Kings of the Dark Fantastic

"This is a fine collection of Wellman's most recent Appalachian tales written in the 70's and 80's. Tales about Judge Pursuivant, John Thunstone, Silver John and others all make appearances."

Trill Coster’s Burden -- The Spring -- Owls Hoot in the Daytime -- Can These Bones Live? -- Nobody Ever Goes There -- Where Did She Wander? -- A Witch For All Seasons (originally by “Gans T Field”) -- The Beasts That Perish -- Willow He Walk -- Chastel -- Rouse Him Not -- Hundred Years Gone -- Keep Me Away -- Yare -- Chorazin -- The Petey Car -- Along About Sundown -- What of the Night -- Dead Man’s Chair (as “Rock Rock”) -- Lamia -- Caretaker -- The Ghastly Priest Doth Reign -- Goodman’s Place --

"From 'Jeffty is Five,' the tragedy of an innocent child wrenched out of an idyllic past, to humanity's encounter with dangerously seductive aliens in 'How's the Night Life on Cissalda?' and 'Shatterday,' the dark allegory of an identity-stealing doppelganger replacing his inferior twin, this incendiary collection re-establishes its legendary author's place at the cutting edge of the short story form."

It began as an experiment in college -- a seemingly harmless investigation into "lucid dreaming:-- the ability to control one's dreams.
Sam and his friends are like any gang of normal young boys…until the day Sam wakes to find the Tooth Fairy sitting on the edge of his bed.

While grieving over the unexpected death of his young wife, Phil Ainsworth finds his life further shaken by the death of his sister and the arrival of his young niece, Betsy, a child with a special talent to hear the voices of the dead and see the uncanny forces closing in around the old house he has inherited from his mother.

The town of Dry Falls is plagued by escalating plagues: a heat wave, a drought, malformed animals, bouts of memory loss and sexual attacks. An evil creature, taking the shape of a demon, a succubus, an extraterrestrial, even the Virgin Mary, wants something from Dry Falls - but what?

Just released from prison, Shadow encounters Mr. Wednesday, an enigmatic stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and when Mr. Wednesday offers him a job as his bodyguard, Shadow accepts and is plunged into a dark and perilous world.