When I read Heart-Shaped Box, I thought that this book of short stories had potential to be very scary. I was very disapointed to find out that not only were none of these stories scary in the least, they had no ending, which left you hanging. Some of the stories, such as "Better than Home" in NO WAY constituted a ghost story, or was frightening in any way, shape, or form. As another reviewer mentioned, my favorite part of the book was a story that was told within one of the srories... I would not reccomend this book overall.

The last story in this collection, called "Voluntary Committal", is of the kind that I never get tired of - alternate universes juxtaposed with the normal harsh realities of everyday. Redemption and loss possible in every paragraph. If this story appeared in a Stephen King collection I would only think that old Steve has scored another 10, like he has done so many times before. Joe Hill, like his Dad, has some of that ability, that seemingly effortless alchemy, that can create a great tale. It pleases me that, even though Steve should be around for a while, we could have a long time to enjoy more work of this quality.

I'm only really reviewing the first short story in this collection, "Pop Art," even though I read the entire book. I'm not really into short stories, preferring fully-realized characters and settings, which makes the impact of "Pop Art" on me even more impressive. The other stories didn't make much of an impression on me, but I consider "Pop Art" to be worth the price of admission in and of itself.

To say much would be to spoil it, but I will say that the premise was developed with consistency and poetry. I will never forget some of the images this story left me with.

I was excited to start reading this after having enjoyed the Heart Shaped Box however was very disappointed. Overall, the stories were a little lame. The introductory story borrowed shamelessly from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, just as the story about the blow-up kid, which got a little rich in saccharin-filled philosophical pontification borrowed from an old movie called "Powder". I found the story 20th Century Ghost evoking very little interest as well. Admittedly, Joe Hill showcases his exceptional writing skills in these short stories, but I just found ALL of the stories uninteresting and breaking off at such unusual places, that they seemed more like excerpts. Avoid this one.

So the cat's out of the bag now that Joe Hill is one of Stephen King's sons. Well, no such thing as nepotism here, because this is an absolutely beautiful book--definitely on my list of favorites.

Hill wears his influences and inspirations on his sleeve. "You Will Hear the Locust Sing" is like Kafka's The Metamorphosis set during a 1950's giant bug movie. "Abraham's Boys" is his take on the Van Helsing character from Dracula. "The Cape" is both a realistic character study and a superhero origin story. "20th Century Ghost" is a nostalgic homage to both film history, in general, and Steven Spielberg, in particular.

Yet, none of the stories ever feel derivative or lazy, because Hill always manages to add some new or unexpected twist. Many of the stories are disturbing, some are even shocking, but they also manage to be humorous, warm, and tender. There's authentic emotional depth in these tales. I can't manage to make it through "Pop Art," the absolute masterpiece of the collection, without crying every single time.

The title couldn't be more accurate, because these stories all feature characters that are haunted--haunted by their pasts, by inner demons, by troubled childhoods, and horrible secrets. Identity seems to be the common theme that connects these stories--how do we decide who we are? Is it a gift (or a curse) from our families? Do we decide ourselves who we are? Do we embrace our secret self (You Will Hear the Locust Sing, The Cape), do we run from it (Best New Horror), do we hide from it (Voluntary Committal)? Are we predetermined to become our parents (My Father's Mask)?

Hill displays incredible talent in this book. I can't wait to see what he produces in the future. In the meantime, I highly recommend this one.

I'm not much of a short story lover...don't know why, just don't care for them. HOWEVER, I enjoyed this collection of short stories immensely. Pop Art is especially amazing. In Pop Art one finds a meaningful story line and characters about whom one can care. I almost passed 20th Century Ghosts by, but I'm so glad I didn't.

I suppose that Joe Hill is sick to death of hearing from readers who are surprised (nay, stunned) at his writerly skills. Sure, with a dad like Stephen King, Hill's got the pedigree, but I couldn't help but be skeptical about his talents. And that, as much as anything, is why I picked up this short story collection.

Consider this skeptic converted. From the opening story in this collection, "Best New Horror," Hill shows his mastery of the short story form, as well as a willingness to develop sympathetic characters and then put them in harm's way. (Actually, "harm's way" is an understatement. It's more like Hill drops a Grand Guignol from a helicopter onto them.) This isn't to say that Hill can't write a non-genre short story. He can, and does, and does it so well, it made me wonder if one day, scientists will find a storytelling strand in human DNA.

