Magic Terror cover art

Magic Terror

7 Tales

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About this listen

 A collection of seven exquisite tales about living, dying, and the horror that lies in between, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Story

“Elegant, terrifying, provocative.”—The Washington Post Book World

Welcome to a new kind of terror as Peter Straub leads us into the outer reaches of the psyche. Here the master of the macabre is at his absolute best in seven chilling stories that explore the darkest depths of the human mind.

“Bunny Is Good Bread” takes us into the mind of a small boy trapped in grotesque circumstances to portray the creation of a serial killer in a manner that compels pity, sorrow, comprehension, and grief—as well as judgement.

“Hunger, an Introduction,” narrated by the ghost of a pompous, self-pitying murderer, evokes a profoundly beautiful vision of earthly life, one appreciated far more by the dead than the living.

The award-winning novella “Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff,” a masterpiece of black comedy, draws upon Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” to create a revenge tale in which torture is a moral art and the revenger undergoes a transforming, albeit painful, education.

The terrain of these extraordinary stories is marked by brutality, heartbreak, despair, wonder, and an unexpected humor that allows empathy to blossom within the most unlikely contexts.©2000 Peter Straub; (P)2000 Random House, Inc. Random House AudioBooks A Division of Random House, Inc.; Original Cover Photograph by Peter Rodger Anthologies & Short Stories Dark Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Ghosts Horror Short Stories Suspense Thriller & Suspense Scary Haunted Exciting Heartfelt Witty Comedy

Critic reviews

"When Peter Straub turns on all his jets, no one in the scream factory can equal him."
-Stephen King

"No one can speak the unspeakable as gruesomely as Peter Straub. The most magical thing about Magic Terror is its sheer bloodcurdling range: a variety of genre-defying tales, no two of the seven remotely resembling each other except in the brilliance of the invention and the writing, and in Straub's power to spook you out of your wits."
-Donald Harington, author of When Angels Rest

"I have been a fan of the novelist Peter Straub ever since Ghost Story. That he can be just as compelling and scary in brief bites is a welcome revelation. Seven wonderful tales."
-Donald Westlake, author of The Hook and The Ax
All stars
Most relevant
...if you like short stories in the Horror genre - this will be a very interesting one for you and a very, very different format! It took me a while to work out what was going on! A lot of very sophisticated tales are contained within - and more than a few of them will make you cringe and look over your shoulder!!!

A crazy book of Top Terror Tales

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The sharp intake of breath by Ron McLarty throughout the narrative made it very difficult to listen to. Not very enjoyable

Very hard to listen to

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