Nightmare

by Cornell Woolrich

six short stories. Title story became the basis for two Hollywood movies of the same name:
1. I'LL TAKE YOU HOME, KATHLEEN (first published as ONE LAST NIGHT in STREET & SMITH'S DETECTIVE STORY MAGAZINE, May 1940)
2. "Screen-Test" (first published as "Preview to Death" in DIME DETECTIVE MAGAZINE, Nov. 15, 1934; reprinted as "Screen Test" in THE SAINT MAGAZINE, July 1967)
3. "I O U" (with no periods; first published as "I.O.U.—One Life" in DOUBLE DETECTIVE, Nov. 1938; reprinted as "Debt of Honor" in ELLERY QUEEN'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE, Oct. 1954; reprinted as "I.O.U." in KEYHOLE MYSTERY MAGAZINE, June 1960)
4. THREE O'CLOCK (first published in DETECTIVE FICTION WEEKLY, Oct. 1, 1938, under Woolrich's pen name "William Irish")
5. NIGHTMARE (first published as AND SO TO DEATH in ARGOSY, Mar. 1, 1941, apparently under Woolrich's pen name "William Irish"; reprinted in STRANGE DETECTIVE MYSTERIES [Canada], Jan. 1945, under that same title; reprinted as NIGHTMARE in MIKE SHAYNE MYSTERY MAGAZINE, Aug. 1971);
6. "Bequest" (first published as "Implacable Bequest" in DETECTIVE TALES, Sep. 1942)

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Noir

Paperback

Published January 1, 1964

About the author

Cornell Woolrich is widely regarded as the twentieth century’s finest writer of pure suspense fiction. The author of numerous classic novels and short stories (many of which were turned into classic films) such as Rear Window, The Bride Wore Black, The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Waltz Into Darkness, and I Married a Dead Man, Woolrich began his career in the 1920s writing mainstream novels that won him comparisons to F. Scott Fitzgerald. The bulk of his best-known work, however, was written in the field of crime fiction, often appearing serialized in pulp magazines or as paperback novels. Because he was prolific, he found it necessary to publish under multiple pseudonyms, including "William Irish" and "George Hopley" [...] Woolrich lived a life as dark and emotionally tortured as any of his unfortunate characters and died, alone, in a seedy Manhattan hotel room following the amputation of a gangrenous leg. Upon his death, he left a bequest of one million dollars to Columbia University, to fund a scholarship for young writers.

Source: [http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books_bi...]

Reviews

[Ayz · Rating 5 out of 5]

most suspenseful set of short stories I’ve ever read.

and I’ve read a lot.

bravo woolrich. 👌🏽

[Doctor Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all of Woolrich’s stories and novels, I was drawn to this one by the movie version of the title story, Nightmare. This is a collection of six stories, originally published in 1956 and now out of print as far as I can tell.

Woolrich was a prolific writer — screenplays, novels, short stories. And some are classics. Rear Window might be the best known.

I have to say this collection doesn’t quite live up to my highest expectations. But these are good, engaging stories. Woolrich knows suspense, better than just about any other noir writer. The stories keep you glued to them. Some are mysteries, others are quirky tales of fate and self-inflicted destruction.

That’s going to keep you going and making the reads fun. Nightmare itself is a good example. Vincent Hardy awakes from a nightmare in which he’s killed a man in a strange octagonal room of mirrors. Okay, bad dream. But Vince finds one after another clue suggesting that the dream was more than a dream. A scratch on his wrist, bruises on his neck, an unfamiliar key in his pocket . . . all objects from the dream. He’s confused, obsessed, and comes to believe that he really may have committed a murder. But it doesn’t add up, at least until Cliff Dodge, his brother in law and a police detective, follows a hunch.

Another story, Three O’Clock, has a Poe-like feel to it. A man believes his wife is cheating on him and plots his revenge. As the clock ticks down, literally, on his plan, it looks like it’s all going to turn on him. He’s set a bomb in his basement, but now he’s bound and trapped in his own basement, watching the clock tick down to the three o’clock detonation.

The stories that had me a little disappointed include the first two, I’ll Take You Home, Kathleen and Screen-Test. Both feature detectives a little too smart, with intuitions and reasoning ability that defy . . . well, reason. And in Screen-Test, the detective carries a chip on his shoulder with sharp edges digging into the narration.

Still, I’m giving this a guarded recommendation. There’s better from Woolrich, and a lot to choose from. But this is fun, it’s gripping, and it will scratch your Woolrich itch.

[Andy Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A review so far of the story Nightmare itself. More to follow..

