Major Fantasy Anthologies - A Guide
Blue Tyson
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2010 Blue Tyson
For fantasy in general, the short story has been less of a focus than science fiction, it would appear. I certainly also have less of it in my collection, or in my head. However, such a form has been around a lot longer, with more practitioners. Monster and ghost stories galore for centuries, for example, not to mention the various mythological tales from all around the world.
This list is fantasy in the 'Fantasy and Horror' sense, to be clear at the start. These overlap quite a bit, as can be seen in various publications, including some of the references. You will, of course, find some fantasy (or horror) in a lot of science fiction publications. You can find the Science Fiction version of this at :- Major Science Fiction Anthologies - A Brief History
So I thought I'd have a go at listing some works that I know about, and others found with some browsing and in some reference material. Of more particular interest is more modern publication, even if not more modern work, that is likely to be more available to actually acquire.
I certainly wasn't around in the 20s, 30s and 40s to acquire or read the older volumes, and as such, I am much more likely not to know about books from that time. I also don't have as much interest in your garden variety ghost story, either. Part of the point of writing this is for people to point out additions or corrections, though. A Super Editor or eidetic memoried bibliographer I am not. This was also partly to find out what is out that there I didn't know about.
Where I have actually read and rated them, I will put a link after the volume that goes to that for anyone who cares. The editors of the volumes are listed at the end of the article and linked to their isfdb or other entry if there is one, for those who would like to check out the contents of the volumes. You can also look them up in the various Contento indexes.
One glaring omission is the lack of any list of anthologies in the paranormal romance sub-genre (barring Elrod's Supernatural Wedding book). I have not looked, but I have certainly seem some, novella collections at least. If there are any series of such, or best ofs and anyone knows, please tell me and I will list them.
NINETEENTH CENTURY AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY
You will find a lot of older work here, including Lovecraft and Howard :
Project Gutenberg Australia SF Project
ProjectGutenberg
If you are after Clark Ashton Smith, there is pretty much everything at : The Eldritch Dark
Some dead tree anthologies of this type that I have found while browsing :
Famous Ghost Stories - J. Walker McSpadden (1918)
The Haunters and the Haunted: Ghost Stories and Tales of the Supernatural -Ernest Rhys (1921)
Not at Night 1-4 - Christine Campbell Thomson (1925-1962)
You'll Need a Nightlight - Christine Campbell Thomson (1927)
By Daylight Only - Christine Campbell Thomson (1929)
Switch on the Light - Christine Campbell Thomson (1931)
At Dead of Night - Christine Campbell Thomson (1931)
Grim Death - Christine Campbell Thomson (1932)
Keep on the Light - Christine Campbell Thomson (1932)
Terror by Night - Christine Campbell Thomson (1934)
Nightmare By Daylight - Christine Campbell Thomson (1936)
The Ghost Story Omnibus - Joseph Lewis French (1926)
Shudders - Cynthia Asquith (1929)
A Century of Creepy Stories - Cynthia Asquith (1936)
A Book of Modern Ghosts - Cynthia Asquith (1953)
The Third Ghost Book - Cynthia Asquith (1970)
Beware After Dark!: The Worlds Most Stupendous Tales of Mystery, Horror, Thrills and Terror - T. Everett Harre (1929)
A Second Century of Creepy Stories - Hugh Walpole (1930)
The Supernatural Omnibus - Montague Summers (1931)
Creeps by Night [Modern Tales of Horror] - Dashiell Hammett (1931)
Strange Assembly - John Gawsworth (1932)
New Tales of Horror - John Gawsworth (1932)
A Century Of Horror - Dennis Wheatley (1935)
Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural - Herbert Wise and Phyllis M. Fraser (1944)
Six Novels of the Supernatural - Edward Wagenknecht (1944)
They Walk Again - Colin De La Mare (1946)
Tales of the Undead - Elinor Blaisdell (1947)
Boris Karloff's Favorite Horror Stories [The Boris Karloff Horror Anthology] - Boris Karloff (1965)
Seven Masterpieces of Gothic Horror - Robert Donald Spector (1963)
The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural - Ray Russell (1967)
Five Victorian Ghost Novels - E. F Bleiler (1971)
A Treasury of Victorian Ghost Stories - E. Fl Bleiler (1981)
Gaslight Tales of Terror - R. Chetwynd Hayes (1976)
The Taste of Fear - Hugh Lamb (1976)
The Virago Book of Victorian Ghost Stories - Richard Dalby (1988)
The Mammoth Book of Victorian and Edwardian Ghost Stories - Richard Dalby (1995)
Tales Before Tolkien - Douglas A. Anderson (2003)
THE MODERN ERA
I will call this time period up until around the end of the 1980s, as it would appear that is when horror crashed and fantasy started booming.
There are and wore more major (or majority) science fiction magazines than fantasy magazines, but some like Weird Tales, Unknown and the 50-50ish Fantasy and Science Fiction did of course exist, with others that do publish fantasy.
The editor that has put the most work into writing about the magazines in this era here is Mike Ashley, and he has updated this work recently
The History of the Science Fiction Magazine Part 1 1926-1935 - Mike Ashley (1974)
The History of the Science Fiction Magazine Part 2 1936-1945 - Mike Ashley (1975)
The History of the Science Fiction Magazine Part 3 1946-1955 - Mike Ashley (1976)
The History of the Science Fiction Magazine Part 4 1956-1965 - Mike Ashley (1978)
These books are history, analysis, anthologies of stories and bibliographies.
The updated volumes begin with :
Time Machines: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazines from the Beginning to 1950 - Mike Ashley (2001)
and are still continuing.
Who Knocks? - August Derleth (1946)
The Night Side - August Derleth (1947)
The Sleeping and the Dead - August Derleth (1947)
The Mandrake Root: An Anthology of Fantastic Tales - Kay Dick (1946)
Science Fiction editors Conklin and Wollheim put together some early examples, before some actual anthology series took off.
