Tall Chimneys is hidden in a damp and gloomy hollow. It is outmoded and inconvenient but Evelyn is determined to save it from the fate of so many stately homes at the time - abandonment or demolition. Occasional echoes of tumult in the wider world reach their sequestered backwater - the strident cries of political extremists, a furore of royal scandal, rumblings of the European war machine. But their isolated spot seems largely untouched. At times life is hard - little more than survival. At times it feels enchanted, almost outside of time itself. The woman and the house shore each other up - until love comes calling, threatening to pull them asunder. Her desertion will spell its demise, but saving Tall Chimneys could mean sacrificing her hope for happiness, even sacrificing herself. A century later, a distant relative crosses the globe to find the house of his ancestors. What he finds in the strange depression of the moor could change the course of his life forever. One woman, one house, one hundred years.

    After the arrival of the new fellows―including the intriguing, handsome photographer Richard Banks―she begins to suspect that her predecessor chose the group with a dangerous purpose in mind. As the chilling mysteries of Cliffside Manor unravel and the eerie sins of the past are exposed, Eleanor must fight to save the fellows—and herself—from sinister forces.

    One summer. A lifetime of secrets. When fifteen-year-old Margot and her three sisters arrive at Applecote Manor in June 1959, they expect a quiet English country summer. Instead, they find their aunt and uncle still reeling from the disappearance of their daughter, Audrey, five years before. As the sisters become divided by new tensions when two handsome neighbors drop by, Margot finds herself drawn into the life Audrey left behind. When the summer takes a deadly turn, the girls must unite behind an unthinkable choice or find themselves torn apart forever.Fifty years later, Jesse is desperate to move her family out of their London home, where signs of her widower husband’s previous wife are around every corner. Gorgeous Applecote Manor, nestled in the English countryside, seems the perfect solution. But Jesse finds herself increasingly isolated in their new sprawling home, at odds with her fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, and haunted by the strange rumors that surround the manor.

    But when Leonard moves her to a crumbling old house rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Ms. Annalee Spivey, Gradle is plunged into a lush, magical world much stranger and more dangerous than from the one she came.Here she meets Sonny Joe Stitch, a Siamese Fighting Fish connoisseur overdosed on testosterone, a crippled, Bible-thumping hobo named Ceif -Tadpole- Walker, and the only true friend she will ever know, a schizophrenic genius, music-man, and professional dumpster-diver, D-5 Delvis Miles.As Gradle falls deeper into Delvis's imaginary and fantastical world, unsettling dangers lurk, and when surfaced Gradle discovers unforeseen depths in herself and the people she loves the most.Gradle Bird is an unusual tale of self-discovery and redemption that explores the infirmities of fatherly love, the complexities of human cruelty, and the consequences of guilt, proving they are possible to overcome no matter how dark and horrible the cause.

    With the post-colonial sensibilities of Junot Diaz, Teju Cole, and Jhumpa Lahiri and an ironic perspective of colonial history resonant with Marques and Llosa, Joaquin is a long-neglected writer ready to join the ranks of the world classics. His work meditates on the questions and challenges of the Filipino individual's new freedom after a long history of colonialism, exploring folklore, centuries-old Catholic rites, the Spanish colonial past, magical realism, and baroque splendour and excess. This collection features his best-known story, 'The Woman Who Had Two Navels,' centred on Philippine emigrants living in Hong Kong and later expanded into a novel, the much-anthologised story 'May Day Eve,' and a canonical play, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino.

    I watched her face a demon.” Thirty years after her mother's death, Alice Ashcroft is drawn back to the coastal English town of Curridge. Somebody in Curridge has been reviewing Alice's novels online, and in those reviews there have been tantalizing hints at a hidden truth. A truth that seems to be linked to her dead mother. “Thirty years ago, there was a soul auction.” Once she reaches Curridge, Alice finds strange things happening all around her. Something attacks her car. A figure watches her on the beach at night. And when she tries to find the person who has been reviewing her books, she makes a horrific discovery. What really happened to Alice's mother thirty years ago? Who was she talking to, just moments before dropping dead on the beach? What caused a huge rockfall that nearly tore a nearby cliff-face in half? And what sinister presence is lurking in the grounds of the local church? THE SOUL AUCTION is the story of a woman's search to discover the truth about her mother's death, and of an evil force that once came to visit a sleepy English town.

    . . When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But with her husband dead just weeks after their marriage, her new servants resentful, and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. Inside her new home lies a locked door, beyond which is a painted wooden figure —a silent companion —-that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. The residents of The Bridge are terrified of the figure, but Elsie tries to shrug this off as simple superstition--that is, until she notices the figure's eyes following her.A Victorian ghost story that evokes a most unsettling kind of fear, this is a tale that creeps its way through the consciousness in ways you least expect--much like the silent companions themselves.

    Is Mark going mad or was his girlfriend Called from Beyond? Mark’s girlfriend dies in a car accident before he can tell her how much he loves her. He never believed in ghosts, but a well-meaning friend and guilt push him into new and dangerous territory. All he wants is the chance to say he is sorry. To speak to her one more time. During a desperate, alcohol-fueled binge, he buys an Ouija board and calls Alissa. Is his drinking problem or survivor’s guilt making him doubt his sanity? Or are the footsteps in the night and inexplicable messages real—has Alissa returned? Gail and Jesse have their own guilt to bear, both tormented by a secret they have no choice but to keep. Is it their fault Alissa died? All they want is to help Mark through his grief, but his true plight soon becomes apparent. Evil is waiting and it’s worse than they can imagine. Will Mark be sucked into the darkness or will he send away his love to save his own life? Scroll up now to find out in this thrilling, fast-paced ghost story that will have you reading well into the night. Just remember to keep the lights on. This is the second book in the exciting Spirit Guide Series. Each book is a complete story and they can be read in any order. They follow Gail and Jesse as they search for ways to put spirits to rest and to save those who are tormented by them. The first book in the series is The Haunting of Seafield House It is permanently 0.99 and FREE on Kindle Unlimited or get an introduction to the series for free - Get The Black-Eyed Children at http://eepurl.com/cGdNvX

     Gail Parker never believed in ghosts and yet she knows her boyfriend does. Jesse saw ghosts as a child and has spent the last decade trying to reconnect with spirits. Every haunted house he has investigate has been a hoax or he has found a logical explanation for the phenomenon. That was until he found Seafield House. Stay after dark and you will never leave. That is the legend, but Gail does not believe in ghosts. At first the house is just dark and uncomfortable and Gail has enough problems of her own. There is a secret she must tell Jesse and she promises to do so after this weekend. Only things don’t go as planned. Soon she begins to doubt her own sanity. Strange noises, and draughts can be easily explained but did she really see those hands? Gail does not know if this is real or if she is hallucinating. When darkness falls Gail is trapped in the house with a lost child and she cannot find Jesse. Will they survive? Will they escape? Find out in The Haunting of Seafield House FREE on Kindle Unlimited. Also available by Caroline Clark: The Haunting of Brynlee House The Haunting of Shadow Hill House

    Unknown to Freya, these women, over centuries, fought with whatever weapons came to hand – deception, endurance, even murder – to preserve their home and family.Freya falls in love with the house, but her inheritance includes an enigmatic letter telling her to ‘restore the balance’ of the Lady’s Well. Besides this, the house seems to be haunted by the scent of flowers.In the past, the Lady’s Well was a place of healing, and Freya soon feels safe and at home, but she has demons of her own to conquer before she can accept the happiness that beckons.

