I look forward to revisiting these little worlds again someday, and I highly recommend everyone who enjoys short, twisted fiction give this a chance. 20th Century Ghosts earns a venerated spot on my bookshelf, where all the spines are worn out and the pages are faded from multiple reads. I've been a little critical of some aspects of Joe Hill's writing, namely in regards to pacing in his longer work, but this collection of stories is probably the best demonstration of his talents and limitless imagination, aside from his latest novel NOS4A2. The others were also enjoyable reads, but felt a tad abbreviated. There were a few other standouts, like 'In the Rundown,' about a fired video store employee stumbling on a chilling scene of infanticide, and 'Bobby Conroy Comes Back to Life,' a cute and grungy love story about an estranged couple who find love again while playing a couple of zombie extras on the set of a George Romero film. Only they seem to take the people in them to horrifying places that we can only guess through very chilling and subtle cues are alternate dimensions of some sort. Nolan is telling the story of his brother Morris, an autistic kid who spends all his time in their basement while growing up, building elaborate box forts. It reminds me very much of a modern and more personal twist on King's short story 'The End of the Whole Mess' from Nightmares & Dreamscapes combined with King's 'From a Buick 8.' It's the tale of two brothers. 'Voluntary Committal:' This is Hill channeling his father in a big way. Imagine being ripped out of your own head and dropped into someone else's nightmare, complete with all their fears and personal contexts. This story requires multiple readings, and even then I'm not sure I would completely get it. I know this sounds like a major overstatement, but it is 100% accurate. 'My Father's Mask:' Never in my life have I been so simultaneously confounded and terrified by a piece of fiction. The last page of this story chilled my blood, and it's the one entry in the book that I wished was a novel. 'The Cape:' Think Unbreakable, but about the birth of a supervillain. Once I sat back and stopped waiting for the punch line, I was in awe of Hill's balls.

But this inflatable friend speaks and has parents and is prone to irreparable damage from dogs. 'Pop Art:' so deliciously committed to its weirdness that Hill doesn't bother to explain why the main character's best friend is inflatable, like something you would buy from a gag shop. This is an utterly brilliant and weird and downright creepy batch of stories, some so memorable that I think they changed me a little and made me want to be a better writer.

I can't remember a short story collection I've enjoyed more since Stephen King's Everything's Eventual.

20th century ghost joe hill