My Favorite Horror Story

[bendk]

I have an entertaining book that is called My Favorite Horror Story. It was published by DAW Books in 2000. The editors asked fifteen contemporary horror authors what their favorite horror story was. The story was then prefaced by a brief reason why the author liked the story.This book is similar to Horror 100 Best Books except it deals with the short story. This is the contents page:

Sweets to the Sweet by Robert Bloch Chosen by Stephen King
The Father-Thing by Philip K. Dick Chosen by Ed Gorman
The Distributor by Richard Matheson Chosen by F. Paul Wilson
A Warning to the Curious by M.R. James Chosen by Ramsey Campbell
Opening the Door by Arthur Machen Chosen by Peter Adkins
The Colour Out of Space by HPL Chosen by Richard Laymon
The Inner Room by Robert Aickman Chosen by Peter Straub
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne Chosen by Rick Hautala
The Rats in the Walls by HPL Chosen by Michael Slade
The Dog Park by Dennis Etchison Chosen by Richard Christian Matheson
The Animal Fair by Robert Bloch Chosen by Joe R. Lansdale
The Pattern by Ramsey Campbell Chosen by Poppy Z. Brite
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe Chosen by Joyce Carol Oates
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce Chosen by Dennis Etchison
The Human Chair by Edigawa Rampo Chosen by Harlan Ellison

A number of Poe and Ligotti stories are among my favorites. Also a couple of Lovecraft's. Maybe M.R. Jame's "Count Magnus" or "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs, or "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, or T.E.D. Klein's "Nadelman's God." But I think I will go with the paranoid animal fable "The Burrow" by Franz Kafka. This story is essentially about the futility of trying to fend off death. A mole-like creature is plagued with dread imaginings of being torn to shreds. It sees enemies everywhere. All of the animal's thought and energy is focused on strengthening the fortifications of its burrow. Its thoughts become incoherent due to the unmitigated anxiety of trying to defend itself from predators, both real and imagined. As with most of Kafka's stories, it is very funny too.


What is your favorite horror story?