Chamber of Horrors by Robert Bloch

 

(pb; 1966: story anthology)

 

Overall review

Chamber is an excellent, twelve-story collection by an often-excellent author. All the tightly written and twisty tales shine, even if Bloch-familiar readers guess/sense the character- and fate-based turns within the works. Worth owning, this—a master class in effective, get-regularly-published writing.

 

Review, story by story

“The Living End”: Nobel Prize-winning scientist Herbert Zane is unpleasantly distracted from his groundbreaking work by his shrewish wife (Hilda), in a life-altering way. While some readers may guess how Herbert might be undone, it’s still—especially for the period it was originally published (1963)—effective, clever, and rings true.

 

“The Headhunter”: Otto Kranz, an axe-wielding executioner for the SS (and full of wonder at the mysteries of life and death) risks death to seek answers to nagging, core questions. Good story.

 

“Impractical Joker”: A heartbroken, disgruntled bartender (Teddy), working his final shift at the Fun House (a bar), goes for broke (im)practical joke-wise. For Bloch, this is a relatively gentle work shade-wise, but still moralistic (in a good way) with its twist(s).

 

“Pride Goes—”: Alice Aiken, an adulteress, plots her husband’s murder, and finds even the most no-fuss killing too easily becomes tangled. Masterfully foreshadowed finish, one of my favorite stories in this anthology—and one of my all-time favorite Bloch stories.

 

“The Screaming People”: A post-car accident amnesiac (Steve Edmundson), dream-led by “The Voice,” suspects he might’ve committed a murder. Thankfully, there’s his loving wife (Roxie) and Dr. Carl Wagram (a neuropsychiatrist) to guide him back to complete sanity. . . maybe.

Bloch, again, masterfully mines noir tropes and converts them into pulpy, twisty gold with his deftly placed foreshadowing, gray-shade characters, sly humor and overall excellent writing.

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“Fat Chance”: A longtime-married husband plots his wife’s (Mary) death after she puts on seriously unhealthy weight and he meets Frances, a stimulating, weight-healthy woman. Readers familiar with Bloch’s writing style and structure may see what “Fat Chance”’s twist-finish is likely to be, but it’s still the work of a superb writer spinning a worthwhile, clever tale.

 

“The Unpardonable Crime”: Sherry,  a desperate, lowlife actress, returns to her husband (Roger, a film director) after disappearing for three years. She hopes to revitalize her career, but things have changed in ways she couldn’t foresee. Fun, Hollywood-dark read, offbeat and excellent twist.

 

“Method for Murder”: Madness—contagious?—dominates this tale about a woman (Alice), sick of her husband’s obsession with his thriller work; she finds an illicit and dangerous way to deal with it. Fans of Bloch’s 1982 novel Psycho II might especially appreciate “Murder.”

 

“Two of a Kind”: A wealthy man (Preston Lambert) offers a young couple (Mary Dexter and her husband) a life of luxury if they’ll work with him on what seems like mad lark. Memorable, great twist-finish in this story.

 

“Untouchable”: Race Harmon, an arrogant and racist filmmaker in India, goes stir crazy beyond his usual, drunken actions and slurs (which are language-explicit and may be shocking for sheltered/sensitive readers). This being a Bloch tale, there’s a heavy price to be paid for such behavior. Nasty, blunt and excellent story.

 

“Beelzebub”: A fly torments a Hollywood writer (Howard). Fun story.

 

“ ‘Frozen Fear’”: Walter Krass realizes that his Cajun wife (Ruby) intends to kill him, so he tries to respond in kind—but murder isn’t always the answer, nor is it the end of certain situations. Good, solid work.