Maddie is restless in London. She has friends, a job and a sort-of boyfriend, but something in her life is missing. Then she visits the ancient village of Walditch, deep in the Dorset countryside. Something stirs in her, and on a whim she buys a centuries-old cottage and moves there three months later. Her friends think she's crazy, but for Maddie it feels like coming home. Late at night in the cottage, Maddie hears strange noises and sees mist gathering indoors and out. When she starts investigating the cottage's history, she becomes drawn into the tragic story of a family who lived here 400 years ago. Meanwhile, Maddie starts to fall in love with a local carpenter – but he has a relationship already... Can Maddie solve the riddle of the past? What is her connection with the family that lived there so many years ago? And can she and her true love ever be together? Previously published as The Forgotten Promise.

    What would you do if your past came back to haunt you? A dark, thrilling novel for fans of Kate Morton and Victoria Hislop From the author of THE SECRETS BETWEEN US, part of the 2012 Richard and Judy Summer Reads, comes this dark, thrilling novel that is perfect for your book group.It's set twenty years ago against a backdrop of dreamy Cornish summers, a place where childhood friendship becomes young love, where love becomes obsession, and where obsession ultimately ends in betrayal and a tragic death.This magical novel traces a web of memories back through the years from the present day, ultimately showing that no matter how much you might try to forget the past, the past never forgets you...

    Twenty-year-old Sophie was attacked in a Lancashire park in 2007 and died several days later. The ferocity of the assault caused distress and outrage when reported by the international media and led to the creation of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, a charity opposed to all forms of hatecrime and victimisation. The radio broadcast of Black Roses won the BBC Radio Best Speech Programme of 2011 and was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for Poetry. One-third of all profits from the sale of this book will be donated to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

    Now she thinks she might be losing her mind...When death strikes again, Ruth finds herself the owner of a dilapidated Victorian house on the Isle of Skye: Tigh na Linne, the summer home she shared as a child with her beloved Aunt Janet, the woman she’d regarded as a mother.As Ruth prepares to put the old house up for sale, she’s astonished to find she’s not the only occupant. Worse, she suspects she might be falling in love...With a man who died almost a hundred years ago.

    

    Alistair Gellis—rich, handsome, scarred by World War I, and obsessed with ghosts—has been summoned to investigate the spirit of nineteen-year-old maid Maddy Clare, who is haunting the barn where she committed suicide. Since Maddy hated men in life, it is Sarah's task to confront her in death. Soon Sarah is caught up in a deperate struggle. For Maddy's ghost is real, she's angry, and she has powers that defy all reason. Can Sarah and Alistair's assistant, the rough, unsettling Matthew Ryder, discover who Maddy was, where she came from, and what is driving her desire for vengeance—before she destroys them all?

    She's never walked its hedge maze nor found its secret chambers; she's never glimpsed the shades that haunt it, nor hunted for lost diamonds in its walls. But all of that is about to change. After her grandmother passes away, Sarah and her friend Jackson decide to search for the diamonds--and the house comes alive. She discovers that she can see visions of the house's past, like the eighteenth-century sea captain who hid the jewels, or the glamorous great-grandmother driven mad by grief. She grows closer to both Jackson and a young man named Richard Hathaway, whose family histories are each deeply entwined with her own. But when the visions start to threaten the person she holds most dear, Sarah must do everything she can to get to the bottom of the house's secrets, and stop the course of history before it is cemented forever.

    P. Lovecraft Volume 1: 70 Horror Short Stories, Novels and Juvenilia" includes all the short stories, novels and Juvenilia writings of H. P Lovecraft. If it has been written by H. P. Lovecraft, it is in this book - search no more! The stories are listed according to the writing year rather than the publication year. This will help in reading the stories in the order they were written and follow on the progress in a timely manner. Short Stories and Novels: The Tomb (1917)Dagon (1917)A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson (1917)Polaris (1918)Beyond the Wall of Sleep (1919)Memory (1919)Old Bugs (1919)The Transition of Juan Romero (1919)The White Ship (1919)The Doom That Came to Sarnath (1919)The Statement of Randolph Carter (1919)The Street (1919)The Terrible Old Man (1920)The Cats of Ulthar (1920)The Tree (1920)Celephaïs (1920)From Beyond (1920)The Temple (1920)Nyarlathotep (1920)The Picture in the House (1920)Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family (1920)The Nameless City (1921)The Quest of Iranon (1921)The Moon-Bog (1921)Ex Oblivione (1921)The Other Gods (1921)The Outsider (1921)The Music of Erich Zann (1921)Sweet Ermengarde (1921)Hypnos (1922)What the Moon Brings (1922)Azathoth (1922)Herbert West—Reanimator (1922)The Hound (1922)The Lurking Fear (1922)The Rats in the Walls (1923)The Unnamable (1923)The Festival (1923)The Shunned House (1924)The Horror at Red Hook (1925)He (1925)In the Vault (1925)Cool Air (1926)The Call of Cthulhu (1926)Pickman’s Model (1926)The Strange High House in the Mist (1926)The Silver Key (1926)The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (1927)The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (1927)The Colour Out of Space (1927)The Descendant (1927)The Very Old Folk (1927)The History of the Necronomicon (1927)The Dunwich Horror (1928)Ibid (1928)The Whisperer in Darkness (1930)At the Mountains of Madness (1931)The Shadow Over Innsmouth (1931)The Dreams in the Witch House (1932)The Thing on the Doorstep (1933)The Book (1933)The Evil Clergyman (1933)The Shadow out of Time (1934)The Haunter of the Dark (1935)Juvenilia:The Little Glass Bottle (1898)The Mystery of the Grave-Yard (1898)The Secret Cave (1898)The Mysterious Ship (1902)The Beast in the Cave (1904)The Alchemist (1908)

    At a masked soiree on the Royal Crescent, Dorian meets the elusive and enigmatic Tobias Matthews: a man he is instantly drawn to... but also a man with dangerous secrets. Has Dorian Gray finally met his match?

    A Half Forgotten Song is by turns haunting, heartbreaking and joyous.1937. In a village on the Dorset coast, fourteen-year-old Mitzy Hatcher has endured a wild and lonely upbringing, until the arrival of renowned artist Charles Aubrey-along with his exotic mistress and their daughters-changes everything. Over the next three summers, Mitzy sees a future she had never thought possible, and a powerful love is kindled in her. A love that grows from innocence to obsession; from childish infatuation to something far more complex. Years later, a young man in an art gallery looks at a hastily-drawn portrait and wonders at its intensity. The questions he asks lead him to a Dorset village and to the truth about those fevered summers in the 1930s.

    Created by Chris Carter, Millennium tells the story of Frank Black (Lance Henriksen), a legendary forensic profiler gifted with the ability to see into the minds of killers. Through his work as a consultant with the F.B.I. and the mysterious Millennium Group, the series offers a thoughtful exploration of the nature and manifestations of evil in the modern world. Back to Frank Black offers an unprecedented volume of material exploring this landmark series. With forewords from Lance Henriksen and Frank Spotnitz and an introduction by series creator Chris Carter, the collection features interviews with cast and crew as well as in-depth essays analyzing Millennium's characters, themes, and enduring legacy. Inspired by the growing movement to return this iconic hero to the screen, Back to Frank Black finds its focus in an incomparable figure of hope: Frank Black. We need him now more than ever.

    The funeral of an old friend brings Dorian back to London. But when his painting is stolen, Dorian is blackmailed into committing a terrible murder. Only one man can help him: a retired consulting detective named Sherlock Holmes... the man he has to kill.

