I can't help but imagine this spine-tingling Shirley Jackson collection like a series of episodes from the original Twilight Zone, with a grainy, black-and-white presentation, an ordinary John/Jane Doe with strange psychic abilities, Rod Sterling's quirky narration, and Bernard Hermann tick-tocking in the background (just give it a try, and you'll see what I mean). Also like the Twilight Zone, Jackson likes to give us little tidbits of oddball comedy that offset the more sinister tales, which may be received in poor taste, but for me, this just magnifies the whole and integrates everything together, where Jackson is able to brandish her own unique and weird imagination. ( )

Incredible all the way through. Shirley Jackson is described, both generally and in the blurbs on the book, as a master of early horror, and that's true in a sense. But Jackson's horror isn't Lovecraftian, nor Kingian - Shirley Jackson writes a simpler, more mundane horror. She imagines a world where all of your nagging, anxious thoughts are true: your neighbors do hate you behind your back, being fired from your job was personal, and nothing can be relied on in a world that will smile to your face but scowl and forget you when you turn away. ( )

With a touch of the darkness in the stories of Flannery O'Connor, these stories leave you thinking you've just been to the Twilight Zone. ( )

Two stars because short story anthologies are often not an interesting format for me. Shirley Jackson is so good at writing horror that -all- of these came off as unsettling at least. Two of her stories are ones other authors have turned into funnier works: Louis Sachar's Wayside School series has a character named Beebee Gunn blame her bratty behavior on her brother, Ray, who turns out not to exist. Sachar also re-told one of her other stories as funny but I can't remember which. I view it as a homage to Jackson, not stealing plot or anything. I read this collection, wondering if I'd be interested in short stories by her. Short stories...I will probably read an anthology from time to time. I really wanted to read "The Lottery" in particular. It was made out to be far more horrifying than it actually was. There was a lot of implying things and subtle clues. Multiple people have insisted that the entire "Hunger Games" series is an elaborate retelling of "The Lottery." The actual reaping clearly is. But the actual Games, the throwing in previous victors in the second book, and "Mockingjay" in its entirety, have nothing to do with Jackson's "The Lottery." I knew about the twist and what was really going on before I read this short story. Somehow it was still super unsettling. If I had gone in not knowing what "Lottery" was about, I may not have understood. Or maybe I'd be even more horrified. Still unsettling. I'm glad I got to read this! ( )

Buenísimo, sobre todo la intriga constante de no saber que esta sucediendo durante las pocas páginas que tiene. ( )