of ten, Buddy and his sister journeyed to a small stream on the land that cut into the side of a hill via a tunnel. As the two siblings journeyed into the wet darkness, Buddy�s sister frantically called out his name. The boy was terrified to witness a hairy, ooze-covered abomination reach forth from the darkness and take his sister. Having finally returned after all these years, Buddy goes to lay his demons to rest�
"ALLAL" by PAUL BOWLES
A fourteen year old girl gives birth to a boy at the hotel where she works and names her son Allal. She soon abandons the child and Allal is left to perform manual labor at the hotel for most of his life. Moving into the city when he becomes older, Allal comes into contact with an old man who sells snakes for a living. He tells the boy that it is possible to train the serpents to do as he wishes so, while the old man sleeps, Allal steals a scarlet snake from his collection. Soon Allal is able to command the snake to move at his whim; but the true journey begins when Allal transcends the mental connection he has with his pet and sees through the eyes of the reptile�
"THE QUEST FOR BLANK CLAVERINGI" by PATRICIA HIGHSMITH
Avery Clavering is a professor of zoology at a California university who becomes intrigued by the tales of giant, man-eating snails who inhabit the island of Kuwa. His scientific interest piqued and possessing an immense desire to have his name go down in biology history, Clavering travels to the lonely island to stake his claim. But the portly scientist finds he is in great danger when the crafty mollusks leave him stranded on the island and at their slimy mercy unless he can fight back for his life�
JOE MONSTER'S TOP PICKS
"DEATH TO THE EASTER BUNNY" by Alan Ryan
"SWAMP HORROR" by Will Smith and R. J. Robbins
"WAZIAH" by Joe R. Lansdale
"BLOODY POLLY" by Michael Norman and Beth Scott
OVERALL SCORE: 5/10

Labels: Anthology, Books, Ghost Stories, Haunted Library, Monster