    If the other kids would quit calling her "hoodoo hag," she might have a small shot at normality. It would also help if Joan's weekend outings with her secret crush, Dave, weren't always being interrupted by her dead Grandmere, the legendary Marie Laveau. After all, it's hard to make out with your best friend when your grandmother is watching! But when you come from a long line of voodoo priestesses with dried gator heads decorating the wall of their huts, normal doesn't come easily. When Joan witnesses the brutal sacrifice of a child to a tree Druid, she learns her Grandmere's scandalous past has come back to haunt those living in the present. Hera, a vengeful voodoo priestess is determined to use the residual energy of Pandora's Box to revive a sleeping voodoo god and declare war on the descendants of Marie Laveau, especially Joan. Suddenly, Greek myths are being re-enacted all over town, and Joan has her hands full trying to sort it all out. With the approach of Samedi's Day-the voodoo day of resurrection-Joan must learn to accept her destiny in order to stop the approaching threat to her family and friends.

    In each, Gorey's twenty-six-word stories (wherein the first word begins with A, the last with Z) weave a tale of suspense and intrigue; the story proceeds as the alphabet progresses. *Gorey's deft and witty use of language is apparent even in these twenty-six-word stories.*The book combines two of Gorey's Thoughtful Alphabets in one volume never before published in hardcover.*A must-have for all Goreyphiles

     Devonshire, January 1815. Marie-Ange, the young widow of an English officer, accepts an inheritance in France only to find that everything in Beauregard is not as it seems. Why is the sinister Malleval so obsessed with her family? And could her darling Christopher still be alive? Marie-Ange finds herself trapped in a dangerous web of lies, intrigue, and mystical possession, and the only person to whom she can turn for help is Capitaine Hugo Saintclair. Yet the enigmatic Hugo represents a danger of a different kind …

    One of Dorian Gray's oldest friends is on his deathbed, locked away in a room at the notorious Hotel D'Alsace, where he is fighting a duel to the death. And when Dorian comes to visit him one last time, both men realise they may never be allowed to check out… Note: The Confessions of Dorian Gray contains adult material and is not suitable for younger listeners.Cast: Alexander Vlahos (Dorian Gray), Steffan Rhodri (Oscar Wilde), Marilyn Le Conte (Genevieve Moreau), David Blackwell (Robert Ross), Sophie Melville (Isabelle) Technical Details Written By: David LlewellynDirector: Scott HandcockSound Design: Robbie DunlopMusic: James DunlopCover Art: Stuart ManningDuration: 30' approxProduction Code: BFPDGDL01Recorded Dates: 11 and 22 August 2012Recorded At: Warwick Hall Studios

    Aside from the herd of cats that follow Ronnie everywhere she goes, she can also see and communicate with the ghosts of the dead, which would be hard enough without her foster family thinking she was crazy. When a strange man that may be stalking Ronnie tells her that she is a necromancer, and part of a secret society of supernatural beings, she thinks he's as crazy as she is...but deep down, she knows he's telling the truth. When she is abducted in the middle of the night and brought before the Council, they tell her that a necromancer is trying to raise an army of the undead, and they think she's the one responsible! But the Council is about to find out how wrong they are...and it may be too late to stop the real monster. Ages 14+

    200 pages of new poetry plus never before seen illustrations from author, activist, & cultural arsonist Otep Shamaya.

    "The House in Fata Morgana" is a full-length visual novel spanning nearly a millennium that deals in tragedy, human nature, and insanity.

    Narrated by the oldest son of a family of Georgia sharecroppers in the early 20th century, the story evokes the chilling truth—that neither good nor evil manifests itself until it comes into possession of the hands, feet and heart…of humans. If you shivered reading the short stories of Flannery O’Connor, you will when reading the work of this new Georgia author as well.

    It also includes a prequel to multi-awarded gothic novel ...And Then The Nightmare Came At Last.Stefana Czeller - Washed Away By The Blood Of The MaidensGeorge Lazar - Church BuildersLiviu Radu - Pitch Black ShadesNarcisa Stoica - Living SilverDan Dobos - Nothing But PurpleFlorin Pitea - Haunted HollowRaluca Baceanu - The Saint-YvesCatalina Fometici - Under The NightveilLaura Sorin - Children of SatanOliviu Craznic - Beneath The Charron PalaceAna-Maria Negrila - At The Hour Of Our DeathCiprian Mitoceanu - The RedemptionSynopsis: A near-doomed private eye tracking a serial killer, a communist assignement with a hidden agenda, time travellers looking for Jack The Ripper, victims of the occult and the wrong way of the witches, American tourists visiting an ancient Transylvanian cemetary, a medieval monk facing a tremendous revelation, two siblings - brother and sister - lured to a path of murder and sin, a small mountain village plagued by wolves and by legends, a she-devil caught by surprise when a strange Apocalypse is coming, a priest abducted in the middle of the night by two mysterious men and forced to treat the wounds of a chained young woman, an avenger challenging a powerful and not-so-common Company, a haunted house where the ghosts and the spooks are only captives and victimes for a greater evil... cutting things short, 12 faces of Gothic.

    The pages here were collected from various blogs, essays, magazine articles, and tour journals (published and unpublished) Otep has scribed over the years. These writings represent the various arms, identities, faces, voices, spiritual uprisings, intellectual cleansings and wild language that exist and are cultivated within the astral stratum of her ever-spinning mind.

    However, with her closest friends promising a relaxing getaway and an insistent husband, Rachel is given no way to avoid the trip. Besides, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.At least that's what they say!But when her vacation takes an unexpected turn and finds her in the dark clutches of unholy forces, Rachel has no choice but to carry her Hellish burden out of Sin City and back into the loving embrace of her unaware and unsuspecting family.Is Rachel strong enough to resist the dark forces and see that her family remains free of their curse? Or will her faith and dedication be warped beyond repair as a Crimson Shadow envelopes her world?

    She finds more questions than answers: what is the medallion key to the dead world; why does she keep feeling like her mornings are repeating; and why does the postcard of Bristol House keep changing? But mostly, why does Maria’s ghost show up first in Jessa’s camera, then in her dreams? What does Maria want?The ghosts of Bristol House come alive to draw Jessa into a world she didn’t think existed outside of nightmares, and she uncovers a hundred and fifty year old secret in order to solve the mystery of the missing young woman.

    The collection also includes a novella in three cantos, a bizarre story about one man’s search for a secret society dedicated to the preservation of useless tales.The contents of The Tainted Earth are as follows:The Tainted EarthThe Sick Mannes SalveThe Ballad of El PichónFugue for Black ThursdayMouse and the FalconerThe Rune Stone at OdenslundaThe Good Samaritan of PragueThree Drops of DeathA Spell of Subtle Hunting Canto I – Historian of the Strange Canto II – Bibliotheca Abscondita Canto III – Kniébolo’s LamentNotes to the StoriesSix of the eight stories, as well as the novella are previously unpublished and appear in The Tainted Earth for the first time. These stories are rooted in ancient European, Latin American and Far Eastern folk motifs; a characteristic which sets the book apart from the author's first two collections (published by Ex Occidente). All of the stories embody the author's lifelong fascination with death, impermanence, betrayal, regret, spiritual homelessness, and the imponderable nature of time.The book is a lithographically printed, 224 page sewn hardback with colour endpapers. It is limited to 300 copies.

    Every sight, every sound, everything reminds him of events long-since past--and when you're a predator who needs to live in the NOW, being trapped in the THEN can cost you your next meal.On this night, Dane finds himself struggling to stay in the moment as he stalks his newest memory, and not even his ever-vigilant gargoyle companion can keep him focused.Has he finally fallen victim to prolonged longevity... or is there a worse fate awaiting him in an encroaching Crimson Shadow on the horizon?

