In Mother's Loving Memory." Dime-a-dozen Psycho ripoff. Kinda like watching Don't Go in the House; the tin opener scene is notable though. This is an old-fashioned ghost story about a landlady who receives a visit from the husband she killed years before. Not a classic, but well told.

Ashes to Ashes." My first real encounter with the nastiness of Pan Horror. It's ugly, sneering, and mean. I rather liked it. THE MOST PRECIOUS, by John D. Keefauver: A dentist tours the Middle East and meets a boy with perfect teeth. Keefauver had a thing for Eastern horror, but this isn't one of his best stories - it had me scratching my head in confusion rather than feeling genuinely chilled. 2/5 John Keir Cross (1914-1967) was a British author of young adult science fiction novels, adult horror stories and television adaptations of literary classics. This is a particularly unusual story, told from the point of view of someone who appears to be losing his mind. It suggests more than it really makes clear, but it has a poetry and a sense of probing into profound and forbidden thoughts that makes it quite unsettling. Another tremendously enjoyable collection of horror tales with plenty of variety and no shortage of gooeyness. Maurice-Yves Sandoz (1892-1958) was a Swiss horror writer who’s novel The Maze was the basis of a Hollywood movie of the same name from 1953.W.S.’ by L.P. Hartley – An interesting little tale of a writer who is haunted by ‘someone’ sending postcards which are postmarked from locations that are getting nearer. THE TUNNEL, by Raymond Harvey: A jilted signalman decides to take revenge on his cheating wife. Little plotting or characterisation, but plenty of severed limbs here. 2/5 On the whole though, there are more hits than misses. There are tales that unsettle (LP Hartley’s W.S.), tales that make you look at normal things in a different way and tales that are just a little messy. His ivy plant reacts well to this new ingredient in its diet but comes the day when he has to provide more. He experiments with household pets before turning his hand to grave-robbing. Soon the ivy is capable of catching and preparing its own food .... Although come to think of it he must have noticed that the case he was burying weighed less than his wife's dismembered corpse? Could be men's suits and that extra pair of brogues were really heavy in those days. That must be it.

THE TREAT, by M. S. Waddell: A husband tries to keep the truth about his job hidden from his wife. Another gleefully sadistic slice of horror from this author. 3/5 The Man Who Hated Flies’ (by Charles J. Benfleet). A man who believes in reincarnation dies. This may be slow for much of its time but it builds to a truly surprising climax. Case of Insanity' by Barry Martin - I enjoyed this tale of a man who murders his wife enormously, mainly because of the obvious references it makes to Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart'. An excellent, darkly humorous twist rewards at the denouement;

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A couple who are market gardeners suffer a home invasion. A short piece of realism which hangs on the irony of a couple benefiting from the woman being raped. It adds variety without having strong appeal.

For the record, my 6 bottom of the barrels are – ‘My Dear How Dead You Look And Yet You Sweetly Sing’ by Priscilla Marron; ‘The Janissaries of Emilion’ by Basil Copper; ‘The Computer’ by Rene Morris; ‘Sugar And Spice’ by A. G. J. Rough; ‘The Most Precious’ by John D. Keefauver; and ‘Playtime’ also by A. G. J. Rough. Not that this detracts from what is a quality piece of writing – certainly the strongest entry to the Pantheon for some years.It's beyond me to do the sheer grimness of this one justice, but the overall effect is like some literary equivalent of Witchfinder General.

Just to mix things up a bit, this one is a poem. A morbidly humorous tale of uxoricide. Very enjoyable. Martin Waddell (1941- ) is an Irish writer known for his children’s books, especially those about the character Little Bear. Like Stephen King's Misery (well the movie anyway, I've never read the book), this is a writer's nightmare, and when that writer writes as beautifully as Hartley it is a joy to read. This one really had me intrigued from the first paragraph. Fried Man' by Martin Waddell - the worst of the lot. My heart now sinks when I see Waddell's name next to a story in the Pan Books of Horror. This shoddy tale begins with a man falling dead into a deep fat fryer. From thenceforth, Waddell piles on increasingly ridiculous scenarios and off the cuff, implausible events, in his usual tongue-in-cheek style. Risible in the extreme! Here's another new story - a tale of vengeance from beyond the grave. This would have been perfect for EC comics or one of those Amicus horror anthology movies. A terrific final image.THE ASSASSIN, by Raymond Williams: A Norman lord abuses his wife until she can take it no more. She employs an assassin to take revenge upon her husband. A straightforward story loaded with gristle and gore, but badly written too. 2/5 I am really unsure as to what the point of this one is, beyond titillating the Pan reading hordes who were by now expecting to encounter the graphic slaughter of at least a couple of women per volume. The Physiology of Fear’ by C.S. Forester – Experiments involving fear are carried out by a Nazi. Fascinating characters and situation. A pair of deformed twins touring their travelling fair around Europe both enjoy the sexual charms of one of their acts; a dancing gypsy girl. They are equally delighted when she gives birth to a healthy baby boy, but all is not as it appears. A thirteen-year-old orphan girl is very fond of the obese bachelor who visits her regularly. His intentions are anything but wholesome. A disturbing tale of sexual menace.