Always the source of excellent fiction, issue #14 of Supernatural Tales, David Longhorn’s brainchild, is more captivating than ever, thanks also to the inclusion of a couple of stories which will last long in the readers’ memory as outstanding examples of what the genre, at its best, can produce.

First of all let me give inconditionate praise to “Poor Stephanie” by Simon Strantzas, a Canadian author whose work I haven’t always appreciated in the past but who’s getting better and better with the passing of time. In his story an ominous uncle stops at the house where his sister-in-law is living with her new mate to fetch his young nephew Stephanie and take her away on a trip. But the ambiguous atmosphere (the girl seems to be deeply distressed and there’s a hint that sexual abuse is going to take place) and the man’s obnoxious attitude make the tale quite disturbing, leaving a lingering sense of disquiet in the reader’s mind.

A truly excellent piece where every phrase is perfectly balanced and extremely effective.

The other stand-out of this issue is “The Short Cut” by C.E. Ward. A long time admirer of M.R. James, Ward follows his mentor’s steps by contributing a terrific, enticing supernatural tale in the purest Jamesian tradition. The ruins of a school destroyed by a mysterious fire and the legends surrounding the death of the old schoolmaster cast a dark shadow on the pupils now living in the new school building. An attempt to unearth forbidden, past secrets will result in a tragedy brought asbout by a malevolent ghost. A superb story graced by great storytelling.

I’m not quite sure what’s going on in Jane Jakeman’s “His Head Appeared”, where a boring husband takes a swim in the waters of a dammed lake, while his head pops out from a rock wall… All I can say is that the story is well written but its meaning is beyond my understanding.

I must be getting rather dull because I may have also missed the main point entirely of Tony Lovell’s “Mary and Sue”, a tale that left me perplexed (and a bit bored). The overlong story features two girls renting a new house, discovering their lesbian side by becoming lovers, hunting for jobs and experienceing disturbances from the presence of a female ghost and of annoying phone calls…

Reverting back to less muddy ground, Stone Franks provides “Into The Woods We Go”, a vivid, powerful tale revisiting the theme of the werewolf with a particularly strong imagination. After a slow start the narrative, set in a lonely cottage in the woods, gains momentum, jumping from horror to horror in a frenzy of bloody terror.

“Future Perfect” by William I.I. Read, is a kind of “twilight zone” tale where a boy and his future self exchange questions by means of a tape recorder. Te story manages to elicit an interesting meditation on the “what if…” in a “sliding doors” fashion, although remaining at times a bit implausible.

Michael Chislett, a regular contributor to Supernatural Tales, pprovides ”The True Bride”, a tale of dream-like quality where a man and a girl of undefined age meet briefly in the silence of the night, watching the lights of the distant city of London. There may be a ghost, or perhaps just the shadow of other girls now long gone, lost in the memory’s recesses. An atmospheric piece of fiction, poised between reality and fantasy, a story without a story.

Once again the editor must be congratulated upon his exquisite taste in assembling a very rewarding collection of short, dark fiction.