    The Angel of Pain, The Rubicon and moreThis carefully crafted ebook: “The Collected Works of E. F. Benson: 23 Novels & 30+ Short Stories (Illustrated)” is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents.Edward Frederic Benson (1867–1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist and short story writer, known professionally as E.F. Benson. He started his novel writing career in 1893 with the fashionably controversial Dodo, which was an instant success, and followed it with a variety of satire and romantic and supernatural melodrama. He repeated the success of Dodo, with sequels to this novel, but the greatest success came relatively late in his career with The Mapp and Lucia series consisting of six novels and two short stories. The novels feature humorous incidents in the lives of (mainly) upper-middle-class British people in the 1920s and 1930s, vying for social prestige and one-upmanship in an atmosphere of extreme cultural snobbery. Benson was also known as a writer of atmospheric, oblique, and at times humorous or satirical ghost stories.Table of contents:Make Way For Lucia:Queen LuciaMiss MappDodo Trilogy:Dodo: A Detail of the DayDodo's Daughter or Dodo the SecondDodo WondersDavid Blaize Series:David BlaizeDavid Blaize and the Blue DoorOther Novels:The RubiconThe Judgement BooksThe VintageMammon and Co.Scarlet and HyssopThe Relentless CityThe ValkyriesThe Angel of PainThe House of DefenceThe Blotting BookDaisy's AuntMrs. AmesThorley WeirArundelMichaelUp and DownAcross the StreamShort Story Collections:The Room in the Tower, and Other StoriesThe Countess of Lowndes Square, and Other StoriesHistorical Work:Crescent and Iron Cross

    The Desires of Hell. A Broken Girl.Shattered by the death of her parents, Lena knows she is not handling her sorrow well - keeping to herself, running drugs, risking her little brother. But she'll do whatever it takes to keep her disintegrating family together. Two Lost Souls Lurking on the edges of the afterlife, Chael and Johnny Beels have spent centuries manipulating events, one pushing for good, the other sowing chaos. Now these two desperate souls have taken human form to play a dangerous game of hope and despair with Lena trapped in the middle. The Ultimate Sacrifice Lena must maneuver the shadowy realm between angel and demon, love and lust, good and evil, until she finds the courage to see the truth and make the ultimate sacrifice. When do we struggle to change the world? When do we let go and embrace life's broken beauty?

    Unfortunately, for these stoners, fate has given them more to worry about than nosy cops.In the blink of a bloodshot eye, all hell breaks loose... literally.As forces beyond the friends' perception and control turn a calm night in a marijuana-haze into a terror-filled bloodbath all hope seems lost. But there's far deadlier beings roaming through the headstones, and a Crimson Shadow soon eclipses the carnage.Talk about the ultimate buzz-kill!Comedic disclaimer:Remember, kids, don't smoke weed, or a zombie will smash your friends' faces into tombstones and eat them right before a gun-toting vampire puts an enchanted hollow-point in your skull.

    My name is Ruby...At least that's the name I've tried so hard to hide behind.With no home or family, I've been forced into the night to sell all that I have left in this world: myself. However, try as I might to escape my past, the memories refuse to let me shed who I once was. And I'm left with the cold truth:Nobody loves me.Not even me...But tonight... tonight seems different; a sense of foreboding promise that has my senses and my curiosity peaked. Has my existence become so shallow that my mind is driven to fabricate false hopes... or could there truly be a touch of Crimson waiting for me in the Shadow of my life?

    As German bombs begin to fall, Dorian's past starts catching up with him. Something is gathering in the rubble-strewn streets of the capital: something dark, malevolent and all too familiar. Something with a score to settle... Note: The Confessions of Dorian Gray contains adult material and is not suitable for younger listeners.Cast: Alexander Vlahos (Dorian Gray), Lorna Rose Harris (Rosina Sawyer/Miss Haylock), Gary Russell (Alfred), Rebecca Newman (The Lost), James Goss (ARP Warden) Technical Details Written By: Scott HarrisonDirector: Scott HandcockSound Design: Robbie DunlopMusic: James DunlopCover Art: Stuart ManningDuration: 30' approxProduction Code: BFPDGDL02Recorded Dates: 12 and 22 August 2012Recorded At: Warwick Hall Studios

    But she's so innocent--so pure--and could never love a blood-sucking bringer-of-death like him that has made hunting out-of-control monsters a way of life. Though she may be a witch with extraordinary powers, there's no changing the obvious gaps between them.He could never expect her to accept him as something more…It's all enough to drive a vampire insane!But, as certain as he is that their friendship will never evolve, he can't help but dwell on what their future may hold... and perhaps, in the shade of a Crimson Shadow, love can prevail.

    She is enticed by hope in the arms of the dark and brooding Simon Hale, but people keep dying at Shadow Bay Hall, and Rosetta hears something in the walls.Simon Hale finds the reclusive Rosetta both beautiful and intriguing, but when she seeks out the truth behind Shadow Bay Hall’s unexplained happenings, he is torn between hope for the future and his need to protect a dangerous secret.With dark forces determined to keep truth at bay, Rosetta and Simon fight to uncover lies that imprison the island with fear. His wife’ death, tangled memories, a Romany feud; Rosetta must decide if she is strong enough to discover what’s behind The Whispers on Shadow Bay.

    Not one bit.

    Clark comes a godforsaken southern gothic based on the three most evil sisters in history. They are the Mortlow sisters, and they do it all for the family.A Parliament of Crows is the story of three women in black. Always in mourning clothes, creepy and secretive, devious and deadly, they might at first blush appear to be long lost members of the Addams Family or characters drawn by Edward Gorey. But the women in this novel are inspired by three sisters from history who were anything but humorous. The story of their lives and their crimes is the very definition of Southern Gothic, and the perfect fodder for this historical fiction.In A Parliament of Crows, the three Mortlow sisters are prominent American educators of the nineteenth century, considered authorities in teaching social graces to young women. They also pursue a career of fraud and murder. Their loyalty to one another and their need to keep their secrets is a bond that tightens with each crime, forcing them closer together and isolating them from the outside world. Their ever tightening triangle suffers from madness, religious zealotry and a sense of duty warped by trauma they experienced as teenagers in Georgia during Sherman’s March to the Sea. As their crimes come back to haunt them and a long history of resentments toward each other boils to the surface, their bond of loyalty begins to fray. Will duty to family hold or will they turn on each other like ravening crows?

    Featuring a cast of characters as familiar as the faded Polaroids in a photo album salvaged from the flooded basement of a condemned church, Wax Cross presents illustrated transcriptions of ectoplasmic revelation, fibrous and grainy folklore, and unbridled bestial merriment, accompanied by textual incantations and occult decoration"

    For Luna, a chance to share the next few centuries with a legend (even a growing legend) sounds like an ideal way to free herself from her mundane, scab-sucking existence.But, before she can claim what's rightfully hers, there's the matter of his pet witch, Estella Edash.Fortunately for Luna, however, the growing legend and his human company has gotten the attention of others, as well, and when Estella is snatched away, Luna sees an opportunity to be the light in the Crimson Shadow's life.

    Dorian Gray is living the high life. But when his workmates start to die in their sleep, and he starts to dream about those he's lost, Dorian discovers that the higher your place in society, the further you have to fall...

    Whenever her eyes find Samuel, she can feel the pull of strings so vividly alive against her heart. But for Magda, love goes against fate; her destiny as a witch forbids her to need anything but the dark binds of magic. Soon, the witch’s curse begins to call to Magda. To deny her love for Samuel would be unthinkable, but to defy her destiny would be impossible. Before the curse can consume her, Magda must decide between Samuel and destiny, and her heart may beat too savagely for anyone to stop.The Witch’s Curse is an e-format prequel short story in the Legend of the Dreamer series.

