The Doll-Master

This Bram Stoker Award–winning collection includes "Big Momma," a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Short Story. Here are six of Joyce Carol Oates's most frightening—and deeply disturbing—short stories.

In the titular story, a boy becomes obsessed with his cousin's doll after her tragic death. As he grows older, he begins to collect "found dolls" from surrounding neighborhoods, each with its own sinister significance.

In "Gun Accident," a teenage girl is delighted to house-sit for her favorite teacher, until an intruder forces his way inside—changing more than one life forever.

The collection closes with the taut tale of a mystery bookstore owner whose designs on a rare bookshop in scenic New Hampshire devolve into a menacing game with real-life consequences.