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I M 1 ostl GaHer wen spooky stories for youiig people :?«3fev . ' '- <m. ! Alfred Hitchcock's Ghostly Gallery "This is a book of ghost stories," says Alfred Hitch- cock in his introduction, "and is designed both to frighten and instruct." Mr. Hitchcock has selected stories by nine fa- mous ghost writers to prove his point. To see if he succeeds, read on Alfred Hitchcock's 1 f*\ jj lustrated by Fred Banbery Random House New York © Copyright, 1962, by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in New York by Random House, Inc., and simultaneously in Toronto, Canada, by Random House of Canada, Limited. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 62-14298 Manufactured in the United States of America The editor gratefully acknowledges the invaluable assistance of Robert Arthur in the preparation of this volume and thanks the following for permission to include copyrighted material: A. P. Watt & Son and the executors of the Estate of the late H. G. Wells for "The Truth About Pyecraft," from Short Stories of H. G. Wells; Brandt & Brandt for "Miss Emmeline Takes Off" by Walter R. Brooks, first published in The Saturday Evening Post, Copyright, 1945, by The Curtis Publishing Company; Robert Arthur for "The Haunted Trailer," Copy- right, 1941, by Weird Tales under the original title of "Death Thumbs A Ride," Robert Arthur and Popular Publications, Inc. for "The Wonderful Day," Copy- right, 1940, as "Miracle on Main Street" by Popular Publications, Inc. and "Ob- stinate Uncle Otis," Copyright, 1941, by Popular Publications; Harold Matson Company for "Housing Problem" by Henry Kuttner, Copyright, 1944, by Street and Smith and reprinted from Charm Magazine; Arkham House for "In A Dim Room" from The Fourth Book of Jorkens, Copyright, 1948, by Lord Dunsany; Stephen Aske, literary agent, for "The Waxwork" by A. M. Burrage, © Stephen Aske, London; Willis Kingsley Wing and The Public Trustee, Administrator of the Estate of the late Algernon Blackwood, for "The Valley of the Beasts" from The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories, Copyright, 1921, by E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., renewed 1949 by Algernon Blackwood. iv Introduction Good evening, and welcome to Alfred Hitchcock's Ghostly Gallery. This is your perennial host speaking. It seems to me that I am continually introducing things. Through my motion pictures, I introduce new stars; in television, I introduce the commercials, and now—here I am again. In this instance, I presume, you would call me a ghost host. I don't want to appear disloyal to television, but I think reading will be good for you. After all, your television tube may burn out some day. Furthermore, you need practice for reading the subtitles in those foreign movies. But don't be discouraged. You'll get used to reading. Turning all these pages may be difficult, but the exercise will do you good. While we were preparing this book there was one mad mo- ment when someone suggested that we add a sound track. This is fine for furnishing laughter for comedy television shows, but assorted screams, wails, moans and clanking chains aren't good in book form. Oh, the problem was solved tech- nically, but there was still one drawback. Public librarians became quite overwrought because people were opening the books in the reading rooms and the din was tremendous. As a result you will read these stories as they were meant to be read—in stereophonic silence. But now I should say a word about the type of story you will find lurking between these covers. After all, I don't want you to begin this book under false pretenses. This is not David Copperfield or Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. This is a book of ghost stories and is designed both to frighten and instruct. You see, my aim is to teach you about ghosts and I feel you will be a very sympathetic audience. Let me explain. The two most misunderstood groups in our society are teenagers and ghosts. When an adult hears a screech (of tires?) sounding through the night air, who gets the blame? When hub caps mysteriously disappear, whose fault is it? I am sure you are already feeling more sympathetic toward our ectoplasmic friends. A ghost's life is not as happy and carefree as you would think. They must live in dark, damp places. They are usually denied human companionship. How often have you delib- erately avoided some secluded spot simply because you knew a ghost was haunting the place? For shame! Think how lonely he must have been. —And this is