In the Grip Of Terror - Groff Conklin (1951)
The Supernatural Reader - Groff Conklin and Lucy Conklin (1953)
Terror In the Modern Vein - Donald A. Wollheim (1955)
The Macabre Reader - Donald A. Wollheim(1959)
More Terror in the Modern Vein - Donald A. Wollheim(1961)
More Macabre - Donald A. Wollheim(1961)
Pan Books of Horror Stories 1-3 - Herbert Van Thal (1960-1966)
Famous Tales of the Fantastic - Herbert Van Thal (1965)
Best Fantasy Stories - Brian Aldiss (1962)
Best Tales of Terror 1-2 - Edmund Crispin (1962-1965)
The Tandem Book of Ghost Stories - Charles Birkin (1965)
The Tandem Book of Horror Stories - Charles Birkin (1965)
Medley Macabre - Bryan A. Netherwood (1966)
Uncanny - Bryan A. Netherwood (1974)
Horror Times Ten - Alden H. Norton (1967)
Masters of Horror - Alden H. Norton (1968)
Horrors In Hiding - Sam Moskowitz and Alden H. Norton (1973)
Hauntings, Tales of the Supernatural - Henry Mazzeo (1968)
The Coming (again) of Conan thanks to L. Sprague de Camp, and other Sword and Sorcery and adult fantasy promoters, such as Lin Carter was very important for fantasy to start on its road to stardom.
The Young Magicians - Lin Carter (1969)
The Magic of Atlantis - Lin Carter (1970)
New Worlds for Old - Lin Carter (1971)
Discoveries in Fantasy - Lin Carter (1972)
Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy I - Lin Carter (1972)
Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy II - Lin Carter (1973)
Realms of Wizardry - Lin Carter (1976)
Splinters - Alex Hamilton (1969)
Horrors Unknown - Sam Moskowitz (1971)
This includes an all-star round-robin story by Moore, Merritt, Lovecraft, Howard and Long it seems.
The Golden Road - Damon Knight (1973)
Fiends and Creatures - Marvin Kaye (1975)
Ghosts: A Treasury of Chilling Tales Old and New - Marvin Kaye and Saralee Kaye (1981)
Moving into the Stephen King era, and then Clive Barker, making anthology appearances.
Night Chills - Kirby McCauley (1975)
Beyond Midnight - Kirby McCauley (1976)
Frights - Kirby McCauley (1976)
Frights 1 - Kirby McCauley (1979)
Dark Forces - Kirby McCauley (1980)
Nameless Places - Gerald W. Page (1975)
Superhorror - Ramsey Campbell (1976)
Gahan Wilson's Favorite Tales of Horror - Gahan Wilson (1976)
First World Fantasy Awards - Gahan Wilson (1977)
A Book Of Contemporary Nightmares - Giles Gordon (1977)
The Fantastic Imagination - Robert H. Boyer and Kenneth J. Zahorski (1977)
Dark Imaginings - Robert H. Boyer and Kenneth J. Zahorski (1978)
Fantastic Imagination II - Robert H. Boyer and Kenneth J. Zahorski (1986)
Nightmares - Charles L. Grant (1979)
Horrors - Charles L. Grant (1981)
Tales from the Nightside - Charles L. Grant (1981)
Terrors - Charles L. Grant (1982)
The Dodd Mead Gallery of Horror [Gallery of Horror] - Charles L. Grant (1983)
Fears - Charles L. Grant (1983)
Midnight - Charles L. Grant (1985)
After Midnight - Charles L. Grant (1986)
Fantastic Worlds: Myths, Tales, and Stories - Eric S. Rabkin (1979)
Basilisk - Ellen Kushner (1980)
The World Fantasy Awards Volume Two - Fritz Leiber and Stuart David Schiff (1980)
The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural - Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg and Barry N. Malzberg (1980)
The Arbor House Necropolis - Bill Pronzini (1981)
Modern Masters of Horror - Frank Coffey (1981)
The combination of Carr and Greenberg and Carr and Silverberg have put together a couple of excellent retrospectives, that have been republished more recently, when a second title is given.
A Treasury of Modern Fantasy [Masters Of Fantasy] - Martin H. Greenberg and Terry Carr Martin H. Greenberg (1981)
Masters of Fantasy - Martin H. Greenberg and Terry Carr Martin H. Greenberg (1981)
The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural - Martin H. Greenberg and Bill Pronzini and Barry N. Malzberg (1981)
The Fantasy Hall of Fame [The Mammoth Book of Fantasy All-Time Greats] - Martin H. Greenberg and Robert Silverberg (1983)
The Mammoth Book of Fantasy All-Time Greats - Martin H. Greenberg and Robert Silverberg (1983)
100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories - Terry Carr and Martin H. Greenberg (1984)
100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories - Martin H. Greenberg and Terry Carr and Isaac Asimov (1987)
A Treasury of Fantasy [The Mammoth Book Of Classic Fantasy] - Cary Wilkins (1981)
Cutting Edge - Dennis Etchison (1986)
Year's Best Series
The first of the fantasy Year's Best series, with Carter displaying more of a like for adventure than the more mundane variety of fantasy the modern Year's Best editors favor, in general.
The Year's Best Fantasy Stories 1-14 - Lin Carter [1-6] and Arthur W. Saha [7-12] (1975-1988)
The Year's Best Fantasy Stories 12 - Arthur W. Saha (1986)
Science Fiction Super Editor Carr's series has a different names, the Year's Finest Fantasy for the first two, and then the name below for the final volumes.
