In an age of rapid scientific progress, the idea of a vindictive past able to reach out and violate the present held a special potential for terror. Throughout the nineteenth century, fictional ghost stories developed in parallel with the more general Victorian fascination with death and what lay beyond it. Though they were as much a part of the cultural and literary fabric of the age as imperial confidence, the best of the stories still retain their original power to surprise and unsettle. In Victorian Ghost Stories, the editors map out the development of the ghost story from 1850 to the early years of the twentieth century and demonstrate the importance of this form of short fiction in Victorian popular culture. As well as reprinting stories by supernatural specialists such as J. S. Le Fanu and M. R. James, this selection emphasizes the key role played by women writers--including Elizabeth Gaskell, Rhoda Broughton, and Charlotte Riddell--and offers one or two genuine rarities. Other writers represented include Charles Dickens, Henry James, Wilkie Collins, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and R. L. Stevenson. There is also a fascinating Introduction and a chronological list of ghost story collections from 1850 to 1910.Includes:The old nurse's story by Elizabeth GaskellAn account of some strange disturbances in Aungier Street by J.S. Le FanuThe miniature by J.Y. AkermanThe last house in C-Street by Dinah MulockTo be taken with a grain of salt by Charles DickensThe Botathen ghost by R.S. HawkerThe truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth by Rhoda BroughtonThe romance of certain old clothes by Henry JamesPichon & Sons, of the Croix Rousse by AnonymousReality or delusion? by Mrs Henry WoodUncle Cornelius, his story by George MacDonaldThe shadow of a shade by Tom HoodAt Chrighton Abbey by Mary Elizabeth BraddonNo living voice by Thomas Street MillingtonMiss Jéromette and the clergyman by Wilkie CollinsThe story of Clifford House by AnonymousWas it an illusion? by Amelia B. EdwardsThe open door by Charlotte RiddellThe captain of the "Pole-star" by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe body-snatcher by Robert Louis StevensonThe story of the rippling train by Mary Louisa MolesworthAt the end of the passage by Rudyard Kipling"To let" by B.M. CrokerJohn Charrington's wedding by E. NesbitThe haunted organist of Hurly Burly by Rosa MulhollandThe man of science by Jerome K. JeromeCanon Alberic's scrap-book by M.R. JamesJerry Bundler by W.W. JacobsAn Eddy on the floor by Bernard CapesThe tomb of Sarah by F.G. LoringThe case of Vincent Pyrwhit by Barry PainThe shadows on the wall by Mary E. WilkinsFather Macclesfield's tale by R.H. BensonThurnley Abbey by Perceval LandonThe kit-bag by Algernon Blackwood

    Her father, home on leave, peering into the blue wicker basket, comments, "It's about the size of a cat." Later, as sibling after sibling appears, Janet finds herself slipping further and further toward the periphery of family life. Brought up in the unrelenting chill of Calvinism and the Scottish climate, she turns from people to animals, to literature, and to her own fertile imagination.Written with lyricism, poignance, and great unexpected flashes of humor, the novel traces the chain of events that, in the dour setting of Scotland in the 1940s and 50s, cause the bizzare death of a young girl. People, birds, and beasts move in a gleeful danse macabre through a lowering landscape in a tale as rich in atmosphere as it is witty and mordant.

    Soon after steeplejack Joe Clarke begins work on one of the spires of Muncaster's medieval cathedral, terrible things start to happen and Joe realizes that there is a malevolent force connected to the spire's gargoyle.

    They have lived there all their lives, trapped still by the fear of their dead father, who governs his daughters' lives from beyond the grave.

    

    

    

    His second-in-command Skorous suspects that she has secret motives when he learns that she has the power to transform things into gold. Is this her only power, or has she bewitched Draco's heart?Tanith Lee, one of the best fantasists writing today, has crafted a masterful tale of desire and deception. She has written over a dozen novels, and has won the World Fantasy Award for her short fiction.

    When Lord Victor Manchester found her, all alone in the world and suffering from hunger and exposure, his generous offer of a position seemed like the answer to Juliet's prayers.But Windbrace Hall proved even more inhospitable than the savage moors. For its turreted walls sheltered an unknown enemy who immediately recognized the locket Juliet wore, and knew the dark secret it concealed.Her safe haven had become a prison where she could trust no one, least of all the handsome master of Windbrace Hall himself.

