Joseph Payne Brennan - The Calamander Chest - A brilliant start to the second volume with a man purchasing a beautful chest for a lowly sum and then discovering something quite terrifying and untoward. There is something in the box, what it is is anyone's guess and how things will end up are equally debatable - a terse treat!

H. P. Lovecraft - The Music of Erich Zann - Set in the backstreets of Paris (supposedly), a university student takes up some cheap lodgings and comes across the weird vibrations that emanate from one of his neighbours rooms. He investigates, encounters a strange old German gentleman who lives in fear and tries his best to appease dark forces via his musical manipulations. Not Lovecrafts' best but one to still provoke speculation.

Gregory Luce - Widow House - A delicious creature feature that reveals a yarn about a new homeowner whom uncovers a haunted house awash with 8 legged horrors that will undoubtedly creep beyond the pages and tingle the readers spine. Simple but gloriously effective.

Ray Bradbury - The Dwarf - The author contributing this tale is a genius, of that there is no question and here he takes us by the assured mitt into a heartbreaking world of rejection, hope and unthinking stupidity. A dwarf finds escapism at a local carnival but those that fail to understand override the feelings of those that empathise and we end up with a genuine tragedy in many ways - a quite cunning inclusion.

Lee Francis - The Chemical Vampire - An extravagant episode which sees a scientist dabble in the creation of human life, a vampire re-released and in search of a new host and a series of deaths that results in all victims drained of blood. The pace has distinct comic booked speed and is one of those maniacal oddities the true B-movie horror lover will adore.

Fritz Leiber - Dr Adams' Garden of Evil - A sexist magazine boss has unlocked the secret to cultivating people and plants in one magical spell via the findings of his dead Great Aunt. He wants revenge on a recent potential client but during the planting process he makes an error, an error that will throw him onto the opposite side of his fantastic experiments and at the mercy of the unpittying Witch Queen. One to gorge on with pure tuned out fascination.

Leah Bodine-Drake - Mop-Head - Two young children discover a whispering entity inside a well that promises to bring back the children's dead mother if they keep it fed and allow it to get free. Their father and new mother are happily married but the children never seem to accept the new 'mummy', especially the young girl. She has plans, she pushes her younger brother to commit a deed that ends in disaster - this is a creeping thriller with a fine finale.

Elizabeth Sheldon - The Ghost That Never Died - An episode of astral malevolence that sees a good favour returned by many ill deeds and sees people meet their end at the hands of someone who has a more than adequate alibi. An interesting account that shows a dark side of humanity and an insight into realms beyond the physical.

Richard Stark - Birth of a Monster - A vampire jaunt that brings us a doctor called upon to deliver a child. He arrives at the home of the man who has made the request on behalf of his wife and helps bring into the world a bouncing baby...abhorrence. Brief and predictable but...deliciously fun.

Mary Elizabeth Counsselman - Way Station - A couple who are very much in love call in at a tucked away house instead of the sought after motel and encounter a strange old lady, her blind butler and many guests who seem to have something unsettling in their lives. What unfolds is a quite charming tale of a kind heart nurturing those who have passed from this world and need preparing for the next - hardly horrific but sweetly served up to make it a pleasure.

Robert F. Young - Victim of the Year - A seemingly innocent man comes under the embracing arm of witchcraft when he is chosen as a very special annual sacrifice by the local Senior Coven Sister. He is in disbelief at first but soon wakes up to reality and attempts to sort out the alarming situation. A tale with good characters that falls down with a somewhat convoluted and weak finale.