Fantasy Annual 1-5 - Terry Carr (1978-1982)
The Year's Finest Fantasy 1 - Terry Carr (1978)
The Year's Finest Fantasy 2 - Terry Carr (1979)
Fantasy Annual IV - Terry Carr (1981)
Other Series
Anthology series became a lot more column, and the shared world anthology arrived in a big way with Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey's Thieves' World, which is still going.
The Avon Fantasy Reader 1-6 - Donald A. Wollheim (1947-1952)
19 Tales of Terror - Whit Burnett and Hallie Burnett (1956)
The Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories 1-8 - Robert Aickman (1964-1972)
Fontana Horror 1-2 - Christine Barnard (1966-1967)
New Worlds of Fantasy 1-3 - Terry Carr (1967-1971)
The Year's Best Horror Stories 1-22 - Karl Edward Wagner [8-22] and Richard Davis [1-3] and Gerald W. Page [4-7] (1971-1992)
Mayflower Books of Black Magic Stories 1-6 - Michel Parry (1974-1977)
From the Archives of Evil 1-2 - Michel Parry and Christopher Lee (1976)
The Armada Monster Book 1-6 - R. Chetwynd-Hayes (1975-1980)
The Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories - R. Chetwynd-Hayes (1972-1984)
Whispers 1-6 - Stuart Schiff (1977-1987)
The Best of Whispers - Stuart Schiff (1995)
Shadows 1-10 - Charles L. Grant (1978-1987)
The Best of Shadows - Charles L. Grant (1988)
Final Shadows - Charles L. Grant (1991)
Thieves World - Robert Lynn Asprin and Lynn Abbey (1979, ongoing)
Thieves' World - Robert Lynn Asprin
Tales From the Vulgar Unicorn - Robert Lynn Asprin
Shadows of Sanctuary - Robert Lynn Asprin
New Terrors 1-2 - Ramsey Campbell (1980)
New Terrors (selection from above 2 books) - Ramsey Campbell (1982)
Weird Tales 1-4 - Lin Carter (1980-1983)
Elsewhere 1-3 - Terri Windling and Mark Alan Arnold (1981-1984)
Night Visions 1-11 - Alan Ryan and Charles L. Grant and George R. R. Martin and Anonymous and Stanley Wiater and Richard Chizmar and Bill Sheehan (1984-2004)
Masters of Darkness 1-3 - Dennis Etchison (1986-1991)
THE NEW ERA
The Hartwell massive tome pops up here, too, so a good place to start, I think, after the end of the many bad books with black covers with skulls on them era. Another Hartwell renaissance if you like, as far as availability of books goes.
The Dark Descent - David G. Hartwell (1987)
also split up as these volumes
The Dark Descent 1 The Colour of Evil - David G. Hartwell (1990)
The Dark Descent 2 The Medusa in the Shield - David G. Hartwell (1990)
The Dark Descent 3 A Fabulous Formless Darkness - David G. Hartwell (1992)
Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment - David G. Hartwell (1988)
Foundations of Fear - David G. Hartwell (1992)
also split up as
Foundations of Fear 1 - David G. Hartwell Shadows of Fear (1994)
Foundations of Fear 2 - David G. Hartwell Worlds of Fear (1994)
Foundations of Fear 3 - David G. Hartwell Visions of Fear (1994)
Masterpieces of Fantasy and Wonder - David G. Hartwell (1994)
The Architecture of Fear - Kathryn Cramer and Peter D. Pautz (1987)
The Walls of Fear - Kathryn Cramer and Peter D. Pautz (1990)
The Weirds - Sheldon Jaffrey (1987)
The Mammoth Book of Short Horror Novels - Mike Ashley (1988)
Prime Evil - Douglas Winter (1988)
Dark Visions - Douglas Winter (1988)
The Book of Fantasy - Jorge Luis Borges (1989)
Book of the Dead - John Skipp and Craig Spector (1989)
Still Dead - John Skipp and Craig Spector (1989)
Horrorstory: Volume 4 - Karl Edward Wagner (1990)
The Horror Hall of Fame - Martin H. Greenberg and Robert Silverberg (1991)
Smart Dragons, Foolish Elves - Alan Dean Foster and Martin H. Greenberg (1991)
Horrors! 365 Scary Stories - Martin H. Greenberg and Stefan Dziemianowicz and Robert Weinberg (1997)
Horrors! 365 Scary Stories: Get Your Daily Dose of Terror - Martin H. Greenberg and Stefan Dziemianowicz and Robert Weinberg (1998)
My Favorite Fantasy Story - Martin H. Greenberg (2000)
My Favorite Horror Story - Martin H. Greenberg (2000)
Under the Fang - Robert McCammon (1991)
Visions & Imaginings: Classic Fantasy Fiction - Robert H. Boyer and Kenneth J. Zahorski (1992)
MetaHorror - Dennis Etchsion (1992)
The Museum of Horrors - Dennis Etchsion (2001)
Gathering the Bones - Jack Dann and Ramsey Campbell and Dennis Etchison (2003)
H. P. Lovecraft's Book Of Horror - Stephen Jones and David Carson (1994)
The Giant Book of Fantasy and the Supernatural - Stephen Jones and David Sutton (1994)
The Anthology of Fantasy & the Supernatural - Stephen Jones and David Sutton (1994
Dark of the Night - Stephen Jones (1998)
Dancing with the Dark - Stephen Jones (1998)
White Of the Moon - Stephen Jones (1999)
Keep out the Night - Stephen Jones (2002)
Freakshow - F. Paul Wilson (1992)
Masterpieces of Terror and the Unknown - Marvin Kaye (1993)
100 Hair Raising Little Horror Stories - Al Sarrantonio (1993)
999: New Tales of Horror and Suspense - Al Sarrantonio (1999)
The Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories - Tom Shippey (1994)
New Masterpieces of Horror - John Gregory Betancourt (1996)
also split up as
Horrorscape 1: New Masterpieces of Horror - John Gregory Betancourt (2005)
Horrorscape 2: New Masterpieces of Horror - John Gregory Betancourt (2005)
Modern Classics of Fantasy - Gardner Dozois (1997)
Treasures of Fantasy - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (1997)
The Wizards of Odd - Peter Haining (1997)
Legends - Robert Silverberg (1998)
also split as
Legends 1 - Robert Silverberg (1999)
Legends 2 - Robert Silverberg (1999)
Legends 3 - Robert Silverberg (2000)
Legends II - Robert Silverberg (2003)
also split as
Legends II: Dragon, Sword, and King - Robert Silverberg (2004)
Legends II: Shadows, Gods, and Demons - Robert Silverberg (2004)
The Fantasy Hall of Fame sfwa - Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1998)
The Mammoth Book of Fantasy - Mike Ashley (2001)
The Mammoth Book of Sorcerers' Tales - Mike Ashley (2004)
The Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy - Mike Ashley (2008)
Familiar and Haunting - Philippa Pearce (2002)
The Ultimate Undead - Byron Preiss and John Gregory Betancourt (2006)
Best New Fantasy - Sean Wallace (2006)
The Coyote Road - Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (2007)
Inferno - Ellen Datlow (2008)
Movement Anthologies
Splatterpunks 1-2 - Paul Sammon (1990-1996)
The New Weird - Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer (2008)
Year's Best Series
Two major ongoing series that still continue. The Best New Horror Series is now called the Mammoth Book of Best New Horror.
