Search Worlds Without End

In his lifetime, Robert Bloch wrote more than four hundred short stories and a dozen novels, including some of the most celebrated works of psychological suspense and horror of the twentieth century. When Robert Bloch was dying, hundreds of people - fans, fellow writers, people he had been close to for decades, and others whom he had never met - wrote to thank him for his work and his impact on their lives. Their words were the inspiration for Robert Bloch: Appreciations of the Master.

This book, then, is a collection unlike any other. Thirty writers, filmmakers, and actors have opened their hearts to speak about Robert Bloch, his influence on their careers, and his friendship. The book presents examples of the very best of Bloch's short fiction, including the rarely reprinted "The Dead Don't Die!" An excerpt from an unproduced screenplay by Bloch, adapting Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson's Hoka!, appears here for the first time anywhere. Bloch's nonfiction is not neglected, for this volume also includes one of his articles on the role of violence and gore in film, "The Clown at Midnight."

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - essay by Ricia Mainhardt
• Tribute - (1984) - essay by Douglas E. Winter
• Our Bob - (1995) - essay by Frederik Pohl
• Introduction to "The Cloak" - (1995) - essay by Peter Straub
• The Cloak - (1939) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "Beetles" - (1995) - essay by Gahan Wilson
• Beetles - (1938) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Tribute - (1995) - essay by Andre Norton
• Tribute - (1995) - essay by Christopher Lee
• Introduction to "I Do Not Love Thee, Dr. Fell" - (1995) - essay by William F. Nolan
• I Do Not Love Thee, Dr. Fell - (1955) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "Enoch" - (1995) - essay by Richard Matheson
• Enoch - (1946) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "Sweets to the Sweet" - (1995) - essay by Hugh B. Cave
• Sweets to the Sweet - (1947) - short story by Robert Bloch
• On Robert Bloch - (1995) - essay by William Tenn
• That Hell-Bound Train - (1958) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "The Final Performance" - (1995) - essay by David J. Schow
• The Final Performance - (1960) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Robert Bloch - A Personal Appreciation - (1995) - essay by Randall D. Larson
• The Pin - (1953) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "The Animal Fair" - (1995) - essay by Joe R. Lansdale
• The Animal Fair - (1971) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Bob, We Bearly Knew Ye...The Hokas, Hollywood, and Development Hell - (1995) - essay by Jeff Walker
• Scenes from a Screenplay: Earthman's Burden - (1995) - short fiction by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "The Plot is the Thing" - (1995) - essay by Jeff Walker
• The Plot is the Thing - (1966) - short story by Robert Bloch
• One Small Anecdote Starring R. Bloch and H. Ellison - (1991) - essay by Harlan Ellison
• Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper - (1943) - short story by Robert Bloch
• The Good Old Days - (1995) - essay by Julius Schwartz
• Lessons - (1995) - essay by Melissa Ann Singer
• A Toy for Juliette - (1967) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Tribute - (1995) - essay by Arthur C. Clarke
• More than Most - (1995) - essay by Philip José Farmer
• All on a Golden Afternoon - (1956) - novelette by Robert Bloch
• Tribute - (1995) - essay by Brian Lumley
• Introduction to "Notebook Found in a Deserted House" - (1995) - essay by Ramsey Campbell
• Notebook Found in a Deserted House - (1951) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Introduction to "The Clown at Midnight" - (1995) - essay by Bill Warren
• The Clown at Midnight - (1960) - short story by Robert Bloch
• Four in the Back - (1995) - essay by Mick Garris
• Introduction to "A Good Knight's Work" - (1995) - essay by William Peter Blatty
• A Good Knight's Work - (1941) - short story by Robert Bloch
• A Chip Off the Old Bloch - (1995) - essay by Sheldon Jaffery
• The Yougoslaves - (1986) - novelette by Robert Bloch
• Robert Bloch: An Appreciation - (1994) - essay by Stephen King
• Introduction to "The Dead Don't Die!" - (1995) - essay by Stephen Jones
• The Dead Don't Die! - (1951) - novella by Robert Bloch
• Tribute - (1995) - essay by Neil Gaiman
• Introduction to "Warning: Death May Be Injurious to Your Health" - (1995) - essay by Neil Gaiman and Stephen Jones
• Warning: Death May Be Injurious to Your Health - (1991) - poem by Robert Bloch
• Remembering Bob Bloch - (1994) - essay by Ray Bradbury
• Introduction to "The Pied Piper Fights the Gestapo" - (1995) - essay by Richard Matheson
• The Pied Piper Fights the Gestapo - (1942) - short story by Robert Bloch