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The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares: Novellas and Stories of Unspeakable Dread Audiobook
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An incomparable master storyteller in all forms, in The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares Joyce Carol Oates spins six imaginative tales of suspense. “The Corn Maiden” is the gut-wrenching story of Marissa, a beautiful and sweet, but somewhat slow, eleven-year-old girl with hair the color of corn silk. Her single mother comes home one night to find her missing and panics, frantically knocking on the doors of her neighbors. She finally calls the police, who want to know why she left her young daughter alone until 8:00 o’clock. Suspicion falls on a computer teacher at her school with no alibi for the time of the abduction. Obvious clues—perhaps too obvious—point directly to him. Unsuspected is Judah (born Judith), an older girl from the same school who has told two friends in her thrall of the Indian legend of the Corn Maiden, a girl sacrificed to ensure a good crop. The seemingly inevitable fate of Marissa becomes ever more terrifying as Judah relishes her power, leading to unbearable tension with a shocking conclusion.
“Helping Hands,” published here for the first time, begins with an apparently optimistic line: “He came into her life when it had seemed to her that her life was finished.” A lonely woman meets a man in the unlikely clutter of a dingy charity shop and extends friendliness, which soon turns to quiet and unacknowledged desire. With the mind-set of a victim, struggling to overcome her shyness and fears, she has no idea what kinds of doors she may be opening.
The powerful stories in this extraordinary collection further enhance Joyce Carol Oates’s standing as one of the world’s greatest writers of suspense.
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"Nightmares for sure! As a parent, several of these stories were hard to read. As the parent of a child with special needs, the title story was most difficult. Still, I read them all. Love her characters, and continue to believe that her short stories are better than her long fiction."
— Amy (4 out of 5 stars)
The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares Listener Reviews
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" The first (and title) story is terrific, the rest sort of suck. "
— Kookie, 2/19/2014 -
" I found this to be jumpy and poorly written. Glad it was a library book! "
— Erin, 2/6/2014 -
" The Corn Maiden story was eerie and scary without being about anything supernatural which make it that much more scary. My favorite though was the short "Nobody knows my name" as it was about the old wives tale that we have all heard about a cat trying to suck the soul out of a baby. "
— Elizabeth, 2/3/2014 -
" Joyce Carol Oates writes amazing "literary" horror, tightly constructed stories with a unique voice that live inside your head for a few days after, causing you to shudder over the mundane that echoes something you just experienced in a very different context. The title story refers to the Native American folk belief that involved sacrificing a young girl to ensure good crops. A very sick young mind latches onto the idea and lures a young girl into a danger that not only threatens her life but also her sanity. All the stories in this collection leave a disturbing impression. "
— Jody, 1/30/2014 -
" Loved the first story ("The Corn Maiden") and was less engaged by the others. These are highly readable stories and good writing, however, and I do recommend them. "
— Susan, 1/26/2014 -
" Joyce Carol Oates continues to demonstrate that she is a gifted writer. I just wasnt all that excited about the stories. Some were better than others; some were a bit predictable; and some ended with the reader hanging. I'm waiting for her to publish another great novel! "
— Juliegsorensen, 1/20/2014 -
" Typical Joyce Carol Oates. Stylish writing and delightfully creepy plotting. Standouts in this collection include the titular story and "Helping Hands." "
— Gary, 1/12/2014 -
" A splendid collection of one novella length story and six short stories from the pen of this highly talented author. Dark stories of horror, suspense and terror from a vivid imagination, they will transfix you from start to finish. "
— Simon, 12/11/2013 -
" Ok....not her best. "
— Audrey, 12/10/2013 -
" I have been waiting for this! "
— Nick, 12/10/2013 -
" Overall, okay, though slightly disappointing. I enjoy Ms. Oates's writing, however, so I will never complain. I'm inspired to write in her style immediately after I finish something of hers. "
— Need2read, 12/9/2013 -
" Oates at her best. Loved the first story. Chilling and simply told. The whole thing kept me drawn in except for one story. "
— Lori, 11/1/2013 -
" A different kind of horror book because it doesn't take much imagination to see yourself in these situations. And often you are left to draw your own conclusion and in turn find out a little about yourself and how you would handle the events. "
— Stacy, 6/3/2013 -
" Disturbing, well-written, hooks you at the first sentence, and leaves a mark on you. Seems to follow a similar formula of JCO's other novellas. A one-sit read. "
— Daniel, 5/19/2013 -
" The title story was so captivating, but the others were just okay. I would recommend reading it for the title story alone. "
— Dana, 1/26/2013 -
" I have a love/hate relationship with short stories. Some of these were good, some not so good. I didn't think any were great. Even the first one, Corn Maiden, which started out very promising, had a strange ending. I do like Oates' novels, I think I will stick to those! "
— Dawn, 1/9/2013 -
" Joyce Carol Oates needs to develop a tiny sense of humor. Watch 30 Rock or something... "
— Jeremy, 11/25/2012 -
" I'd probably give this a 3.5. Some of the short stories were better than the others. The better stories in my opinion were The Corn Maiden, Nobody Knows My Name and A Hole in the Head, although the other stories were also well written, but just not as gripping to me. "
— Diane, 11/11/2012 -
" The first story in this book is really disturbing. I had to skim over some parts that were just too hard to read. However, I did want to see how it ended. Well written and draws you in, but WOW, very disturbing. "
— Jennifer, 9/26/2012 -
" I love Joyce Carol Oates. I have read may of her books. I am used to her writing style. That being said I didn't love this book. The stories were just OK and not at all scary (in the traditional sense) or "spine tingling" or whatever it promised. "
— Mel, 3/19/2012 -
" not her best collection "
— Helen, 2/18/2012 -
" A great book--but not for everyone. It's very dark. The final story literally had me squirming in my seat. "
— Rachel, 1/18/2012
About Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates, an award-winning author of fiction, nonfiction, short stories, plays, and novellas, is the author of some of the most enduring fiction of our time, including two New York Times bestsellers. Her books have won the National Book Award, O. Henry Award, the Jerusalem Prize, and the National Humanities Medal, among others. Her work has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize several times. She has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978.
About the Narrators
Adam Verner is a stage, film, television, and voice actor and an Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. He holds a BS in theater arts from Bradley University and an MFA from Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
Christine Williams is a singer and actor based in Ashland, Oregon. Her performance credits include productions at regional theaters and on concert stages across the country and around the world, from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Barbican Centre in London to the Aspen Music Festival and the Grotowski Institute in Poland.