    But their close bond is soon challenged by a captivating woman; a woman Magnus wants, but Jacob gets.Devastated, Magnus seeks solace in a trip to New Orleans. After a chance meeting with Oscar Wilde, he becomes immersed in a world of depravity and brutality, inevitably becoming the inspiration for Dorian Gray. Armed with the forbidden magic of voodoo, he sets his sights on winning back the woman Jacob stole from him.Amid the trappings of Victorian society, two men, bent on revenge, will lay the foundation for a curse that will forever alter their destinies.

    The arrival of a hapless governess and a moor-hen set all three on a strange and dangerous path. The Moors is a dark comedy about love, desperation, and visibility.1 M, 5 F.

    She was wrong. New widow, Haley Colbrooke travels to Ashdown to meet her husband’s family and to visit his grave. The shocking news of their recent marriage is awkward enough. That her brother in-law is Lance’s identical twin is worse. Given her circumstances, she accepts the invitation to stay, which sets in motion a chain of events that will risk Haley losing all she has left. Rather than finding solace, she is drawn into past tragedies and deadly secrets. Perhaps coming to the family estate was a terrible mistake.

    The master of Wainforth, Thomas Norcliffe, does not welcome her unannounced arrival, so Katherine must tread carefully around his dark moods while attempting to unlock the history buried in his ancestral home. After she receives more than one whispered warning from the townspeople in Wainforth Village, Katherine’s initial audacity begins to waver. Deadly secrets from the Norcliffe family’s past are resurfacing, and Katherine begins to realize that the biggest danger lies within herself—the wisest course is to leave, but she wants to stay at Wainforth Manor and uncover the truth about Thomas Norcliffe.

    These are written to come at you from an entirely unexpected direction. There is more than a touch of the Gothic and macabre about these stories. In fact they are steeped in it. They are flesh-crawlingly delicious, and a treat for devotees of the paranormal. This is a collection of short stories. They are long enough to grip the reader, but brief enough to be read in a tea break or on a train - but why not treat yourself to a good spook-fest, and read them in the comfort of your armchair as the rain patters against the windowpane, and the wind howls its mournful tune - well, you get the idea. Read it wherever you feel most comfortable (or uncomfortable!). Just for good measure, I have also included a handful of stories (and a poem) from other authors who are friends of mine. You will find these scattered throughout the book at random intervals. So if you see the story title, and then a name, this will be a story from one of my friends, so watch out for Bernie Morris, David Clarke, Ann Perry and Lesley Hanson. See you on the other side!

    When she arrives at the family's remote house, however, she discovers that a terrible secret is waiting for her in the nursery. From the author of Asylum and The Farm, Stephen is a horror novel about a young woman who finds herself torn between two worlds. Desperate to help her employers in their hour of need, she nevertheless struggles to look after their son. What happened to Stephen, to leave him the way he is? What happened to the previous governess at Grangehurst? And what causes the sobbing sound that seem to drift through an empty room? By the time she uncovers the awful truth about the family, and about little Stephen, it might be too late for Beryl to ever leave.

    The Royalists of King Charles I, and Cromwell’s Parliamentarians, battle, both eager to lay claim to a tattered country, where life has become cheap and death trivial.Though, for the lowly commoner, a greater, far more devious, war rages. It threatens the souls of the weak, timid and needy. Seeking refuge in the Lord's word, God fearing folk employ the skills of one man, the Witchfinder. His success speaks of his talent, to seek out, punish and rid the countryside of Witches, the Devil’s Whores.2016 – A paranormal team are called to investigate, as poltergeist activity brings terror to one family. Under the cover of darkness, in silent suburbia, an endless night of battle against evil ensues, until finally, a new day dawns.Lies, secrets, and treachery, it seems, are never forgotten.Welcome to Manningtree...

    Until she meets his sister, and learns that her new husband's past holds dark secrets. Tuscany, Present day: Everyone in London is searching for Lucy Whittaker - so Lucy needs to disappear. But her new home, the crumbling Castillo Barbarossa, is far from the secluded paradise it seemed. Across the decades, Vivien and Lucy find themselves trapped in the idyllic Italian villa. And if they are ever to truly escape its walls, they must first unearth its secrets...

    This classic short story is Poe's dark vision in the study of guilt and what it can eventually do to one's mind.Experience one of Poe's most chilling tales through the eyes of a truly master artist.

    Coerced into replacing him as ‘watchdog’ for the undead, Rona must discover her own dark side in order to survive.

    It hides secrets and stories within its walls, tales that lure guests from all over the world. Yet there’s one story that has never been told. The story of a New Orleans bordello Madam who had to endure the pain of watching her true love die…twice.Josey has been the owner of Chateau Rouge for the last two hundred years. She’s content with her routine existence, and has been for a long time…until Archer Grayson walks into her hotel.He ignites a hunger in her which she hasn’t felt for over one hundred years, and this can only mean one thing…her love has returned to her. But with his return comes the curse of their fate, and Josey refuses to survive a broken heart for a third time. Unless…what if this time is different? What if there’s a chance for them to change their destiny? Could it be that their love finally has a different fate written in the cards?Or is history bound to repeat itself?

    Guarded by two gigantic oak trees, the empty house stands alone within Oakdene, a quiet and desolate village. She ignores her mischievous aunt as she jokingly tries to convince them that their rented apartment is haunted the moment they step foot inside. Always rational, Penny tries to place logical explanations to unexplainable events that start occurring from the very first day. When these encounters become more and more frequent, and more terrifying, Penny cannot avoid it anymore. Someone, or something, is staying in the apartment with them and Penny needs to find out what it is and more importantly, what it wants from her?

    Frankenstein’s monster has given his creator an ultimatum: Victor must build the creature a mate, or watch as the monster destroys everything and everyone he has ever loved. You know their story. You don’t know hers.She is born into darkness, her destiny entwined with an unspeakable evil. Her sole companion is her creator, the inscrutable Victor Frankenstein, gatekeeper to a life she has never experienced. As her understanding of humanity takes shape, she must contend with the horrific nature of her intended mate and conflicting feelings for her creator. She wants more from life than to be the bride of Frankenstein’s monster, but will she seek freedom, vengeance, or something else entirely?

    But the only break on offer is his breaking point, stranded with ghosts, killers and a series of horrific secrets buried on the cursed island that threaten to stop him ever leaving alive.

    This collection of works by classic writers spans more than a century—from 19th-century trailblazers such as John William Polidori, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Washington Irving to 20th-century masters like Saki, Edith Wharton, and Franz Kafka. The fear of the unknown is a driving force in literature, and the horror genre surpasses all others in bringing this idea to the forefront of the reader's consciousness. A wide range of cultures and classes of society are represented in this volume, reminding us that dark forces lurk all around us—for even in broad daylight, a shadow exists somewhere.

    His family has a past. Can they solve a century-old mystery… together? Gemma doesn't miss working for the family business. She has a knack for restoring older properties, but after a vicious haunting nearly killed her, she was more than ready to move on. Gemma agrees to one last job to save her parents’ business, but the 1880s historical estate has its fair share of dark secrets…Henry Alcott wants nothing more than to free the spirit from his family’s property. Ever since the original owner was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death, the ghost has made sure every restoration effort was a miserable failure. But there’s something about Gemma that makes Henry believe in a much brighter future…Gemma and Henry must solve a hundred-year mystery to complete the restoration in time. Failure to do so could cost Gemma’s parents their business, but staying in the house could cost them much, much more…The Haunting of Alcott Manor is a contemporary gothic romance mystery. If you like fateful chemistry, engaging characters, and mysteries that keep you guessing until the very end, then you’ll love the first book in USA TODAY BESTSELLING Author Alyssa Richards’ chilling new series. Buy The Haunting of Alcott Manor to step inside the house today!

