Murder Mayhem Short Stories (2016) by Christopher Semtner (Foreword)A mammoth short story collection with murder and mayhem aplenty--but quite a few with a horror/fantasy bent to them. We have everything from supernatural creatures (like the Wendigo of the first story to a harpy-like monster later in the book) to killer teddy bears to unnatural children. There are a few more straight-forward murder mysteries, but in most of these the killer doesn't have to surrender to justice (at least not within the pages of the story). While the stories are, for the most part, well-written, I do prefer murderers to get their just desserts. Stories that just didn't do much for me: "Funeral," "Into the Blue," "Mr. Happy Head," and "The Dualists." The last of these seemed to be gruesome just for the sake of being gruesome. A few I've read before, so while good, they did not have quite the impact of first reading: "Dr. Hyde, Detective, & the White Pillars Murder," "The Traveller's Story of a Terribly Strange Bed," and "The Trial for Murder." The best of the bunch: "The Rector of Veilbye," "The Thing Invisible," "Pigeons from Hell," and "In the Dark." I also really like Oscar Wilde's tale of Lord Arthur Savile's attempts at murder (because I adore Oscar Wilde) and Wilde's send-up of the murder story. In true Wilde fashion he turns everything on its head. ★★★ and 1/2 for the collection.
Just a small personal rant...why on earth can we not name all of our characters? Some of these stories had plenty of corpses and the author either gave names to some but not all or gave none of them names. Help a girl out here--we need those names for the Medical Examiner's Challenge.
"The Wendigo Goes Home" by Sara Dobie Bauer: The Wendigo (disguised as one Cleve Packer) hasn't dined on flesh for a while. This one only eats people who are close to death anyway. He always knows who...he can smell death upon them. (one devoured by the Wendigo)
"The Death of Halpin Frayser" by Ambrose Bierce: A story of madness, murder, and maybe a ghost out in the wilds of California. (one throat cut; one strangled)
"The Moonlit Road" by Ambrose Bierce: Another story of madness & murder....and a solution given through the transcription of a medium. And a depressing solution it is. (one strangled)
"The Rector of Veilbye" by Steen Steensen Blicher: Based on a real 17th C murder case--a rector is accused and convicted of murdering his servant, but the story is a little more complicated than that. (one hanged; one beheaded; one of a stroke)
"Funeral" by Michael Cebula: A revenge story, pure and simple. And definitely not my cup of tea. (And nobody has a name, so none of the deaths count.)
"Into the Blue" by Carolyn Charron: Another story that's not for me--it crosses one of my "I don't do these kind of stories" lines (and I can't tell you which one without spoiling the ending). Well-written, but not gonna be one of my favorites. (And, of course, no names, so I can't count it for the M.E. Challenge either)
"Dr. Hyde, Detective, & the White Pillars Murder" by G. K. Chesterton: The only appearance of this particular detective. Dr. Hyde and his two proteges (John Brandon & Walter Weir) are asked investigate the death of Melchior Morse. Strangely, Dr. Hyde leaves the investigation to the two fledgling detectives. There are only two physical clues--a half-footprint and a cigar stump. In the end, the star pupils discover a very surprising murderer and decide that perhaps detecting isn't for them after all. (one neck broken)
"Don't you feel by this time that it's the atmosphere of the whole place? It's not a bit like those delightful detective stories. In a detective story all the people in the house are gaping imbeciles, who can't understand anything, and in the midst stands the brilliant sleuth who understands everything. Here am I standing in the midst, a brilliant sleuth, and I believe, on my soul, I'm the only person in the house who doesn't know all about the crime." (Walter Weir)
You can build everything on the trifle except the truth. (Weir)
We're so sure that people mean what we mean, that we can't believe they mean what they say. (Weir)
"The Traveller's Story of a Terribly Strange Bed" by Wilkie Collins: A famous story included in many anthologies. A gambler has a night of huge winnings and much celebration. So much celebration that he's convinced to spend the night in the gaming house rather than take his winnings out into the street in his inebriated state. But the gaming house master doesn't intend that the gambler will leave the house at all.