Sidelight: If you're looking at the paperback edition of this book, please ignore its execrable cover. But while the packaging is wholly unappetizing, its worth braving it for the contents.

Nothing too revolutionary in 20th Century Ghosts, but that may be the point. I haven't read any of his other books, but I dug this one. 'Pop Art' is a beautifully wound tale that is as imaginative as it is beautiful; what could have been a silly play on words is one of the few short stories that has ever left a lasting impression on me.

I'm not afraid to admit it: I picked this book up because Joe Hill is Steven King's son. Yes. I wanted to see if it runs in the family. What's great is that Joe's got his own voice, though you can, on occasion, see his father's influence...or maybe, some shared predilections.

One wonders if Joe ever took his work to his dad as a young man, if they ever pored over it, the elder giving the younger golden tips one could never get in grad school...but then, most good writing tips can't be learned from a class, or from anyone else anyway. One builds a career as a writer (and chops as a storyteller) writing stories like the tales included in 20th Century Ghosts.

This book is entertaining in the same way it's enthralling to watch the blacksmith make swords at a modern-day Renaissance Faire: you get the impression that this is not an artist at the height of his powers, but the time invested experiencing his art is worthwhile nonetheless.

This book is the first book that I have ever considered throwing away. I read the short stories until I was scared to read the next one. I like ghost stories but for the two-thirds of the book that I read there was only one real ghost story (it was delightful); the rest were gruesome beyond belief. A friend took it off my hands so I did not have to pitch it after all.

This guy is way better than his father has been lately. This book shows he knows his way around a short story better than King did in "Everything's Eventual" (a book I thought was more than decent). What I find really surprising is Hill's insight into the mind and motivations of the common man, considering he must have grown up never knowing need or deprivation. This type of down-to-earth, prosaic realism has been King's forte for decades and I daresay Hill gives him a run for his money. For fiction, especially genre fiction, enjoyment is inevitably proportionate to the measure that one can suspend disbelief. While Joe Hill's stories often veer toward the exceedingly fantastic, they are carefully constructed to be literary Golden Gate Bridges, the other side of which you always want to behold.

Being a long time horror fan and having read and seen a lot of books in the genre this book didn't seem to have much of it's own voice. Only a couple of the stories stood out for me as in the opening tale the story within the story was more interesting than the story itself. It's like Hill left most of the stories open without closure leaving the reader to fill in the blanks of what happens next and many stories just get you hooked when they suddenly ended leaving me very unsatisfied. Hill obviously has talent and some of his descriptions really suck you in but the sudden endings really left me cold, and one story really didn't deal with horror at all except with a sighting of what may, or may not have been, a dead body. In particular i found the van Helsing story to be very clever if not a little too short, and the final story to be very interesting, but overall I found many of the stories stale and too abrupt often ending in the most interesting parts.

I read Heart-Shaped Box and very much enjoyed it. I've always been a huge Stephen King fan and wondered if the apple would fall close or far from the tree.
Any trepidation I felt was washed away with Heart-Shaped Box and then with just the first of the stories in 20th Century Ghosts. Button-Boy alone is worth buying this book. All of the stories are vastly different and all are entertaining and skillfully written.
No comparison to SK necessary. I would have enjoyed Joe Hill if I hadn't even known about his famous father and I'll continue to read him.

20TH CENTURY GHOSTS BY JOE HILL: The first time you pick up the hardcover copy of 20th Century Ghosts, you know you're in for a treat. The book is cloth-bound in darkest black, sans dust jacket, with a sticker on the front listing the title and author, along with a haunting black and white photograph. As one opens the cover, one is greeted by a dried blood-red inlay, followed by the white pages of writing. It is almost as if one is opening a black and bloody wound to read what Joe Hill has to offer.

20th Century Ghosts is a short story collection of modern horror, revealing what else has been going on in the mind of the author who brought us the bestselling Heart-Shaped Box. Originally released in hardcover two years ago in England, Joe Hill fans will be happy to have this beautiful hardcover edition available at the more affordable price than the out-of-print edition only available on the likes of eBay.

With a quick introduction from Christopher Golden, author of The Myth Hunters and Strangewood, the collection kicks of with a chilling story titled "Best New Horror." It is about an editor of the annual Best New Horror collection who is sent a fresh and disturbing story for the next edition, featuring a level of the macabre and disgust that he hasn't seen in a long time. The editor seeks out the author and finds himself in his very own horrific story on a level with that of the one that so entranced him. The title story, "20th Century Ghost," is a classic modern-day ghost story about an old movie theater that is being haunted by a young girl who loved to watch movies until she died suddenly one day at the theater. Now she returns every once in a while to engage a movie viewer in chilling conversation.