The Datlow and Windling, then Link and Grant series is sort of two books, with Datlow doing the horror, and the others the fantasy, indicating who chose which, but it is not 'all horror first' then the fantasy stories next.
Best New Horror - Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell (1-5) (1990, ongoing)
Best New Horror 01 - Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell (1990)
Best New Horror 02 - Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell (1991)
Best New Horror 05 - Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell (1994)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 06 - Stephen Jones (1995)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 07 - Stephen Jones (1996)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 09 - Stephen Jones (1998)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 10 - Stephen Jones (1999)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 11 - Stephen Jones (2000)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 14 - Stephen Jones (2003)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 17 - Stephen Jones (2006)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 16 - Stephen Jones (2007)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 18 - Stephen Jones (2007)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 19 - Stephen Jones (2008)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20 - Stephen Jones (2009)
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror - Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (1-16) and Kelly Link and Gavin Grant (17-20)
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 01st Annual Collection - Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 18th Annual Collection - Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link and Gavin Grant
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 19th Annual Collection - Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link and Gavin Grant
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 20th Annual Collection - Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link and Gavin Grant
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 21st Annual Collection - Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link and Gavin Grant
Starting in 2009
The Best Horror of the Year 1 - Ellen Datlow
David Hartwell started a science fiction year's best series, so I suppose someone suggested fantasy, too, and with that comes a similar proliferation of Year's Best Series, with Haber and Silverberg, Haber and Strahan, Horton, and Betancourt and Wallace all producing volumes.
The Year's Best Fantasy - David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (2001, Ongoing)
The Year's Best Fantasy 1 - David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (2001)
The Year's Best Fantasy 2 - David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (2002)
The Year's Best Fantasy 3 - David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (2003)
The Year's Best Fantasy 4 - David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (2003)
The Year's Best Fantasy 5 - David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (2005)
The Year's Best Fantasy 6 - David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (2006)
The Year's Best Fantasy 7 - David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (2007)
The Year's Best Fantasy 8 - David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (2008)
Fantasy the Best Of 1-3 - Karen Haber and Robert Silverberg and Jonathan Strahan (2001-2004)
Fantasy the Best of the Year 2001 - Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber (2001)
Fantasy the Best of 2004 - Jonathan Strahan and Karen Haber (2004)
Fantasy the Very Best of 2005 - Jonathan Strahan (2006)
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Of the Year 1 - Jonathan Strahan (2007)
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Of the Year 2 - Jonathan Strahan (2008)
Horror the Best of the Year - John Gregory Betancourt and Sean Wallace (2006, ongoing)
Horror the Best of the Year - John Gregory Betancourt and Sean Wallace (2006)
Fantasy the Best of the Year - Rich Horton (2006, ongoing)
Fantasy the Best of the Year 2006 - Rich Horton (2006)
Fantasy the Best of the Year 2007 - Rich Horton (2007)
Other Series
More Year's Best series, not so many of the ordinary anthology series, it would appear, although a couple of new books by Mann and Datlow may say this develop, at least for fantasy, anyway.
Masques 1-5 - J. N. Williamson and Gary Braunbeck [5] (1984-2006)
Braunbeck
Best of Masques - J. N. Williamson (1988)
Dark Masques - J. N. Williamson(2001)
Darker Masques - J. N. Williamson(2002)
Borderlands 1-5 - Thomas F. Monteleone and Elizabeth E. MOnteleone [4-5] (1990-2003)
Dark Voices 1-6 - Stephen Jones and David Sutton (1991-1994)
Dark Voices II - Stephen Jones and David Sutton
Dark Terrors 1-6 - Stephen Jones and David Sutton (1995-2002)
Dark Terrors 4 - Stephen Jones and David Sutton
Extreme Visions 1-3 - Al Sarrantonio (2001-2006)
Redshift - Al Sarrantonio (2001)
Flights 1 - Al Sarrantonio (2004)
Flights 2 - Al Sarrantonio (2006)
Eclipse - Jonathan Strahan (2007, ongoing)
Eclipse 1 - Jonathan Strahan (2007)
Eclipse 2 - Jonathan Strahan (2008)
The Solaris Book Of New Fantasy - George Mann (2007, ongoing)
The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy - Ellen Datlow (2008)
APPENDICES
I am not saying these are major anthologies as such (and maybe not even good), although some may be These are just some I have come across, or examples I have read and included. This is also to point out the wide range of good stuff that can be seen.
