One of my favorite drugstore paperback collections of horror stories. You get pretty much everything here: from killer plants ("The Garden of Paris" by Eric Williams) to killer avians ("The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier), from vampires (E.F. Benson's excellent "Mrs. Amworth") to ghastly alien life hostile to humanity ("Slime" by Joseph Payne Brennan). Along the way, you'll encounter an assortment of other creepy-crawlies and supernatural beasts (moths, werewolves, et al.). The only questionable selection made by editor Philip Van Doren Stern--and everyone who's read the book seems to feel this way--is "The Elephant Man," Sir Frederick Treves's true account of the tragic life of Joseph Merrick. It deserves to be read, of course, but in a more fitting context than this. Otherwise, Strange Beasts and Unnatural Monsters is a top-notch collection that's worth hunting down at your local used book store...if such a place still exists. ( )