The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission. As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves. The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.

    Perfect for fans of "Downton Abbey," it's the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death, and a way of life that vanished forever, told in flashback by a woman who witnessed it all.The novel is full of secrets - some revealed, others hidden forever, reminiscent of the romantic suspense of Daphne du Maurier. It's also a meditation on memory and the devastation of war and a beautifully rendered window into a fascinating time in history.

    Comprised of spine-chilling tales published by Stoker’s widow after his death, as well as The Lair of the White Worm, an intensely intriguing novel of myths, legends, and unspeakable evils, this collection demonstrates the full range of Stoker’s horror writing.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    Suspecting that something is amiss with their father’s burial, teenager Kenneth Tyler and his sister Corrie venture to his gravesite and make a horrific discovery: their father, a whiskey bootlegger, was not actually buried in the casket they bought for him. Worse, they learn that the undertaker, Fenton Breece, has been grotesquely manipulating the dead.Armed with incriminating photographs, Tyler becomes obsessed with bringing the perverse undertaker to justice. But first, he must outrun Granville Sutter, a local strongman and convicted murderer hired by Fenton to destroy the evidence. What follows is an adventure through the Harrikin, an eerie backwoods filled with tangled roads, rusted machinery, and eccentric squatters–old men, witches, and families among them–who both shield and imperil Tyler as he runs for safety. With his poetic, haunting prose, William Gay rewrites the rules of the gothic fairy tale while exploring the classic Southern themes of good and evil.

    Dupin is unrivalled."H. P. Lovecraft, a master of the modern horror story, wrote in 1932 that the perfect writer should have "the sheer genius of Poe."Tributes like these coming from such different writers indicate the widespread reputation for excellence enjoyed by Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849). During a short life shot through with personal tragedy, Poe managed to write virtuoso stories of detection, nightmarish tales of the macabre, brilliant poetry, and incisive criticism. In the totality of these achievements, few other American writers are his equal.Includes the following tales:The Tell-Tale HeartThe Black CatThe Fall of the House of UsherThe Pit and the PendulumThe Cask of the AmontilladoThe AssignationThe Masque of the Red DeathThe Premature BurialWilliam WilsonA Tale of the Ragged MountainsThe Gold-BugThe Murders in the Rue MorgueThe Mystery of Marie RogetThe Purloined LetterThe Facts in the Case of M. ValdemarThe Oblong BoxMS. Found in a BottleThe Oval PortraitBereniceMorellaLigeiaEleonaraThe Domain of ArnheimA Descent into the MaelstromIncludes the following poems:Spirits of the DeadSonnet-To Science"Alone"To HelenIsrafelThe City in the SeaLenoreTo One in ParadiseDream-LandThe RavenUlalume-A BalladThe BellsA Dream within a DreamThe Valley of UnrestAnnabel Lee

    It can be downloaded as an electronic book OR you can order it in BOOK form that will be mailed to you.It can be purchased using Debit/Credit Card or PayPal account. CAUGHT SCREAMING includes over 140 pages of previously unpublished poems, private illustrations, & a blank diary section at the end of the book for buyers to add their own thoughts, poems, dreams, rants, & raves.BUY YOUR COPY TODAY!

    They are harbingers of death. Yet when she learns her gentle cousin, Mary, has disappeared from a remote castle on the Cornish Coast, the official story doesn’t fit with Cassie’s prophetic dream. The mystery compels her to leave the safety and middle-class comfort of Oxford to take a job as a maid in the house of Killdaren. There she discovers more than the daily indignities the working class must endure. There’s a darkness surrounding Sean Killdaren, a man born with his hands at his twin’s throat. Whispers of the murderous Dragon Curse…and an aversion to daylight that adds vampire to spine-chilling rumors. When Cassie encounters him in the shadowy corridors, his touch should make her tremble in fear. But that’s not what makes her knees shockingly weak. It’s the spell of desire he casts with his wicked green eyes…and the small acts of kindness that soften her heart. The closer she comes to the truth, the greater the danger. Mary isn’t the only woman lost to the Killdaren brothers’ curse. And as a killer lurks ever closer, Cassie wonders whom she can trust…and if she will be the next victim.

    In this brilliant fiction debut, Libby resurrects the real-life Erzebet Bathory, a 17th-century countess who believed that bathing in human blood would preserve her looks forever.

    How was it possible that three women who had never had sex, had probably never been kissed, could write some of the most erotic literature of all time? And why should these plain, reclusive women, who lived in rural isolation, have invented such stories.