From there Hill takes the reader on a journey into different kinds of horror. A man in a Kafkaesque world awakes as a giant cockroach. A young boy is kidnapped by a terrifying hulk of a man who admits he won't hurt him, but simply wants to watch him. A short and enchanting tale about the ghosts of trees. The fascinating story about a boy who can fly whenever he wears his childhood cape. Not all stories are of the horror variety, but more the mundane and yet still able to move the reader. "Pop Art" is the incredible and yet strangely enchanting story about a world where some people are "inflatable," composed of little more tan plastic and air and must be careful not to get caught on anything sharp, or they will deflate and die. It is a moving story about a boy and his relationship with one of these inflatable people. A considerable number of the stories in 20th Century Ghosts involve children, specifically young boys. Perhaps Hill is turning to his own childhood imagination, or maybe he feels that childhood is a time when the imagination is most creative and easily convinced, even if the demons and monsters that are imagined are actually real.

While Heart-Shaped Box was not as great a book as I'd hoped, 20th Century Ghosts has convinced me that Joe Hill is an entertaining and talented new horror writer, who is still working somewhat in the style of his father's, Stephen King, but as time passes and more stories and books are written and published, he will no doubt become one of the most popular and most interesting of today's horror writers. I look forward to reading his next work.

For more reviews, please to go www.alexctelander.com.

An anthology of horror stories, some weird, many unpleasant, all clever.
Talent certainly is evident in this young writer. I can hardly wait for his next effort.

The strength of voice, scope of imagination and general quality of prose on display in these stories fully establish Joe Hill as something more than just the son of an iconic writer. The promise of Heart-Shaped Box has been kept with this collection, though I would not hesitate to say that some entries are substantially better than others. What makes this such a worthy book is the variety of style and tone Hill is able to interject, based on an innate understanding of where the line between realism and the supernatural should fall in each tale. "Best New Horror," "The Black Phone" and "My Father's Mask" rank as personal favorites based on a first perusal. I fully anticipate revisiting a number of these stories on a repeated basis. I'd also recommend fans of this book, and of genre fiction in general, check out Crimson Orgy, a debut novel by Austin Williams that I found funny, scary and absolutely riveting.

... of refreshingly original and artfully crafted "weird" stories. Some are traditionally terrifying, others are quietly creepy, some are just odd. And one or two are so genuinely disturbing that I hope that author has considered counseling. "20th Century Ghosts" was reviewed, very favorably, in the 27 January 2008 issue of the Sunday New York Times Book Review.

I never knew short stories could be so equally compelling. Beautifully written. Scary. Will stir your imagination and will have you begging for more!

The lead story (Best New Horror) was solid, but after that, yawners, making one wonder how they got by the junior editors except with Daddy's help.

The lead story (Best New Horror) was solid, but after that, yawners, making one wonder how they got by the junior editors except with Daddy's help.

I thought this book was great. A few of the stories were not horror at all, but I thought the variety just increased my overall enjoyment. I borrowed this from the library, on a 14-day rental, and had it back to them on the fourth day. I just couldn't put it down. Best short stories I've read in some time (and I love short stories).

It was recently revealed that this guy is Stephen King's son. I thought he revealed it so he could get a boost to make up for a lack of talent. I was wrong. This book is fantastic, and not a rip off of elder King's style. Some of the best short stories I've ever read, not a bad one in the bunch. Smart ghost stories.

Fifteen of the best short stories I've read in a very long time. Some are skin crawling horrid, some are touchingly human, but all are gripping and thought provoking.

Giant bugs, blow-up friends, vampires in training, flying blanket capes, a very strange museum of death; each story is a world of its own, all are the world of Joe Hill.

I can promise that I'll be looking for more from Joe Hill.

Review by Wanda C. Keesey (author Lost In The Mist release May 2008)

It is often stated that a creation can be reviewed only after a certain distance has been created between the reviewer and the creation in question. But if that is going to be the "central dogma", then nobody can review this book. Every story in this book thrills you, shivers you, stunns you, but above all, touches you, always. After reading hundreds of literally "horrifying" horror stories, these stories made me realise how inadequate the others had been. Mr. Hill, in your journey towards becoming a mountain, would you keep us stunned ever after in this fashion? Please do! And constant reader, don't even think of skipping this book, it might the best thing you have read in decades.

