Horror! Under the Tombstone

This is an eclectic collection of short stories from the 1960s and 1970s - a time when horror was less visceral and torture-based than recent times. This compendium of fantastically readable tales takes the reader back to the time when supernatural themes built the tension as you read, with themes ranging from witchcraft, to soul transference through deals with the devil, a race of interdimensional beings trying to take over the world, to a haunted house to just plain old human nature and greed.

One tale explores the classic Oedipus theme - 'The Inglorious Rise of the Catsmeat Man', in which an abusive father dies, and his wife remarries Hollins the Catsmeat Man. Hollins bought and resold horse-flesh and mutton for cat food, although some of the poorer residents cooked it for themselves. The son and mother form an almost Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett-style relationship and find themselves suddenly producing much higher quality meat for their customers when Hollins disappears...

In 'Grooley', by James Wade, the titular character is at first believed to be an imaginary friend of a young boy, but an unusual imaginary friend as he lives in the toilet. But when the young boy starts flushing jewellery and cash down the toilet for Grooley, his parents lock the toilet door to prevent future recurrences. However, his parents soon find out that Grooley is not imaginary, and that he gets angry if he doesn't receive his gifts...(Amazon review).