Masques Anthology Series

Masques: All New Works of Horror and the Supernatural (Masques #1)

Editor: Williamson, J. N.
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 312pp.
Pub. Date: December 1, 1988
Publisher: Time Warner Paperbacks
Also Pub: December 1988 (Paperback — Futura, UK)

Masques: All New Works of Horror and the Supernatural (Masques #1)

Editor: Williamson, J. N.
Format: Hardcover
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 307pp.
Pub. Date: November 1984
Publisher: Maclay and Associates

Jerry Williamson’s Masques debuted with 21 previously unpublished short stories by the major talents in the horror and dark fantasy industry plus an interview with Richard Matheson.

Table of Contents:

• Nightcrawlers by Robert R. McCammon
• Somebody Like You by Dennis Etchison
• Samhain: Full Moon by Ardath Mayhar
• I Have Made My Bones Secure by Ardath Mayhar
• Third Wind by Richard Christian Matheson
• Redbeard by Gene Wolfe
• The Turn of Time by David B. Silva
• Soft by F. Paul Wilson
• House Mothers by J. N. Williamson
• Party Time by Mort Castle
• Everybody Needs a Little Love by Robert Bloch
• Angel’s Exchange by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
• Down by the Sea Near the Great Big Rock by Joe R. Lansdale
• The First Day of Spring by David Knoles
• Czadek by Ray Russell
• The Old Men Know by Charles L. Grant
• The Substitute by Gahan Wilson
• The Alteration by Dennis Hamilton
• Trust Not a Man by William F. Nolan
• Long After Ecclesiastes by Ray Bradbury
• A Short, Incadescent Life by Ray Russell
• My Grandmother’s Japonicas by Charles Beaumont
• Charles Beaumont: The Magic Man by William F. Nolan
• Richard Matheson (Interview) by J. N. Williamson

Masques Two (Masques #2)

Editor: Williamson, J. N.
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 312pp.
Pub. Date: June 1989
Publisher: Futura, UK

Masques II: All-New Stories of Horror and the Supernatural (Masques #2)

Editor: Williamson, J. N.
Format: Hardcover
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 221pp.
Pub. Date: June 1987
Publisher: Maclay and Associates
Also Pub: November 1989 (Hardcover — Severn House, UK)

Jerry Williamson’s Masques II contains 27 previously unpublished short stories by the major talents in the horror and dark fantasy industry.

Table of Contents:

• Popsy by Stephen King
• Second Sight by Ramsey Campbell
• The Yard by William F. Nolan
• The New Season by Robert Bloch
• The Near Departed by Richard Matheson
• Ice Sculptures by David B. Silva
• Wiping the Slate Clean by G. Wayne Miller
• The Litter by James Kisner
• Splatter: A Cautionary Tale by Douglas E. Winter
• Deathbed by Richard Christian Matheson
• American Gothic by Ray Russell
• Moist Dreams by Stanley Wiater
• Dog, Cat, and Baby by Joe R. Lansdale
• Nothing from Nothing Comes by Katherine Ramsland
• If You Take My Hand, My Son by Mort Castle
• Maurice and Mog by James Herbert
• Fish Story by Dennis Hamilton
• Outsteppin’ Fetchit by Charles R. Saunders
• In the Tank by Ardath Mayhar
• Hidey Hole by Steve Rasnic Tem
• The Night Is Freezing Fast by Thomas F. Monteleone
• Buried Talents by Richard Matheson
• Lake George in High August by John Robert Bensink
• Wordsong by J. N. Williamson
• The Man Who Drowned Puppies by Thomas Sullivan
• The Boy Who Came Back from the Dead by Alan Rodgers

Masques III: All-New Works of Horror and the Supernatural (Masques #3)

Editor: Williamson, J. N.
Format: Hardcover
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 317pp.
Pub. Date: October 1989
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Jerry Williamson’s Masques III contains 28 previously unpublished short stories and 5 poems by the major talents in the horror and dark fantasy industry.