     A soft voice like a strange tune echoing along the empty corridors... Dim lights in the windows of the abandoned asylum... Discarded case files that flip open to reveal the dreams of broken minds... Welcome to a place where the boundaries of fact and fiction meet. Acclaimed author Gary McMahon raids the archives of a notorious derelict mental asylum called the Daleside Institute to bring you stories of madness, horror and emotional trauma. In locations as diverse as suburban Germany, the London Underground, an Italian seaside resort and the inhospitable polar icecap, you will meet damaged people with broken lives. Here are terrifying accounts of love, hate, death and madness... These are the Tales of the Weak and the Wounded "If you love short stories, this is a must book for your collection. If you haven't read anything by Mr. McMahon this is a great place to start. One of the better collections of short stories I've read and I give it my highest recommendation, I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for more from Gary McMahon." - Famous Monsters of Filmland "This is a great collection of stories and an excellent showcase for the highly talented Gary McMahon. There are enough images in here to haunt your dreams for months to come but there's also depth here, strong ideas and commentary. The best horror holds up a mirror to society, is grounded in reality and Tales of The Weak and The Wounded is an exemplar of this." - Dark Musings

    Nine-year-old Alice Fenn communicates only through her music. Jonathan Fenn and his sister Judith guard a terrifying family secret. The servants refuse to discuss the mysterious disappearance of a former governess. A drawing room séance attempts to make contact with the spirit of Elizabeth Blackwood. And when a diabolic madman holds the residents of Blackwood Hall hostage to an insidious reign of terror, governess Claire Ashby finds herself in a living nightmare of drug addiction, pagan rituals, and murder. In the tradition of the great Gothic Romances, The Haunting at Blackwood Hall is a thrilling ghost story brimming with bold new twists on the beloved conventions of a bygone era: drawing room seances, rumors of witchcraft, phantom lights in the abbey ruins, mysterious piano music in the night, and plenty of inclement weather. Perfect reading for chilly autumn nights.

    H. Pugmire has delighted and astonished his many devotees with vignettes of perfumed prose-poetry that rival the work of Baudelaire and Clark Ashton Smith. In this new collection, which contains both new and reprinted pieces, Pugmire once again stakes his claim to be the most accomplished prose stylist in contemporary weird fiction. Here we find the shades of Lovecraft, Poe and Oscar Wilde—that dandified British author whose life and work hover over this collection like a sea-mist. We explore the shadows spawned in Sesqua Valley... Providence, Rhode Island... and Gershom, a city of artistic exiles. The title work is an impressive sequence of prose-poems, each segment inspired by an entry in Lovecraft's Commonplace Book, fusing delicate prose-poetry with the terror that only the landscape of the fantastic imagination can elicit.This new collection includes all of the original works which first appeared in The Tangled Muse, Wilum Pugmire's highly-limited (and now, out of print) Centipede Press omnibus, together with a number of newly-written and rather disturbing prose-poems that see their first publication here. The title work also appeared in The Tangled Muse, but the author has added 10,000 additional words to it for this edition—most of the new material being a segmented sequel to J. Vernon Shea's "The Haunter of the Graveyard."Uncommon Places features cover artwork and interior illustrations by the fantastic Swiss artist, Gwabryel, specially commissioned for this edition.

    Deeply controversial in their own time, some of Machen's stories had to wait decades to for changing social mores to permit their publication. This new collection by Lowood Press combines all of Machen's most celebrated works in one volume. Herein are his greatest short stories, including The White People, The Great God Pan, The Bowmen and The Shining Pyramid; his semi-autobiographical novel, Hill of Dreams; and the original, complete version of The Three Impostors, with its interconnecting tales of occult intrigue.An unrivaled master of sacred terror and pioneer of the weird fiction genre, Machen's work has directly influenced such notable horror writers as H. P. Lovecraft, Peter Straub, and Stephen King-but it has yet to be surpassed.

    

    When botanist Lawrence Fairweather returns to his lonely Fenland home after an extended trip to Europe, he hopes for a time of peace and tranquillity. The Fairweathers are a family in need of healing, having experienced a tragedy that has left Lawrence’s wife Julia immersed in grief and their daughter Hazel unable to speak.As Fairweather soon finds out, however, Halfway House is not the peaceful place it once was. Its lonely rooms and empty halls are thick with shadows and secrets, while the surrounding Fen crawls with menace. Julia and Hazel both seem to sense something gathering beneath the surface calm, and even Fairweather finds his rationalism challenged by a series of inexplicable events. But are the Fairweathers haunted by their own memories, or by something altogether more sinister?A traditional haunted house story set in the Victorian Age, The Quickening explores the boundaries between perception and reality, religion and science, and truth and mystery. Praise for The Quickening:‘[An] absorbing psychological, supernatural, highly atmospheric thriller.’ – Author Dennis Hamley‘An elegant, entertaining and very scary piece of writing – somewhere between a traditional country house haunting and a psychological thriller, with elements of both.’ – Author Catherine Czerkawska‘An excellent, disturbing and absorbing read.’

    Dietrich's sixth book of poems, is a love story. Set in the world of James Whale's 1931 film version of Frankenstein, these poems document the lives and loves of a monster and a gypsy, a huffy hunchback, a lame priest, and the not-so-mad scientist himself. What begins with test tubes and Tesla coils ends in grace and graveyard picnics. Heartwarming and horrifying, love itself is resurrected here and set striding, a lost creature, livid and longing, but never alone.

    There's not always a reason...... and if there is, you may not want to hear it.There are those that find pleasure in the deaths of others; those that live to destroy lives. Their minds--twisted and depraved and warped--exist in a darkness that most refuse to accept, and this darkness exists even in a world of monsters--turning nightmares in on themselves.So what happens when a creature that already exists to kill refuses to stop?What happens when a monster becomes a kill?Sometimes they find themselves in the chilled darkness of a Crimson Shadow.

    Terzah has recently had a harling, and is far from happy with Zen's posting. Terzah despises humans and has nothing but contempt for those around him. However, when tragedy strikes the small community, and a human who Terzah realises was actually a friend to him dies unexpectedly, Terzah is moved to take in the woman's orphaned sons. Not every human agrees with this, as they feel humans should be raised by humans. Terzah finds himself fighting prejudice as keen as his own. Gradually, Terzah realises his attitude to humanity must change, as hara and humans are forced to work together to overcome common threats and dilemmas, so that the settlement will succeed and become a real community. Conflicts within his own family and dark secrets kept by his consort add intrigue and drama to the tale.Terzah's Sons gives a fascinating glimpse into the daily life of hara, far from the courts of the high ranking and mighty. These are hara who get their hands dirty, coping with life's problems as best they can in primitive conditions. Author Victoria Copus has captured the character of Terzah, the customs of the shamanic Kheops and the complexities of intertribal politics with a deft hand. This story is a skilful and insightful addition to the canon of Storm Constantine's Wraeththu Mythos.

    Billy Keyhoe’s luck just ran out: after beating his girl to a bloody pulp and being shot by the clerk at Earl’s 66, he takes off in his daddy’s beat-up ’65 Caddy, leaving all his troubles in the rearview. At a crossroads on the way toward West Texas from Georgia, he picks up Feather, a beautiful hitchhiker who seems to know more about Billy than he knows about himself. The farther they go, the more he is drawn to Feather; but he unfortunately discovers that even true love cannot save him and he may have gone too far to ever make it back.

    As the introduction points out, visual images were important because they were an effective way of communicating "specific ideas and aspirations in durable form." A castle fortress on a hill communicated one thing, a monumental cathedral in the midst of a bustling city something else. Gothic art served a purpose: religious, social, political, or perhaps all three. Based on some excellent photos by Achim Bednorz, the text by Bruno Klein brings to life the remote world of the Middle Ages, helping the reader to see and understand the life and aspirations in the times now know as the Gothic epoch

    Bittersweet Obsession, the first in the series, is based on Mary Shelley’s classic, Frankenstein.Angel Van Ostrand has returned from the Peninsular War wounded and dispirited from the horrors of battle only to discover that his father, Dr. Van Ostrand, a once renowned scientist, is engaged in a series of macabre experiments financed by a wealthy baron who seeks immortality. With the melting of winter’s frost, Angel is determined to leave his family home, Greystock Manor, forever. But when his father’s latest purported triumph over nature comes in the form of an ethereal beauty named Jane, Angel is drawn to her. And now he finds himself in a new battle— one that involves his heart.After being stabbed and left for dead in an icy pond, Jane has woken in a strange house under the care of an odd physician and with no recollection of her past. As she recuperates and deals with the slow and painful return of dark memories, she finds that she is losing herself to the doctor’s son, Angel. But with each passing day layers of secrets from both the past and present are peeled away and soon Jane discovers that nothing is as it seems

    In “Trust Fund Babies,” children of two warring witch and fairy families face off in the final round to a centuries-old vendetta.In “The Very Last Case of Messrs. Aristotel and Arkimedes Magtanggol,” an aristocrat and his daughter consult a famous lawyer-sibling pair about a mysterious crime. But in the lawyers’ hilltop mansion by the sea, they uncover sinister hints that their reality may not be what it seems.Eliza Victoria’s fiction and poetry have appeared in various publications including High Chair, The Pedestal Magazine, Expanded Horizons, Usok, and the Philippine Speculative Fiction series.

