Post Mortem: New Tales of Ghostly Horror

The ghost story, as the afterword by Dean R. Koontz points out, has a long and honorable history and speaks to deep psychic needs. The 17 tales in this excellent collection, edited by two men who separately publish semi-professional magazines of horror fiction, are well-written and eerie. Among the best: ``Blanca'' by Thomas Tessier, a terrifying account of a traveler's sojourn in a brutal, unforgiving police state; Gary Brandner's ``Mark of the Loser,'' a haunted house story in which the naive protagonist meets an undeserved but not totally unexpected fate; ``The Brush of Soft Wings'' by Melissa Mia Hall, reminiscent of Truman Capote's ``Miriam,'' but gentler--death as a capricious but good-hearted little girl who comes to live with a lonely old woman; Robert McCammon's ``Haunted World,'' which begins as a humorous anecdote and inexorably segues into a tale of horror; and Ramsey Campbell's loving, chilling tribute to the works of the great M. R. James, ``The Guide.'' (Mar.)