HOWEVER, with Gorey, we always got a full blown jacket cover, front and back... AND Gorey's own hand-drawn lettered treatment of the title and author!

Whatta gyp, as here we're only graced with art on the front portion of the jacket, along with the use of an obvious typographic font (Caslon Antique or Buccaneer-ish)! Okay, the nitpicky fanboy geek is shutting his trap now. Please proceed with all that is ugly...

As he climbed the hill, Lewis saw someone standing beneath a streetlight halfway up the slope. It looked like a woman. At first he thought it might be Mrs. Zimmermann. But then he noticed that the figure wore a long black dress and a black veil. Lewis had never seen Mrs. Zimmermann in anything but her favorite color, purple. He slowed down, wondering who this stranger could be.

She must have heard his footsteps, because she looked toward him and took a step back. Lewis breathed a sigh of relief. She looked as timid as he felt. He decided to hurry on past her.

Just as he reached the circle of light beneath the street lamp, the woman spoke to him in a tentative, low voice: "Young man? May I ask you something?"

Lewis edged away. He had always heard you weren't supposed to talk to strangers, but it seemed impolite just to run past her. Besides, her voice sounded a little worried. Probably she just needed directions. "Y-yes?" he said.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" asked the woman, and reaching up, she tore the veil away.

Lewis felt rooted to the spot. The woman's eyes were burning. But her mouth -- her mouth! It was a red gash straight across her face, from ear to ear. It split open, revealing dozens of sharp, curving yellow teeth.