First published in the USA in 1988 and in the UK in 1990 ‘The Wine Dark Sea’ contains eight stories that will leave the reader unsettled as the protagonists’ fears and desires, at once illogical and terrifying, culminate in a disturbing yet enigmatic ending. His characters are ordinary people that are gradually drawn into the darker recesses of their own minds. Peter Straub called Robert Aickman ‘this century’s most profound writer of what we call horror stories.’ Aickman’s ‘strange stories’ his preferred term for them are a subtle exploration of psychological displacement and paranoia. His tales literally haunt me his plots and his turns of phrase run through my head at the most unlikely moments.’ Russell Kirk ‘Of all the authors of uncanny tales, Aickman is the best ever…

There is also a nod to the conventional vampire story ‘Pages from a Young Girl’s Journal’ but all the stories remain unconventional and inconclusive, which perhaps makes them all the more startling and intriguing. Throughout the stories the reader is introduced to a variety of characters, from a man who spends the night in a Hospice to a German aristocrat and a woman who sees an image of her own soul. Cold Hand in Mine stands as one of Aickman’s best collections and contains eight stories that show off his powers as a ‘strange story’ writer to the full, being more ambiguous than standard ghost stories. It was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1973 before appearing in this collection. The story ‘Pages from a Young Girl’s Journal’ won the Aickman World Fantasy Award in 1975. Cold Hand in Mine was first published in the UK in 1975 and in the US in 1977.

Robert aickman compulsory games