Also for people that like particular monsters, or Cthulhu, or faeries, or dragons, there are some examples. Have a particular interest in sword and sorcery and ghost busting 'dark detectives' to use Stephen Jones' rather nice title, for example. Also Australian fiction, and there are likely geographical examples of ghost story anthologies from many, many places.
1. SUBSET ANTHOLOGIES
Examples of books that are restricted by geography, or by sex.
Cornish Tales of Terror - R. Chetwynd Hayes (1970)
Scottish Tales of Terror - R. Chetwynd Hayes (1972)
Welsh Tales of Terror - R. Chetwynd Hayes (1973)
The Oxford Book of Canadian Ghost Stories - Alberto Manguel (1984)
Modern Ghost Stories by Eminent Women Writers - Richard Dalby (1992)
Terror Australis - Leigh Blackmore (1993)
The Screaming Skull and Other Great American Ghost Stories - David G. Hartwell(1994)
The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy By Women - A. Susan Williams and Richard Glyn Jones (1995)
Bonescribes: Year's Best Australian Horror: 1995 - Robert Hood and Bill Congreve (1996)
The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy - Jonathan Strahan and Jeremy Byrne (1996-1997)
The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy - Jonathan Strahan and Jeremy Byrne (2006)
The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy 2 - Jonathan Strahan and Jeremy Byrne (2007)
Great Irish Tales of Fantasy - Peter Haining (1999)
The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women - Stephen Jones (2001)
The American Fantasy Tradition - Brian M. Thomsen (2002)
The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy 1-3 - Bill Congreve and Michelle Marquardt (2005,ongoing)
The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy One - Bill Congreve and Michelle Marquardt (2006)
The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy 2 - Bill Congreve and Michelle Marquardt (2007)
The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy 3 - Bill Congreve and Michelle Marquardt (2008)
The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction - Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver
Best American Fantasy - Jeff VanderMeer (2007)
Great American Ghost Stories: Chilling Tales by Poe, Bierce, Hawthorne and Others - Mike Ashley (2008)
2. THEME ANTHOLOGIES
Books that focus on a particular subject, or type of fantasy.
Sword and Sorcery
The Ghoul Keepers - Leo Margulies (1961)
Swords & Sorcery - L. Sprague De Camp (1963)
The Spell of Seven - L. Sprague de Camp (1965)
Realms Of Wizardry - Lin Carter (1976)
The Fantastic Swordsmen - L. Sprague de Camp (1967
The Young Magicians - Lin Carter (1969)
The Mighty Barbarians - Hans Stefan Santesson (1969)
The Mighty Swordsmen - Hans Stefan Santesson (1970)
Warlocks and Warriors - L. Sprague De Camp (1970)
New Worlds For Old - Lin Carter (1971)
Swordsmen and Supermen - Donald M. Grant (1972)
Flashing Swords 1-5 - Lin Carter (1973-1977)
Flashing Swords 1 - Lin Carter
Flashing Swords 2 - Lin Carter
Flashing Swords! 3 Warriors and Wizards - Lin Carter
Flashing Swords 4 - Lin Carter
Flashing Swords 5 - Lin Carter
Realms Of Wizardy - Lin Carter (1976))
Swords Against Darkness 1-5 - Andrew J. Offutt (1977-1979)
Swords Against Darkness 1 - Andrew J. Offutt
Swords Against Darkness 2 - Andrew J. Offutt
Swords Against Darkness 3 - Andrew J. Offutt
Swords Against Darkness 4 - Andrew J. Offutt
Swords Against Darkness 5 - Andrew J. Offutt
Savage Heroes - Donald A. Wollheim (1977)
Heroic Fantasy - Gerald W. Page and Hank Reinhardt (1979)
Amazons 1-2 - Jessica Amanda Salmonson (1979-1982)
Amazons! - Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Amazons 2 - Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Heroic Visions 1-2 - Jessica Amanda Salmonson (1983-1986)
Heroic Visions 1 - Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Heroic Visions 2 - Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Sword and Sorceress - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxon [21-22] and Elisabeth Waters [23]] (1984, ongoing)
Barbarians 1-2 - Robert Adams and Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh and Pamela Crippen Adams (1985-1988)
Barbarians - Martin H. Greenberg and Robert Adams and Charles G. Waugh
Barbarians II - Martin H. Greenberg and Robert Adams and Pamela Crippen Adams
Echoes of Valor (1-3) - Karl Edward Wagner (1991-1993)
Echoes Of Valor - Karl Edward Wagner
Echoes Of Valor II - Karl Edward Wagner
Echoes Of Valor III - Karl Edward Wagner
Chicks In Chainmail 1-5 - Esther M. Friesner (1995-2004)
Ghost Busters
Supernatural Sleuths - Peter Haining (1986)
The Supernatural Solution - Michel Parry (1976)
Ghostbreakers - Michel Parry (1985)
Supernatural Sleuths - Charles G. Waugh and Martin H. Greenberg (1996)
Dark Detectives - Stephen Jones (1999)
Vampire Slayers: Stories of Those Who Dare to Take Back the Night - Martin H. Greenberg and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (2003)
Ghost Hunters and Psychic Detectives - Jean Marie Stine
Cthulhu Mythos
Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos - August Derleth (1969)
The Spawn of Cthulhu - Lin Carter (1971)
Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos: Volume 1 - August Derleth (1971)
Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos: Volume 2 - August Derleth (1971)
New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos - Ramsey Campbell (1980)
Shadows Over Innsmouth - Stephen Jones (2001)
Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth - Stephen Jones (2005)
H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos: A Weird Tales Retrospective - John Gregory Betancourt and Robert Weinberg (2007)
Arthurian
The Pendragon Chronicles - Mike Ashley (1990)
The Camelot Chronicles - Mike Ashley (1992)
The Giant Book Of Arthurian Tales - Mike Ashley (1992)
The Merlin Chronicles - Mike Ashley (1995)
The Chronicles of the Holy Grail [Quest for the Holy Grail] - Mike Ashley (1996)
