Alfred Hitchcock’s Hard Day at the Scaffold
Hard Day at the Scaffold is a solid collection of short stories edited by Alfred Hitchcock that I read over the course of a year for the Deal Me In Short Story Challenge. Hitchcock’s anthologies always feature darkly humorous stories with a generous dose of creepiness, and this one was no different. Though this collection had fewer memorable stories than others I’ve read, it was still enjoyable. My favorite was “One on a Desert Island” by Donald Westlake, the tragicomic story of what can happen to a man’s mind when stranded on a tiny rock in the middle of the Pacific.
If you’re a fan of TV shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents or The Twilight Zone, then you’ll likely enjoy this anthology.
Here are the stories from the collection, along with the dates I read them:
A♣ “The Baby” by Jonathan Craig – Finished 5/28/2017
2♣ “Don’t Live in a Coffin” by Helen Nielsen – Finished 12/3/2017
3♣ “A Hundred Times” by Syd Hoff – Finished 2/12/2017
4♣ “Weep for the Guilty” by Henry Slesar – Finished 9/10/2017
5♣ “Point the Man Out!” by Duane Decker – Finished 9/3/2017
6♣ “Crooks, Satchels, and Selma” by Michael Brett – Finished 9/24/2017
7♣ “Not Exactly Love” by Fletcher Flora – Finished 5/21/2017
8♣ “The Swinging Sheriff” by Ed Lacy – Finished 6/4/2017
9♣ “One on a Desert Island” by Donald E. Westlake – Finished 8/27/2017
10♣ “Bite of Revenge” by James McKimmey, Jr. – Finished 3/5/2017
J♣ “Lily Bell” by Richard Deming – Finished 10/15/2017
Q♣ “Flora and Her Fauna” by C. B. Gilford – Finished 1/8/2017
K♣ “The Pulque Vendor” by Hal Ellson – Finished 7/9/2017
K♦ “Prolonged Visit” by Hal Dresner – Finished 1/15/2017