It's not all ghost stories, but there are a few. it's got a love story on the set of the original Dawn of the Dead, a guy that has a superhero cape from his childhood that works, Van Helsing as a delusional serial killer , a boy that turns into a Locust to seek revenge (think 50s B movies), a sad tale about a homeless man who travels the rails, the silence museum where last dying breath of a person is campured in a jar, a kid captured by Gacy with a supernatural twist, and more. If you like Stephen King, you'll love Joe's work. Seriously entertaining!!!!!!

I was really looking forward to this book after reading Heart Shaped Box, but I have to admit I was disappointed. I think the title was misleading and a few of the stories left me hanging. I think Joe Hill has the ability to write better material than 20th Century Ghosts. I don't think that I will be recommending this book to anyone.

A jaded horror-anthology editor discovers visceral new talent and learns to appreciate clichés. A small boy trapped in a cellar realizes he's a serial killer's latest victim and finds hope in a dead phone. A family museum outing turns sinister amid an extensive collection of last breaths. A bullied young teen (presumably a Kafka fan) is delighted when he wakes up as a giant locust, but even he is a bit surprised at the efficiency of his new body.

Written over more than a decade, some of Hill's stories pay homage to time-honored themes: the beautiful movie theater ghost; the misfit who grows up to get his revenge - or his unjust desserts. Others conjure up wholly original visions, like the inflatable boy who is otherwise as human or you or me.

The endings, whether happy or horrific, reflect Hill's love of structure and irony. The eldest son of Stephen King, he has clearly inherited his father's imaginative flair, his ability to take the ordinary and tweak it into nightmare or posit the ridiculous and make it seem ordinary.

But Hill has his own rich economy of style. The characters - often teens or children - are fully developed, trapped in cruel circumstances or nurturing the gleeful cruelty within themselves. And Hill does not always rely on the supernatural or even the twisted mind to reflect the darker shadings of the human condition.

"Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead," Hill captures a young comedian's failed dreams, his defenses, fears and future, all in a few masterfully witty, cutting pages, set at a shoot for "Night of the Living Dead."

Hill's pitch is perfect and each story is a gem that sparkles from all angles.

If there's proof literary greatness is hereditary, it exists in "Twentieth Century Ghosts", a collection of stories written by Stephen King's son, Joe Hill. Indeed, these stories, more than "Heart-Shaped Box", stand as testament to his skill. He's not merely a horror novelist but rather an immensely talented story-teller probing the boundaries between living and dead, known and unknown, and the dark spaces inside.

This collection boasts stories running the gamut from dark to chilling, literary to touching, and just plain odd. However, in every story, Hill displays the same knack his father has for understanding humanity, getting at what makes us tick. Regardless of the genre or just outright "shtick" elements, these stories are about the differences between who we are, and who we want to be.

Among the finest are "Best New Horror", when a horror editor rediscovers his life just as he's about to lose it, trapped in his own personal horror tale; and "Twentieth Century Ghost", a touching tale about an aging movie theater operator and the ghost haunting his theater. Also standouts are "The Black Phone", where a serial killer's dead victims aid the killer's newest victim through a ghostly phone, and "Abraham's Boys", which imagines that Van Helsing the vampire-killer ("Dracula") was real, but was a victim of paranoid-schizophrenia, rather than vampire killer.

This collection not only proves Hill's inherited talent, but also further separates him from his father, King. These stories are his, going places perhaps even his elder might not go.

I'm not a fan of anthologies, but I picked this one up in April because it was free (Advanced Readers Copy), and I really liked Heart-Shaped Box. If you don't like great writing, well-crafted stories and fully developed characters, this book of short stories is not for you. I enjoyed every story. Hill is a master storyteller. True, it's not straight horror, and if that's what you're looking for then you might be disappointed. But I urge you to stretch your wings a little. Reading this book will help you expand your literary tastes. I particularly loved Pop Art. It is an absolutely brilliant story! Kudos to Joe Hill for proving he's not a one-hit wonder!

I was a little disappointed with this book. The stories are not really about ghosts. They are just fantasy stories that a young child would make up.

There were a couple of stories in this collection that I thought were outstanding--"Pop Art" and "Voluntary Committal". I also liked "My Father's Mask" (which may be appropos of the mask that Mr. Hill wears when he writes under Joe Hill and doesn't capatilize on his father's more famous name). In any case, I found this collection of stories to show great promise. I think we will all be waiting for Mr. Hill's next release.

