The first book in our Complete Short Fiction of Charles L. Grant, originally published in 1982, is truly "historic," as it was the first time Grant published four novellas with linking material around a common theme. It is, in effect, a tone poem -- almost a symphony. It was so successful that he repeated the format three times. Nightmare Seasons won the World Fantasy Award for Best Collection/Anthology, besting Stephen King's Different Seasons and Dennis Etchison's The Dark Country. This edition includes a special introduction by novelist and critic Don D'Amassa.

A new season, and the Grim Reaper smiles in anticipation of the harvest to come. No one is safe, no one can be trusted. The lovestruck office boy, the beautiful little girl clutching a posy of violets, the faceless motorcycle gang all seem harmless enough, and yet. Nameless fears stir uneasily, terror bubbles to the surface. and the nightmare is unleashed. Enter the world of Oxrun Station, where evil lurks in unexpected corners, where nerves are stretched to breaking point, where every season brings a nightmare more blood-curdling than the last. Four novellas, each taking as its theme one of the seasons of the year, recount the weird happenings that take place in the fantasy town of Oxrun Station.

"Of everything Charlie wrote, my favorite books of his are those that combine quartets of stories linked by a central motif like this one. It has long been argued that, for horror writers particularly, the novella is the ideal length for a story. It allows character development and plenty of darkness, while negating the need for rambling or filler. Grant was most at home with novellas, and indeed they represented him at the height of his power, and nowhere is that more evident than here, in The Orchard.--Kealan Patrick Burke (from the Introduction)

It happens without warning. The shadow of the wolf fails on an ordinary man, and death begins to walk within him. Everyone he hates will die. The senior class of New Jersey’s Port Richmond High School is busy planning Halloween “stunts"—practical jokes on a town-wide scale. The school’s new principal has outlawed stunts, but that won’t keep Brian Oakland and his friends out of mischief. After all, they’re not planning anything serious, nothing damaging (except to the principal’s reputation). Others have different ideas. Dominic Pastore’s waited all year for Halloween. His rifle is ready, but Dorn hasn’t decided if he’ll fire blanks or bullets. Rich little Mickie Farwood wants to pull a stunt too, but first must choose between Dorn’s danger and Brian’s innocence. None of them knows that this Halloween will alter their lives forever. The shadow of the wolf has fallen on two men. In England, visiting lecturer Evan Kendal flees a murderous madman once his best friend flees for Port Richmond and home. And in Port Richmond, in the woods that surround the town, another killer waits … waits for Halloween, when those he hates will die. At his bidding the whole town will die.

SO YOU THINK YOU LIKE TO BE SCARED... Nominated for the World Fantasy Award, the Hugo Award, the coveted Nebula...the unforgettable tales in this magnificent collection are the work of one of today's most respected masters of horror. Here are stories designed to carry the reader across fear's threshold, to terror...and beyond. Stories included in this collection: A Crowd of Shadows Hear Me Now, My Sweet Abbey Rose Temperature Days on Hawthorne Street Come Dance With Me on My Pony's Grave The Three of Tens The Dark of Legends, The Light of Lies Caesar, Now Be Still White Wolf Calling The Rest Is Spence When All the Children Call My Name Secrets of the Heart A Glow of Candles, A Unicorn's Eye

Night—the carnival grounds are empty … Or are they? Laughter and screams float faintly on the wind. Echoes of the day's fairgoers—or cries of the damned, rising form Hell? At the carnival's core is the black carousel, whirling to a special rhythm that is almost a heartbeat. Its creatures seem alive in the flickering lights as they spin hypnotically past. And those who dare to ride are forever … changed.