Masques IV: All-New Works of Horror and the Supernatural

The veteran horror editor and novelist ( Shadows of Death ) here assembles two poems and 24 short stories, 23 written specifically for this volume. The exception is Steve Allen's 1956 classic ``The Secret,'' in which a man chronicles his out-of-body experience during his first death. (He is not so lucky the second time around.) The dead--human and animal--wreak havoc on the living throughout the collection. ``The Pack'' by Chet Williamson allows a group of dogs to narrate the tale of their return to life to feed on the humans who killed them. In Graham Masterson's ``The Heart of Helen Day,'' a salesman stranded in a hotel room discovers that an apparently live radio show is broadcasting a 50-year-old murder. Humor adds to the horror of such offerings as ``Animal Husbandry,'' Bruce Boston's tale of a woman eager to have children who wreaks revenge when her husband has a vasectomy and tells her to get a pet instead. These polished stories elicit shivers and give pause for reflection. Among the contributors are F. Paul Wilson, Kristin Kathryn Rusch, Ed Gorman and James Kisner. ( Nov. )