    Kids are vanishing, disappearing like tumbleweeds in the desert wind.Somebody—or something—is taking them.Action. Adventure. Romance. Suspense. The Bends is a supernatural thriller rollercoaster ride! “If it’s true, well … she can’t be human.” Recommended for Fans of Blake Crouch, Stephen King, J.A. Konrath, and Dean Koontz

    Baltimore-based artist David Plunkert takes you on a dark journey into the gothic stories and poetry of Edgar Allan Poe. Classic stories of the macabre take on a whole new meaning when you experience them accompanied by David Plunkert's mystical, and sometimes haunting, interpretations. With this edition of the Classics Reimagined series, you'll find these densely written classics boring…nevermore.The Classics Reimagined series is a library of stunning collector's editions of unabridged classic novels illustrated by contemporary artists from around the world. Each artist offers his or her own unique, visual interpretation of the most well-loved, widely read, and avidly collected literature from renowned authors. From The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and from Jane Austen to the Brothers Grimm, collect every beautiful volume.

    Handler considers basically perfect, originally appeared with a third, Blessed Art Though, a story that he considers to be in an entirely different tone. He felt that Friends in the Country from Ms. Ingalls’ later collection, The End of a Tragedy, was a more natural companion to the two earlier works. The author happily agreed.I See a Long Journey introduces us to Flora who is induced by her husband, James, to take a vacation only because his chauffeur Michael, custodian of their persons and their purse, will accompany them. Things, as they so often do in Ingalls’ world, will go appalling awry.Friends in the Country wherein a young couple drive outside of London for a Friday dinner and find themselves trapped for the weekend in a manner that surpasses Stephen King, if not in outright horror then certainly in subtlety and suggestiveness.On Ice finds Beverley with her fiancé at an elegant hotel where she is introduced to a grande dame whose funeral Beverley’s convinced she had witnessed 10 years before.

    Some thought the book was too radical in its implications; a few found the central theme intriguing; no-one predicted its success.Since then, there have been many, many adaptations―120 films alone, at the last count―on screen, stage, in novels, comics and graphic novels, in advertisements and even on cereal packets. From a Regency nightmare, Frankenstein became a cuddly childhood companion―thoroughly munstered, so to speak. The story has been interpreted as a feminist allegory of birthing, an ecological reading of mother earth, an attack on masculinist science, the origin of science fiction, an example of “female gothic,” a reaction to the rise of the industrial proletariat and much else besides. Frankenstein lives! The F word has been applied, since the 1950s, to test-tube babies, heart transplants, prosthetics, robotics, cosmetic surgery, genetic engineering, genetically modified crops and numerous other public anxieties arising from scientific research. Today, Frankenstein has taken over from Adam and Eve as the creation myth for the age of genetic engineering.This book, celebrating the 200th birthday of Frankenstein, traces the journey of Shelley’s Frankenstein from limited-edition literature into the bloodstream of contemporary culture. With text by renowned Gothic scholar Sir Christopher Frayling, it includes new research on the novel’s origins; a facsimile reprint of the earliest-known manuscript version of the creation scene; visual material on adaptations for the stage, in magazines, on playbills, in prints and in book publications of the 19th century; visual essays on many of the film versions and their inspirations in the history of art; and Frankenstein in popular culture―on posters, advertisements, packaging, in comics and graphic novels.

    The accepted unjustness of it jars Miss Emmeline Durrant who arrives from Boston to be a companion to a Mrs. Thornton, but being alone in the world, it is an opportunity she cannot afford to pass up. Even so, her welcome proves less than earnest and secrets emerge from every shadowed corner as she takes up her new position at the Rose Hill plantation. Dark deeds and intents are suspected everywhere, especially from the neighboring landowner, a Lord Cresswell, who Emmeline’s patroness despises with vitriolic hatred— a man whose features are as dark and foreboding as Mrs. Thornton claims his heart to be. Bright sunshine over the sugarcanes masks the insidious fear of the people who forcibly work the fields, and their malcontent resentment. Unease over the dark religion and curses haunt even the lavish ballrooms where Montserrat society meet and mingle.

    And the sense of unease only increases when she meets her new patient, Gordon Henderson.Drawn into the Henderson family’s tangled web of secrets and betrayals, Maura can ignore the danger lurking behind every door no longer. Even the door she has been forbidden from opening…Essen Grange is a house with dark and cruel intentions. But now that darkness has turned on her, can Maura escape before it’s too late?The chilling new novel from the bestselling author of The Lost Child and The Silent Girls. Perfect for fans of Erin Kelly, Claire Mackintosh and Tracy Buchanan.

    For months, she could stay in a cabin in the middle of the Yukon wilderness with only a pack of sledge dogs to care for. But from the moment she arrives in the isolated dog yard, something is terribly wrong. She can feel it watching her from the woods. She can hear them whispering to her in the silence. But she is sure it is just a trick of her mind. Until the night they arrive. Three children appear on her doorstep in the middle of the night; each one with pitch black eyes. They plead with her to let them inside, but her rejection draws her into a war of wills against the demonic forces. Isolated in a terrain she doesn’t understand, and trapped by an oncoming blizzard, Ruby will have to decide how far she’s willing to go to survive. She’ll soon learn that it’s hard to keep the devil out when you’ve already opened the door.

    This book holds the haunted-house-horror and everything real underneath, the costume, the bruise after, the smoke curling in the heart of a hellhound. "After supper she pulls on boots, prepares her heart" and goes out to collect his "sharpest fang." These poems are demons and strawberries and bones, and teeth, and agency, self, girl-power, woman-power—assertive figures preoccupied with agency, not beauty—not prettiness for the observer. This chapbook of poems is the bone-yard, the skeleton, the strength. "I am here to stay / ... / I am just as real as anything else." (Porkbelly Press, 2017)https://porkbellypress.com/catalog/ch...Cover Art by Mary Chiaramonte

    Wimbourne Books presents the third in a series of rare or out-of-print ghost stories from Victorian authors. With an introduction by author Alastair Gunn, Volume 3 in the series contains stories published anonymously in America and Britain between 1839 and 1896. Most of these tales are here anthologised for the very first time. Readers new to this genre will discover its pleasures; the Victorian quaintness, the sometimes shocking difference in social norms, the almost comical politeness and structured etiquette, the archaic and precise language, but mostly the Victorians’ skill at stoking our fears and trepidations, our insecurities and doubts. Even if you are already an aficionado of the ghostly tale there is much within these pages to interest you. Wait until the dark of the snowy night, lock the doors, shutter the windows, light the fire, sit with your back to the wall and bury yourself in the Victorian macabre. Try not to let the creaking floorboards, the distant howl of a dog, the chill breeze that caresses the candle, the shadows in the far recesses of your room, disturb your concentration. Includes the stories; The Deaf and Dumb Girl (1839) - The Picture Bedroom (1840) - The Haunted Manor-House of Paddington (1848) - Mabel (1849) - The Bright Room of Cranmore (1850) - Fisher’s Ghost (1853) - The Ghost at Heatherbell Abbey (1862) - The Tale of a Gas-light Ghost (1867) - Pichon & Sons, of the Croix Rousse (1868) - Haunted (1868) - The Ghost at Laburnum Villa (1870) - The Sergeant’s Ghost Story (1873) - The Bryansfort Spectre (1874) - Twelve O’clock, Noon (1877) - The Story of Clifford House (1878) - The Ghost in the Bank of England (1879) - The Carved Mantelpiece of Granton Hall (1882) - The Invisible Hand (1884) - The Old Lady in Black (1894) - Seen By the Coppice (1896).

