Readers with a taste for intelligent horror will welcome this collection from the versatile Thomas (Stories from the Big Black House
). The longest among the 25 entries, “The Weird Old Hole,” is a fine traditional horror tale. After the Bicklehams move a steamer trunk in the cellar of their old house, revealing the hole of the story's title, they unwittingly unleash mysterious and ferocious beasts from another dimension. Another standout is “Fingers of Stone,” about a modern encounter with the legendary Gorgon. Even the shortest piece, the two-page “An Office Nymph,” manages to pack a wallop. Thomas distinguishes himself with subtlety and careful plotting in a genre in which gore and shock are often the norm. S.T. Joshi provides an appreciative foreword. (Nov.)
