I must have been nine the first time I read Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery.” I remember thinking deliciously that there was no happy ending, no remorse, and no moral to the story. Of course, that’s not exactly true but the chilling look that she gives to the human condition and in other stories, the supernatural realm are beautifully written and wholly realistic, in addition to the fact that they scare the shit out of you. Dying at age 48, in just two decades Jackson would write some of the best suspense writing that would go on to influence such greats as Stephen King and Peter Straub. The Library of America just released an anthology of her works, edited by Joyce Carol Oates. Her biggest novels, We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House are in the volume in addition to 21 short stories and some of her sketches. Famous for refusing interviews and giving slight biographical info, also included in this compilation is an essay, “Biography of a Story” about the reaction to “The Lottery” when published in the New Yorker in 1948- to this day, no other story has provoked such an uproar and cause so much hate mail. Perfect reading for those long, quiet summer nights.