precisely why they are mischievous. They are simply trying to attract attention. I'm sure you have done the same thing. —When you were much younger, of course. My message is simply this: Be kind to ghosts. And what- ever you do, don't scream when you see one. People are always doing this to the poor souls and turning them into nervous wrecks. But now it is time for you to browse through my gallery. This is not a one-man show. The gallery is featuring nine of the very best ghost writers. Pick out a story and read it. That will make you one-tenth of a ghost. Then proceed with the others. I know you will enjoy yourselves, and the next time you see my friendly apparition rising from inside your tele- vision tube, I trust you will feel a new friendship toward a fellow spirit. —Alfred Hitchcock vi Contents v Introduction 1 Miss Emmeline Takes Off Walter Brooks 20 The Valley of the Beasts Algernon Blackwood 43 The Haunted Trailer Robert Arthur 64 The Upper Berth F. Marion Crawford 88 The Wonderful Day Robert Arthur 120 The Truth About Pyecraft H. G. Wells 133 Housing Problem Henry Kuttner 151 In a Dim Room Lord Dunsany 156 Obstinate Uncle Otis Robert Arthur 167 The Waxwork A. M. Burrage 182 The Isle of Voices Robert Louis Stevenson vii Alfred Hitchcock's Ghostly Gallery Miss Emmeline Takes Off Walter Brooks When the old Valiant house on the lake was sold for taxes, Miss Emmeline Valiant went to live at Mrs. Purdy's. She took very little with her. She took Thomas, her cat, and her family portraits. The rest of the things were sold to Mr. Maule, who had bought the house. Mr. Maule offered her a lump sum for everything. It was not a generous offer, although it was made with many pro- testations of sympathy and respect and with a sort of codicil in which Mr. Maule said that he was sorry he was not a rich man so that he could offer her more. Miss Emmeline replied that she did not see that his financial standing had any rela- tion to the value of the goods, and that, in any case, neither emotional nor financial hypocrisy was necessary, since all she wanted was to get it over with. If he would give her a check the matter was closed. So he wrote the check. Afterward he did a lot of grumbling about ingratitude and stiff-necked pride, but nobody paid much attention. For every- body in the village knew that Miss Emmeline had several 1 2 Alfred Hitchcock's Ghostly Gallery times in the past offered him the house at a fair price, and each time he had refused, preferring to buy it in cheap at a forced sale. And indeed it was suspected that it was his in- fluence that had forced the sale. Of course, nobody dared say this to Mr. Maule. Although he had retired from active business, he was rich and influen- tial. He had given the village a park, and it was known that he intended to do a lot of entertaining, which is good for local trade and also for people who like to go to parties. Also, the old Valiant house itself was so enveloped in tradi- tion that it was felt whoever occupied it was by that fact alone entitled to respect. So when this story begins it is evening and Mr. Maule is sitting in the Valiant house gloating, and Miss Emmeline is sitting in her room at Mrs. Purdy's stroking Thomas, her cat, and wondering what she will live on when Mr. Maule's check is used up. The Valiants were one of those families of early settlers who colonized the country by moving slowly westward from the Eastern seaboard. The movement was not even. The colonists progressed like grasshoppers, in a series of hops. Sometimes they would hop several times in a generation and sometimes there would be a century between hops. The Valiants had been hundred-year hoppers. They came over in sixteen-something to Massachu- setts and then in seventeen-something they had hopped to Connecticut, and in 1810 they had hopped into New York State. One granduncle had hopped on into Ohio and dis- appeared, but the rest of the family had stayed put and had lived and died in the old house on the lake. All but Miss Emmeline, who now sat pondering past glories and future doubts. All at once Miss Emmeline jumped up and said, "Oh!" For she had suddenly remembered that, in the confusion and un- happiness of leaving the home where she had lived all her life, she had forgotten to bring with her something more pre- Miss Emmeline Takes Off 3 cious to her than the portraits or even Thomas, her cat. She had forgotten the queer little flat trunk which was said to have belonged to an ancestress who had figured in one of the New England witch trials.

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