The Chronicles of the Round Table [Tales of the Round Table] - Mike Ashley (1997)
The Mammoth Book of Arthurian Legends - Mike Ashley (1998)
The Mammoth Book of King Arthur - Mike Ashley (2005)
Fairy Tales
Faery! - Terri Windling (1984)
Faery - Terri Windling (1985)
Fairy Tale Anthologies (1-6) - Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (1993-2000)
Snow White Blood Red - Ellen Datlow (1993)
Black Thorn White Rose - Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (1994)
The Faery Reel - Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (2004)
The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales - Alison Lurie (1994)
The Mammoth Book of Fairy Tales - Mike Ashley (1997)
The Outspoken Princess and the Gentle Knight: A Treasury of Modern Fairy Tales - Jack Zipes (1995)
The Armless Maiden and Other Tales for Childhood's Survivors (1995)
Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (1998) with Ellen Datlow
A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales (2000) with Ellen Datlow
Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Third Annual Collection (2001)
The Green Man: Tales of the Mythic Forest (2002) with Ellen Datlow
The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm (2004) with Ellen Datlow
Swan Sister: Fairy Tales Retold (2005) with Ellen Datlow
Salon Fantastique: Fifteen Original Tales of Fantasy (2006) with Ellen Datlow
The Coyote Road (2007) with Ellen Datlow
Dragons
The Ultimate Dragon - Byron Preiss and John Gregory Betancourt and Keith R. A. DeCandido (1995)
The Dragon Quintet - Marvin Kaye
Dragons of Light/Darkness 1-2 - Orson Scott Card (1980-1981)
Vampires
Vampire - Peter Haining (1985)
Blood Is Not Enough - Ellen Datlow (1988)
The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories - Alan Ryan (1988)
A Whisper Of Blood - Ellen Datlow (1991)
Vampire Stories - Richard Dalby (1992)
The Mammoth Book of Vampires - Stephen Jones (1994)
The Giant Book Of Vampires
The Vampire Sextette - Marvin Kaye
By Blood We Live - John Joseph Adams (2009)
100 Vicious Little Vampire Stories - Martin H. Greenberg and Stefan Dziemianowicz and Robert Weinberg (1995)
The Vampire Omnibus - Peter Haining (1995)
Vampire Sexette - Marvin Kaye (2002)
Classic Vampire Stories - Leslie Shepard (1995)
Vampires the Great Stories - Martin H. Greenberg (1991)
Dracula
The Ultimate Dracula - Byron Preiss and David Keller and Megan Miller (1991)
The Mammoth Book of Dracula - Stephen Jones (1997)
Frankenstein
The Ultimate Frankenstein - Byron Preiss and Megan Miller and David Keller and John Betancourt (1991)
The Frankenstein Omnibus - Peter Haining (1994)
The Mammoth Book of Frankenstein - Stephen Jones (1994)
Werewolves
Book of the Werewolf - Brian J. Frost (1973)
Werewolf! - Bill Pronzini (1979)
Werewolf Horror Stories of the Man-Beast - Peter Haining (1987)
The Ultimate Werewolf - Byron Preiss and John Gregory Betancourt and Megan Miller and David Keller (1991)
The Mammoth Book of Werewolves - Stephen Jones (1994)
Mummies
The Mummy Walks Among Us - Vic Ghidalia (1971)
Mummy! - Bill Pronzini (1980)
The Mummy Stories Of the Living Corpse - Peter Haining (1988)
Mummy Stories - Martin H. Greenberg (1990)
The Face of Tutankhamun - Christopher Frayling (1992)
Zombies
Zombie - Peter Haining (1985)
The Mammoth Book of Zombies - Stephen Jones (1993)
The Ultimate Zombie - Byron Preiss and John Gregory Betancourt (1993)
The Living Dead - John Joseph Adams (2008)
Ghosts
Specter! - Bill Pronzini (1982)
Christmas Ghosts - David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (1987)
Ghost Stories - Robert Westall (1988)
Spirits of Christmas - David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (1989)
The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories - Richard Dalby (1990)
The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories 2 - Richard Dalby (1991)
The Virago Book of Ghost Stories: The Twentieth Century: Volume 2 - Richard Dalby (1991)
100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories - Martin H. Greenberg and Stefan Dziemianowicz and Robert Weinberg (1993)
Western Ghosts - Frank D. McSherry and Charles G. Waugh and Martin H. Greenberg (1990)
Eastern Ghosts (1990) - Frank D. McSherry and Charles G. Waugh and Martin H. Greenberg (1990)
Civil War Ghosts - Frank D. McSherry and Charles G. Waugh and Martin H. Greenberg (1991)
The Anthology of Ghost Stories - Richard Dalby (1994)
Gahan Wilson's The Ultimate Haunted House (1996) with Nancy A. Collins
The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Ghost Stories - Peter Haining (1998)
Great Ghost Stories - Stephen Jones and R. Chetwynd-Hayes (2004)
More Great Ghost Stories - Stephen Jones and R. Chetwynd-Hayes (2006)
The Mammoth Book of Modern Ghost Stories - Peter Haining (2007)
Spinetinglers: Ghoulish Ghost Stories - Robert Westall (2007)
Witches
Tales of Witchcraft - Richard Dalby (1992)
The Ultimate Witch - Byron Preiss and John Gregory Betancourt (1993)
100 Wicked Little Witch Stories (1995) with Stefan Dziemianowicz and Robert Weinberg
Paranormal Romance
My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding - P. N. Elrod (2006)
My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon - P. N. Elrod (2007)
Erotic
Hot Blood - Jeff Gelb and Michael Garrett and Lonn Friend [1] (ongoing,1989)
Hot Blood - Jeff Gelb (1989)
Stranger By Night - Jeff Gelb and Michael Garrett (1995)
Little Deaths - Ellen Datlow (1994)
Love In Vein 1-2 - Poppy Z. Brite and Martin H. Greenberg (1994-1997)
Forbidden Acts - Nancy A. Collins and Martin H. Greenberg and Edward E. Kramer (1995)
Dark Love - Nancy A. Collins and Martin H. Greenberg and Edward E. Kramer (1995)
Paranormal Romance
Hotter Than Hell - Kim Harrison
Miscellaneous
Voodoo! - Bill Pronzini (1980)
Mad Scientists - Stuart Schiff (1980)
Creature! - Bill Pronzini (1981)
The Exclamatory Series (Unicorns! to Angels!) - Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois (1982-1995) Note that some of this series is science fiction.
