The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural followed the first two Arbor House books of science fiction, from Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg, by a year. (There never was an Arbor House Treasury of Fantasy.) Beginning with a cheerfully defensive view of the horror genre by Stephen King, the book presents 41 stories divided into two groups: Grand Masters, from Poe to Fredric Brown; and Modern Masters, from Evan Hunter to Stephen King himself. Though there is no editorial statement from Pronzini and Malzberg (as Silverberg had provided in his books), individual story introductions provide assessments of the writers and their works.
David G. Hartwell's ambitious first horror anthology collects not only fine stories but attempts to understand the evolution of horror literature and to define what it is. Both it and its companion volume five years later grew out of discussions with Kathryn Cramer, Peter D. Pautz, and others. Contents range from works of 19th century writers to modern examples of horror in science fiction.
Most reprinted authors: Thomas M. Disch and Stephen King (4 each), then Robert Aickman, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Fritz Leiber, H.P. Lovecraft, and Theodore Sturgeon (3 each).
The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural, Bill Pronzini, Barry N. Malzberg & Martin H. Greenberg, eds. (Arbor House, 1981)
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The Dark Descent, David G. Hartwell, ed. (Tor, 1987)
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Foundations Of Fear, David G. Hartwell, ed. (Tor, 1992)
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