This was the original title of a story probably better known as Nightmare, that was included in a short story collection of the same name published nine years later, but under Woolrich’s alias, William Irish. It first appeared in the Argosy magazine in 1941. It is probably even better known for the film adaptation of 1956 featuring Edward G. Robinson (also in 1947 as Fear Is The Night).
It’s a rare example of the film adaptation being better than the book, and that is less of a surprise with Woolrich as he wrote a large number of screenplays.
The premise is such a simple one, that you feel you’ve heard it before; a man has a frightening dream in which he kills someone, then the dream apparently starts to come to pass.

This is one of a number of Woolrich stories that his biographer, Francis M. Nevins, called ‘living nightmare’ stories; a protagonist awakens from a blackout uncertain of what has actually happened and what didn’t, consumed by the feeling they he has done something terrible but unable to recall exactly what it is.
It demonstrates Woolrich’s incredible skill of making fear of the irrational a tangible and terrifying reality.

Though the premise and the delivery of it are memorable and entertaining, Woolrich’s use of dialogue isn’t as good as many of his noir counterparts of his day. His plots rarely bear up to close scrutiny, and this is no exception.. but then again, that isn’t the reason to read his books, and in no way spoils the fun.

[Two Envelopes And A Phone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may never read a novel again. Short stories are doing it all for me, these days. Fredric Brown, ends of the world, trips to Umbria…but it seems the last several weeks have been leading up to this, the 40 tonne delicious nightmare cherry on top.

Six stories in this book. Half dozen full doozies. I’m not sure if it’s three perfect, and three near-perfect, or vice versa - I don’t see in millimetres of brilliance - but what a superb dash through six hypnotic and frightening Crime scenarios. One tale - the longest and weirdest - is actually called ‘Nightmare’ but, to be sure, they all suffer itchy nightmarish scabs.

A bomber trapped with his own ticking bomb. Someone bursting into flames for no reason in front of witnesses, and how can that be murder? A man on the run waylaid by worse guys on the run, and what’s that horrible smell? A cop owes a criminal a killer debt, and resists payment due. A fella walks an old flame along a dark path and suddenly it’s as if one of them was never there. And, a man wakes from the baddest dream ever, and discovers the fallout exists in the real world - do murders in nightmares leak free…?

I never slammed into a non-banger. If the final story is the weakest, it’s also the shortest, and simply doesn’t have the deliciously scratchy slow burn feel of the other five. And it’s still a dynamite way to end the show. Woolrich’s novels have been very satisfying, overall - but these six slice-of-strife snippets top any previous enjoyment I’ve gotten from this author. Sleep-deprivingly good, meaning that if they keep you up reading, you’ll still have Nightmares. Six great ones, in fact.

[Diana]

The Cabinet of Dr. Woolrich

This novella features one of Mr. Woolrich's many terror-stricken, haunted heroes. Here, Vince is spooked by a nightmare -- if it's just a dream, then why does it seem so real?

The author does an excellent job depicting the nightmare which -- while ultimately given a realistic explanation -- serves as a metaphor for the author's favorite theme: the conflict between free will and fate (are we responsible for our actions or is there some higher, malevolent power at play?). It also asks: can we distinguish between reality and illusion? And, if so, can we trust either? (Mr. Woolrich was nothing if not philosophical.)

"Nightmare" has been made into a movie twice by the same director: both are in the public domain, on YouTube, and in poor condition. That said, the style does visually depict Vince's increasingly disturbed psyche -- for who among us would want to believe that we are capable of the worst possible action?

[Mbuye · Rating 5 out of 5]

The term Noir was practically invented for Cornell Woolrich and his suspense-ridden novels and stories, in most of which the reader exchanges his passive role to become the fear-driven protagonist of one of Woolrich’s nightmares. Mercifully, Cornell’s best work lies in his short stories.

‘Nightmare,’ in the Dell edition has the stories indicated by the Goodreads summary. Originally published in various magazines themselves long disappeared, most of the stories have been anthologised since then. Two are better known in their screen avatars.

Don't read this book if you like cozies with a cat or dog detective. It's bound to disappoint.

[Rob Roehm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories, all pretty good, though Woolrich gives the ending away fairly early in a couple of them. “Three O’Clock” is the best of them, with a time bomb and a jealous husband. The title story is predictable, with a hypnotized innocent doing the bad guy’s plans.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

🖊️ Captivating noir crime story in which Vince Grayson is haunted by a murder he may or may not have committed.

📕Published — 1943 (book). In the public domain.
🎥 1947 movie version with DeForest Kelley.
༺༻༺༻✬༺༻༺༻✬༺༻༺༻✬༺༻༺༻

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

English title, Nightmare. Four creepy, suspenseful short stories. Title story a bit longer. Made into a movie with Edward G Robinson. From the master of suspense, Cornell Woolrich. Includes some offensive racial terminology.