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I thought I had found a real gem when I found Shadows Over Innsmouth. Not only did it feature the original HP Lovecraft tale but apparently used it as a springboard for a series of all new stories regarding that haunted city. Let's break this review up into two parts: First let's talk about the original story and then we'll chat about the new stories in this collection.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth is a favorite story of mine. I first finished reading it when I was fourteen. Having reread it thirty six years later I can honestly say my perspectives are a bit different-you cannot step into the same river twice. Do you remember the first time you watched the original Planet of the Apes? How that ending hit you like a ton of bricks, and then no matter how many times you watched it since it never had the same impact? Rereading this story was like that. There were a lot of things I did not pick up on the first time I read it (The Gilman hotel? *snort*) but you really cannot go home again. So though the story was still atmospheric it was not as enjoyable-I knew where the devil was driving, as it were. As for the remaining stories in this anthology....

Apparently if a story manages to mention Innsmouth or its' denizens in any way it becomes eligible to be included in this collection. Sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn't. I basically felt cheated as a reader-I did not sign up to read about Romania or some quaint but sinister English village. Very few of these stories were actually scary. Some pieces really worked such as those by Ramsey Campbell, Peter Tremayne, Brian Mooney, Brian Lumley, and Neil Gaiman. The rest of the book felt like so much filler. Sad to have to include Kim Newman in that category but even a sneaky Anno Dracula reference did not delight me. There was too much miss and not enough hit for me to be able to give this book more than three stars.