If you are expecting a collection of ghost stories, please reset your expectations, or you will be disappointed. There are a couple of ghost stories, some 1950's style horror stories, some modern horror, some supernatural and some straight fiction. I picked this book up after reading Joe Hill's "Heart Shaped Coffin". I was impressed with the straight-forward writing style used in that book, and I wanted to see some of his earlier work. I wasn't disappointed.

The short story titled "20th Century Ghost" is a very good ghost story whereas "Best New Horror" was a very good modern horror story. These two stories were my favorites with "Voluntary Commitment", "Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead", "The Black Phone", and "The Widow's Breakfast" not far behind. If you are looking for an enjoyable collection of short stories with a mix of topics, try this book.

When I bought this, I really thought it was a collection of modern ghost stories. It isn't; there's only two ghost stories in it, and one of them's a ghost TREE. I quickly got over that, however, 'cause it's a great collection. Considering who he is, I can see a little of his dad's influence here and there, but just a little. On the other hand, I just finished his dad's "Stationary Bike," and it read like something I would've expected in 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS--so I guess the influence goes both ways. Anyway, the story "Pop Art" in this collection--what a story! I had to read it two times. Sooooo, if you like the one guy, I'm pretty sure you'll like this guy, too. Very Excellent.

I picked up this book expecting a book of ghost stories and found, instead, a hodgepodge of literary and horror stories. Hill is a terrific writer -- "Best New Horror," "20th Century Ghost," and "Bobby Conrad..." are finely crafted stories with rich characters and plots, but believe it or not, a lot of the remainder of this collection suffers from too much cleverness. Take "Pop Art," a story about an inflatable friend that goes on and on, and doesn't develop the characters or plot beyond the initial jokey set up and in the end just seems a bit "too precious." And "Last Breath" about a museum of silence with a denouement that is obvious and contrived. Hill falls into the same trap many contemporary horror writers find themselves in -- writing a gimmick and not a good story. The title of this book is also misleading, especially since Hill's novel, "Heart Shaped Box," is a ghost story.

Two years before the appearance of Joe Hill's first novel, Heart-Shaped Box, this collection of short stories appeared in a limited run in the UK. It is now available in the United States with an additional bonus story not available in the original volume. While the novel gathered wide praise and exhibited the author's talent for horror, the short stories are wide ranging--from fantasy to supernatural.

Each story is quite different from the others. The title story, "20th Century Ghosts," describes a girl who haunts a movie theater. "Better than Home" tells the relationship of an emotionally troubled boy and his father, the hot-headed manager of the Detroit Tigers. In another, "In the Rundown," a troubled young man encounters a woman in shock, the result of an attack during which one of her children was murdered.

The bonus short story, "Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead," describes two ex-lovers who meet by chance as extras on a horror movie set. All the stories show the author's ability to characterize human emotions. They demonstrate not only his ability to portray the dark side, but also his imagination and creative ability.

20th CENTURY GHOSTS by Joe Hill is a collection of short stories that had been shopped around for publication but was summarily rejected. Why? Because, well, short story collections by unknown authors --- as the conventional wisdom goes ---don't sell. The book was duly published in Great Britain, and in the meantime Hill wrote a novel titled HEART-SHAPED BOX; his family tree then came to light, to great fanfare. At that point, as might be expected, the potential for 20th CENTURY GHOSTS was...reconsidered. So here we have the American publication of that collection --- with a story not included in the British edition --- as if, having read HEART-SHAPED BOX, one needed prodding to pick up anything with Hill's name on it. As if.

One important caveat: Hill is not a horror writer, at least not in the classical sense. His work certainly is informed by that august genre, but also one detects echoes of the Johns --- Cheever, Updike and Barth --- superimposed over the Lovecraft. In the process, by coincidence or deliberate design, Hill, at his early age and at this late date, has stretched the boundaries of the literary short story.

