Avon Fantasy Reader No. 16
Edited by Donald A. Wollheim
Avon Novels, Inc.
1951
1^st Printing
     She combined the beguiling witchery of a Lorelei with the intentions of a Man-eating shark!, or at least that is how the seductress of Bloch's "The Black Kiss" is described in Avon Fantasy Reader No. 16.
     The last few issues of The Reader seem to play off a theme of new and old stories, with Wollheim delving even farther into the past to find genre stories, possibly in an attempt to keep whatever audience he had at the time. "The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall" by John Kendrick Bangs (an author cited by Lovecraft as an influence) originally copyrighted in 1894, and a story entitled "The River", by L. Major Reynolds, sees it's first appearance here. You will also notice that there are no authors listed on the cover, a tradition that was started with issue 1. Obviously, The Reader was on its last legs.
     Outside of the stories mentioned above, there are also tales by Donald Wandrei, M.P. Shiel, Fancis Flagg, Gelett Burgess, Greye La Spina, J.B. Priestley and Beatrice Grimshaw, with another south seas tale that makes it hard to believe the author was from Ireland. The issue also contains "The Hounds of Tindalos" by Frank Belknap Long, a spooky little tale long associated with Lovecraft's Chthlhu Mythos.
     And just in case your weren't sure: the Robert Bloch who wrote "The Black Kiss" is the same Robert Bloch who ruined showers for everyone when he wrote Psycho.