Table of Contents:

• Stories for All Seasons by J. N. Williamson
• Drifter by Ed Gorman
• Reflections by Ray Russell
• The Happy Family by Melissa Mia Hall and Douglas E. Winter
• Dew Drop Inn by D. W. Taylor
• Refractions by Thomas Millstead
• The Spelling Bee by Adobe James
• Better Than One by Paul Dale Anderson
• Ever, Ever, After by Graham Masterton
• Prometheus’ Declaration of Love for the Vulture by Alan Rodgers
• The “New” Horror by J. N. Williamson
• Long Lips by R. Patrick Gates
• Sinners by Ralph Rainwater, Jr.
• Sunday Breakfast by Jeannette M. Hopper
• Third Rail by Wayne Allen Sallee
• Coochie-Coo by Mark McNease
• The Wulgaru by Bill Ryan
• The Luckiest Man in the World by Rex Miller
• The Boneless Doll by Joey Froehlich
• Concerns of the Mind and Spirit by J. N. Williamson
• The Skull by Diane Taylor
• On 42nd St. by William F. Nolan
• Safe by John Maclay
• All But the Ties Eternal by Gary A. Braunbeck
• Pop Is Real Smart by Mort Castle
• When the Wall Cries by Stanley J. Wiater
• Return to the Mutant Rain Forest by Bruce Boston and Robert Frazier
• Creatures of Terror by J. N. Williamson
• The Willies by James Kisner
• The Drinking Party by K. Marie Ramsland
• Chosen One by G. Wayne Miller
• Them Bald-Headed Snays by Joseph A. Citro
• Motherson by Steve Rasnic Tem
• Kill for Me by John Keefauver
• Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites by Dan Simmons
• The Orchid Nursery by Amanda Russell
• Of Absence, Darkness, Death: Things Which Are Not by Ray Bradbury

Masques IV: All-New Works of Horror and the Supernatural (Masques #4)

Editor: Williamson, J. N.
Format: Trade Paperback
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 312pp.
Pub. Date: July 1993
Publisher: Pulphouse

Masques IV: All-New Works of Horror and the Supernatural (Masques #4)

Editor: Williamson, J. N.
Format: Hardcover
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 246pp.
Pub. Date: November 1991
Publisher: Maclay and Associates

Jerry Williamson’s Masques contains 25 previously unpublished short stories by the major talents in the horror and dark fantasy industry plus 1 reprint story, “The Secret” by Steve Allen.

Table of Contents:

• The Pack by Chet Williamson
• Children by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• Sea Gulls by Gahan Wilson
• The Coming of Night, The Passing of Day by Ed Gorman
• Please Don’t Hurt Me by F. Paul Wilson
• Splatter Me an Angel by James Kisner
• Untitled Still Life with Infinity Perspective by Rex Miller
• Pratfall by John Maclay
• The Heart of Helen Day by Graham Masterton
• Nothing But the Best by Brian McNaughton
• Somewhere by Denise Dumars
• Milestone’s Face by Gary Brandner
• Julia’s Touch by David T. Connolly
• Savages by Darrell Schweitzer
• The Collapse of Civilization by Ray Russell
• Animal Husbandry by Bruce Boston
• Sounds by Kathryn Ptacek
• Whispers of the Unrepentant by T. Winter-Damon
• Obscene Phone Calls by John Coyne
• The Children Never Lie by Cameron Nolan
• The Other Woman by Lois Tilton
• Love, Hate, and the Beautiful Junkyard Sea by Mort Castle
• Sources of the Nile by Rick Hautala
• Collaborationists by J. N. Williamson
• My Private Memoirs of the Hoffer Stigmata Pandemic by Dan Simmons
• The Secret by Steve Allen

Masques V (Masques #5)

Editors: Williamson, Jerry N. and Braunbeck, Gary A.
Format: Hardcover
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 350pp.
Pub. Date: May 2006
Publisher: Gauntlet, Inc.

Jerry Williamson’s Masques is back, and fans of the series will be glad to hear that the series is as strong as ever, with Volume V serving up twenty-nine stories that run the gamut from good to great, all providing a satisfying reading experience. Editor Williamson has provided a winning mix of new and established authors, artfully arranging the tales for maximum impact.

