''20th Century Ghosts'' is American author Joe Hill's first published book-length work. A collection of short stories, it was first published in October 2005 in the United Kingdom and released in October 2007 in the United States.
Publication history
''20th Century'' Ghosts is the first publication made by American author Joe Hill in October 2005 by
PS Publishing
PS Publishing is an independent book publisher based in Hornsea, UK.
Background
PS Publishing was founded in 1999 by Peter Crowther.Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection, as well as the
British Fantasy Award
The British Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS), first in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (to ''The Knight of ...
for Best Collection and Best Short Story for "Best New Horror." The hardcover editions are collectable, especially the signed slipcased edition that had a print run of 200 copies.
In October 2007,
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
released the first public edition of Hill's collection. This edition also contains the short story "Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead," which was not previously published in the UK edition.
In December 2021, the collection was re-published under the title ''The Black Phone'', as a lead-in for the motion picture based on that story in June 2022.
Limited editions
Released in October 2005, this short story collection was released in a limited edition format only. The three formats available before publication were:
* Deluxe slipcased signed limited hardcover edition signed by Hill and
Christopher Golden
Christopher Golden (born July 15, 1967) is an American writer.
Early life
Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He graduated from Tufts University.
Career
As well as novels, Golden has written com ...
(introduction author) and numbered 1-200 ()
* Signed limited edition hardcover signed by Hill and numbered 1-500 ()
* Trade paperback unsigned at 1,000 copies printed ()
Contents
Best New Horror
Eddie Carroll is the editor of an annual anthology entitled ''America's Best New Horror''. As part of his job he has read and rejected many thousands of derivative stories, and he has become jaded by the process. When he reads the strangely disturbing story "Buttonboy" by Peter Kilrue, he regains his passion for his work. The plot concerns his search for the elusive Kilrue in an attempt to procure "Buttonboy" for the anthology.
20th Century Ghost
The Rosebud Theatre is an old style
movie palace
A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is a large, elaborately decorated movie theater built from the 1910s to the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 1925 and 1930. Wi ...
, haunted by the semi-legendary spirit of a young woman. The girl died during a screening of ''
The Wizard of Oz
''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...
'', appears infrequently throughout the twentieth century, and occasionally starts conversations with a select few moviegoers. The story is told by Alec Sheldon, the theatre owner, who worries about his approaching mortality and what will happen to the Rosebud after he retires.
Pop Art
This story was originally published in 2001 in an anthology titled ''With Signs & Wonders'' by Invisible Cities Press. In 2007,
Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Burton, Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily Horror fiction, horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. In addition to publishing novel ...
produced a limited edition chapbook of "Pop Art" limited to 150 numbered copies and 52 lettered copies. These books were only available through the publishers website.
The plot concerns the friendship of two socially outcast boys: the narrator, who has a dysfunctional home life, and his only friend, a human boy made of inflatable plastic who has loving and supportive flesh-and-blood parents.
Christopher Golden
Christopher Golden (born July 15, 1967) is an American writer.
Early life
Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He graduated from Tufts University.
Career
As well as novels, Golden has written com ...
called it one of the best short stories in years.
You Will Hear the Locust Sing
The story of a boy who wakes up one morning to find that he has become a giant, human-sized insect.
Abraham's Boys
Abraham Van Helsing
Professor Abraham Van Helsing () is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula'' written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the ...
, living in America following the events of ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
'', tries to teach his sons about vampires.
Better Than Home
Story about a troubled boy whose father manages a baseball team.
The Black Phone
13-year-old Finney is kidnapped by a man named The Grabber. Trapped in a basement room, the boy's only hope may lie in a mysterious disconnected black phone hanging on the basement wall. The phone rings at night with the whispers of the kidnapper's previous (and now dead) victims. In 2021, this short story was adapted into a film of the same title, with
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor, author, and film director. He made his film debut in ''Explorers (film), Explorers'' (1985), before making a breakthrough performance in ''Dead Poets Society'' (1989). Hawke starr ...
as The Grabber.
In The Rundown
A video store clerk comes upon a grisly scene on a weedy dirt lane.
The Cape
Seven-year-old Eric learns that he can fly (well, sort of) while wearing his blue cape. After suffering a terrible injury he thinks the cape is lost, only to find the cape again years later.
Last Breath
The story concerns Dr. Allinger, an old man who runs a "Museum of Silence" which contains the last breaths of various people, some being famous figures such as
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
.
The Widow's Breakfast
During the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, a drifter encounters a widow whose offer of food and fresh clothing may be too good to be true.
Bobby Conroy Comes Back from The Dead
A failed comedian meets his now-married ex-girlfriend during the filming of ''Dawn of the Dead''.
My Father's Mask
Thirteen-year-old Jack's parents take him on an unexpected trip to their cabin on Big Cat Lake. Along the way they play a game made up by Jack's mother in which they are being chased by the "playing card people". At the cabin Jack finds various masks, which he is told must be worn to disguise themselves from the playing card people. Jack grows weary of the game, but soon he finds that it may not be a game at all.
Adaptations
* ''Pop Art'' (2008), short film directed by Amanda Boyle, based on the short story "Pop Art"
* ''Abraham's Boys'' (2009), short film directed by Dorothy Street, based on the short story "Abraham's Boys"
* ''
The Black Phone
''The Black Phone'' is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Scott Derrickson from a screenplay coauthored with longtime collaborator C. Robert Cargill. It stars Mason Thames as Finney, a teenage boy abducted by a serial child ki ...
'' (2021), film directed by
Scott Derrickson
Scott Derrickson (born July 16, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He is known for his work in the horror genre, directing films such as ''The Exorcism of Emily Rose'' (2005), ''Sinister (film), Sinister'' (2012), and ''The Black Phone'' (2021). He ...