Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ishmael | 1972 | Peter Straub | Buy |
| 2 | Open Air | 1972 | Peter Straub | Buy |
| 3 | Leeson Park and Belsize Square | 1983 | Peter Straub | Buy |
| 4 | Houses Without Doors | 1990 | Peter Straub | Buy |
| 5 | The Horror Writers Association Presents Peter Straub’s Ghosts | 1995 | Peter Straub | Buy |
| 6 | Magic Terror | 2000 | Peter Straub | Buy |
| 7 | The Little Blue Book of Rose Stories | 2005 | Peter Straub | Buy |
| 8 | 5 Stories | 2008 | Peter Straub | Buy |
| 9 | Interior Darkness | 2016 | Peter Straub | Buy |
Straub began publishing short fiction with poetry collections in the early 1970s, when he was living in England and Ireland. Ishmael and Open Air, both from 1972, show a writer still working out his literary voice, while Leeson Park and Belsize Square (1983) is a poetry collection from his London years. These early volumes are of primary interest to scholars and collectors rather than readers looking for the horror fiction he became known for.
Houses Without Doors (1990) marks the beginning of his mature short fiction career, gathering stories and novellas that show the same psychological intensity as his longer work from the period. The collection includes pieces connected to the Blue Rose world and demonstrates his particular gift for slow-building dread rather than shock. Magic Terror (2000) followed with new and collected pieces, several of which won or were nominated for major awards.
Interior Darkness (2016), assembled near the end of his life, is the definitive career retrospective, selecting the pieces Straub himself considered most representative. It includes Pork Pie Hat, Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff, and other widely celebrated stories alongside work that had been harder to find. For readers new to his short fiction, it is the natural place to start.