Standout stories include: “Recall” by Ray Garton, wherein a businessman is forced to reassess his values; “A Thousand Words” by Judi Rohrig, a tale of a photographer who suffers to perfect her art; “How Sweet It Was” by Thomas F. Monteleone, a story which focuses on the power of childhood memories and on insidious influence of television on young minds; and “Waters Dark and Deep” by Tim Waggoner, a claustrophobic tale in which the heroine realizes that although “pressure makes diamonds,” it can also utterly crush things as well.

Sadly, this is the last Masques to be edited by the late Jerry Williamson, who indicated in his introduction that this would have been his last volume at any rate. Hopefully, someone as protective and knowledgeable of the field as Williamson (maybe Braunbeck, whom Williamson certainly held in high esteem) will pick up the torch that Williamson so ably held aloft these past decades, carrying this important and memorable anthology series into a bright future.

Table of Contents:

• Wandering the Borderlands by Poppy Z. Brite
• Haircut by Richard Matheson
• Recall by Ray Garton
• Ghosts in Autumn by Christopher Conlon
• The Black Wench by Ray Russell
• FYI by Mort Castle
• Phantom of the Rainbow by Thomas Sullivan
• Just A Little, Just Enough by Sharon Cullers
• The Net by Jack Ketchum and P.D. Cacek
• Disappearing Act by Barry Hoffman
• Stirrings by Kealan Patrick Burke
• The Sheets Were Clean and Dry by Lucy A. Snyder
• Saintkiller by Joe Nassise
• In A Hand Or Face by Gary A. Braunbeck
• Moths in Damp Grass by Tracy Knight
• A Thousand Words by Judi Rohrig
• Making Faces by Tom Piccirilli
• For Whom We Mourn by Geoff Cooper
• Atomic Possums by George Ibarra
• Mr. Handlebars by Mark Powers
• In the Empty Country by Ron Horsley
• Action Figures by John Maclay
• How Sweet It Was by Tom Monteleone
• Waters Dark and Deep by Tim Waggoner
• Making Cabinets by William F. Nolan
• King Charlie by Chet Williamson
• Intent To Deceive by Ed Gorman
• The Beautiful Shave by Ray Bradbury
• Outcry by J.N. Williamson

Dark Masques

Editor: Williamson, J. N.
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 508pp.
Pub. Date: December 1, 2001
Publisher: Kensington/Pinnacle

An omnibus collection of Jerry Williamson’s Masques and Masques II.

Table of Contents:

• Nightcrawlers by Robert R. McCammon
• Somebody Like You by Dennis Etchison
• Samhain: Full Moon by Ardath Mayhar
• I Have Made My Bones Secure by Ardath Mayhar
• Third Wind by Richard Christian Matheson
• Redbeard by Gene Wolfe
• The Turn of Time by David B. Silva
• Soft by F. Paul Wilson
• House Mothers by J. N. Williamson
• Party Time by Mort Castle
• Everybody Needs a Little Love by Robert Bloch
• Angel’s Exchange by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
• Down by the Sea Near the Great Big Rock by Joe R. Lansdale
• The First Day of Spring by David Knoles
• Czadek by Ray Russell
• The Old Men Know by Charles L. Grant
• The Substitute by Gahan Wilson
• The Alteration by Dennis Hamilton
• Trust Not a Man by William F. Nolan
• Long After Ecclesiastes by Ray Bradbury
• A Short, Incadescent Life by Ray Russell
• My Grandmother’s Japonicas by Charles Beaumont
• Charles Beaumont: The Magic Man by William F. Nolan
• Richard Matheson (Interview) by J. N. Williamson
• Popsy by Stephen King
• Second Sight by Ramsey Campbell
• The Yard by William F. Nolan
• The New Season by Robert Bloch
• The Near Departed by Richard Matheson
• Ice Sculptures by David B. Silva
• Wiping the Slate Clean by G. Wayne Miller
• The Litter by James Kisner
• Splatter: A Cautionary Tale by Douglas E. Winter
• Deathbed by Richard Christian Matheson
• American Gothic by Ray Russell
• Moist Dreams by Stanley Wiater
• Dog, Cat, and Baby by Joe R. Lansdale
• Nothing from Nothing Comes by Katherine Ramsland
• If You Take My Hand, My Son by Mort Castle
• Maurice and Mog by James Herbert
• Fish Story by Dennis Hamilton
• Outsteppin’ Fetchit by Charles R. Saunders
• In the Tank by Ardath Mayhar
• Hidey Hole by Steve Rasnic Tem
• The Night Is Freezing Fast by Thomas F. Monteleone
• Buried Talents by Richard Matheson
• Lake George in High August by John Robert Bensink
• Wordsong by J. N. Williamson
• The Man Who Drowned Puppies by Thomas Sullivan
• The Boy Who Came Back from the Dead by Alan Rodgers

