1931-65 (collected 1965) / Audiobook / 222 pages
***
I was expecting mouldy macabre tales, so the gorier and generally distressing ones caught me by surprise. I wouldn't have got through the dreary longer ones if they weren't being passively read to me on YouTube.
Faves: 'The Unforgiven,' 'No Flies on Frank,' 'My Little Man'
1902-66 (collected 1966) / Audiobook / 239 pages
***
Mixes some then-vintage chillers with contemporary gross-outs and humdrum encounters with unknowable entities.
Faves: 'The Monkey's Paw,' 'The Last Experiment,' 'The Island of Regrets'
1945-67 (collected 1967) / Audiobook / 236 pages
***
Notably shorter and snappier, often literally. I've stopped paying as much attention, to be honest, except when there's a jarring historical or disturbed child.
Faves: 'Playtime,' 'The Bean-nighe,' 'The Brindle Bull Terrier'
1947-68 (collected 1968) / Audiobook / 252 pages
****
More surprisingly vicious and graphic yarns from before they were allowed to show that shit in films.
Faves: 'The Fly,' 'Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch,' 'Old Feet'
1958-69 (collected 1969) / Audiobook / 236 pages
**
A distinctly pervier and sexist batch at the end of the decade, maybe they'd worn out the good writers by now.
Faves: 'The Necklace,' 'The Fat Thing,' 'Magical Mystery Trip'