    

    An orphan now, and destitute, Anna was filled with foreboding about the sister her father had mentioned only on his deathbed.When the schooner Tahoe reached the remote cove, and Anna looked up at the huge, barnlike house perched on the cliffs high above the lake, her fears grew. The stern, eccentric woman who claimed to be her aunt behaved erratically...then threateningly...and with a secrecy that aroused Anna's suspicions. But the more Anna learned about the strange midnight visitor, the furtive whispers in the shadowy house, and the older woman's dark ambitions and even darker secrets, the more danger she was in. Even the protective attentions of handsome Lyle Delany couldn't keep Anna safe. And if the schooner did not stop at Blackbriar Bay soon, there would be no escape for either of them...for the lake was wide and deep...

    Found in a Bottle . Ligeia. The Fall of the House of Usher William Wilson The Man of the Crowd . The Murders in the Rue Morgue A Descent into the Maelström. The Masque of the Red Death The Pit and the Pendulum The Tell-Tale . The Black Cat. The Purloined Letter. The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. The Cask of Amontillado Hop-Frog THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM Chronology . Note on the Texts . Notes .

    This revised and expanded anthology brings together texts from the colonial era to the twentieth century including recently discovered material, canonical literary contributions from Poe and Wharton among many others, and literature from sub-genres such as feminist and 'wilderness' Gothic. Revised and expanded to incorporate suggestions from twelve years of use in many countries An important text for students of the expanding field of Gothic studies Strong representation of female Gothic, wilderness Gothic, the Gothic of race, and the legacy of Salem witchcraft Edited by a founding member of the International Gothic Association

    When her father fell ill and passed away his will stated that if she were to receive her inheritance, she had but two options. Relocate to her aunt's household until her 25th birthday, or marry his old war friend's son.

    The Moon is held prisoner in the bog by the Hidden Folk, until the townspeople miss her light and go in search of her.

    But her contentment was shattered when she witnessed the fatal stabbing of her mistress by a black-garbed intruder...and promised the dying woman she would protect her child. So when her ladyship's estranged husband, Lord Andrew Redruth, claimed the boy and took him to remote Cornwall, Tisha was honor-bound to go with them. But at gloomy Trelochen Towers, high on the cliffs above the roiling sea, somone wanted to harm Lord Andrew's small son--someone who would stop at nothing. Confused and terrified by the servants' whispered warnings, tormented by the love and suspicion that warred within her heart, Tisha desperately tried to protect young Wilton from his nightmares and sleepwalking and from the danger that seemed to lurk in every corner of the dark castle. Not even in Lord Andrew Redruth's arms could Tisha find solace, for a gathering storm of evil threatened Trelochen Towers and someone was bound to fall prey to its fury.

    You are not safe here. You must leave now!""Suddenly orphaned and alone, artist Margaret Morgan was relieved to find lodgings in the carriage house of Fountain Court, an opulent, rose-colored mansion in New Orleans' Vieux Carré. Here, she hoped to study her art under the watchful eye of her landlord, the well-known painter Jordan LaMarsh. But tragedy stalked the brooding, disturbingly handsome LaMarsh. As Margaret posed for his latest portrait, she remembered the stories about hiss beautiful wife Angelique. Angelique, who had posed for his masterpiece, then mysteriously vanished, and was presumed dead.Angelique, whose memory still seemed to haunt the inhabitants of Fountain Court. In her heart, Margaret knew that she could never replace Jordan's lost bride or ease the torment in his dark eyes. But by remaining at Fountain Court was she inviting the same fate that had befallen Angelique?

    But soon after her arrival it became clear that something was terribly wrong. Locked in a loveless marriage from the start, Drew Rockwell and his beautiful wife were now completely estranged by some terrible secret of the past. A secret that had left their small daughter, Blythe, screaming in fear at the sight of seemingly harmless moving patterns: the shifting shadows of leaves stirred by the wind, the dancing lights of a chandelier...Ariel knew she should leave this dark, foreboding house while she still had the chance but pity drew her to Blythe and passion bound her to the disturbingly handsome Drew. She was as helpless as they all were against the tides of hatred and tragedy that would sweep them into a vortex of sheer terror.