'i did like the first one when i was thirteen years old, but i thought the series became increasingly illiterate and disgusting and meritless.'
'I don’t think there’ll ever be another series like it purely and simply because the style that so many of the writers who graced the early editions worked in is just not evident anymore. They were originals and they were the best of their kind. They will never be surpassed. Simple as that.'
ramsey campbell
shaun hutson
'the most iconic and best-known horror anthology series ever published in the UK.'
stephen jones - editor of 'dark voices.'
2009 sees the 50th anniversary of a series of books which has and continues to delight and disgust - sometimes even on the same page. What cannot be denied is the achievement this series has accomplished - 30 books in 30 years totalling a staggering 469 stories! From classics in the genre to scraping-the-barrel nastiness, the Pan Horrors has them all. In its time it saw off a challenge from the Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories (sometimes in style rather than substance) and continues to be a major influence in published anthologies in the present day.
Alan W Lear, author of Let's Do Something Naughty from Pan Book of Horror Stories #25 died at home in Edinburgh on 26th Dec 2008. He was 55 years old.
From the instantly recognisable covers to essays on the stories and beyond, this website will in time, aim to be the most comprehensive database on the Pan Books. This site is also running in tandem with a book that is currently being written with the help and assistance of 30+ authors whose stories graced the covers of this iconic series.
