What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

I'm looking for the title (or the editor's name) of a collection of scary stories, by various authors; it was published around 1988-1991. Some of the stories included are Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's "Madam Crowl's Ghost," and H. P. Lovecraft's "The Statement of Randolph Carter." Bram Stoker was also represented, with either "The Judge's House," "Dracula's Guest," or both stories. It doesn't appear to be indexed in Short Story Index; but it was reviewed in either Library Journal or Booklist, if anybody has access to back issues that far back.

Is it possibly...

Back from the dead
by Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Charles G. Waugh (Editor)
Twenty-one tales of horror from masters of the genre such as H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, and Robert Bloch play on humankind's deepest fears of death, zombies, and evil spirits.

Publication Information:
New York: DAW Books copyright 1991. 364 p.

Nope --the World Catalog contents note doesn't jibe at all, the title doesn't ring a bell, and I would have remembered Greenberg (and Orson Scott Card, who was also listed as a co-editor on one of the records for Back from the Dead). Also, I should have noted that the book I'm looking for was hardbound (though, for all I know, it may have been issued in paperback later). But thanks anyway, Cynthia. (The collection you cited looks like a really interesting one, too!)

Another possibility...

The horror hall of fame
edited by Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg
Eighteen short stories, by Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, M. R. James, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Stephen King and others.
Carrol and Graf Publishers 1991. 416 p.

Thanks, Cynthia, but the contents of that one (which I can sometimes check on World Catalog, once I have a title to go on, provided the entry has a contents note) only overlaps the one that I read with one title --though several authors are represented in both. You've given me a couple of good suggestions for future reading, though!

Could it be:


Into the Mummy's Tomb

"The Mummy." The first things that come to mind are the curse...reanimation...and revenge. But what further mysteries are to be unwrapped in the tombs of the Ancient Egyptians? And what horrors still lie buried in the imaginations of the immortal talents who have explored this realm of the fantastic? In this thrilling anthology, writers as diverse as Anne Rice (unveiling a chilling excerpt from her novel The Mummy or Ramses the Damned), Tennessee Williams (in his first published piece), Louisa May Alcott (at her most unexpectedly startling), and an actual Egyptian priest (penning his tale in 300 B.C.), venture Into the Mummy's Tomb for tales of the undead that have survived for eternity in nightmares of the living.

Or this?
The Dark Descent
This highly acclaimed anthology traces the evolution of horror, from Nathaniel Hawthorn and Edgar Allan Poe to Stephen King. Adopted by colleges across the country to be used in literature courses, The Dark Descent showcases some of the finest horror fiction ever written.

This was published in 1992:

100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories
Fear will overtake you in the most wonderful ways! Really scary things can come in small packages, and these 100 frightening tales offer big chills and thrills. They represent more than 150 years' worth of writing, and include the greats: H.P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, Oscar Wilde, and J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Best of all, a variety of human emotions and behavior is revealed, from avarice to revenge, from jealousy to love. Every story will entertain, captivate, and evoke a shiver of terror. You are warned: you may not want to read these while you're alone in the house!

Kate, sorry I took so long to reply to you; I'd left the group before you posted your responses to my questions (I rejoined it just now), and only learned a few minutes ago that anyone had offered some possible leads. No, it wasn't any of those three. (Though they all look interesting, and the library where I work very recently added The Dark Descent to its collection.) But thank you so much for trying!

In my original post, I gave 1988 as the earliest possible publication date for this particular anthology. But I'm now thinking it may have been as early as a couple of years before that.

How about searching for it this way:
go to isfdb ( http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi ) and enter a title your confident of, perhaps one of the less popular titles and see all the books that short story has been published in. If you click through those perhaps you'll find your book.

This one has at least three of the stories http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?2...

YES! Corinne, that's the exact book I was looking for --Charles Keeping's Classic Tales of the Macabre. Bless your heart; I appreciate your help!

Is this Solved?

Yes, Lobstergirl, it is; I moved it to the solved folder for adult fiction just now. (Part of the reason it remained unsolved for so long, as I only now realized, is because the Le Fanu story I mentioned in my first post is actually in a different anthology. I was conflating two different books in my faulty memory.)

Oh, okay. We posted at exactly the same time so I didn't see your link to the book.

Wow! This thread is OLD. This may be the oldest thread ever solved!

Unless we find one dating back to the seventies.

I'm really thrilled that it was finally solved, especially after so long! It's always a delight to re-identify a book whose author and/or title you've forgotten --it's recovering a little piece of your past.

Haha that is great news. I do love isfdb as a resource. I'm glad I could help.

Yes, I think that's a link I'll save for future reference! Thanks again, Corinne.