    Few in the town of Cypress Creek even remember the house and what had occurred inside its walls decades before. In the present time, author Rob Hooper and his wife, Janet, are looking for a quiet place to live. The grandiose, isolated Victorian-style relic is everything they could want. A mysterious, widowed owner offers them a deal that can't be passed up. But they quickly discover that some things are too good to be true.

    Penniless and without references, she is desperate to acquire the position of governess at Esterly House on the bleak Yorkshire moors. When the mail coach slides into a ditch in the middle of a blizzard, she is forced to seek shelter at the nearest house, Blackmoor Hall. But visitors are not welcome at Blackmoor Hall and she gets sent to the stables to shelter from the storm. She is jerked out of sound slumber by a snow-blasted horse bursting into the stall, practically trampling her beneath his slashing hooves. Anthony Markham, the Duke of Blackmoor, has just returned home after six months of dissolute living in London. He is surly, sarcastic, enigmatic, and hostile. And the most sensuous man Danielle has ever met. The attraction between them is instantaneous, combustible…and forbidden. Though a descendant of French nobility, Danielle is still a mere governess and Anthony Markham is a Duke. When the position at Esterly House falls through, she has nowhere to go and faces a bleak future. To her shock, it’s Anthony Markham who comes to her rescue, offering her a position as governess to his four-year-old son, Geoffrey. Against her better judgment, she accepts. She soon discovers that the Master of Blackmoor is haunted by a dark and tragic past filled with lies, betrayal and death. Unfortunately, the past is not over. Evil stalks Blackmoor Hall. The danger is escalating and all the clues point to the Duke himself. As the passion between Anthony and Danielle rages out of control, so does the peril they face. Will they solve this mystery in time? Or will it wind up destroying them both?

    Almost immediately, she is drawn into the family’s dark and violent history and realizes that all is not as it first appeared. Wary guests, family secrets, and unexplained events leave her questioning what is real and what is illusion.What promised to be a fabulous weekend getaway at the family’s ancestral Georgian manor quickly devolves into a nightmare. Someone has an ulterior motive for keeping her trapped there, and by the time she discovers why, it may be too late.

    Their purpose: to unearth the lost city of Ekizu, a place only whispered of amid tales of blood sacrifice and dark gods. But as Varanus's patience wears thin, intrigues within the camp begin to surface, threatening everything she holds dear. An evil watches from the desert, eager to claim Ekizu for itself, while old enemies lurk in the darkness, plotting revenge. And as the great temple is uncovered, they will learn too late the truth behind an ancient warning. Better that dead things had been left buried, lest all the world fall under the shadow of the Far Earth.

    Wimbourne Books presents the fifth in a series of rare or out-of-print ghost stories from Victorian authors. With an introduction by author Alastair Gunn, Volume 5 in the series spans the years 1872 to 1901 and includes stories from a wide range of male authors; British, French and American. Includes tales by Henry James, Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling. Readers new to this genre will discover its pleasures; the Victorian quaintness, the sometimes shocking difference in social norms, the almost comical politeness and structured etiquette, the archaic and precise language, but mostly the Victorians’ skill at stoking our fears and trepidations, our insecurities and doubts. Even if you are already an aficionado of the ghostly tale there is much within these pages to interest you. Wait until the dark of the stormy night arrives, lock the doors, shutter the windows, light the fire, sit with your back to the wall and bury yourself in the Victorian macabre. Try not to let the creaking floorboards, the distant howl of a dog, the chill breeze that caresses the candle, the shadows in the far recesses of your room, disturb your concentration. Includes the stories; No Living Voice (1872) – Thomas Street Millington; Lady Kitty (1876) – Walter Besant & James Rice; The Ghostly Rental (1876) – Henry James; The Transferred Ghost (1882) – Frank Richard Stockton; Apparition (1883) – Guy de Maupassant; Selecting a Ghost (1883) – Arthur Conan Doyle; No. 11 Welham Square (1885) – Edward Masey; The House of Strange Stories (1886) – Andrew Lang; By Word of Mouth (1887) – Rudyard Kipling; A Set of Chessmen (1890) – Richard Marsh; The Haunted Mill (1891) – Jerome K. Jerome; The Haunted Station (1892) – Hume Nisbet; Pallinghurst Barrow (1892) – Grant Allen; The Man Who Was Not on the Passenger List (1892) – Robert Barr; The Saving of a Soul (1893) – Sir Richard Francis Burton; No 252. Rue M. le Prince (1895) – Ralph Adams Cram; Colonel Halifax’s Ghost Story (1897) – Sabine Baring-Gould; The Haunted Burglar (1897) – William Chambers Morrow; How Love Came to Professor Guildea (1900) – Robert Hichens; The Case of Vincent Pyrwhit (1901) – Barry Pain.

    Abandoned and forbidden, the ghosts of scandals, memories and missing servants haunt Beldon’s halls.Byron Granger is a fighter. A heavy iron gate and an uptight earl won’t stop him from getting his hands on Bede’s missing journals.The legacy would end with him. Alastair, the 13th Earl Waldeford, closed Beldon Hall sixteen years ago and was happy to let it rot to the ground. Haunted by his tragic childhood and the weight of his ancestors’ cruelty, he’s determined to be the last of his line.In the cold, damp darkness of Beldon's cruel and insane legacy, passion burns bright and mystery propels them deeper into danger. Byron finds himself in a race to find Bede's long-lost journals as the horrors of the past threaten Alastair's sanity and his future.

    until the mysterious happenings took it over, including a mass murder of eleven people on Floor 17.The year is 2005. The tower has been neglected, cheapened by the horrors that happened on the land. Tony Barone, the executive of an advertising agency, plans to rent out Floor 17 at a discounted price, dragging with him his four employees and his ten-year-old daughter, Selena. Madson Tower has something sinister at work within its walls... and to face it, they'll all have to first face their own mangled pasts and bad memories.

    With his macabre twists of fate and fascination with science and invention his work led to the detective stories of Sherlock Holmes, the weird horror of H.P. Lovecraft and the grim, tortured tales of Stephen King.

    Throughout a long writing career, he drew on his own medical background, his travels, and his increasing interest in spiritualism and the occult to produce a spectacular array of Gothic stories. Many of Doyle's writings are recognized as the very greatest tales of terror. They range from hauntings in the polar wasteland to evil surgeons and malevolent jungle landscapes.This collection brings together over thirty of Conan Doyle's best "Gothic Tales," in a scholarly edition for the first time. Darryl Jones's introduction discusses the contradictions in Conan Doyle's very public life - as a medical doctor who became obsessed with the spirit world, or a British imperialist drawn to support Irish Home Rule - and shows the ways in which these found articulation in that most anxious of all literary forms, the Gothic.

    Someone who preys on young women, and kills them in a very singular manner. And as crowds of Goths arrive to celebrate an annual festival, the scene is set for a gothic tale with a contemporary twist. After Dark is a horror story set in modern day Whitby, the town where, according to Stoker, a certain Count came ashore. In recent years, Whitby has held an annual Goth festival, and this surreal event sets the stage for a deliciously dark tale. Please note that this is a short story of approx. 10,000 words.