    The short stories and novellas in Vampyric Variations shine light on a myriad of hidden agendas, deliciously exposing humanity's favorite predator - the Vampire.

    In 1928, the Federal Government destroyed Innsmouth and the nearby Devil Reef based on claims made by a man who had visited the town. Four years after the mysterious disappearance of Robert Olmstead, the man who sent the FBI to Innsmouth, his closest friend has discovered new evidence into the reality of what Innsmouth truly was: He has found the Journal of Captain Obed Marsh. The journal paints an intense scene of a vibrant town and how it takes only one man's good intentions to pave the way to Hell itself. Or in this case...to Y'ha-nthlei. What can test a man so intensely as to break him from his righteous path? Only the journal can shed light on that. These are the Trials of Obed Marsh.

    The mangled corpses of the possessed are scattered in the shadows beneath the pulverized Gothic towers. This is the aftermath of the Manifestation.Satan has revealed himself to the world, which falls trembling at his feet. Religious genocide sweeps Europe and Asia, and the world's greatest fortresses of faith are smashed to the ground. The New World and Australia become safe havens for refugees fleeing Lucifer's wrath.Heaven remains silent. The followers of Christ cry out: Where is God?Patric Bourdon believes in himself. He claims to be a member of the Church of Satan, but in reality, it is his own hedonism that drives him. His zealous and pregnant fiancée waits patiently for him to "man up" and take responsibility for his impending family, but the lure of drugs and debauchery proves too strong...Until Patric receives a command that he cannot refuse.Tourec, his self-righteous half-brother, has begun a campaign of terrorism against the forces of darkness. The Church of Satan is paralyzed with fear as Tourec and his band of rogue assassins seek vengeance for the evils that Lucifer has wrought upon the earth, and Patric is commanded to seek out and neutralize his brother by any means necessary.Or his fiancée and unborn child shall perish.THE AGE OF APOLLYON will shock and thrill those who enter its world...and this is just the beginning...

    This broad perspective enables Isabella van Elferen to widen the scope of gothic music—which includes bands such as Christian Death, Bauhaus, The Damned, and The Sisters of Mercy—from its roots in the contemporary goth subculture to manifestations in mainstream literature, film, television, and video games, while also offering a musical and theoretical definition of gothic music that is lacking in current scholarship. Bringing together versions of the Gothic in all media, van Elferen connects those to the subculture—a historical and theoretical connection that has not been made previously in gothicist or goth scholarship. Whether giving voice to the spectral beings of early cinema, announcing virtual terrors in video games, or intensifying goth’s nocturnal rituals, gothic music truly represents the sounds of the uncanny.

    A serial killer is at work. Allison Rogers, a psychic, picks up clues through contact with a place where one of his crimes was committed, but she is unable to convince the unbelieving police that her vision represents real events. Angered by the refusal of the police investigators to accept what she tries to tell them about the killer, she resolves to put the crime out of her mind and concentrate on her project of exposing false psychics who prey on gullible people eager for easy answers to their problems. But that project crosses the killer's trail, and Allison is caught up in a web of events that make her a target of the killer.

    Along with a ragtag group of followers, his campaign has seen many cases of demonic possession, and while his efforts are noble, success in the field of exorcism is a rarity.But Father Tennesen is nothing if not persistent.When he and his team are contacted by a mysterious and wealthy stranger claiming to be possessed, the others see it as a chance to cash in on their efforts... but Tennesen's goals are a bit more personal. For a man who's dedicated his life to faith, his is beginning to wane. So when things take a turn for the worst and Tennesen finds himself in a dark and desperate place, will he succumb to the darkness...Or will a Crimson Shadow answer the call?

    A simple game of mahjong exposes Dorian to a whole pantheon of ancient demons. But why is he actually visiting Pulau Ujong? And what is his connection to the mysterious Isadora Rigby?

    Lovecraft, with photos.IntroductionA Genuine PaganEccentric RecluseA Renewed Will to LiveNew York ExileThe Creation of CthulhuA Shadow Over LifeThe Mythos GrowsAuthor BiographyImage Credits

    A brewing war. Can he embrace his destiny before humankind suffers the deadly consequences?Clifford Crane is still struggling to accept his recent werewolf transformation. Pressured into escorting the pack leader’s sister to a Lycan event, he’s shocked when a powerful alpha challenges him to claim her as his mate. Agreeing to defend the woman repulsed by the aggressor’s demands, Clifford is horrified to discover he’s entering a battle to the death.After defeating his rival, Clifford falls into a deep denial when he’s proclaimed as the chosen leader to guide the packs to victory over the vampires. Journeying to a legendary fae in the hope of a definitive answer, he fears confirming the prophecy will only propel his fellow werewolves to a gruesome bloodbath.With dangerous forces threatening the world, will Clifford step up and save humanity?The Dragon of Doughton Park is the intriguing second book in The Red Wolf Saga paranormal adventure series. If you like daring heroes, savage action, and romantic encounters, then you’ll love John Hundley’s thrilling tale.

    But a new evil has come to the land of Uruad, a creature of such malevolent hatred that threatens to consume the earth. It is a werewolf. Galein will have to confront more than the darkness he sees in himself, or watch the world die.

    However short that may be. When six strangers are joined together to walk through the new haunted house in town, no one is prepared for the coming attractions. Judgments are passed, names are called, and those things just may be the undoing the teens never saw coming. A freaky mind game with a twisted tune. Would you make it through or fall victim to the Musical Scares?

    Starting with the same basic body and easy-to-follow instructions for making the faces and hair, the simple designs in this instructive guide allow knitters of all abilities to enjoy constructing these darkly adorable dolls. It also shows how to make the dolls' artful and distinctive knitted outfits and accessories, which are interchangeable so all of the items can be made using different colors and yarns to extend their wardrobes. Whether knitting for fun or wishing to create an unusual and unforgettable gift for a friend or relative, this book helps knitters make unique and irresistible gothic figures.

