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Okay, I'm not going to go through the whole introduction again, what we have here are Karl's selections for best Non-Supernatural Horror with my nit-picking where I deemed appropriate. Since the other category is "Science Fictional Horror" it gets sort of dicey as to what ought to go where. For example, there's nothing supernatural about James Herbert's The Rats or Dick Laymon's The Cellar; but it doesn't feel quite right calling them either one. I guess I'll figure it out as I go along...Anyway, without further ado... 1. The Deadly Percheron - John Franklin Bardin (Karl really loved this book, I didn't. I thought it much more just weird than horrifying, however anything Bardin wrote under his own name or that of "Gregory Tree" is worth reading. However, I don't feel this belongs on the list, let alone on top of it so I'm going to suggest the long-banned and recently reprinted Twisted Clay by Frank Walford. Get a copy, you will not regret doing so. 2. Psycho - Robert Bloch 3. Here Comes a Candle - Fredric Brown (A true classic, Brown uses a variety of techniques to tell the story and makes it work.) 4. The Screaming Mimi - Fredric Brown (Also good, but in the interest of variety, let's replace with Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door.) 5. The Fire Spirits - Paul Busson (Unavailable right now unless you are rich. However, I'm writing the intro to a new edition that will be out before the end of the year.) 6.The Crooked Hinge - John Dickson Carr (Carr is great, he's also represented elsewhere and I need to make room for The Cellar by Richard Laymon. So there! 7. The Sorcerer's Apprentice - Hanns Heinz Ewers (Okay, let's consider the trilogy one work and that will leave room for two other books. Since Alraune is on the first list, let us insert Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, with the understanding that it can be considered supernatural (I don't think so, but others would disagree). 8. Vampire - Hanns Heinz Ewers - (And this one is replaced by Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo.) 9. Fully Dressed and in His Right Mind- Michael Fessier 10. The Shadow on the House - Mark Hansom (I'm the biggest Hansom mark in the world, but this is actually his weakest novel. A perfect spot to put James Herbert's The Rats.) 11. Torture Garden - Octave Mirabeau (I'm pretty liberal in my definition of "horror", but this ain't it. Weird? Yes. Exotic? Yes? Horrific? Not really. Good book, but doesn't really belong here. How about Sharp Practice by John Farris instead since I stupidly left off All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By on the supernatural list (see what I did there?) 12. Master of the Day of Judgment - Leo Perutz (all of his books are worth seeking out and you can usually get 'em cheap) 13. The Subjugated Beast - R.R. Ryan (The funny thing is No Escape (also by Ryan) is better still. Ryan didn't write many novels, but the following are excellent: No Escape, The Subjugated Beast, Freak Museum, and Echo of a Curse. Devil's Shelter and Death of a Sadist are merely very good. The Right to Kill sucks all manner of things. A pretty good hit rate all things considered.) Okay, back later with the third and final list.