For sheer entertainment value, this isn't a bad investment: 999 is a hefty anthology of 29 new works from horror household names ranging from Stephen King to William Peter Blatty to Nancy A. Collins. While few of the stories are authentically frightening, most are solidly written and creatively conceived, with psychological disquiet overshadowing vampires, ghosts, and gore by a wide margin. But editor Al Sarrantonio wasn't content to just publish some decent suspense stories. He intended 999 to revitalize horror, legitimize the genre to the literati, and prove its impressive breadth and scope, all in one volume packaged under a title that "makes sense even if the booksellers stack it upside-down!" At least the title part lived up to his expectations. In theory, 999 was necessary due to a dearth of professional outlets for horror short stories in today's fiction market. In practice, not much here couldn't find voice somewhere else. While Sarrantonio was beating his breast over horror's status as a literary ghetto, most of his writers were out quietly appropriating from the adjoining neighborhoods. Three of the book's best installments are homey, humanistic serial-killer mysteries that collectively owe more to Pat Conroy than Poe: Neil Gaiman's "Keepsakes And Treasures" reads like a series of scattered notes for a quirky fantasy novel, Tim Powers' "Itinerary" is a haunting bit of magical realism, and Ed Gorman's "Angie" resembles a Lifetime Network script gone haywire. Chet Williamson's wry "Excerpts" is more funny than horrific, and even Collins' work is a folksy fairy tale. Of the few stories in 999 that would be summarily rejected by fantasy, crime, suspense, mystery, and mainstream publications alike, about half are bloody, melodramatic dreck. In effect, the writers have anticipated Sarrantonio's crusade for legitimacy, but instead of embracing horror and proving its literary potential, they're edging purposefully toward more commercially viable realms. Granted, the results are successful and enjoyable enough to read, but if Sarrantonio is right and horror is a ghetto, 999 shows more signs of white flight than urban renewal.