Scare Care (Tor horror) [Hardcover]

Graham Masterton (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Proceeds from this anthology benefit the Scare Care Trust, a charity set up to fund organizations that help abused and endangered children, which is administered by children's attorney and detective novelist Andrew Vachss. The authors represented here have donated 38 horror stories--all but seven original to the collection--many of which concern children. The best include Ramsey Campbell's atmospheric "Ferries," about a Flying Dutchman who comes for a very landlocked book editor; Bruce Boston's "Mammy and the Flies," in which a young boy's grandmother becomes as physically monstrous as she is cruel; James Herbert's "Breakfast," a story of a housewife's madness in a post-holocaust world; "The Wish," Roald Dahl's tale of a game of make-believe that gets out of hand; and William Relling Jr.'s "Table for None," in which a middle-aged bachelor discovers a diner that serves food as delicious as mother's, and learns that there can be too much of a good thing. There are also excellent stories by Ruth Rendell, Marc Laidlaw and Harlan Ellison, among others.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

An anthology of 37 horror stories, nearly all written expressly for this volume, whose profits are being donated to charities specializing in care for abused children. If that alone doesn't make it worth the price, the authors include such heavy hitters as Harlan Ellison, James Herbert, and Ramsey Campbell.-- MR
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 403 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (July 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312931565
• ISBN-13: 978-0312931568
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,372,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read for lovers of short horror stories., February 4, 2000

By 

Alison Dennehy (Australia, born in Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scare Care (Tor horror) (Hardcover)

Scare Care is worth buying simply because the intent of the editor, Graham Masterton, in compiling these stories was to help children in desperate need. However, Scare Care also stands on it's own feet as a genuinely good read for those of us who love this genre. Mommy, the first story in the book, is more of a feel good horror story than truly frightening, but springs from a very interesting concept nevertheless. You might, as I did, find a lump in your throat after reading Things Not Seen, and The Avenger of Death asked interesting questions about man's ability to mete out "justice". There were one or two stories included, such as Manny Agonistes and Changeling, which have been seen elsewhere and were more than worthy of a second, third or fourth read. (And) of course there were the usual stories which, while the endings were rather obvious, still make for an entertaining half hour before you turn out your light!

Several stories found their way into this book which we all really could have lived without, but what would a short story compilation be without a few clangers?

My recommendation - as an avid lover of short horror fiction - is; buy the book, be entertained but don't expect miracles.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read for lovers of short horror stories., February 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Scare Care (Tor horror) (Hardcover)

Scare Care is worth buying simply because the intent of the editor, Graham Masterton, in compiling these stories was to help children in desperate need. However, Scare Care also stands on it's own feet as a genuinely good read for those of us who love this genre. Mommy, the first story in the book, is more of a feel good horror story than truly frightening, but springs from a very interesting concept nevertheless. You might, as I did, find a lump in your throat after reading Things Not Seen, and The Avenger of Death asked interesting questions about man's ability to mete out "justice". There were one or two stories included, such as Manny Agonistes and Changeling, which have been seen elsewhere and were more than worthy of a second, third or fourth read. (And) of course there were the usual stories which, while the endings were rather obvious, still make for an entertaining half hour before you turn out your light!

Several stories found their way into this book which we all really could have lived without, but what would a short story compilation be without a few clangers?

My recommendation - as an avid reader of short horror fiction - is; buy the book, be entertained but don't expect miracles.