    Only 99 cents to own! Elderly Eloise Ratcliff Palmer desperately wields the burning candle at her assailant, sending him crashing to the floor. Frantic, she turns to fight off the second thug, but her luck has run out. She dies at his hand, and the truth of her tragic fate and her lost fortune are forever buried at Palmer House. More than a century later, Noel and Brianna nab the stately old Palmer House for a song. They quickly set about opening their antique jewelry story in its first-floor rooms. But things don’t go well. Within hours of moving in, Brianna sees visions of a tortured old woman. Noel puts it down to her pregnancy hormones and the stress of the move. But Brianna knows better. Her visions become more and more violent, and she’s terrified for her own health and the health of her unborn baby. The old woman won’t let Brianna go… Brianna’s actions become frantic as she tries to save herself. But the ghost has singled her out, and she can’t escape…

    Wimbourne Books presents the fourth in a series of rare or out-of-print ghost stories from Victorian authors. With an introduction by author Alastair Gunn, Volume 4 in the series spans the years 1835 to 1869 and includes stories from a wide range of male authors; English, Irish, Scottish and American. Includes tales by Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving. Readers new to this genre will discover its pleasures; the Victorian quaintness, the sometimes shocking difference in social norms, the almost comical politeness and structured etiquette, the archaic and precise language, but mostly the Victorians’ skill at stoking our fears and trepidations, our insecurities and doubts. Even if you are already an aficionado of the ghostly tale there is much within these pages to interest you. Wait until the dark of the stormy night arrives, lock the doors, shutter the windows, light the fire, sit with your back to the wall and bury yourself in the Victorian macabre. Try not to let the creaking floorboards, the distant howl of a dog, the chill breeze that caresses the candle, the shadows in the far recesses of your room, disturb your concentration. Includes the stories; The Gray Champion (1835) – Nathaniel Hawthorne; The Fortunes of Sir Robert Ardagh (1838) – Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu; Guests from Gibbet-Island (1839) – Washington Irving; Ghost Gossips at Blakesley House (1841) – William Mudford; The Grimsby Ghost (1842) – Thomas Hood; The Miniature (1844) – John Yonge Akerman; The Legend of the Weeping Chamber (1851) – Bayle St. John; The Ghost of Pit Pond (1854) – Dudley Costello; The Pot of Tulips (1855) – Fitz-James O’Brien; The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber (1857) – Charles Dickens; The Yellow Gown (1858) – George John Whyte-Melville; The Ghost’s Forfeits (1858) – James Hain Friswell; The Haunted and the Haunters (1859) – Edward Bulwer-Lytton; Experiences of Farthing Lodge (1864) – Thomas Wilkinson Speight; The Painted Room at Blackston Manor (1864) – John Berwick Harwood; The Spectral Coach of Blackadon (1865) – Thomas Quiller Couch; The Botathen Ghost (1867) – Robert Stephen Hawker; The Ghosts at the Grange (1867) – George Manville Fenn; The Shadow of a Shade (1869) – Tom Hood; Uncle Cornelius, His Story (1869) – George MacDonald.

    THE ARTE MEPHITICBEINGA CAUTION AGAINSTHUBRIS and CONCEITWherein is RelatedDIVERS AWFUL AND MARVELLOUS OCCURENCES

    It's powered by the GUMSHOE One-2-One game system which retunes, rebuilds and re-imagines the acclaimed GUMSHOE investigative rules set, as seen in such hit roleplaying games as Trail of Cthulhu and Night's Black Agents, for one player and one GM. Together, you create a story that evokes the classic solo protagonist mystery format.Cthulhu Confidential drops your hero into the noir nightscape of hardboiled-era Los Angeles, New York or Washington, DC. Meet power brokers and politicians, rub shoulders with Hollywood studio bosses and fiery evangelists. Face narrow-eyed G-Men, bent cops and dangerous crime lords. But beneath it all, under the scrim of all this human endeavor, lives corruption so old and inhuman you'll need all your courage and resourcefulness to face it.Choose one of three heroes with their own settings and adventures: Langston Wright is an African-American war veteran and scholar in WW2-era DC with a keen intellect. Dex Raymond is a hard-boiled private detective in 1930s Los Angeles with a nose for trouble. And Vivian Sinclair is The New York Herald's most determined scoop-hound. Each is a lone investigator, equipped with smarts, fists, and just maybe a code of honor, uncovering their town's secret truths. But what happens when you scratch the veneer of human malfeasance to reveal an eternal evil-the malign, cosmic indifference of HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos?

    Bored, privileged and selfish, he and his two friends, Darlington and Sutcliffe, founded a Hellfire Club, and unleased a demon into the mortal world. As punishment, they are put into a deep sleep by the Sorceress, the ruler of the between-worlds. 200 years later … Lorne, awoken from his sleep by archaeologist Professor Maggie McNab, is now a changed man. With Maggie’s help, he must recapture the demon and make reparation for his past crimes. But the ‘wicked marquis’ is unlike anyone Maggie has ever encountered, and as she joins him in his quest, they discover an irresistible, blazing mutual attraction. Can they survive what is to come with their love intact? Reviews for Sara Mackenzie's Immortal Warriors series "5 stars - PASSIONS OF THE GHOST is one of the most magical paranormals I have read this year. Ms. Mackenzie pens an alluring tale that drew this reader in from the very first page. I did not put this charming tale down until the last word was read. I laughed at the witty bantering and cried when two lovely people find a rare love that makes them complete. Amy is a lost soul looking to get away from the life she has led. Reynald is another lost soul trying to make his past mistakes right again. I adore both of these very unusual characters. Making the story even more complete are the secondary characters that are vibrant and sassy. Ms. Mackenzie pens a plot that is thick and spell-binding. If you are looking for a tale that will leave you wholly satisfied and all warm and fuzzy inside, then I highly recommend PASSIONS OF THE GHOST. I will be heading to the bookstore to gobble up all of Ms. Mackenzies books." RomanceJunkies 2006 "4 Stars - Mackenzie's immortal warriors are once again trying to rectify an old wrong. This new chapter adds even more mystical elements to the series as a notorious highwayman tried to change his family's tragic history. Mackenzie (aka author Sara Bennett) demonstates a rare gift for blending paranormal elements, including time travel, to create stories that are emotionally maultifaceted as well as action packed. This is one multitalented author!" Romantic Times 2006 "5 stars - The second in the Immortal Warriors series, Secrets of the Highwayman by newcomer paranormal author, Sara Mackenzie, is just as fast paced, and spellbinding as its predecessor, Return of the Highlander. You will be as swept away in the adventure of Nathaniel Raven and his pursuit of the monstrous Pengorren as the vibrant Melanie is! Very imaginative, Secrets of the Highwayman has so many intricate plot twists you won't be able to put it down! I can't wait for the next in the series, Passions of the Ghost, to hit the bookshelves!" - A Romance Review 2006

    After spending a season mingling with fashionable high society in Bath, she is invited to stay at Northanger Abbey where nothing is what it seems.In The History of England, the teenage Jane Austen pokes fun at the historians of the day who pretended to be objective when they clearly were not, and wrote about the kings and queens of England with less respect (and more wit) than a British newspaper.