Darker Masques

Editor: Williamson, J. N.
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Type: Anthology
Page Count: 576pp.
Pub. Date: December 1, 2002
Publisher: Kensington/Pinnacle

An omnibus collection of Jerry Williamson’s Masques III and Masques IV.

Table of Contents:

• Drifter by Ed Gorman
• Reflections by Ray Russell
• The Happy Family by Melissa Mia Hall and Douglas E. Winter
• Dew Drop Inn by D. W. Taylor
• Refractions by Thomas Millstead
• The Spelling Bee by Adobe James
• Better Than One by Paul Dale Anderson
• Ever, Ever, After by Graham Masterton
• Prometheus’ Declaration of Love for the Vulture by Alan Rodgers
• Long Lips by R. Patrick Gates
• Sinners by Ralph Rainwater, Jr.
• Sunday Breakfast by Jeannette M. Hopper
• Third Rail by Wayne Allen Sallee
• Coochie-Coo by Mark McNease
• The Wulgaru by Bill Ryan
• The Luckiest Man in the World by Rex Miller
• The Boneless Doll by Joey Froehlich
• The Skull by Diane Taylor
• On 42nd St. by William F. Nolan
• Safe by John Maclay
• All But the Ties Eternal by Gary A. Braunbeck
• Pop Is Real Smart by Mort Castle
• When the Wall Cries by Stanley J. Wiater
• Return to the Mutant Rain Forest by Bruce Boston and Robert Frazier
• The Willies by James Kisner
• The Drinking Party by K. Marie Ramsland
• Chosen One by G. Wayne Miller
• Them Bald-Headed Snays by Joseph A. Citro
• Motherson by Steve Rasnic Tem
• Kill for Me by John Keefauver
• Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites by Dan Simmons
• The Orchid Nursery by Amanda Russell
• Of Absence, Darkness, Death: Things Which Are Not by Ray Bradbury
• The Pack by Chet Williamson
• Children by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• Sea Gulls by Gahan Wilson
• The Coming of Night, The Passing of Day by Ed Gorman
• Please Don’t Hurt Me by F. Paul Wilson
• Splatter Me an Angel by James Kisner
• Untitled Still Life with Infinity Perspective by Rex Miller
• Pratfall by John Maclay
• The Heart of Helen Day by Graham Masterton
• Nothing But the Best by Brian McNaughton
• Somewhere by Denise Dumars
• Milestone’s Face by Gary Brandner
• Julia’s Touch by David T. Connolly
• Savages by Darrell Schweitzer
• The Collapse of Civilization by Ray Russell
• Animal Husbandry by Bruce Boston
• Sounds by Kathryn Ptacek
• Whispers of the Unrepentant by T. Winter-Damon
• Obscene Phone Calls by John Coyne
• The Children Never Lie by Cameron Nolan
• The Other Woman by Lois Tilton
• Love, Hate, and the Beautiful Junkyard Sea by Mort Castle
• Sources of the Nile by Rick Hautala
• Collaborationists by J. N. Williamson
• My Private Memoirs of the Hoffer Stigmata Pandemic by Dan Simmons
• The Secret by Steve Allen