Dark Detectives: Adventures of the Supernatural Sleuths

Dark Detectives: Adventures of the Supernatural Sleuths, Stephen Jones (ed.), Fedogan and Bremer, 1999

This is a group of all-British, mostly newer, detective stories. But these are not average private eyes; these investigators deal with supernatural happenings.

Among the authors represented are Clive Barker, William Hope Hodgson, Manly Wade Wellman, Neil Gaiman, Brian Lumley and Basil Copper. In seventh century Ireland, a rural innkeeper and his wife are being terrorized by strange noises. A story set in rural England early in the 1900s has a wonderful title, "The Adventure of the Crawling Horror." What looks like a grandfather clock with four hands, and strange symbols where the numbers should be, actually has a much more hellish purpose. Another story has to do with John Wayne supposedly being buried in a pink dress. Kim Newman contributes a multi-part short novel about a fist-sized ruby with the power to destroy mankind.

I am not much of a mystery or supernatural reader, but I really enjoyed these stories. They work as detective stories, and the occult part is just strange enough without being too strange. This is well worth reading.