Greystone Bay 1-4 - Charles L. Grant (1985-1994)
Borderland/Bordertown 1-3 - Terri Windling and Mark Alan Arnold (1986-1991)
The Essential Bordertown - Terri Windling and Delia Sherman (1998)
What Did Miss Darrington See? (1989)
Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh (1983-1984)
The New Gothic - Bradford Morrow and Patrick McGrath (1990)
Isaac Asimov's Magic Worlds of Fantasy 1-12 - Isaac Asimov and Martin H. (1983-1991)
Fantastic! Series - Martin H. Greenberg and various others (1991-2002)
World Fantasy 1-2 - Martin H. Greenberg and various others (1992-1994)
Phobias 1-2 - Martin H. Greenberg and various others (1994-1995)
Magical Realist Fiction - Keith Hollaman and David Young (1984)
The Mammoth Book of Terror - Stephen Jones (1991)
The Mammoth Book Of New Terror - Stephen Jones (2004)
The Mammoth Book of Monsters - Stephen Jones (2007)
Horror For Christmas - Richard Dalby (1992)
American Gothic Tales - Joyce Carol Oates (1996)
The Horns of Elfland - Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman and Donald G. Keller (1997)
Robert Bloch's Psychos - Robert Bloch (1997)
100 Twisted Little Tales of Torment - Martin H. Greenberg and Stefan Dziemianowicz and Robert Weinberg (1998)
Horror at Halloween - Stephen Jones (1999)
The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories - Peter Haining (2000)
My Favorite Horror Story - Martin H. Greenberg and Mike Baker (2000)
Cities - Peter Crowther (2002)
Daikaiju 1-3 - Robert Hood (2006-2008)
Summer Chills - Stephen Jones (2007)
DAW Publishes a monthly anthology with a different theme, some of which are fantasy, for example :-
The Secret History Of Vampires - Martin H. Greenberg and Darrell Schweitzer (2007)
3. MAGAZINE ANTHOLOGIES
Books that have stories culled from the pages of a particular periodical that no longer exists.
Examples from Defunct Magazines
Unknown
Famous Fantastic Mysteries
Fantastic Universe
Fantasy Tales
Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine
The Fantastic Universe Omnibus - Hans Stefan Santesson (1960)
The Unknown - D. R. Bensen (1963)
The Unknown 5 - D. R. Bensen (1964)
The Best of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine - Marion Zimmer Bradley (1994)
The Best of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine Vol. II - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Elisabeth Waters (1995)
Famous Fantastic Mysteries - Martin H. Greenberg and Robert Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1991)
The Giant Book Of Fantasy Tales - Stephen Jones and Richard Sutton
The Best Horror From Fantasy Tales - Stephen Jones and Richard Sutton
Veteran
Books that have stories culled from the pages of a particular periodical that has been around a long time.
Fantasy and Science Fiction
Weird Tales
Asimov's
Large numbers of anthologies have been taken from these magazines over the years, for example, there are many from FSF and Asimov's alone.
The Best Fantasy Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction - Edward L. Ferman (1985)
The Best Horror Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction - Edward L. Ferman and Anne Jordan (1988)
The Best Horror Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Vol. I - Edward L. Ferman and Anne Jordan (1989)
The Best Horror Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Volume II - Edward L. Ferman and Anne Jordan (1990)
In Lands That Never Were: Tales of Swords and Sorcery from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction - Gordon Van Gelder (2004)
Weird Tales - Martin H. Greenberg and Stefan Dziemianowicz and Robert Weinberg (1988)
Weird Tales: 32 Unearthed Terrors - Martin H. Greenberg and Stefan Dziemianowicz and Robert Weinberg (1988)
The Best of Weird Tales - John Gregory Betancourt (1995)
Weird Tales: The Magazine that Never Dies - Marvin Kaye and Saralee Kaye (1996)
Weird Tales - Marvin Kaye (1996)
Isaac Asimov's Ghosts - Gardner Dozois and Sheila Williams (1995)
Isaac Asimov's Vampires - Gardner Dozois and Sheila Williams 1996)
Isaac Asimov's Camelot - Gardner Dozois and Sheila Williams (1998)
New
A couple of new magazines, that are definitely feature a majority of science fiction work - around two thirds in this case.
