Night Visions 7

The latest in this anthology series (each volume showcases the talents of three horror writers) is the usual mixed bag, with more than enough fine work to make it worthwhile. Richard Laymon provides the best stories in the book, each of which packs a solid punch. ``Mop Up,'' the tale of a handful of soldiers eradicating the ghoul-like victims of a virulently contagious disease, reads like the scenario of a George Romero film and is just as scary. ``Wishbone'' depicts a troubled relationship given its coup de grace by a much too animated skeleton. ``Bad News'' considers what might happen if suburbia were invaded by a horde of deadly rat-like creatures, and ``Madman Stan'' tells of a bizarre baby-sitter who terrorizes her wards. The best of Chet Williamson's three contributions is the thoughtful novelette ``Confession of St. James,'' an interesting character study of a good-hearted but disturbed priest who consumes human flesh when he celebrates the Eucharist. Gary Brandner's lurid short novel, ``Damntown,'' is set in a village in Wisconsin perpetually frozen in time: a June day in 1933, when the devil showed up to make the town his headquarters. (Nov.)