"Who Killed Zebedee?" by Wilkie Collins: A young policeman has his first and last case of murder--that of a young bridegroom. His bride insists that she must have stabbed him in her sleep...but did she? (one stabbed)
"The Trial for Murder" by Charles Dickens: A supernatural story of justice served. The ghost of a murdered man appears repeatedly to the foreman of the jury deliberating over the trial of his murderer. He makes every effort to ensure a verdict of guilty will be entered. (Guess what--no names!)
"The Problem of Dead Wood Hall" by Dick Donovan: Our unnamed detective sets out to prove that two men were murdered by the same unknown poison--two years apart. I am not a huge fan of open-ended mystery stories. The detective solves the mystery (we think)--but a jury of twelve men good and true don't agree.(two poisoned)
"Mr. Happy Head" by James Dorr: Another that is not my cup of tea. We get to be all up and in the culprit's thoughts. Not a pleasant place to be. I'm not at all sure how many deaths "Mr. Happy Head" is responsible for....Nor am I certain what happens to him at the end. (No names here either...)
"The Brazilian Cat" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: A man plans to do away with the heir that stands between himself and a fortune. The plot involves a very unusual murder method--but will it succeed? [one attacked by a large cat; one natural]
"Nineteen Sixty-Five Ford Falcon" by Tim Foley: A haunted car, a supposed suicide pact...and the truth. (Two drowned)
"Mama Said" by Steven Thor Gunnin: Our narrator has to have a psychological exam to see if he's competent to stand trial. The examiner is going to regret that...briefly. (two stabbed)
"Six Aspects of Cath Baduma" by Kate Heartfield: Not really a mystery. A fantasy battle. (one stabbed--along with a score more unnamed)
"The House Among the Laurels" by William Hope Hodgson: Carnacki, the supernatural investigator, takes on the evil forces haunting the house his friend has recently inherited. At first it looks like it might truly be spirits of one sort or another...but then Carnacki develops the photographs he took...
"The Thing Invisible" by William Hope Hodgson: Carnacki investigates the case of a butler stabbed in front of witnesses. The witness are convinced that either the dagger has a mind of its own or an invisible agent has employed it. Carnacki is almost convinced that the supernatural is involved...and then he notices something odd in a photograph. (one natural)
"Freedom Is Not Free" by David M. Hoenig: What happens when the clones rise up against the "Primes"? It's not pretty...and the investigating officer finds himself in the middle in a way he could never have imagined. (two stabbed; two shot; one hit on head)
"Mademoiselle de Scuderi" by E. T. A. Hoffman: 17th C Paris during the reign of Louis XIV. The poiet Mademoiselle de Scuderi becomes entangled in a series of thefts and murders. She sets out to clear an apprentice and his daughter of suspicion. (two poisoned; two beheaded; one burned; one stabbed)
"How to Build a Mass-Murderer" by Liam Hogan: What if the building blocks for mass murder were scripted in the DNA. How would a government defend against "DNA terrorism"? A very short short story--and yet manages to be a bit confusing for over half of it.
"Pigeons from Hell" by Robert E. Howard: When two travelers decide to spend the night in an abandoned Southern mansion, they get more than they bargained for. Death and revenge are perched in the house...just like the pigeons perched on the eaves. (four hit on head with axe; one poisoned; one shot)
"The Two-Out-of-Three Rule" by Patrick J. Hurley: Kyle and his friends are gaming nerds--the girls just don't go for them. Until Kyle finds the perfect girl. Elaina is beautiful, smart, and loves gaming. And she wants to be all his. There's just one little catch... (one eaten)
"The Well" by W. W. Jacobs: A man murders a blackmailing hanger-on who might spoil his chances at matrimonial bliss. But he learns (the hard way) that you really shouldn't hide the body on your own property. And especially not somewhere that your lady-love might lose a precious bracelet. (two drowned)
"In the Penal Colony" by Franz Kafka: In the penal colony punishment is given a brutal twist. (one stabbed)
"Getting Shot in the Face Still Stings" by Michelle Ann King: Gangsters really don't like it when someone snatches their takings...even if the one doing the snatching is an immortal goddess/demon who comes back every time they kill her. (one beaten to death; one stabbed)
"The Return of Imray" by Rudyard Kipling: Slightly supernatural tale of Imray, a man in British India, who goes missing. He unexpectedly returns in the most grisly manor. (one throat cut; one poisoned)
"Less Than Katherine" by Claude Lalumiere: The narrator's daughter, the Katherine of the title, discovers a stone knife while the family is on vacation. It soon takes possession of her...leaving a trail of murder in its wake. Interesting twist at the end. (eight stabbed)
"Shared Losses" by Gerri Leen: A woman takes revenge when her ex takes up with another woman and her reasons are, shall we say, a bit different.... (Yep--no names.)
