Gothic

If the darker edges of poetry captivate you, Edgar Allan Poe's verses will offer a sublime escapade. Poe's work is enveloped in a cloak of Gothic beauty ideal for those who find solace in the melancholic and the mysterious. His poems, like whispered secrets, linger in the psyche, ensuring an unforgettable reading experience that's as chilling as it is beautiful. Poe isn't just for the horror enthusiast but for anyone who appreciates poetry's power to stir the deep recesses of the human soul.

"Rebecca" is a classic novel that builds tension and keeps readers on the edge of their seats. With its Gothic setting, mysterious first wife, and a plot that twists until the very end, this book is perfect for those who love suspenseful tales of romance and mystery. You won't be able to put it down!

A sensational story of murder and pie-making, Sweeney Todd is a classic of British horror writing, widely adapted in print and on stage, most famously by Stephen Sondheim, whose unlikely "musical thriller" won eight Tony awards. This edition offers the original story with all its atmospheric Victorian trimmings. The story of Todd's murderous partnership with pie-maker Margery Lovett--at once inconceivably unpalatable and undeniably compelling--has subsequently set the table for a seemingly endless series of successful dramatic adaptations, popular songs and ballads, novellas, radio plays, graphic novels, ballets, films, and musicals. Both gleeful and ghoulish, the original tale of Sweeney Todd, first published under the title The String of Pearls, combines the story of Todd's grisly method of robbing and dispatching his victims--by way of Mrs. Lovett's meat pies--with a romantic sub-plot involving deception, disguise, and detective work, set against the backdrop of London's darkand unsavory streets. Editor Robert Mack 'fleshes' out the story with a fascinating introduction touching on the origins of the tale, the growth of the legend, and a history of its many retellings. Mack also includes explanatory notes that point out interesting aspects, plus a full chronology of the many versions of Sweeney Todd.Since Sweeney Todd first entered the public imagination in the mid-nineteenth-century, his exploits have chilled and fascinated audiences around the world. This new edition allows modern readers to savor the ghastly original in all its gruesome glory.

Heathcliff comes to the brooding mansion of Wuthering Heights as an orphan child. Cathy is the daughter of the wealthy family that takes him in. They are drawn together from the moment they meet, their love consuming, destructive, and full of desire. They cannot be together, and yet they cannot stay apart. The consequences will haunt generations.This is the chilling story of two people who experience love and all its intense complications. It is a story readers will never forget. (back cover)

If you're a fan of horror and ghost stories, then Montague Rhodes James' "Collected Ghost Stories" is a must-read for you. This collection of thirty short stories is perfect for those who love supernatural mysteries and eerie tales. The author's unique storytelling is both chilling and captivating, making each story a page-turner. If you're looking for a spine-tingling read, then this book is for you.

'In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop ... There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth ... stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white'The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.

Dh3frankenstein could be a good read for those who have a curiosity for science and its implications. This book tells the story of Victor Frankenstein who works toward bringing life to non-living matter, only to be horrified by the consequences of tinkering with nature. Shelley's work is a cautionary tale on the dangers of man's unchecked ambition.

Collected in this chilling volume are some of the famous Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Rampo's best stories—bizarre and blood-curdling expeditions into the fantastic, the perverse, and the strange, in a marvelous homage to Rampo's literary 'mentor', Edgar Allan Poe.

Here are the depths of fear and darkness, the furthest limits of agony in mind and body...Born in the eighteenth century, the horror story produced a literature of terror filled with werewolves and vampires, and which borrowed many elements from its sister genre, the ghost story.Many famous writers were tempted by it, including Maupassant, Poe, Gautier, Conan Doyle, L.P. Hartley and Ray Bradbury. In this excellent anthology Charles Cuddon has selected the best stories of all, spanning the whole period.The Monk of horror, or The Conclave of corpses, by Anonymous --The Astrologer's prediction, or The Maniac's fate, by Anonymous --The expedition to Hell, by James Hogg --Mateo Falcone, by Prosper Merimee --The Case of M. Valdemar, by Edgar Allan Poe --Le Grande Breteche, by Honore de Balzac --The romance of certain old clothes, by Henry James --Who knows?, by Guy de Maupassant --The body snatcher, by Robert Louis Stevenson --The death of Olivier Becaille, by Emile Zola --The boarded window, by Ambrose Bierce --Lost hearts, by M. R. James --The sea-raiders, by H. G. Wells --The derelict, by William Hope Hodgson --Thurnley Abbey, by Perceval Landon --The fourth man, by John Russell --In the penal colony, by Franz Kafka --The waxwork, by A. M. Burrage --Mrs. Amworth, by E. F. Benson --The reptile, by Augustus Muir --Mr. Meldrum's Mania, by John Metcalfe --The beast with five fingers, by William Fryer Harvey --Dry September, by William Faulkner --Couching at the door, by D. K. Broster --The two bottles of relish, by Lord Dunsany --The man who liked Dickens, by Evelyn Waugh --Taboo, by Geoffrey Household --The thought, by L. P. Hartley --Comrade death, by Gerald Kersh --Leningen versus the ants, by Carl Stephenson --The brink of darkness, by Yvor Winters --Activity time, by Monica Dickens --Earth to Earth, by Robert Graves --The dwarf, by Ray Bradbury --The Portabello Road, by Muriel Spark --No flies on Frank, by John Lennon --Sister Coxall's revenge, by Dawn Muscillo --Thou shalt not suffer a witch..., by Dorothy K. Haynes --The terrapin, by Patricia Highsmith --Man from the south, by Roald Dahl --Uneasy home-coming, by Will F. Jenkins --The Aquarist, by J. N. Allan --An interview with M. Chakko, by Vilas SarangCover illustration: Steve Crisp.

This collection of ghost stories by M.R. James is a must-read for anyone who enjoys being delightfully spooked. With each tale carefully crafted, the author takes you on a journey into the mysterious and supernatural, leaving you with an eerie sense of dread that lingers long after you finish reading. Expertly narrated by Derek Jacobi, the stories come to life with haunting and atmospheric music, making them even more spine-tingling. Get ready to be transported to a world where ghosts are very real and where the shadows hold dark secrets.

Inspired by the work of Shirley Jackson and Susan Hill and set in a crumbling country mansion, The Silent Companions is an unsettling gothic ghost story to send a shiver down the spine...Newly married, newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge. With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie only has her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. But inside her new home lies a locked room, and beyond that door lies a two-hundred-year-old diary and a deeply unsettling painted wooden figure – a Silent Companion – that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself..

A storyteller of cunning and genius - Sally BeaumanHungry Hill' is a passionate story told with du Maurier's unique gift for drama. It follows five generations of an Irish family and the copper mine on Hungry Hill to which their fortunes and fates are bound. 'I tell you your mine will be in ruins and your home destroyed and your children forgotten . . . but this hill will be standing still to confound you.' So curses Morty Donovan when 'Copper John' Brodrick builds his mine at Hungry Hill. The Brodricks of Clonmere gain great wealth by harnessing the power of Hungry Hill and extracting the treasure it holds. The Donovans, the original owners of Clonmere Castle, resent the Brodricks' success, and consider the great house and its surrounding land theirs by rights. For generations the feud between the families has simmered, always threatening to break into violence . . .

Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination can be a good read for someone who is looking for suspenseful and horror stories that offer a unique take on the genre. The book has a quick tempo that will keep readers on the edge of their seat, and each story has a distinct twist that makes it different from Western horror stories. Fans of Edgar Allan Poe will appreciate the similarities between his stories and those in this collection.