In the mid-seventies, and absolutely no later than 1974, I read a
short story in a mystery or horror anthology that scared me worse than
anything else I've read before or since, worse even than Stephen
King's "The Shining."  I'd like to know the author and title of that
story.

To the best of my strained recollection, the first-person narrator
writes that he has a considerable reputation as an assassin, but that
his skills have been challenged by a colleague who says that if it
weren't for stealth and surprise, he would not be successful at
overcoming his victims.  There is some sort of rivalry there, as if
the colleague were arguing that anybody could be a hit-and-run sneak
but that it takes a strong, self-respecting, worthy hit man to face
his victim and kill him squarely when the victim knows he's coming. 
The narrator explains that he has entered into a wager that he can
murder someone after giving the intended victim full, fair, truthful
warning that he is about to kill them.

He goes on to reveal that the chosen victim is you, the reader.  At
the climax of the story, he says something like, "Do you think I
wouldn't be capable of taking one copy of a book such as this
paperback from the shelf in the store and replacing it undetected,
after removing certain pages and substituting other specially prepared
ones in this one copy alone, matching the fonts, paper, etc.?  [This
was all before anyone had such a thing as scanners or desktop
publishing, but it was still plausible.]  And then all I had to do was
observe who purchased it and follow the person home.  And that person
was you.  I will be waiting for you the next time you come out . . . I
will win my wager . . . Dare you think otherwise?"  Ah, what
nerve-chilling horrors for the solitary late-night reader!  I leapt at
every shadow in my street for days (and nights) afterward.

Now I'd like to know who wrote the story that still gives me a shiver
so many years later.

And, of course, I'd love to inflict it on someone else.

Hello, Apteryx!

I am certain that the tale you're looking for is entitled "Don't Look
Behind You." It was written by Fredric Brown, one of the great masters
of the short story.

Here are a couple of online sources that briefly describe "Don't Look
Behind You," so that you can verify that this is the story you want:

"Paradox is the primary theme of much of Brown’s  work, and he was
constantly looking for new ways to tell tales, (For example, "Don't
Look Behind You," a classic murder mystery in which the reader is the
victim..."

Paradox Lost
http://devernay.free.fr/paradoxlost/html/paradox.html

"Mostly Murder (1953) is his first crime story collection and contains
some of the best of his detective pulp stories, including the classic
'Don't Look Behind You'. In it the writer convinces the reader that
the book he is reading is the only one containing this story, and that
as soon as the reader finishes reading it, the writer is going to kill
him."

De Boekenplank: The Book Case of Fredric Brown
http://www.deboekenplank.nl/naslag/aut/b/brown_f/brown_f_bookcase.htm

The story has been reprinted in the mystery anthologies "Mostly
Murder" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories Not for the Nervous."
(The latter was published in both hardback and paperback editions.)

SF Site: Publication History for "Don't Look Behind You"
http://www.sfsite.com/isfdb-bin/pwork.cgi?332717

Although I haven't found a source for the story in a book that is now
in print, used copies of "Stories Not for the Nervous" are plentiful
and inexpensive. Half.com offers a number of copies, ranging in price
from $0.75 up to $3.50 (plus $3.25 per item shipping):

Half.ebaycom: "Stories Not for the Nervous"
http://half.ebay.com/cat/buy/prod.cgi?cpid=5201920&domain_id=1856&meta_id=1

My Google search strategy was simplified by the fact that I am a huge
fan of  the late, great Fredric Brown, and I recognized the story from
your description.

Google Web Search: "fredric brown" + "don't look behind you"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22fredric+brown%22+%22don%27t+look+behind+you

If any of the links do not function, or if this is not the story
you're looking for, please request clarification before rating my
answer, and I will gladly offer further assistance.

I hope you enjoy surprising your friends with this unique and very
scary story!

Best wishes,
pinkfreud

---

Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 26 Nov 2002 10:42 PST

Thanks for the five stars and the tip!

And additional thanks for comparing me to John Henry.

Somehow "Pinkfreud was a steel-drivin' gal" just doesn't sound like
the stuff of which folk legends are made, though... ;-)

~Pink

Hi, Pink!  I feel as though we were old friends by now.  You must be
one of the busiest folks on the Web.

I tried pretty hard to find this one myself, but I couldn't come up
with any unique way of identifying the story that would narrow the
choices for a search engine.  I figured this mystery would have to be
solved by someone who actually recognized the story from my
description (nine-pound hammer in human hand wins steel-driving race
after all).  So even though I can't verify your answer until I see the
story itself, I am giving you a rating that reflects my confidence in
your confidence, which is backed by your own track record as a
researcher.  Thank you for a fast response and, I don't doubt, another
bull's eye.