    In 1782, the unveiling of Henry Fuseli's painting The Nightmare was met with a mixture of shock and fascination. The cosmic visions of William Blake, the vast, neo-classical history paintings of James Barry and the searing, grotesque caricatures of James Gilray all emerged during a time of political and social upheaval, matched by similarly extreme developments in the literature of the period. While there have been several critical reassessments of Gothic literature in recent years, Gothic Nightmares, which accompanies a groundbreaking exhibition at Tate Britain, will be the first serious consideration of these themes in visual art.Six sections explore individual themes: the Gothic nightmare, examining Fuseli's famous painting in context; the Sublime vision of the Gothic hero, tortured and imprisoned;

    George Haggerty examines the ways in which gothic fiction centers on loss as the foreclosure of homoerotic possibility and the relationship between transgressive sexual behaviors and a range of religious behaviors understood as 'Catholic'.

    Subsequent chapters examine current young adult vampires novels from such popular horror authors as Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Christopher Pike, R. L. Stine, Darren Shan, and L. J. Smith, and are divided into three categories based on narrative structure: the process of turning into a vampire, humans and vampires trying to find their way in life, and romantic relationships with a vampire partner. Analysis also addresses vampire conventions (the traditions that exist in each vampire universe), vampires and sexuality, and good and reluctant vampires. The human characters who coexist with vampires in these novels receive the same treatment. Additionally, issues of gender, age, and affectional orientation of human and vampire characters are discussed, as are postmodern constructions of good and evil. Not Your Mother's Vampire contains an exploration of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a television phenomenon, which has sparked an entirely new academic field: Buffy Studies. The vampire characters on Buffy and parallel series, Angel, are explored as are a few main humans (slayers and witches alike). The final chapter of the book is an annotated bibliography of seminal vampire scholarship. As the only in-depth examination of young adult vampire novels in existence, this book is essential for students and scholars of the literature.

    And nowhere is its brash outrageousness better expressed than on its album covers. This chunky compendium is a dungeonful of metal overload, complete with leather- and spandex-panted, huge-haired rockers, drooling beasts, and plenty of skulls. Charting a visual course of the genre, Heavy Metal Thunder shows the best album art from its youthful incarnation in the late '70s through the MTV era, when glam and hair metal ruled; to the punk-inflected revolutions of thrash and Nu Metal (with a grunge side trip); to the gory contemporary genres of grindcore, black metal, and doom. Page after page of aggressive and excessive album graphics makes this the perfect gift for both current metalheads and nostalgic (if embarrassed), thirty-and forty-somethings with headbanging memories.

    Lovecraft's reputation has grown tremendously over the decades, and he is now commonly regarded as one of the most important horror writers of the 20th century, exerting an influence that is widespread, though often indirect.'H.P. Lovecraft's tales of the tentacled Elder God Cthulhu and his pantheon of alien deities were initially written for the pulp magazines of the 1920s and '30s. These astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction and cosmic terror that are as powerful today as they were when they were first published.This electronic tome collects together Lovecraft's tales of terror, including the complete Cthulhu Mythos cycle, just the way they were originally published. It will introduce a whole new generation of readers to Lovecraft's fiction, as well as being a must-buy for those fans who want all his work in a single, definitive volume.

    These writers contributed memorable and influential stories that were inspired by and often set in their native Dublin. Their fictions, which delve into universal and supernatural themes such as ghosts, vampires and the devil, persist in popularity to this day. Brian J. Showers is originally from Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He has a degree in English Literature and Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin, and is a frequent contributor to the Ghost Story Society journal All Hallows. He currently resides on the Emerald Isle, somewhere in the verdant and ghost-haunted wilderness of Dublin City, where he is writing his own collection of spooky stories.

    The Gothic style, which dominated the European aesthetic for four centuries, was prominent both in architecture, especially cathedrals and churches, and the arts—painting, sculpture, stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, and frescoes. Predominantly religious, Gothic art was dark and emotional, marked by intensity and logical formalism. The later Gothic period, known as the International Style, was a precursor to the Renaissance. Artists featured: Giotto di Bondone, Duccio di Bouninsegna, Dieric Bouts, Robert Campin, Cimabue, Petrus Christus, Barthélemy d’Eyck, Jan van Eyck, Andrea da Firenze, Jean Fouquet, Nicolas Froment, Hugo van der Goes, Jaume Huguet, Stefan Lochner, Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Simone Martini, Master Bertram, Master Franke, Master of the Glatz Madonna, Master of the Paradise Garden, Master of Saint Veronica, Master Theoderich, Master of the Wilton Diptychons, Master Wittingau, Hans Memling, Lorenzo Monaco, Lukas Moser, Michael Pacher, Martin Schongauer, Rogier van der Weyden, Konrad Witz

