Published in 1951 this is a selection of horror stories edited by Groff Conklin. He says in his introduction that it is a pretty gruesome collection of horrors, some more subtle than others, but all calculated to strike terror one way or another. The stories are:

Maurice Level - The last Kiss
Ray Bradbury - The illustrated Man
Stephen Crane - The Upturned Face
Dorothy Sayers - The incredible elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey
E F Benson - The Horror Horn
Will F Jenkins - Night Drive
H P Lovecraft - In the Vault
Guy De Maupassant - The Diary of a Madman
William Fryer Harvey - The Tool
Theodore Sturgeon - Bianca's Hands
Walter Owen - The Cross of Carl
Margaret St Clair - Hathor's Pet
Wilkie Collins - A Terribly Strange Bed
W W Jacobs - The Well
Samuel Blas - Revenge
Edgar Alan Poe - The Pit and the Pendulum
Howard Wandrei - Macklin's Little Friend
H H Munro - The Easter Egg
H L Gold - Problem in Murder
H G Wells - The Moth
Ambrose Bierce - Resumed Identity
Wilbur Daniel Steele - Bubbles

This collection delves back into the 19th century for some of its stories and none are contemporary at the time of publication. The literary content is quite high as can be seen from the number of well known authors listed. Groff Conklin says that he has tried to find stories that have not been previously anthologised and certainly he has come up with one gem in Walter Owen's: The Cross of Carl, a story from the first world war which outdoes anything else here for gruesomeness by a country mile. He has not beeen so successful with Edgar Alan Poe's: The Pit and the Pendulum or H G Well's: The Moth which many people will have read. I made a point of reading these just before I went to bed, but nothing kept me awake. Some hoary old chestnuts here, but a solid collection and so 3.5 stars. ( )

433. In the Grip of Terror, edited by Groff Conklin (read 20 May 1952) Started reading this book on May 10, 1952. Read "In the Vault" by H.P. Lovecraft. Not well-written and euphemistic, but with an effective ending. Read "Bianca's Hands" by Theo. Sturgeon - Very fine--boy in love with idiot girl's hands, marries her, they choke him to death. Read E. F. Benson's "The Horror Horn" about a monster who yanks the leg off a chamois and chews its eyeball. And the greatest of the four: "The Cross of Carl" by Walter Owen: A man not dead wanders about a factory for making him into manure. On May 11, 1952: Read more good stories in this anthology: "Revenge" by Blas is a little jewel. Also read Bierce's "A Resumed Identity" and Wells' "The Moth." And de Mauspassant's "Diary of a Madman." "The Well" by W. W. Jacobs is a great one, too. They are all exceptionally good. I did not finish reading the book till May 20, 1952, but made no further comment on the stories therein. ( )