Black Gate
Black Static
Cemetery Dance
Clarkesworld
Fantasy
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
Realms Of Fantasy
The Best of Cemetery Dance - Richard Chizmar (1998)
The Best of Cemetery Dance 1 - Richard Chizmar (2000)
The Best of Cemetery Dance 2 - Richard Chizmar (2001)
Cemetery Dance: A Fifteen Year Celebration - Richard Chizmar (2008)
The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet - Kelly Link and Gavin Grant (2007)
Realms: The First Year of Clarkesworld Magazine - Sean Wallace and Nick Mamatas (2007)
4. MINOR ANTHOLOGIES SERIES
New Writings in Horror and the Supernatural 1-2 - David Sutton (1971-1972)
Tales by Moonlight 1-2 (1984-1989)
Other Edens 1-3 - Christopher Evans and Robert Holdstock (1987-1989)
Echoes Of Valor 1-3 - Karl Edward Wagner (1987-1991)
Darklands - Nicholas Royle (1991)
Darklands 2 - Nicholas Royle (1992)
Xanadu 1-3 - Jane Yolen (1993-1995)
Pulphouse 3-5,7,9 - Kristine Kathryn Rusch (1989-1991)
Narrow Houses 1-3 - Peter Crowther (1992-1994)
The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy 1-5 - Mike Ashley (1998-2005)
Fantasy Annual 3-4 - Sean Wallace (1999-2000)
Fantasy Adventures 1-10 - Philip Harbottle (2002-2005)
5. EDITOR LIST
Isfdb links to the various editors mentioned, so you can look up their work and the contents of the volumes if you like. Isfdb will often have wikipedia links to them, as well.
Lynn Abbey
Robert Aickman
Brian Aldiss
Mark Alan Arnold
Mike Ashley
Robert Lynn Asprin
Cynthia Asquit
Isaac Asimov
Mike Baker
Christine Barnard
D. R. Bensen
R. L. Bensen
John Gregory Betancourt
Charles Birkin
Leigh Blackmore
Elinor Blaisdell
Everett F. Bleiler
Robert H. Boyer
Jorge Luis Borges
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Gary A. Braunbeck
Randolph Bull
Hallie Burnett
Whit Burnett
Ramsey Campbell
Orson Scott Card
Terry Carr
Lin Carter
Jeanne Cavelos
R. Chetwynd-Hayes
Richard Chizmar
Frank Coffey
Nancy A. Collins
Vere Henry Collins
Bill Congreve
Groff Conklin
Kathryn Cramer
Edmund Crispin
Peter Crowther
Richard Dalby
Jack Dann
Ellen Datlow
Richard Davis
Russell Davis
L. Sprague de Camp
Colin de la Mare
Keith R. A. DeCandido
John DeChancie
Lester del Rey
August Derleth
Kay Dick
P. N. Elrod
Gardner Dozois
Stefan% Dziemianowicz
Dennis Etchison
Christopher Evans
Edward L. Ferman
Marjorie Fisher
Alan Dean Foster
Phyllis M. Fraser
Joseph Lewis French
Lonn Friend
Esther M. Friesner
Brian J. Frost
Michael Garrett
John Gawsworth
Vic Ghidalia
Richard Gilliam
Giles Gordon
Charles L. Grant
Gavin J. Grant
Martin H. Greenberg
Rosalind M. Greenberg
Frederik Stuart Greene
Karen Haber
Peter Haining
Alex Hamilton
T. Everett Harre
Dashiell Hammett
Thomas R. Hanlon
Philip Harbottle
David G. Hartwell
John Helfers
Robert Holdstock
Robert Hood
Rolfe Humphries
Richard Glyn Jones
Stephen Jones
Boris Karloff
Marvin Kaye
David Keller
Donald G. Keller
Damon Knight
Brittiany A. Koren
Edward E. Kramer
Ellen Kushner
Hugh Lamb
Alexander Lang
Christopher Lee
Fritz Leiber
Keith Hollaman
Alison Lurie
Barry N. Malzberg
Alberto Manguel
George R. R. Martin
Henry Mazzeo
Robert McCammon
Kirby McCauley
Patrick McGrath
J. Walker McSpadden
Frank D. McSherry
Megan Miller
A. R. Morlan
Jane Morley
Bradford Morrow
Violet T. Murray
Sam Moskowitz
A. Neimark
Bryan A. Netherwood
Alden H. Norton
Andrew J. Offutt
Gerald W. Page
Michel Parry
Peter D. Pautz
Diana L. Paxon
Alexander Potter
Byron Preiss
Bill Pronzini
Eric S. Rabkin
Mickey Zucker Reichert
Hank Reinhardt
Mike Resnick
Ernest Rhys
Nicholas Royle
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Ray Russell
Alan Ryan
Paul Sammon
Arthur W. Saha
Hans Stefan Santesson
Al Sarrantonio
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Stuart Schiff
Lawrence Schimel
C. A. Dawson Scott
Larry Segriff
Bill Sheehan
Delia Sherman
Tom Shippey
Robert Silverberg
John Skipp
Craig Spector
Robert Donald Spector
Jonathan Strahan
Montague Summers
David Sutton
Brian M. Thomsen
Christine Campbell Thomson
Gordon Van Gelder
Ann VanderMeer
Jeff VanderMeer
Karl Edward Wagner
Sean Wallace
Hugh Walpole
Elisabeth Waters
Charles G. Waugh
Wendy Webb
Robert E. Weinberg
Robert Westall
Dennis Wheatley
Stanley Wiater
A. Susan Williams
Sheila Williams
Cary Wilkins
J. N. Williamson
Gahan Wilson
F. Paul Wilson
Terri Windling
Herbert Wise
Donald A. Wollheim
Jane Yolen
David Young
Kenneth J. Zahorski
Jack Zipes
6. REFERENCES
Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections - William G. Contento
Locus Index to Science Fiction - William G. Contento and Charles N. Brown
Isfdb.org
Building the Genre Fantasy Canon, Black Gate Magazine 02 - Rich Horton (2001)
Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature - Frank Northern McGill (1983)
Fantasy & Horror - Neil Barron (1999)
Supernatural Literature of the World - S.T. Joshi and Stefan Dziemianowicz (2003)
Blog : http://freesf.blogspot.com
Blog : http://notfreesf.blogspot.com
Twitter : http://www.twitter.com/bluetyson
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/BlueTyson