    Tichelaar takes readers on far more than a journey through literary history. The Gothic Wanderer is an exploration of man's deepest fears, his eff orts to rise above them for the last two centuries, and how he may be on the brink finally of succeeding. Tichelaar examines the figure of the Gothic wanderer in such well-known Gothic novels as "The Mysteries of Udolpho," "Frankenstein," and "Dracula," as well as lesser known works like Fanny Burney's "The Wanderer," Mary Shelley's "The Last Man," and Edward Bulwer-Lytton's "Zanoni." He also finds surprising Gothic elements in classics like Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" and Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan of the Apes." From Matthew Lewis' "The Monk" to Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight," Tichelaar explores a literary tradition whose characters refl ect our greatest fears and deepest hopes. Readers will find here the revelation that not only are we all Gothic wanderers--but we are so only by our own choosing. Acclaim for "The Gothic Wanderer" ""The Gothic Wanderer" shows us the importance of its title figure in helping us to see our own imperfections and our own sometimes contradictory yearnings to be both unique and yet a part of a society. The reader is in for an insightful treat." --Diana DeLuca, Ph.D. and author of Extraordinary Things "Make no mistake about it, The Gothic Wanderer is an important, well researched and comprehensive treatise on some of the world's finest literature." --Michael Willey, author of Ojisan Zanoni About the Author Tyler R. Tichelaar holds a Ph.D. in Literature from Western Michigan University. He has lectured on writing and literature at Clemson University, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of London. Tichelaar is the author of numerous historical novels, including The Marquette Trilogy (composed of Iron Pioneers, The Queen City, and Superior Heritage) the award-winning Narrow Lives, and Spirit of the North: a paranormal romance. His other scholarly works include King Arthur's Children: a Study in Fiction and Tradition Foreword by Marie Mulvey-Roberts, Ph.D. Learn more at www.GothicWanderer.com From Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.com Literary Criticism: Gothing & Romance Literary Criticism: European - General

    With startling frequency, the best mother was absent, disembodied, voiceless, or dead. British culture told tales almost exclusively of wicked, surrogate, or spectral mothers—revealing the defects of domestic ideology, the cultural fascination with standards and deviance, and the desire to police maternal behaviors.Monstrous Motherhood analyzes eighteenth-century motherhood in light of the inconsistencies among domestic ideology, narrative, and historical practice. If domesticity was so important, why is the good mother’s story absent or peripheral? What do the available maternal narratives suggest about domestic ideology and the expectations and enactment of motherhood? By focusing on literary and historical mothers in novels, plays, poems, diaries, conduct manuals, contemporary court cases, realist fiction, fairy tales, satire, and romance, Marilyn Francus reclaims silenced maternal voices and perspectives. She exposes the mechanisms of maternal marginalization and spectralization in eighteenth-century culture and revises the domesticity thesis.Monstrous Motherhood will compel scholars in eighteenth-century studies, women’s studies, family history, and cultural studies to reevaluate a foundational assumption that has driven much of the discourse in their fields.

    Laugh a little, cry a little, think a little.Many genres, many voices, one goal: Provide the reader with a fun journey through the short fiction format.Edited and polished to a fine sheen.

    In some of these works, as Haefele-Thomas demonstrates, the author or filmmaker fully intended to explore the complicated landscape of queer sexuality and gender identity. In most, however, the author or filmmaker’s intentions are unclear. Haefele-Thomas takes on these works, first employing “queer” in its nineteenth-century historical context, to point to their generally weird, odd, or ill components. She then explores them using “queer” in the complex and politically charged context from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Haefele-Thomas argues that part of what makes these texts Gothic are their covert queer content. She also reveals that queer theory—lacking the gender specificity found in gay and lesbian theories and historiographies—allows room to convey gender, sexuality, race, class, and familial structures in a specific state of anti-categorization. Queers Others in Victorian Gothic will appeal to anyone interested in the intersection of gender, sexuality, and literary criticism.TABLE OF CONTENTS:Acknowledgements1. Introduction2. The Spinster and the Hijra: How Queers Save Heterosexual Marriage in Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White and The Moonstone3. Escaping Heteronormativity: Queer Family Structures in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Lois the Witch and ’The Grey Woman’4. Disintegrating Binaries, Disintegrating Bodies: Queer Imperial Transmogrification in H. Rider Haggard’s She5. ’One does things abroad that one would not dream of doing in England’: Miscegenation and Queer Female Vampirism in J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla and Florence Marryat’s The Blood of the Vampire6. In Defence of Her Queer Community: Vernon Lee’s Decoded Decadent GothicNotesBibliographyIndex

    There, they discover the freedom of unconditional love and acceptance and retreat from the world to search for the meaning of life in each other. Eventually, their experiment takes a dark turn. A dark, disturbing novel of love and obsession by veteran author Elizabeth Engstrom.

    Later reprinted as Red Casket of the Heart, the volume tells the sorrowful tale of Adela, a woman with a secret past now nearing spinsterhood, and the mess of children that decide to rid her of her romantic woes. Now, almost two centuries later, The Cupboard is pleased to present a new edition of the volume, complete with editor’s commentary, with the grand hopes of bringing this cautionary tale of love, lust, and the deep South to a contemporary audience.

    . . a man?Young, spirited Anne Stewart has left Scotland for the seclusion of Wyndham House on the tip of Cornwall, a house rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of its former occupants.When dashing Captain Gavin Christopher enters Anne's bedroom window claiming to be Wyndham's rightful owner, will Anne find her soul-mate, or will this intruder prove to be something other than mortal?A return to the traditional gothic genre . . .In a time when women were thought to need the controlling hand of the men who would best them, Anne Stewart finds that dreams can come to life, and that the human spirit will fight for the chance to find true and everlasting love — no matter the consequences.

    He faces eviction from his apartment and his latest project is on hiatus. Worse, his muse refuses to cooperate. A recent letter may contain the inspiration he needs. Inside is the photograph of a mysterious woman, her face hidden by an umbrella. But there’s no identification, no way for him to contact her. A month later, another envelope arrives, this time with a phone number. Realizing this may be his last chance, Rick calls her. The woman introduces herself as Elizabeth and tells him she wants him to paint her portrait.Rick agrees, only to learn there are conditions. Elizabeth is a recluse who lives with her two servants in a Victorian manor. She never allows her face to be seen. Not only must he stay at Elizabeth’s residence while painting her, he can’t leave, nor can he ever tell anyone about the portrait.Sensing something isn’t right, Rick is even more disturbed by the sinister undercurrent beneath the household’s genteel façade. It’s somehow connected to the family portraits hanging in Elizabeth’s living room. Could they be haunted? And why doesn’t Elizabeth’s housekeeper want Rick to finish the painting?

    Yet the gothic is more than a long list of tropes deployed to terrify. African American Gothic reveals the myriad ways African American writers manipulate the gothic genre to critique traditional racial ideologies. The book investigates fiction from each major era in African American culture, including Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Of One Blood, Cane, Invisible Man, and Corregidora, to show how the gothic—when revised—serves as a useful vehicle for the enunciation of the peculiar terrors and complexities of black existence in America.

    It's 1987, and 16-year-old Carin White desperately needs her first job.  An elegant woman she's never met appears at her door offering employment.  "Aunt" Helen asks Carin to work for her on the family's rambling, enigmatic estate in the tiny resort town of Eureka Springs.IN A WORLD WHERE NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS...Carin enjoys her work and falls in love with the beautiful Mallace Mansion.  But a chilling event forces Carin to confront her own capacity for violence.  Carin learns her mother concealed her identity from her, and the mansion hides horrific secrets of its own.AND ONLY LOVE CAN SAVE HER.Carin exposes the true reason she was asked to summer on the estate.  Will she be strong enough to recognize love and redeem her family legacy?  Or will the temptations of power and control lure her to the same dark places where others lost themselves? OPEN DOOR is a full length novel at over 46,000 words.

    

    Two great pieces of literature lost until now. Both stories were re-discovered by the filmmakers of The Yellow Wallpaper feature film. This Official Motion Picture book includes an excerpt from the screenplay, as well as integrated film images throughout. The Gothic Collection comprises most of Charlotte Perkins Gilmans' gothic work, with a few cross-over selections.

    But the good doctor's cures don't come cheap, and for Jonah in particular there might be too high a price to pay. (M/M - For content labels and excerpt, see details on publisher's site.)

    A group of unpopular teenage girls uses witchcraft to pursue their aims. A rich banking tycoon has forgotten his university days when he and his friends dared to imagine a world ruled by social justice and working class ideals. The estranged family of a deceased aristocrat bicker over their inheritance. A botanist’s love for his plants is unnaturally deep-rooted.“Hoffman’s Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales” is the first short story collection from Cameron Trost. It plunges the reader into a world of mystery, suspense, obsession and greed. From the Scottish highlands and the jagged peaks of the Pyrénées to the streets of Brisbane and the Australian countryside, Cameron Trost provokes the reader by ensnaring recognisable characters in disturbingly plausible situations. His writing seeks to entertain while exploring the absurdities and peculiarities of society and the human mind.