"The Hound" by H. P. Lovecraft: Two friends are bored with normal life and decide to dabble in the dark arts and make a collection of strange and unwholesome items. When they uncover a cursed amulet and add it to their collection, they release a diabolical force. (one mauled to death)
"From Beyond" by H. P. Lovecraft: A mad scientist does experiments to open himself up to all the senses that he believes men used to have...he exposes his servants and his friend (though the scientist certainly doesn't treat him as such) to previously unseen terrors. (one vaporized; one apoplexy)
"Drive Safe" by K. A. Mielke: A young woman soon regrets making her boyfriend stop to help an apparently helpless woman. (one eaten; one vaporized)
"In the Dark" by Edith Nesbit: A tale of three men. Our narrator, Winston, who is worried about his friend Haldane. Haldane is a man in distress--caused by Visger. Visger has been a tattletale who always tells the truth--even when it seems impossible for him to know it--and the other two have hated him for it ever since they were boys together. Finally, Visger tells one truth too many. (one strangled; one heart attack; one poisoned)
"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe: Poe's classic about a man who takes an extraordinary revenge for an unspecified insult. (one walled up)
"The Azure Ring" by Arthur B. Reeve: Professor Craig Kennedy is out to prove whether District Attorney Whitney is correct in his suspicion that a pair of young lovers have been murdered--even though there's no trace of violence or poison. The coroner thinks it was an accident of some sort, but there isn't even evidence of that. [three poisoned]
"Redux" by Alexandra Camille Renwick: Take Groundhog Day and add murder and what you'll get is "Redux." A nice little SF twist on repeat murder. (one shot)
"The First Seven Deaths of Mildred Orly" by Fred Senese: Mildred Orly hates the way she looks and decides she can't live looking like that. When she commits suicide she finds out she has the power to do something about the way she looks.... (two poisoned; one shot; one stabbed; one hanged; one heart failure)
"Markheim" by Robert Louis Stevenson: A petty thief turns murderer on Christmas Day and finds himself in a moral struggle when it seems a second murder may be necessary. (one stabbed)
"The Dualitists" by Bram Stoker: Two young boys are given identical knives as presents--and after learning the destructive power of identical weapons they go on a terrible rampage. (two shot; two hit on the head)
"The Burial of the Rats" by Bram Stoker: A man is trapped in the catacombs under Paris, pursued by people who live down there among the rats.
"Mister Ted" by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt: Mister Ted is a stuffed bear. And he will do anything for his little girl Sophie. Anything. (one suffocated; two stabbed)
"Cheese" by Ethel Lina White: A young woman fresh up from the country is set as bait to catch a nasty killer. If she survives, she'll earn a 500 pound reward....(one strangled)
"Corpses Removed, No Questions Asked" by Dean H. Wild: When a woman uses a Lil Slugger bat in a fit of rage and kills her errant husband, she wonders, "Now what do I do with him." She finds out the answer when the doorbell rings. (four hit on head)
"Lord Arthur Savile's Crime: A Study of Duty" by Oscar Wilde: Lord Arthur Savile attends a party where a man reads palms as a party trick. When he looks at Lord Arthur's hand, he turns pale and only reveals what he sees when the gentleman insists. Murder--Lord Arthur will commit murder. And--seeing as Lord Arthur is engaged to marry, it is, of course, his duty to get the distasteful event out of the way before the nuptials. Never did a man find it so difficult to commit one simple murder. (one natural; one drowned)
"Fragments of Me" by Nemma Wollenfang: A young woman with multiple personality disorder has one particularly nasty personality struggling to be primary. (one strangled)
First line (1st story: Cleve Packer prided himself on eating only people who were about to die.
Last lines (last story): Today I am Billy, but tomorrow who knows? It could be one of seven fragments of me.
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