More Stories My Mother Never Told Me (March 1977)

Alfred Hitchcock Presnts: More Stories My Mother Never Told Me (March 1977), Dell, 0-440-15816-8, $1.25

INTRODUCTION
Unless you began this book at the back and have been reading your way forward, you have doubtless perceived that it is entitled More Stories My Mother Never Told Me. Permit me to observe that this is an absolutely accurate description of the contents. I am prepared to testify in any court of the land that none of these stories was ever recounted to me in any form by my mother.
The reason for this is quite simple. None of them had been written at the time when my mother was telling stories to me.
Still, I do not think that my mother would have told me any of the tales I have gathered here, even if they had been available to her. And I do not recommend that you pass them indiscriminately along to your own younger offspring. They are stories for the developed taste, one that has left behind it the delights of the blunt instrument, the scream in the night, the poison in the decanter of port.
I believe it has become public knowledge that I am addicted to tales that brush the emotions of the reader with a touch of terror, pluck at his sensitivities with a haunting horror, or set his pulse pounding with suspense. I have gone so far as to issue volumes of stories in which I have grouped narratives that seemed to me to distill these emotions in their finest essence.
But in this book I shall not presume to suggest what reactions these stories should call forth from you, the reader. Nor, despite great temptation, will I call your attention to any specific tales. These stories should be approached without forewarning or preconception. Only in that way may their fullest impact be received by sensitive nervous systems.
The one thing that I can promise is that you are in for a full gamut of emotional reactions - barring, of course, the tender sentiments, with which I will have no truck. I have even included a tale or two primarily for entertainment. But do not look upon this as a sign of weakness. Even in these tales there are underlying frissons to give a curious relish to the reading. And there are other stories which I consider well-nigh diabolical. Furthermore-
But someone has said that the best introduction is the shortest introduction.
Onward, then!
ALFRED J. MTCHCOCK
***

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION Alfred Hitchcock 9
THE WIND Ray Bradbury 11
CONGO Stuart Cloete 21
DIP IN THE POOL Roald Dahl 30
I DO NOT HEAR YOU, SIR Avram Davidson 42
THE ARBUTUS COLLAR Jeremiah Digges 52
THE MAN WHO WAS EVERYWHERE Edward D. Hoch 62
COURTESY OF THE ROAD Mack Morriss 66
REMAINS TO BE SEEN Jack Ritchie 70
THE MAN WHO SOLD ROPE TO THE GNOLES Idris Seabright 80
LOST DOG Henry Slesar 85
SLIME Joseph Payne Brennan 94
HOW LOVE CAME TO PROFESSOR GUILDEA Robert Hichens 120
NATURAL SELECTION Gilbert Thomas 167
SIMONE Joan Vatsek 176
***

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
"The Wind," Ray Bradbury. Reprinted by permission of Har- old Matson Company, Inc. Copyright 1943 by Ray Bradbury. Copyright renewed by the author.
"Congo," Stuart Cloete. Reprinted by permission of Story magazine. Copyright 1943 by Story Magazine, Inc.
'Dip in the Pool," Roald Dahl. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., from Someone Like You by Roald Dahl. Copyright 1952 by Roald Dahl.
"I Do Not Hear You, Sir," Avram Davidson. Reprinted by permission of Kirby McCauley, Literary Agent. Copyright 1957 by Mercury Press, Inc.
"The Arbutus Collar," Jeremiah Digges. Reprinted by permission of Story magazine. Copyright 1936 by Story Magazine, Inc.
"The Man Who Was Everywhere," Edward D. Hoch. Reprinted by permission of the author. Originally appeared in Manhunt magazine. Copyright 1957 by Flying Eagle Publications, Inc.
"Courtesy of the Road," Mack Morriss. Reprinted by permission of William Morris Agency, Inc. Originally appeared in Collier's magazine. Copyright 1949 by Crowell-Collier Publishing Company.
"Remains To Be Seen," Jack Ritchie. Reprinted by permission of the author and Larry Stemig, Agent, and the copyright owner. Originally appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. Copyright 1961 by H.S.D. Publications, Inc.
"The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles," Idris Seabright. Reprinted by permission of McIntosh and Otis, Inc. Originally ap- peared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Copyright 1951 by Mercury Press,.Inc.
"Lost Dog," Henry Slesar. Reprinted by permission of Theron Raines, Agent. Originally appeared in Michael Shaynes Mystery Magazine. Copyright 1957 by Henry Slesar.
"Slime," Joseph Payne Brennan. Reprinted by permission
the author and his agents, Scott Meredith Literary Agency, Inc., 845 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022. Re- printed from Nine Horrors and a.Dream, published by Arkham House. Copyright 1958 by Joseph Payne Brennan.
"How Love Came to Professor Guildea," Robert Hichens. Reprinted from Tongues of Conscience, by Robert Hichens. Reprinted by permission of the owner of the copyright, per A.P. Watt & Son, Hastings House, London, England. Copyright by Robert Hichens.
"Natural Selection," Gilbert Thomas. Reprinted by permission of the author. Originally appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Copyright 1950 by The American Mercury, Inc. (now Davis Publications, Inc.).
"Simone," Joan Vatsek. Reprinted by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd. Originally appeared in Today's Woman. Copyright 1949 by Fawcett Publications, Inc.