    Featuring 14 of the most frightening tales ever told, the collection contains many whole novels, as well as other works charting the development of gothic literature, from Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto, the first Gothic novel, to the crowning achievement of Stoker’s Dracula. Not for the faint hearted! So, what are the 12 other grisly tales? Read to find out!

    He is also a man who increasingly finds simple things in life baffling. As he moves through the sometimes alarming and sometimes comical episodes of this novel, a break in the hurtling flow of events looms ahead.

    Covering a range of diverse contexts, the chapters focus on science, medicine, Queer theory, imperialism, nationalism, and gender. Together with further chapters on the ghost story, realism, the fin de si�cle, pulp fictions, sensation fiction, and the Victorian way of death, the Companion provides the most complete overview of the Victorian Gothic to date.The book is an essential resource for students and scholars working on the Gothic, Victorian literature and culture, and critical theory.Key Features*First multi-authored thorough exploration of the Victorian Gothic*Original research in all chapters*Sets the agenda for future scholarship in the field*Pedagogically awareKey WordsVictorian, Gothic, Science, Gender, Nationalism, Death, Supernatural, Ghost, Death

    Night Watch is a story about a Young Cadet on night watch duty alone in the woods, And the Scary experience he has.It was written completely in the first person perspective, as an experiment in creative writing.

    Privately chartered by a Transylvanian nobleman, her cargo consisted of fifty oblong wooden boxes partially filled with earth. A month later, in the midst of a raging storm, the derelict Demeter ran aground in Whitby, England, her crew missing save for her captain, who was tied to the ship's wheel with a crucifix in his lifeless hands. The only living thing aboard was a huge dog that escaped into the night.Bram Stoker, in his classic 'Dracula', with a few cryptic entries in an unnamed captain's journal, offered scant hints regarding the terrifying sea voyage that brought the vampire king from his dried up homeland to the blood-rich London. Never, until now, has the whole mind-rending story been told.The story of Trevor Harrington, a British scholar and fugitive. Of Swales, the old Scot cook, who deceives their commander, but knows a good deal "aboon grims and boh-ghosts". Of Ekaterina Gabor, a beautiful Romanian who follows her lover to sea by stowing away. Of Captain Nikilov, fighting for his ship and crew while something evil, more virulent than the black plague, decimates their number. Of Demeter herself, named for the Greek goddess of renewal, lost and tossed on an unforgiving sea. And of Count Dracula, at rest in Demeter's dark hold until the unintended actions of her crew resurrect the vampire and his unquenchable bloodlust.

    U.S. Review of Books: "Stunning and absorbing plot on par with--if not better than--a Dan Brown novel."Perfect for supernatural thriller fans. Beautiful. Seductive. Wild. Kip Livingston, an artist living on Horn Island, is struggling with the powers of a dark invader haunting her dreams. Every night this winged creature chases her deeper to the bottom of the ocean. But waking up doesn’t destroy the dream, or the creature. The entity is always near. Desperate for help, she turns to the charming Raymond Kera, a man fighting his own demons. When Raymond is drawn into Kip’s night sea journeys, her nightmare becomes his own. Can he save Kip when he learns there is only one way out of the dream? Angels and demons, psychological and spiritual twists, murder and romance make this mysterious adventure a gripping fast read.From the author of the Amazon Kindle best-selling ghost story The Dazzling Darkness, a Readers' Favorite International Bronze Medal Winner, 2014. Paula Cappa is the recipient of a Chanticleer Book Award for Greylock, the prestigious Eric Hoffer Book Award, the Readers' Favorite International Bronze Medal for Supernatural Suspense, and a Gothic Readers Book Club Award Winner in Outstanding Fiction. Grady Harp, Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer Gives 5 STARS to Paula Cappa. "A talent that will draw even those who are not keen on supernatural stories into her fold."

    The subtly shocking opening story introduces the terrible monsters that can determine our fate, from external realities like death and time to internal demons like madness, lust, and revenge. With a diverse range of settings, subjects, and themes, this collection connects the traditions of the gothic past to our equally disturbing present: a murder victim who refuses to stay buried; a World War II era wedding dress with a score to settle; the defeat and strange triumphs of death and bodily decay; a routine operation that reveals a horrifying secret world; an ancient burial ground that unearths a most bizarre set of corpses; the compulsions and consequences of desire, ambition, and dread… The Knife and the Wound It Deals—a dark and disturbing exploration of the lurid obsessions, strange twists of fate, and mysterious forces that haunt our darkest midnight hours, plus a sneak preview of B.E. Scully’s controversial new novel All Things Truly Wicked.

    Medieval occultism, astral projection, shape shifting, vampirism and enchantment reveal levels of meaning and symbolism that are deeper and more primal than the familiar, water-down version given to us in childhood.If you enjoy writers like Angela Carter, Tanith Lee, E.A. Poe and Anne Rice, you should enjoy this book.

    Shall I tell you my best secret? One day I'm going to be Lady Martha the Magnificent. I don't know what my special talent is, but I hope to find it any day now.I live in a grand old house in a valley full of rare and precious herbs, which my grandfather uses to heal and comfort people. But they haven't worked on Mama; she cries a lake of tears every night. If only I could get into Grandpa Grimstone's apothecary and work my very own spell!

    Starting with the classic 'The Signal-Man' by Charles Dickens, this book, volume one, is edited by Paul Avon and also contains tales by H.P.Lovecraft, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and many more. "We are the empty. We are the darkness. We are the night. We are the dead. We need tales to salve our dark desires, to prolong the long dark night of our weary souls. Tell us stories of the grotesque, of the bizarre. Tales of strange anxieties, of fear, horror, of suspense, dismay, of longing, of love lost, of death and of dark desire. Fiction which could almost be fact. Reacquaint us with tales we may know but have long remained dormant inside us. Remind us. Shroud us in darkness. Here we have the works from the dark masters. Here we have reminders of terrifying classics past. Here we have ... Goth!"

    Gothic Blue Books were short fictions popular in the 18th and 19th century. They were descendants of the chap book trade. Burial Day Books presents its second Gothic Blue Book, The Revenge Edition. The following fifteen short stories and poems honor the Gothic story. Misery, fear, despair, regret and dread are highlighted in the following pages, stirring old ghosts, witches, and awakening death. The following collection of new and established horror authors weave together brilliant tales of terror celebrating the history of the Gothic story with a new twist. Authors:Chad Brown - THE PEEPERSTara Cleves- THE B&B OWNERM.N. Hanson - SLENDER MANPhil Hickes - THE BEAUTIFUL DEADEmma Hinge - PENANCEK. Trap Jones - THE FLAILING ARMDaniel Kraus - NORA AND THE GRAVEDIGGERDavid Massengill - BELLEVUECarl Palmer - VISITATIONCynthia (cina) Pelayo - BLASPHEMEGerardo Pelayo - FIRST DATE CHECKLISTCortney Philip - WHEN THE SUN STAYS DOWNWednesday Silverwood - ANGELIQUEJennifer A. Smith - LAST SUMMERMelissa Stanziale - THE CHLIDREN OF OROROEditors:Cynthia (cina) PelayoGerardo PelayoCover Art: Abigail Larson

