The October Country by Ray Bradbury

A must-read for fans of the dead season.

October Country . . . that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and mid-nights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain. . .

Ray Bradbury’s second short story collection is back in print, its chilling encounters with funhouse mirrors, parasitic accident-watchers, and strange poker chips intact. Both sides of Bradbury’s vaunted childhood nostalgia are also on display, in the celebratory “Uncle Einar,” and haunting “The Lake,” the latter a fine elegy to childhood loss. This edition features a new introduction by Bradbury, an invaluable essay on writing, wherein the author tells of his “Theater of Morning Voices,” and, by inference, encourages you to listen to the same murmurings in yourself. And has any writer anywhere ever made such good use of exclamation marks!? (Illustrated by Joe Mugnaini.)

Contents:

· The Dwarf · ss Fantastic Jan/Feb ’54
· The Next in Line · nv Dark Carnival, Arkham House: Sauk City, WI, 1947
· The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse · ss Beyond Fantasy Fiction Mar ’54
· Skeleton · ss Weird Tales Sep ’45
· The Jar · ss Weird Tales Nov ’44
· The Lake · ss Weird Tales May ’44
· The Emissary · ss Dark Carnival, Arkham House: Sauk City, WI, 1947
· Touched with Fire [“Shopping for Death”] · ss Maclean’s Jun 1 ’54
· The Small Assassin · ss Dime Mystery Magazine Nov ’46
· The Crowd · ss Weird Tales May ’43
· Jack-in-the-Box · ss Dark Carnival, Arkham House: Sauk City, WI, 1947
· The Scythe · ss Weird Tales Jul ’43
· Uncle Einar · ss Dark Carnival, Arkham House: Sauk City, WI, 1947
· The Wind · ss Weird Tales Mar ’43
· The Man Upstairs · ss Harper’s Mar ’47
· There Was an Old Woman · ss Weird Tales Jul ’44
· The Cistern · ss Mademoiselle May ’47
· Homecoming · ss Mademoiselle Oct ’46
· The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone · ss Charm Jul ’54