The Eyes Have It by Philip K. Dick

The narrator thinks he has discovered an alien invasion in literature, but he simply does not get figurative language.

Nice little tale of science fiction whimsy.

The Skull by Philip K. Dick

Conger is given a chance to get out of prison early if he travels back in time to kill a man that starts a religious movement that changes the world. He is given only a skull to identify the man. He travels back to a small town in 1960. There, locals start to take notice of him and he is labeled a communist by some. As the day the arrives when the man will appear, Conger realizes that the skull is his own, and he is the man that will change the world.

Good twisted noirish tale from one of the masters of science fiction.

Free text of the story. (Public Domain)

Feeding Time by James Gunn

A woman's therapy session leads to her releasing an inner monster (literally) that devours her therapist.

Pretty quirky and oddly frightening fantasy story.

Devlin's Dream by George Clayton Johnson

Cowboy Cooney Devlin wakes from a nightmare in which he had no right arm and he watched a hawk circle in judgement. He is immensely disturbed, especially because that is the hand he uses to draw and shoot his side arm. He practices drawing with his left arm and when satisfied, rides into town and picks a fight in a bar with a Swede . He draws from his left and shoots the Swede dead. Satisfied that he can draw quick enough if he ever loses his primary hand, he switches the gun back to his right. Just then, the sheriff enters and the two men have a standoff. Cooney reaches for his hip, his left hip, and is shot by the sheriff. The narrator steps outside as Cooney's right arm is removed at the shoulder. A lone hawk circles in the night sky.

What a great western short! Dark and foreboding. Such a great little read.

Echoes by Lawrence C. Connolly

A mother tries desperately not to give in to her son's fantasy that his younger brother's ghost is in the house. The family was in an accident that left one son dead, and mother and father broken physically and emotionally. The mother tries to change the subject when Billy speaks of his dead brother, Paul. She says maybe he can go with her to the store later, ignoring his mentions of his brother, and hoping she is getting through to him. When the father gets home and the couple sits down to dinner, he asks why the TV is on. She asks for him to let the boy be, but he goes in and turns off the set. He says he doesn't like the set playing to an EMPTY room. The mother goes to the store alone, and the father sits in the empty house, hoping he is getting through to her...

Emotionally charged, dark, well-written, and great little ghost story. Pretty good twist in the end.

Author's Page

There is a short film based on the story. Great cinematography; the use of cool/grey colors that contrast with the warm/bright colors used in the fantasy/flashback are fantastic.

Give Her Hell by Donald A. Wollheim

The narrator physically and verbally abuses his wife and daughter because, "woman know only one master." When his daughter runs away at sixteen he arranges to have her put in an asylum for the rest of her life. His wife eventually runs away with his law partner, who fights to gain custody of the daughter and  looks to sell the narrator out in court. So the narrator turns to the Devil. He makes a deal to have his daughter returned to the asylum, his wife returned home, and his partner killed. The Devil agrees, but wants his soul. The narrator bargains to be reincarnated after his current life is over. The deal is struck, and that very night, the law partner dies in a fire, and his wife escapes the house, but is unable to divorce her husband because of the scandalous pictures taken at the scene. The narrator has it put in his will that the daughter remain in the asylum past his death. As the narrator lies on his deathbed, he complains of Satan "cheating" him. He is to be reincarnated...as his own daughter.

Devious little story. "Punishment fits the crime?" You have to hand it to Satan on this one.

Dead Call by William F. Nolan

Frank receives a call from Len, who killed himself a month before. Len tells him about how great death is and he eventually convinces Frank to kill himself. The story ends by telling the reader that the phone is ringing and they'd better answer it...

Very creepy horror story. Does what a good horror story should: evokes and disturbs the reader.