20th CENTURY GHOSTS opens with what at first glance is a straight horror story, which, on that merit alone, is one of the more terrifying ones I have ever read. "Best New Horror" concerns a gentleman named Eddie Carroll, who annually edits an anthology of the best short horror fiction of the previous year, culled from a wide variety of sources. He receives, unsolicited, a submission from Harold Noonan, the former editor of a small university literary magazine titled The New North Literary Review. Noonan had published a story, "Buttonboy," written by Peter Killrue, a groundsperson at the university. The subsequent firestorm over its publication resulted in Noonan's excoriation and dismissal. The story is extensively summarized in the narration of "Best New Horror" and is the stuff of nightmare. Wanting to publish it, Carroll sets out to make contact with Killrue in order to obtain his permission. The result, as well as the summarization of "Buttons" and some of Killrue's other work, will keep you up for a few nights with the lights burning.

Next is "20th Century Ghost," which, while having supernatural elements, is, in its own way, a love story. That, perhaps, is the hallmark of Hill's short fiction --- this merging of the horrific and supernatural with the everyday. Think of being caught in some brambles, which are only a short distance from a heavily traveled road that you can see but never reach. Actually, Hill's work isn't even that easily definable. "You Will Hear the Locust Sing" is a cautionary tale about nuclear testing yet has elements that would not have been out of place in a 1950s science fiction story. A young man --- his name, Francis Kay, is not coincidental --- is apparently exposed to radiation from an atom bomb test and is transformed into a cockroach-type creature. Not satisfied to explore the story from that standpoint only, Hill turns it into a tale of alienation and loneliness before bringing things to a close with a shocking ending.

In some ways "Voluntary Committal" would be wholly appropriate for adaptation as an episode of "The Twilight Zone." It concerns a high school adolescent who falls in with a bad crowd of one, and his brother, a psychologically impaired savant who is incapable of independent living on some levels yet is more emotionally stable than his sibling on others. While you won't soon forget how the "lesser" of the brothers helps the "greater," the subtle focus of "Voluntary Committal" is on the relationship of the brothers as opposed to what happens one fateful evening in their basement. Another story, "My Father's Mask," is a fantasy --- a coming-of-age tale in one sense but also a deeply disturbing story of multiple levels of deception. And "Bobby Conroy Comes Back From the Dead," despite its horrific backdrop, is not a horror story at all, but rather a bittersweet tale of lost loves, chance encounters and (possibly) second chances.

20th CENTURY GHOSTS is further proof that Hill's talent runs deep and true, and, it would seem, has yet to be fully plumbed. I can't wait to see what he does next, how and to whom.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

I was surprised to read this was a debut work. I will anxiously await this author's upcoming work. To coin a cliche, it was a real page turner. It was one of those books that can be read in a single setting. You look up at the clock and realize several hours have apssed. Where did the time go? That's the hallmark of great writing.

If you enjoyed this book you may also like The Shining

I was surprised to read this was a debut work. I will anxiously await this author's upcoming work. To coin a cliche, it was a real page turner. It was one of those books that can be read in a single setting. You look up at the clock and realize several hours have apssed. Where did the time go? That's the hallmark of great writing.

If you enjoyed this book you may also like The Shining

I just finished reading Joe Hill's short story collection, "20th Century Ghosts". While I really liked his previous book, "Heart-Shaped Box", this one wasn't as much of a slam dunk.

I did like at least half of the stories. [*Spoilers to follow.*]

- With "20th Century Ghost", I liked the way it focused more on the characters, making the "ghost" part of the story almost secondary.
- "Abraham's Boys" was disturbing in that it looked at the "Dracula" character of Van Helsing and asked the question, "What if the vampire thing was all just part of a delusion of his?"
- With "The Cape", you want to like the main character, despite his faults, yet he turns out to a villain in the truest sense of the word.
- "Last Breath" was short but creepy. And for some reason, I kept picturing the doctor character as the Tall Man from the "Phantasm" films.
- I'm not sure if "The Widow's Breakfast" qualifies as horror, but the end of it was certainly creepy enough.
- "Voluntary Committal" has subtle shades of Lovecraft woven into it, but never directly stated except for a passing reference to "Leng". The whole concept of an autistic boy using cardboard boxes to send someone to another dimension is, of course, implausible. Yet the author makes it very believable.

For some reason, I just didn't connect with the other stories in the collection. On the whole though, I would recommend this book.

Reading is a collaborative event. When the collaboration is good, the story resonates inside, touching on some emotion or history that the reader brings to the table. The very best stories are fresh and specific, though, so simply tapping into pop culture or tired archetypes won't work as an authorial technique. The story has to touch something deeper. It has to be true.

In bypassing pop clichés, the ending of a truly great story should be a surprise--not because of a trick, but because in telling the truth, the clichés get left behind.

