Thirty Hours with a Corpse: & Other Tales of the Grand Guignol by Maurice Level

Trade paperback format.  The predecessor of Troma Films by many decades!

Characterized by gratuitous acts of brutality and surprise endings, these tales of obsession and violence are the creations of a twentieth-century French writer whose works were staged by the legendary Théâtre du Grand-Guignol of Paris. The precursors of modern thrillers and slasher films, these stories have been specially selected for this edition and introduced by horror specialist S. T. Joshi.
Thirty-nine conte cruel ("cruel tales") include "In the Light of the Red Lamp," in which a husband's photographs of his dead wife reveal a deeper tragedy; "Fascination," the tale of a morbid passion that develops when the narrator, determined to stay at home, shoots his mistress for the sake of peace and quiet; and "The Bastard," concerning a father's suspicions about his son's paternity. Other stories include "The Taint," a view of infanticide as mercy-killing; "The Test," in which an accused murderer is forced to reenact his crime; and "A Maniac," recounting a thrill-seeker's ghoulish impulse to witness death-defying stunts gone wrong.

Table of Contents:

Introduction by S. T. Joshi

The Debt Collector

The Kennel

Who?

Illusion

In the Light of the Red Lamp

A Mistake

Extenuating Circumstances

The Confession

The Test

Poussette

The Father

"For Nothing"

In the Wheat

The Beggar

Under Chloroform

The Man Who Lay Asleep

Fascination

The Bastard

That Scoundrel Miron

The Taint

The Kiss

A Maniac

The 10:50 Express

Blue Eyes

The Empty House

The Last Kiss

Under Ether

The Spirit of Alsace

At the Movies

The Little Soldier

The Great Scene

After the War

The Appalling Gift

Night and Silence

The Cripple

The Look

The Horror on the Night Express

Thirty Hours with a Corpse

She Thought of Everything