"The mailman notices that the Yates' house began shrinking after receiving mail from REDUCE TODAY." (Muriel Weathers)
The acknowledgments page of A Month of Mystery (1969) says this story is a reprint but doesn't say from where; it has a 1969 copyright date as by John D. Keefauver, but there is no middle initial on the story's title page.
According to editor Scott Nicolay, in the notes section of Research into Marginal Living: The Selected Stories of John D. Keefauver, "Special Handling" was first published in Alfred Hitchcock's A Month of Mystery, and reprinted in numerous publications, including Readers' Digest. The story was also reprinted in various school textbooks, sometimes abridged, and retitled at least twice: "Reduce Today" and "The House that Kept Getting Smaller."
According to editor Scott Nicolay, in the notes section of Research into Marginal Living: The Selected Stories of John D. Keefauver, "Special Handling" was first published in Alfred Hitchcock's A Month of Mystery, and reprinted in numerous publications, including Readers' Digest. The story was also reprinted in various school textbooks, sometimes abridged, and retitled at least twice: "Reduce Today" and "The House that Kept Getting Smaller."
| Date | Publication | Publisher | Type | Page | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 |
|
A Month of Mystery | Random House / BCE | Anthology | 283 |
| 1969 |
|
A Month of Mystery | Random House | Anthology | 301 |
| 1970 |
|
A Month of Mystery | Max Reinhardt | Anthology | 308 |
| February 1972 |
|
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Terror Time: More Tales from a Month of Mystery | Dell | Anthology | 136 |
| 1973 |
|
A Month of Mystery: Book Two | Pan Books | Anthology | 103 |
| September 2021 |
|
Research Into Marginal Living: The Selected Stories of John D. Keefauver | Lethe Press | Collection | 80 |