Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery (and other stories)

Shirley Jackson might be better known for her haunting, psychological horror novels such as We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House, but her short horror stories are nothing but extraordinary.

And those collected in this Little Clothebound Penguin are horror stories, alright.
A woman is sent out of the office on a commission and she’s haunted by the idea of being at the centre of a game. Horror.
A woman, recently moved into the countryside, gets a call from her neighbour that their dog has been seen killing chicken and, while she seeks counsel on how to educate the dog, she only gets advice on how to kill her.
Horror.
On her wedding day, a woman frantically seeks her missing betrothed, only to find out he might have never existed.
Horror.
The perfect housewife’s routine is shattered by some distant relations going around her town saying they’re her friends and people even like them. The nerve. The horror.
And then of course there’s the titular story.

Shirley Jackson writes horror, yes, horror stories of everyday life, with a tinge of the supernatural now and then.
And they’re awesome.