    Fifteen tales of horror and darkness, taking the reader deeper into the vampiric and the unknown.Warrington’s vampires haunt the borderlands of excess, and you can find them here in ten stories set in her popular Blood Wine series of novels. Then there are five further tales of fantasy and horror as Warrington takes you further into the worlds of imagination. Step gently, as you may not leave untouched!‘The Blood Wine books are addictive, thrilling reads that are impossible to put down and they definitely deserve more attention.’ Worldhopping.net‘A cross between Anne Rice and more edgy modern paranormal romances, only with Freda Warrington’s incredible voice … This author truly has a gift for storytelling.’ Not Your Ordinary Book Banter

     Miss Michael Cargrave is desperate when the death of her bookseller father leaves her in a dire financial state. When she finds a letter from a mysterious foreign aristocrat, Baron Dalca, requesting that her father come work for him, she decides to risk everything by traveling to the Carpathian Mountains and claiming the position herself. Vasile, Baron Dalca, expected an elderly gentleman scholar. Instead he finds on his doorstep a vibrant, courageous young woman who stirs him in a way that no woman has since the long-ago death of his wife. But for her sake, he can’t fall in love. He can bring nothing but danger to Michael Cargrave. “As Vital as Blood takes the reader into the heart of Dracula country for a tale of dark romance and suspense. Amanda DeWees deftly blends classic vampire lore with Gothic romance, mystery, and thrills.” --Dacre Stoker, author, great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker

    

    But from the minute she arrived, she found her life in danger. Only a chance meeting with the mysterious Will Hennessey offered any consolation. But even as they fell in love, the threats to Rosemary became ever more dangerous. Someone was prepared to go to any lengths to stop her from becoming the new mistress of Rosehaven. But who—and why?

    Contains a fabulous mix of classic and brand new writing, with authors from the US, Canada, and the UK.

    At twenty-two she has not been able to discover the reasons for her mother's death nor her father's phantasmal existence, and so, unguided and temperamental, Clara finds no other purpose but to spend her days carousing in Paris with childhood friend Remi.As the mystery of her parents begins to unravel - thanks to the help of her dear friend and neighbor Christophe - deep prejudices, betrayals, and a vindictiveness distilled through generations are revealed; all of which falls onto Clara’s shoulders. While facing her family's past, a new valet in her father's employ catches her interest and causes a jealousy to spark that sets in motion events she never could have imagined. With what little pieces of a life she can claim falling away around her, she must find the resolve to endure a fate she cannot escape, the loss of all she holds dear, and the strength to face the retribution of her parent's mistakes.Exploring themes of independence within an ever shifting society following nearly a century of turmoil, writer Lauren Sobka embarks on a narrative of inherited circumstances, echoes of memory, and the peculiarities of life one can be born into. Her settings are imbued with eloquent observations of nature and the riotous, bohemian life that was Paris nearing the turn of the century. A gothic novel of the French order, its scenes and characters will linger in your memory long after you finish reading.

    At this devil's crossroads of the King James Bible and the Egyptian Book of the Dead emerge the ghosts and realities of sex, race, violence, and hauntingly vulnerable emotion. Quintan Ana Wikswo has written an unforgettable and relentless reinvestigation of the American soul.A Long Curving Scar Where the Heart Should Be unfolds on the unruly, mixed-race, queer-sexed margins of a conservative 1930s Southern town. In the wake of abandonment by her husband, an impoverished young midwife and her twin daughters create a hospice and sanctuary for the town's outcasts within a deserted antebellum plantation house. The twins inhabit a fantastical world of ancient resistances, macabre births, glorious deaths, ravenous love affairs, clandestine sorceries, and secret madnesses--a site where the legacies of catastrophic injustice, bigotry, brutality, and grief contend with unquenchable desires for restitution, wholeness, sexual liberty, and lives of freedom outside the chokeholds of racism, misogyny and social constraint. Overshadowed by lingering scandals of miscegenation, the persistence of searing endemic violence, and a troubling secrecy surrounding their father's disappearance, the women begin to walk into the discomforting limitations of their myths and wounds, and create their own new maps of sexual and personal fulfillment, resilience, and transformation. When the town claims that he is closer than they think, the women must decide whether his reappearance would offer wholeness, or unbearable consequences to their own hardfought, courageous journeys towards existential insurrection

    Claire Aman is a strong new voice in Australian fiction.

    A murder in the woods. A woman accused. Following his discharge from the bloody French and Indian Wars, Dr. Ellis Swift is commissioned to treat a young woman suffering from a mysterious mental ailment in the small hamlet of Hollowbrook, Virginia. Some say Penelope Braye is a a witch, some say she’s possessed by the devil, some say she’s mad. But everyone in the village can agree, Penny has a connection to a series of murders in the haunted Hollowbrook woods. As a man of learning, Ellis doesn't subscribe to the small-town legends about ghost and witchcraft. But as Halloween approaches and evil creeps into the village, it's clear that there is something dark at work in the woods. And Penny's past might be the key to solving the mystery. For lovers of Poe and Daphne Du Maurier, Hollowbrook Haunting is a chilling classic Gothic tale not to be missed!

    Captain Richard Granville has returned to London after serving the Crown in perilous missions fighting Napoleon’s army. Bone weary and distrustful of all around him, the captivating Jane Dawson awakens his long dormant desire for more than a solitary existence. When he learns she is betrothed to his father, the conniving and dangerous Earl of Litchfield, shadows of the past descend upon Richard, bringing along memories of a tortuous childhood and his failure to protect the person he had loved most.Jane Dawson would pay any price to renew her family’s happiness, but is the cost of marrying Lord Litchfield too high? A woman of virtue and honor, she cannot break a promise once given, especially when doing so would ruin those she seeks to protect. But can she ignore the connection she feels to the wild soldier who understands both her duty and her heart?Follow the men of the Granville family in this suspenseful Regency romance series as they discover that their family legacy is much darker than they realized and that the future holds treasures they can only grasp by surrendering the past.

     When Carter Thomas discovers the elaborate clockwork door in the Dupre Mine, he seeks out Etienne Dupre, the sheltered son of the mine’s owner, for answers. Both young men have long secretly loved one another from afar. But even as their summertime love affair flames hot and forbidden, they discover secrets about Etienne’s heritage and the dark plan Armand Dupre has in store for his son. If the door is opened then Etienne - and perhaps the world - will all be sacrificed to Armand’s lust for power. Can Carter and Etienne stop Armand or has their fate already been written in stone? An M/M gothic romantic suspense story for the darker months. While this is a standalone novel, there are more stories in this universe. A link is provided in the book to find out more. Other M/M Paranormal Books & Series by X. Aratare Cursed (3 books, complete) Nick Fairfax vows to do whatever Lord Bane Dunsaney desires for one year. In exchange, Nick’s family gets a chance to regain their fortune. Is this the worst mistake of Nick’s life, or will it lead to a love only found in fairy tales? A modern-day M/M retelling of Beauty & The Beast. The Merman (5 books, complete) The Merman is a 5-book gay paranormal romance series from Raythe Reign. This series contains psychic powers, a mostly-naked merman lover, an evil scientist, and true love beneath the waves. Birth Rite A classic gothic M/M horror story with a boy, a haunted mansion, and dark family secrets. About Raythe Reign Raythe Reign produces mostly M/M works following the classic advice - write what you most want to read! As a result, our stories are works of entertainment and fantasies, full of action, adventure, sexy romance, heroes, and villains. We publish stories in both serial and book formats. Visit the X. Aratare author page for more of our series and stand-alone works.

     American art student Evie Williams is studying abroad in Edinburgh and having the time of her life—especially when she falls hard for Thomas MacBean, a sexy art dealer with a Highlander's brogue. But as Thomas and Evie’s romance heats up, so does Evie’s fascination with a special exhibit of dark art at a local gallery. Normally frightened by sinister subjects, sensitive Evie finds herself entranced by one painting in particular, and soon, can’t pull herself away. Who, or what, has she really encountered?

    An epic battle rages for the lives and souls of the inhabitants of Bizenghast, and no one is safe anymore. Shocking revelations of the town's dark history continue to emerge, and Dinah's struggle will go beyond the borders of the mausoleum, and possibly beyond Bizenghast itself... Collect all three Special Collectors Mangas of Bizenghast!