    Housekeeper, Mrs. Soule never ages, but fades in and out of shadows and appears in mirrors when she’s not there. The stairwells, the storeroom, a third floor bedroom, all reveal murder and suicide for those with The Gift…the ability to see ghosts. Entering the grand door of Hook House is easy…leaving it is deadly. ExcerptBarefoot, I tiptoed to my door. Light from a bright moon fell through the stairwell window, shoving the darkness into corners. I was startled by the sight of Great-Grandfather Hook and by the sight of wall sconces, the storage room door, and the newel post directly through him as he passed by. Fear chased shivers up my spine, but determined to discover where he came from or where he went, I followed. His head and shoulders looked solid, as if I could touch him, but from the waist down he was diaphanous. Below his knees there was only the sound of leather slippers on the hardwood floor. On the second level, he paused and gazed toward the landing below. His shoulders slumped as if in resignation. Then, in an instant he was gone and I was alone … until behind me the footsteps began again. He came toward me from the far end of the hall. I backed up and around the newel post with my heart hammering in my throat. Again, he halted on the top step and then again, he faded. I spotted his twisted body on the landing below and realized, decades ago he died on those stairs.__

    

    But the Collinwood that awaits him is no longer the sanctuary he remembers. As the inhabitants of the town of Collinsport hide in fear from other worldly powers. Quentin vows to unite old friends and reclaim the Collins family stronghold.. The Dark Shadows legend continues in this all-new hour-long audio drama, reuniting the cast of the classic ABC-TV series.

    But Sylvio's behaviour and origins are mysterious, and despite his professions of love, he abruptly breaks off the connection, sending Averilla a mortifying letter saying he never loved her. Averilla marries the Conte della Piacca, who, she is pleased to find, is a kind and generous man, and not the tyrant she had imagined. Then, one night at a party with her husband, Averilla catches sight of Sylvio -- only he claims not to know her! Then, when Sylvio is summoned to court for allegedly breaking a promise to marry, and tells a tale different than the one he had told her, the mystery deepens. But there is more at stake in the trial than the broken marriage promise -- as the hearing unfolds, a terrible tale of poisoning, blackmail, and murder will be exposed!A delightful blend of mystery, romance, and Shakespearean intrigue, with an undercurrent of Gothic horror, The Impenetrable Secret, Find it Out! is one of Francis Lathom's most enjoyable and lighthearted novels. Critically acclaimed on its initial release in 1805, the novel has been out of print since 1831. This edition includes a new introduction by James Cruise which addresses the recurring theme of secrecy in eighteenth century literature, and analyses Lathom's novel within this broader framework.

    The waters of the ocean hold dark secrets for the Collins family - secrets that must be revealed once and for all. As a malevolent power takes hold, Quentin Collins finds himself facing a final confrontation...

    Ferguson Prize sponsored by the Canadian Historical AssociationHow were marital and sexual relationships woven into the fabric of late medieval society, and what form did these relationships take? Using extensive documentary evidence from both the ecclesiastical court system and the records of city and royal government, as well as advice manuals, chronicles, moral tales, and liturgical texts, Shannon McSheffrey focuses her study on England's largest city in the second half of the fifteenth century.Marriage was a religious union--one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church and imbued with deep spiritual significance--but the marital unit of husband and wife was also the fundamental domestic, social, political, and economic unit of medieval society. As such, marriage created political alliances at all levels, from the arena of international politics to local neighborhoods. Sexual relationships outside marriage were even more complicated. McSheffrey notes that medieval Londoners saw them as variously attributable to female seduction or to male lustfulness, as irrelevant or deeply damaging to society and to the body politic, as economically productive or wasteful of resources. Yet, like marriage, sexual relationships were also subject to control and influence from parents, relatives, neighbors, civic officials, parish priests, and ecclesiastical judges.Although by medieval canon law a marriage was irrevocable from the moment a man and a woman exchanged vows of consent before two witnesses, in practice marriage was usually a socially complicated process involving many people. McSheffrey looks more broadly at sex, governance, and civic morality to show how medieval patriarchy extended a far wider reach than a father's governance over his biological offspring. By focusing on a particular time and place, she not only elucidates the culture of England's metropolitan center but also contributes generally to our understanding of the social mechanisms through which premodern European people negotiated their lives.

    Hitherto, all had been smiling and prosperous. The prospect now began to darken. Within the last twelve months a strange and unlooked for interference had taken place with our hostess's profits, which she had viewed, at first, without much anxiety, because she did not clearly comprehend its scope; but latterly, as its formidable character became revealed, it began to fill her with uneasiness. The calamity, as she naturally enough regarded it, arose in the following manner. The present was an age of monopolies and patents, granted by a crown ever eager to obtain money under any pretext, however unjustifiable and iniquitous, provided it was plausibly colored; and these vexatious privileges were purchased by greedy and unscrupulous persons for the purpose of turning them into instruments of extortion and wrong. . . .