Anthologies
An anthology of horror/SF stories with mental illness as their theme, stories of people who literally drive themselves crazy or whose fears become real: Contents 7 Introduction (Mind at Bay) essay by Christopher Evans 11 The Frontier Guards (1929) short story by H. Russell Wakefield. The nocturnal visit to a haunted house unleashes a haunting of a completely unexpected kind. Pailton, the haunted house of this story, turns out to be the frontier portal. Two ghost hunters get into a sphere, where the laws of reality are suspended. How exactly will this affect them? That is not revealed, however, it is repeatedly hinted that an alarming number of visitors do not leave Pailton alive. 18 The Ash-Tree (1904) short story by M. R. James. The Wicked Witch casts a curse on her executioners; what was commissioned with the implementation crawls out of the tree at night. 32 Back to the Beginning (1952) short story by John Connell. Even for a modern pact with the devil, the price has to be paid at some point. The devil cheats, but he does not allow himself to be cheated. 39 The Idol of the Flies (1942) short story by Jane Rice. Pruitt is a tyrant who likes to menacingly hint at his protection from the "Lord of the Flies", which will one day be put to the test with diabolical consequences. 62 Caterpillars (1912) short story by E.F. Benson. The visitor dreams of ghastly beings chasing his host, and this dream has a chillingly real core. An unforgettable story of a man’s cancer manifesting itself in the form of squirming yellow Caterpillars. The author captures the helpless fear of a deadly and secret disease in a symbolic but truly horrifying story. Your own body can fail you and self-destruct in a pandemonium of terror and pain. There is a certain irony and validation in the fact that the author himself died of cancer. 71 Silent Snow, Secret Snow (1932) short story by Conrad Aiken. A boy's decline into autism. Paul has always been a loner, but now he is completely isolated and lost in his private world. 90 The Master Plan short story by John Sladek 106 The Watch-Towers (1962) novelette by J.G. Ballard. Gigantic towers hang silently & menacingly from the clouds over the city; their residents never show themselves - or have they secretly taken power long ago? 137 Breakaway (1966) short story by Alex Hamilton. The narrator is cast adrift on an iceberg which is slowly melting as it enters a warmer climate. 146 We Fused Ones (1968) novelette by Perry A. Chapdelaine 179 Crab Apple Crisis (1966) short story by George MacBeth. Here we see a petty squabble between two neighbours that quickly degenerates into all out war between their families.
Includes selections by L.A. Lewis, Eleanor Scott, Ambrose Bierce, M.P. Shiel, H.R. Wakefield, Charles Birkin, L.T.C. Rolt, Marjorie Bowen, A.C. Benson, E.F. Benson, R.H. Benson, Joy Burnett, Frederick Cowles, D.K. Browster, J.D. Beresford, Robert W. Chambers, and Vivian Meik. Contents (view Concise Listing) 9 Editor's Foreword (A Wave of Fear) (1973) essay by Hugh Lamb 13 The Child (1934) short story by L. A. Lewis 26 Celui-La (1929) short story by Eleanor Scott 44 A Resumed Identity (1908) short story by Ambrose Bierce 51 Huguenin's Wife (1895) short story by M. P. Shiel 63 Blind Man's Bluff (1929) short story by H. Russell Wakefield (variant of Blind Man's Buff) [as by H. R. Wakefield] 68 Marjorie's on Starlight (1973) short story by Charles Birkin 80 Hawley Bank Foundry (1948) short story by L. T. C. Rolt 102 Twilight (1912) short story by Marjorie Bowen 111 Basil Netherby (1926) novelette by A. C. Benson 139 The Wishing-Well (1929) short story by E. F. Benson 154 The Traveller (1903) short story by R. H. Benson 163 Phantom Silhouette (1973) short story by Joy Burnett 169 Terrible Mrs. Greene (1936) short story by Frederick Cowles 176 Clairvoyance (1932) novelette by D. K. Broster 194 The Late Occupier (1918) short story by J. D. Beresford 198 The Messenger (1897) novelette by Robert W. Chambers 235 A Honeymoon in Hate (1933) short story by Vivian Meik
Original mass market paperback by W. H. Allen, 1975, London. Veteran horror-monger Hugh Lamb presents a fearsome combination. Stories by : John Blackburn, Robert Bloch, Charles Birkin, Ramsey Campbell, E. F. Benson, J. G. Ballard, John Keir Cross, Joy Burnett, Frederick Cowles and Robert Haining. 156 pp
Includes tales of horror and suspense by such masters as Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft and many others
Scared? You will be! Feel your nerves jangle and chills run up and down your spine thanks to the hair-raising genius of Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, E. F. Benson, H. P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Stephen Crane, Charles Dickens, Robert Barr, and many others who know well how to manipulate a reader's emotions. From Washington Irving comes "The Adventure of My Grandfather" and from Saki, "The Cobweb." Bill Pronzini plays a horrifying game of "Peekaboo," while Frances Garfield portrays "The House at Evening" to alarming effect. This unique and very special collection is like a carnival ride of terror that you'll want to go on again and again.
Very few things are more frightening than unearthly creatures conceived by the masterminds of supernatural fiction. This collection of the macabre includes stories from F. Murray Gilchrist, Edgar Allan Poe, E.F. Benson, others.
Collected within are thirteen tales of horror and the macabre. Five classic works by author's such as Edgar Allen Poe and H.G. Wells have inspired a new generation of twisted authors, tainted them, if you will. Keep the lights on; Tainted is loaded with darkness.
Festive cheer turns to maddening fear in this new collection of seasonal hauntings, presenting the best Christmas ghost stories from the 1850s to the 1960s. The traditional trappings of the holiday are turned upside down as restless spirits disrupt the merry games of the living, Christmas trees teem with spiteful pagan presences, and the Devil himself treads the boards at the village pantomime. As the cold night of winter closes in and the glow of the hearth begins to flicker and fade, the uninvited visitors gather in the dark in this distinctive assortment of haunting tales.
Woods play an important and recurring role in horror, fantasy, the gothic, and the weird. They are places in which strange things happen, where you often can’t see where you are or what is around you. Supernatural creatures thrive in the thickets. Trees reach into underworlds of earth, myth, and magic. Forests are full of ghosts. In this new collection, immerse yourself in the whispering voices between the branches in Wistman’s Wood on Dartmoor, witness an inexplicable death in Yorkshire’s Strid Wood and prepare yourself for an encounter with malignant pagan powers in the dark of the New Forest. This edition also includes notes on the real locations and folklore which inspired these deliciously sinister stories.