I was three stories deep in Joe Hill's "20th Century Ghosts" before I decided that I was reading the freshest, most surprising, truest speculative fiction I'd read in decades. Each piece in this book is a gem. "Best New Horror" is a formulaic tale about an editor who's tired of formula stories. The last paragraph of the tale takes an exhilarating turn that struck me as poetic--completely reframing the story. "Pop Art" is the most unusual, touching piece of fiction I can remember. The title is a pun, and the story is absurd. How could it leave me in tears? "Better than Home" is an odd father-son love story. What is a story about baseball, uncontrollable saliva, dead bodies under a covered bridge and the joys of throwing peanut shells on the steps doing in a collection of horror tales? Fitting in quite nicely. Every tale here belongs.

Critics often say, "I couldn't put the book down." I put 20th Century Ghosts down a half-dozen times, asking myself, "How could this guy be so damned good?" Do yourself a huge favor. Buy 20th Century Ghosts and "begin collaborating" with this most talented author.

Really great short stories. I believe he has the potential of being an even great writer than his father.

I am not typically a horror reader but wanted quality work and ghost themes for pre-Halloween reading and picked this up. I love it. I read literary and "quality" fiction, whatever that is, and Joe Hill has the ability to craft a tight, suspenseful story that isn't dumbed down one bit right with the best of them - and then he's original and creepy too. Love it, wish there were 30 more short stories just like these where they came from.

After the second story you realize that the author is a seriously gifted. He expects his readers to be prepared to catch his references and to be familiar with the conventions of the short story. The work can be appreciated by beginners, but if you've been around the block, you marvel. This guy can write. He's got the talent to match the genes.

I can't see anyone not being impressed with this outstanding collection. Although every tale is a winner, POP ART, VOLUNTARY COMMITTAL, and the title story are unforgettable. Can't wait for Hill's next novel OR collection!

This is an interesting horror short story collection with the supernatural and teen male angst playing major roles in all the tales. All were printed in various magazines over the past decade, but never brought together under one collection until now. None of Joe Hill's entries are weak, while some are excellent. All showcase how talented Mr. Hill is (see HEART SHAPED BOX). Readers will feel for John locked in a basement that's stained with blood (similar to the army physical during the draft days) of other murdered children calling him on a disconnected "Black Phone and empathize with Alec whose "paramour" Imogene is the title character a "20th Century ghost" haunting the Rosebud Theater. However, the best of the lot is "Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead" as he is an unsuccessful comedian who meets his married ex-high school girlfriend on a horror film set. 20th CENTURY GHOSTS is a terrific 21st century horror anthology.

Harriet Klausner

Before "The Heart-Shaped Box" hit the bestseller charts, Joe Hill released this book as a limited edition short story collection. It won numerous awards in 2005--Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection, British Fantasy Award for Best Collection, and the International Horror Guild Award for Best Collection--all before Hill was "outed" as the second son of novelists Stephen and Tabitha King.

The 14 stories included outshine his debut novel, featuring a wide variety of protagonists and situations outside of the norm in horror. The best story here, in my opinion, is "Best New Horror"--an inside jab at small-time horror publishers.

Joe Hill has received many, many awards. This book was originally published in Britain by PS Publishing in 2005, and it won the British Fantasy Award, The International Horror Guild Award, and the Bram Stoker Award for best collection. He is also a 2006 World Fantasy Award winner, for his novella Voluntary Committal, which appears in the same book. He is the author of Heart Shaped Box. Joe, 35, is the son of authors Stephen King and Tabitha King.

Twentieth Century Ghosts contains 15 of the most severely bizarre and original stories ever conceived. Hill has been influenced by Malamud and Kafka. These tales are the stuff of Twilight Zone, seriously creepy and macabre, full of spectral and often perverse violence. Any parent other than Stephen King might be very concerned.

I think my favorite was "Pop Art," a fable of an inflatable teen, and his best friend, who happens to have a nasty father with a vicious dog. Or maybe it was "Voluntary Committal," where seriously schizophrenic Morris Lerner, builder of elaborate basement cardboard box mazes, helps out his older brother by getting rid of a nasty pal.

"Most of my stories are really that simple. They're built around the collision of the real and the impossible..." from an interview with Joe Hill by Daniel M. Jaffe on the web site Biblio Buffet.

NOTE: Many of the stories feature threatened children. If this sort of thing bothers you, stay away.

Armchair Interviews says: Read this one with the lights on.