Let me start by saying that I LOVE short stories! I own countless anthologies and collections and read them over and over. The ability of many authors to perfectly capture the intensity of a moment in such a short amount of pages has always facinated me (and made me more than a little jealous).
That being said, “Poe’s Children: The New Horror: An Anthology” by author Peter Straub is an amazingly diverse collection of short stories by many of horror’s favorite sons (and daughters). This is Straub’s attempt to showcase what he considers “the most interesting development in our literature during the last two decades.” Included in this fantastic smorgasbord of the outré are:
The Bees Dan Chaon
Cleopatra Brimstone Elizabeth Hand
The Man on the Ceiling Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem
The Great God Pan M. John Harrison
The Voice of the Beach Ramsey Campbell
Body Brian Evenson
Louise’s Ghost Kelly Link
The Sadness of Detail Jonathan Caroll
Leda M. Rickert
In Praise of Folly Thomas Tessier
Plot Twist David J. Schow
The Two Sams Glen Hirshberg
Notes on the Writing of Horror: A Story Thomas Ligotti
Unearthed Benjamin Percy
Gardner of Heart Bradford Morrow
Little Red’s Tango Peter Straub
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet Stephen King
20th Century Ghost Joe Hill
The Green Glass Sea Ellen Klages
The Kiss Tia V. Travis
Black Dust Graham Joyce
October in the Chair Neil Gaiman
Missolonghi 1824 John Crowley
Insect Dreams Rosilind Palermo Stevenson
Many of these titles would not generally be classified as “horror” per say by purists of that genre; however those that did differ lent a very special flavor and an almost ethereal theme to the other more classic horror titles in this collection. One of my favorite stories was Stephen King’s “The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet” (1984)—this story features a writer who suffers from the paranoid delusion that an imp (Fornit) inhabits his typewriter. It illustrates the infectious nature of insanity and the danger and devastation that it awards to those unlucky enough to have caught this contagion.
The idea of a Fornit (or a writer's helper) intrigues me. I know that many a writer probably would love to have some help every once in a while. However, the slowly being driven insane probably would be a major turn off to that type of writer/imp partnership. I, on the other hand, can not be driven crazy, because I am already a permanent resident of that fair city as it is. That being said, I have decided that I will henceforth be feeding my Fornit these delicious Peanut Butter cookies!
Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies
Bon Appétit | January 1998
Makes about 4 dozen
Ingredients
* 3 cups all purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned style or freshly ground)
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 large eggs
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, peanut butter and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Beat in both sugars. Scrape down sides of bowl. Stir half of dry ingredients into mixture. Add eggs 1 at a time, stirring well after each addition. Mix in remaining dry ingredients.
For each cookie, roll 1 heaping tablespoonful of dough into 1 3/4-inch-diameter ball. Arrange dough balls 2 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using back of fork, flatten dough balls and form crosshatch design on tops. Bake cookies until dry on top and golden brown on bottom, about 14 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Using metal spatula, transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.) 
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