    Diabolical Fantasia: The Art of Der Orchideengarten Vol 1 thoroughly covers the magnificent and macabre illustrations in issues #1-6 of Der Orchideengarten magazine from the year 1919. The illustrations are captured from high-resolution scans made from a pristine collection in the Century Guild museum archive, and the accompanying text documents extensive research to support the artworks and verify the artists whose names were not listed in the publication.

    One thing that becomes painfully clear: The residences of Bizenghast are just dying to come home. Marty Legrow has crafted an unforgettable Gothic drama that will leave readers haunted long after the last page is turned.

    Lovecraft was the inventor of cosmic horror, of weird fiction and the Cthulhu mythology. His stories, incubated by a lonely and febrile childhood, found purchase in the fertile earth of pulp fiction where he inspired many other writers, from Robert E. Howard, to Robert Bloch and Clark Ashton Smith, many of whom also collaborated on the several short stories, some of which are also included here, in this special deluxe edition. This title, alongside H.G. Wells Short Stories, is a companion volume to our hugely successful Gothic Fantasy series of classic and modern writers.

    Mains comes A Suggestion of Ghosts, an all-female anthology of ghost stories written between 1854 and 1900. Mains has been deep in the cobwebbed archives of decaying periodicals, collections and newspapers, and has found British, Irish, American and Australian stories that have not been anthologised since their original publications up to 190 years ago. Mains is also thrilled to be able to attribute the correct authorship of ‘The Closed Cabinet’ – a tale which has been continuously published under the byline ‘Anon’ since its original appearance in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine in January 1895 – to Lady Gwendolyn Gascoyne-Cecil.Featuring cover art from multiple time British Fantasy Award-winner Les Edwards, and interior artwork from acclaimed artist, author and screenwriter Mike Mignola, A Suggestion of Ghosts will be an invaluable book for those desperately seeking to read and research supernatural tales which have been long forgotten and faded away.This hardback edition of A Suggestion of Ghosts will be limited to 50 numbered copies, each signed by editor J.A. Mains and artist Les Edwards.Table of Contents Introduction – Lynda E. Rucker A Veritable Ghost Story – Susanna Moodie The Spectral Rout – Francis Power Cobbe A Legend of All-Hallow Eve – Georgiana S. Hull The Ghost of the Nineteenth Century – Phoebe Pember The Ghost Room – Clara Merwin Miss Massareene’s Ghost – E.A. Henty Vindication of the Supernatural – Manda L. Crocker The Warneford Abbey Ghost – Ada Maria Jocelyn A Speakin’ Ghost – Annie Trumbull Slosson The Closed Cabinet – Lady Gwendolyn Gascoyne-Cecil The Little Green Door – Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman The Death Spancel – Katharine Tynan The House That Wouldn’t Let – Mrs Hattie H. Howard At the Witching Hour – Elizabeth Gibert Cunningham Terry The Oakleigh Ghost – Annie Armitt

    She thought she was suffering a nightmare, at worst, a supernatural attack by malevolent spirits, inconvenient but not life-threatening. But when she died for the second time, she knew that something was wrong… sinisterly wrong. It would take Aku’s third death to free her mind from the dark haze that kept her trapped in a series of harrowing events she’d give ten lifetimes to avoid. Except by then, it would be too late; too late for her to change the chain of tragedy that followed her walking corpse like a swarm of grave-flies. DEAD CORPSE - Another chilling tale of ghostly vengeance by the undisputed Queen of African Horror, Nuzo Onoh.

    Only 99 cents to own! The vicar has done horrible things. Unspeakable things. Evil things. His secrets are buried deep in the basement of Morgan House, where they’ve been undisturbed for over fifty years. Until now… Iris Walker doesn’t want to move to England. She’s happy where she is. But Owen forces his hand, dragging her across the ocean. But that’s not the worst of it. He’s invited his witch of a mother to live with them. At Morgan House, Iris takes refuge in the basement where mysterious things quickly begin to happen. Unexplainable things. Terrifying things that have Iris fearing for her life… But Owen refuses to listen. He’s got his own agenda, and it doesn’t include her. Finally, when Iris can stand it no more, she attempts to flee. But neither the ghosts nor Owen are willing to let her go…

    Of a woman in terrible danger trapped in a dark house crawling with creatures and restless shadows. Of a secret too terrifying to acknowledge. And a monster the likes of which Morgan Rook has never seen…The Ghost’s Story is a short novella packed with dark Urban Fantasy thrills and spine-chilling horrors. Download the story today and plunge yourself into a world of shadows, magic and chills.

    This subgenre features works from many of America's best-known authors: Edgar Allan Poe, Toni Morrison, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Henry James, Edith Wharton, William Faulkner, and Flannery O'Connor. Authored by leading experts in the field, the introduction and sixteen chapters explore the American Gothic chronologically, in relation to different social groups, in connection with different geographic regions, and in different media, including children's literature, poetry, drama, film, television, and gaming. This Companion provides a rich and thorough analysis of the American Gothic tradition from a twenty-first-century standpoint, and will be a key resource undergraduates, graduate students, and professional researchers interested in this topic.

    But it also has a long history stretching over centuries, becoming a distinctive narrative form that encompasses everything from art and architecture to literature, fashion, film, television, digital media, graphic novels, and music. Marvelously adaptable, the gothic aesthetic has proven fertile ground for endless imaginative reinvention, and this collection provides the first fully illustrated introduction to every aspect of the phenomenon—one that is truly without boundaries and ever-evolving.New paperback edition of Gothic.

    For a moment she thought his last words were meant as a threat. The stranger's look had been so sharp and penetrating, horrifying and exciting at the same time. She embraced herself and shuddered once again. This time it was due to the pungent wind that was becoming stronger as the evening grew closer. For a while she stood there watching Lucas walk away, then finally looked away." Bradbury is a gorgeous property that stands amidst dark secrets. One fine day a young reckless woman Leonora, driven by desire for easy money that a rich couple would offer their surrogate mother, comes to live at the mansion, unsuspecting of the paths this seemingly carefree life and lust for money will bring to. Meanwhile, Reyna’s steady life is turned upside down the moment her mother dies in suspicious circumstances and leaves her an unknown property and dark secrets from her turbulent past. Around that time handsome yet secretive Lucas comes into Reyna’s life. At the end the truth about the young man and the horrors of his past that haunt him, not allowing him to give in to his feelings, serves a final blow to Reyna. Iveta Redliha (b. 1977) is a Latvian writer. With great passion she unravels in writing destinies of people of different walks of life, and their entangled feelings. “The Steps” was born out of the writer’s imagination and built on inspiration from gothic love and detective novels.

    A handsome man. A secluded manor, and a family with wealth and intrigue. But it only sounds like a fairy tale...Celia wakes up to a room she doesn’t remember, in a house she cannot recall. Suffering from amnesia, she doesn’t even recognize her own face.Her circumstances only get stranger from there.She meets the LaCroix family, who took her into their home after an accident that left her unconscious and confused, but there is something unsettling about them. Irving, the head of the house, is more than hospitable. His wife, Anjessica, pale and pregnant, seems to grow sicker by the day. Baltus, an elderly gentleman, looks at Celia with an interest that disturbs her. The youngest member of the family, Maynard, stares at the floor and hardly says a word. Twin maids keep watch over the house with hard stares. Then there is Adam.Celia doesn’t remember him, but they share a common bond: they were in the same accident. Somehow, he doesn’t remember her either. They must rediscover each other to unlock the past, but the attraction between them is so strong that neither wants to complain. They are invited to stay as long as they’d like while they recover their memories, but it doesn’t take long for Celia and Adam to decide that they don’t want to stay in the sprawling mountainside chateau. All around them, doors are locked. Someone is always watching. Celia and Adam must rely on one another as they plan for a means of escape – and try to uncover the secret of why the family will not let them go.