    While other Hebrew poets wrote their poems in systematically measured rhythm, rigid rhyme, and metrical patterns, establishing and aesthetically sculpting "celebrated," symbolic themes, the poetry of David Fogel introduced a novel, innovative trend in Hebrew poetry. Accordingly, his poems are presented in a low-key rhythm of conversational Hebrew. Fogel's poetry introduced a new poetic option in Hebrew poetry, one that replaced the proclivity of "fireworks" with a serene, whispering tone. Topics are somber and subdued, the atmosphere in his poetry is bleak and murky, while quietly refraining from blatant complaint. Fogel is a poet of doom and gloom, while expressing the latter in the most moving fashion of acceptance and surrender. David Fogel tragically perished in the Holocaust in 1944. This anthology contains 75 of David Fogel's poems, translated by the author. "David Fogel's 'ars poetica' distinguishes itself with poetic beauty that had not been introduced, practiced, and displayed yet in modern Hebrew poetry. Undoubtedly, David Fogel's somber, Gothic atmosphere, subdued, melancholic tone, naturally fluent rhythm and meter, and 'mutely' practiced rhyme, topics and ideas are devoid of flowery symbolism. Prof. Yair Mazor's aesthetic probe into David Fogel's art of poetry analyzes meticulously and lucidly the David Fogel's poetic art. Hence, Prof. Mazor's study of David Fogel's poetry enables the readers to appreciate and even admire the poetry of David Fogel from the very depth of its artistic depth to its panoramic, breathtaking view point." -Professor Moshe Pelli, Director & Abe and Tess Wise Endowed Professor of Judaic Studies Interdisciplinary Program in Judaic Studies, University of Central Florida

    If you make a promise, then keep your word, or it could have unexpected outcomes. A Princess falls under a curse, though she is offered a way to escape it. The answer to the riddle may have been nearby for years. How many will the Kiss claim, and will the Princess see the way to break her curse? Or, will she live a lifetime never being able to give back something so simple as a kiss? A little Snow White, a sprinkling of Sleeping Beauty, a dash of King Midas, and influenced by countless other fairy tales, prepare for a darker journey than your usual fairy tale.This short was written for the author's daughter and then submitted to the America's Best Author 2012 contest. No nominations were secured, but out of the 100's of contestants accepted she consistently places between the middle and upper 15%, an achievement that she feels acceptable considering the popularity factor that went into the ranking system that had been in the contest.Cover is a placeholder cover by Teresa Garcia

    A Gothic western set in the Post-Civil War chaos and at the height of the Indian Wars, a trio of unlikely characters (and a talking horse) band together in an epic journey across America’s Badlands in search of answers for the misery they have lived through.Love, romance, misguided philosophy, and violence on a Greek-like scale… this is the world at SUNDOWN.

    Set deep among the Yorkshire moors, Blackthorn is a place of mysteries – a wild place, where pale faces appear at the windows, and mad women laugh in the night. Castiel is drawn to the enigmatic Master of Blackthorn and they form an attachment neither of them expected. But there are secrets hidden behind Blackthorn's stone walls, truths that threaten to destroy their fragile happiness, as they are forced to confront the ghosts of their past. This is a Jane Eyre/SPN fusion AU, written for the Dean/Castiel Big Bang 2012.Words:94657 completeArt by azrastiel

    RomanceIt is a Victorian, Occult FantasyTwo young men discover their attraction to men and in particular to each other. Archie and Percy come from different strata of Victorian Society, but their friendship quickly blossoms into an intimate one.Can their idealised, romantic friendship survive the class difference and the Victorian disapproval of close male friendships? But there are worse tests to come. The story takes them into the world of the Occult and into truly shocking horrors.This gothic novel is not for the squeamish or faint-hearted. The reader is challenged by the horrific events in the book.Written in an old-fashioned, romantic style, "Archie" describes male attractions in lyrical, sensual, homoerotic detail. It is not written as modern gay porn might be written, but rather reflects the innocence and yearning of young Victorian men, whose homosexual inclinations are well closeted. It is set at the time when Oscar Wilde was sentenced to hard labour and our two heroes have to travel a difficult path of intimacy.In "Archie", Richard Peters writes some of his greatest homoerotic passages and weaves these with the occult in a startling way. Here we read of the Victorian fascination with fairy fantasy and the occult teachings that were burgeoning, in the West, at that time. The novel is at once superbly erotic and horrifically frank. It will delight and repulse you in equal measure.Like all Richard Peter’s erotic novels, we get explicit descriptions of Male/Male sex. It is a piece of XXX rated gay pornographic fiction, only for those legally allowed to read such works and is not intended to be read by those who would be shocked by explicit descriptions of homosexual intercourse.The author, Richard Peters, is a prolific writer of erotic fiction. His works, while containing explicit, gay, erotic porn descriptions never fail to move his readers emotionally.He has written many other novels and short stories and they will all be produced, one by one, for the Kindle. His favourite themes concern straight men being seduced by other straight, bisexual or gay men. He likes to investigate the sexuality of his characters, as he believes sexuality is not a simple black and white dichotomy (gay/straight). He believes there are many shades of grey in between.His exciting work is for the discerning gay reader as well as for other adventurous males, willing to discover the edges of their sexuality – if they are brave enough to explore.

    "The Phantom of the Opera". "Dracula". "Frankenstein", defining gems of the gothic genre. But do you know who was the real muse behind these paragons of terror? Would you believe it was a ten year-old girl from war-defeated Germany?The Monster’s Muse tells the incredible story of Maddy Ulm and her rise from the complicated shadows of Berlin’s first experiments with Expressionist cinema to the glamorous deserts of Hollywood. For Maddy has a secret. A secret that has given her unparalleled insight into the soul of cinematic horror. A secret that has a terrible price as well.

    At the cusp of the 19th century, a penniless lass learns her dashing guardian angel is actually a blood-sucking devil.

    After her father arranges her marriage by proxy to a man she has never met, Julianna finds herself in an isolated English manor surrounded by a hostile housekeeper, an alcoholic sister-in-law who is apparently in love with her own brother, and a pseudo husband who has but one goal in mind: producing a son to ensure the family fortune does not go to the Catholic church. Julianna must discover her real foe, free her real husband, and save herself and her daughter after the birth of the baby endangers them all.If you love Gothic romance, if you're a fan of Daphne du Maurier, you'll love 'Before I Forget September'.

    But one night, when Philip is wandering alone in a nearby wood, he sees his beloved friend. At first Philip believes Stephen is a ghost, but then learns something much more horrifying: Stephen has been turned into a vampire and needs Philip’s help to become human again.To get back the man he loves, Philip must make his way through this unknown world of bloodlust and undeath and confront the vampire who stole his friend’s life.Be Warned: m/m sex.

    Twentythree seminal works by classic European authors, covering the whole of that delirious period from Gothic and Romantic, through Symbolism and Decadence to protoSurrealism and beyond, in a single volume charged with sex, blood and horror. With a detailed introduction by editor Candice Black which not only examines these texts and their meaning, but also the literary and cultural climate in which the new cult of the vampire was allowed to flourish. BRAM STOKER, CHARLES BAUDELAIRE, LAUTREAMONT, MAUPASSANT, COUNT STENBOCK, CYPRIEN BERARD, JEAN LORRAIN, THEOPHILE GAUTIER, PAUL FEVAL, CHARLES NODIER, JAN NERUDA, JOHN POLIDORI, IVAN TURGENEV, CHARLOTTE BRONTE, JK HUYSMANS, J.M. RYDER, LEON BLOY, MAURICE ROLLINAT, AUGUSTUS HARE, J SHERIDAN LE FANU, OSCAR WILDE Several texts are here translated into English for the very first time, including those by Cyprien Berard and Maurice Rollinat. The definitive collection for literate vampire-lovers."

    They had been dead flesh, but now their limbs began to jerk. In sudden, horrible spasms, their fingers flexed and their arms reached out. Their thin hands were first pressed flat against the inside of the glass, then were feeling along it like scuttering spiders..." London, 1879. Two mysterious children are smuggled into the city by a scientist who is sworn to their protection, yet terrified of them. The children have no idea that they are being hunted by a monstrous evil, or that they will trigger a horrifying journey through the fog-shrouded backstreets in search of justice, revenge, and the truth about who they are. Part Victorian gothic horror, part steampunk adventure for older children, The Frankenstein Inheritance is an atmospheric, thought-provoking twist on one of the world's most iconic nightmares.