New Writings in Horror and Supernatural Vol III arrives like a séance in hardback. The title belongs to another age: 1971, when David A. Sutton’s original Sphere Books anthologies appeared, then vanished, leaving the numbering permanently stuck at two. But Stephen Jones, the most decorated editor in British horror history, never forgot them.

Four World Fantasy Awards, five Bram Stoker Awards, twenty-one British Fantasy Awards, a Hugo nod, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horror Writers Association later, he has resurrected the series for PS Publishing. This third volume lands in October 2025, 336 pages, cover art by Smith & Jones, and a table of contents that reads like a secret handshake among the genre’s elite.

The anthology is a peculiar beast. Done poorly, it’s a filing cabinet of misfit stories. But done well, it’s a conversation between generations of dark fiction writers, a snapshot of a genre’s preoccupations at a single moment in time. Nobody understands this better than Jones. His career has been a siege on the boundaries of horror editing: twenty-nine volumes of Best New Horror, the definitive Mammoth Book of Vampires and Zombies, and a collaboration with Kim Newman on Horror: 100 Best Books.

New Writings in Horror and Supernatural Vol III carries that same ambition. The line-up is staggering. Reggie Oliver, whose quietly devastating ghost stories have earned him a cult following, contributes “Crocodile Jam,” a tale set in a private school where a teacher becomes obsessed with a bizarre conundrum. Lisa Morton, a six-time Bram Stoker Award winner, offers “Forgetting,” a nightmarish vision of a world losing its memory.

Graham Masterton and Karolina Mogielska collaborate on “My Grandfather, the Grave Digger,” which promises to explore unsettling events between life and death. And that’s before you reach Ramsey Campbell, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Michael Marshall Smith, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Steve Rasnic Tem and David J. Schow.

New Writings in Horror and Supernatural Vol III Review: Stephen Jones Revives a Classic

Catching up with the first two volumes (actually still available) of the ongoing PS Publishing series of horror anthologies, veteran editor Stephen Jones returns to engross and scare dark fantasy lovers with a bunch of tales penned by new and old masters of the genre.

All in all I enjoyed very much the book,although, in my opinion,  some of the more celebrated authors did not provide material consistent with their usual high level.

I will briefly comment upon the stories that I have especially enjoyed.

Prolific playwright and author Reggie Oliver ( one of my favorite authors of dark fiction) contributes “ Crocodile Jam” an extremely obscure and deeply disturbing tale set in a private school and featuring a teacher obsessed by a weird conandrum.

“ The House of the Horse” by Tyler Jones is a really excellent story where an unfaithful estate agent has to face unexpected, dire developments of his infidelity.

Lisa Morton provides “ Forgetting”, a nightmarish tale depicting the dramatic effects of a general loss of memory spreading all over with terrible consequences

Graham Masterton & Karolina Mogielska pen “ My grandfather,the grave digger” a superb, extremely dark piece where a gravedigger experiences obscure, deeply unsettling events taking place between life and death.

The other distinguished contributors are: David A Sutton, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Garry Kilworth, Mia Dalia, CC Adams, Caitlin R Kiernan, Scott Bradfield, Keith Rosson, Steve Rasnic Tem, David J Schow, Ramsey Campbell, Michael Marshall Smith, Sharon Gosling.

New Writings in Horror and Supernatural Vol III : Stephen Jones

Back in 1971, British publisher Sphere Books issued New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural edited by David A. Sutton, one of many original paperback horror anthologies that were appearing in newsagents and bookshops up and down the country during that time. They followed it up the next year with another volume of new horror fiction before the series was abruptly terminated prior to the third volume appearing (it was subsequently published by another imprint under a different title).

However, that first volume had a profound impact on a young horror fan who had recently left school, and helped shape his future ambitions in the genre. Now, more than fifty years later, multiple award-winning editor Stephen Jones is reviving the title for PS Publishing, carrying on the numbering from those first two volumes (which themselves are available again as a trade paperback omnibus).

Once again, New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural is showcasing some of the very best original stories by authors both relatively new to the field and those who are established names in the genre. It may be an old title, but horror has a new home . . .

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION Stephen Jones
ANCIENT REMAINS David A. Sutton
THE FISH PLATFORM Simon Kurt Unsworth
THE MURDERS IN THE BOIS SOMBRE Garry Kilworth
FEAR, INC. Mia Dalia
THE LEGACY C.C. Adams
CROCODILE JAM Reggie Oliver
DARK-ADAPTED EYES Caitlín R. Kiernan
THE HOUSE OF THE HORSE Tyler Jones
DEATH BLOWS® Scott Bradfield
THE MONSTER Keith Rosson
FORGETTING Lisa Morton
MY GRANDFATHER,THE GRAVE DIGGER Graham Masterton and Karolina Mogielska
FALLING Steve Rasnic Tem
INDENTURE David J. Schow
CHARLIE WORDSWORTH AND HIS HOST OF FUCKING DAFFODILS Michael Marshall Smith
NOTHING BUT PICTURES Ramsey Campbell
ENDING IN RUIN Sharon Gosling