     Michael Eustace, the main protagonist of the novel, is a minor television celebrity and police consultant with a genuine gift for finding missing people. He is not a psychic and he doesn't see dead people, but he does experience the world in a very unique and unusual way. Michael Eustace can see human life and, through his pale blue eyes, human life has colour. But Michael's gift comes at a heavy price. He suffers from almost constant and often debilitating headaches which, he believes, are directly related to his colour-visions. The headaches make him appear both mysterious and aloof. And Michael's consultancy work, helping the police to find people kidnapped or just lost, has brought him into the darkest reaches of society and to the attention of some very dangerous and twisted people. Despite his day job as a television mystic he is a very private man who dislikes the limelight and has become something of a nomad, never settling down, never staying in the same place for very long. When Michael's search for Hanna, the daughter of a childhood sweetheart, leads him and his friend Detective Inspector Brian Horse Hopkins into the unexplored caves under the island of Skellig Éin, he discovers a world of unimaginable terror that has seemingly remained hidden since the dawn of time. Hopelessly lost in the darkness Michael must use his unusual gift to locate Hannah, find a way out of the nightmare and then defeat an enemy that threatens to destroy him and everyone he loves. Skellig Éin is an island of secrets, both above and below ground. Mr G, a vicious Dublin pimp, is on the island to oversee the importation of a large shipment of high grade Columbian cocaine for his newest client, the mysterious and frightening Sylvester Parker. Parker is an international serial killer and number one on the FBI's 'Most Wanted' list. An enigmatic and phantom-like puppet-master, he controls an army of extremely powerful and wealthy individuals who have helped him evade capture for more than two decades. Parker's diabolical deeds are legendary and his name strikes fear and loathing in equal measure. He has come to the remote island of Skellig Éin with his own evil agenda, pursued by a select group of undercover agents who believe that their most prised prey is finally within their grasp. But cracks are appearing everywhere, both physical and psychological. An earthquake, unheard of on the island, has caused landslides, cave collapses and widespread panic. A mutilated body is found hanging from a tree in a secluded forest, flayed and drained of almost all it's bodily fluids; there are reports of a monstrous midnight attack at the ancient monastery where Michael's brother is the Prior and rumours of demon beasts roaming the countryside after dark in search of fresh meat. As the mystery deepens, Michael's search for answers takes him from the edge of madness into the shadow of the gates of Hell. Moth is the debut novel of Martin G Jordan. It is the story of one man's search for answers in a world gone mad, where evil comes in many forms and the boundaries between reality and madness no longer exist. There are monsters here, hiding in the shadow. Some of them are men and women, of flesh and blood, but others have black wings and sharp teeth and an insatiable angry hunger. Moth is a unique and terrifying thrill ride that will keep the reader guessing 'til the very last page. Sometimes, nightmares are real.

    Leaving the house he grew up in is pulling apart the few strings left holding her heart together. Only the desire to be there for her younger boy, Finn, impels Evie to West Wales and the ancient house her husband is sure will heal their wounds.Days later, Andrew is gone - rushing back to his 'important' job in government, abandoning his grieving wife and son. Finn finds solace in the horse his father buys by way of apology. As does his evasive and fearful new friend, Nye, the one who reminds him and Evie of Jesse... Evie loses herself in a dusty 19th century journal and glasses of homemade wine left by the mysterious housekeeper.As Evie's grasp on reality slides, Andrew's parents ride to the rescue. It is clear that this is a house they know. They seem to think they own it, and begin making changes nobody wants, least of all Alys and her son, Nye, the terrified youth who looks so like Jesse.

    A single roll of the cursed dice can alter a life forever. What evil world is revealed when the music box plays its grim tune? Their seances had never successfully contacted the deceased... until now. Something terrifying lurks in the basement freezer. Nothing is as it seems.

     Nil-Pray is the city of the Dead, where those who cannot rest in the grave come to exist forever. Although even the Dead find reason for strife. In the wake of a terrible world war, the ancient, solitary nature of Nil-Pray must change. Edmund Carver, professional sorcerer, fleeing a foolish past, is employed as one of the few living ever allowed to enter the city. He must work closely with the ancient, eerie inhabitants as they seek to engage once again with the breathing world. As the Carnal and Spectral factions begin to war on each other, Edmund becomes the target of conspiracies, plots, and ancient ambitions of creatures sunk deep down in death.

    The huge mirrored wardrobe that the builders couldn’t shift only seemed to add to its charms… But soon their dream turns into a terrifying nightmare. As Rebecca delves into the dark circumstances surrounding the mysterious murder of George Carthew in the same house a hundred years before, she finds herself surrounded by echoes of the crime. Carthew was victim to slow arsenic poisoning, and now Greg is struck with a horrible wasting illness. Carthew’s beautiful widow, Charlotte, was suspected of the gruesome crime but never convicted, and now Rebecca wakes in terror to find reflection of strange women in the wardrobe doors… That old wardrobe, a relic of the Victorian days, seems to be the only remaining witness to the crime and Rebecca becomes convinced that all these years later, it could still hold the key to the murder.

    Brant Johnson is rugged, mysterious and sexy. However, after going on an unsuccessful date with Brant and discovering disturbing secrets from his past, Cami decides Brant isn’t really the guy for her. But Brant seems to have decided Cami is the girl for him, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to show her how devoted he is. Even if it includes murder….

    

    In Rest Area, Clay McLeod Chapman offered a view into the lives of Southern Gothic monstrosities. Now, the 40 tales of Nothing Untoward delve into the depraved minds of those madmen and women who drift along the periphery of humankind. Sometimes darkly humorous, sometimes strangely heartbreaking, these stories explore the domestic horrors of the everyday, finding terror within our own households. Haunting and hilarious, these sharply tuned diatribes are more than simple horror stories in the traditional sense. These offbeat psychological portraits are presented from the perspectives of the very monsters themselves. The heroes of these tales are murderers, loners, and drifters. Spanning over 20 years of the rigorous storytelling session "The Pumpkin Pie Show," the tales collected here are to be read out loud or to yourself, if you're brave enough. The oral tradition is alive and well with these stories, captured on the page for you to share around the campfire, or flip through in bed late at night. These are ghost stories for people who don't believe in ghosts, haunted by their own crumbling minds and wounded hearts. A perfect mixture of tongue-and-cheek gallows humor, psychological terror, and character-based storytelling, Nothing Untoward: Stories from "The Pumpkin Pie Show" focuses on the darker side of domesticity and won't let go.

    In a bitter, disappointed frame of mind he at last returns home to England, believing that true love will never be his. But an unexpected encounter with destiny in the shape of the remarkable young woman, Jane Eyre, upends his world. She is like no one he has ever met, and their acquaintance soon grows into friendship. He finds her full of whimsical contrasts as he recounts to her tales of his travels, even freely confessing his many faults. She listens without judgment, yet in her eyes he fancies empathy, perhaps even a longing of her own? One fateful night, Jane's daring and courage snatch him from a horrible, burning death. In the intense intimacy of the aftermath, Edward's feelings will be denied no longer: he is desperately in love with her. But can he resist, knowing the terrible secret of his past must keep them forever apart? For a man whose youthful surrender to a duty long forgotten forever altered the course of his life, Edward's choice is clear: yield again to the will of others, to the man-made laws which shackle him to one woman while his body and spirit yearn for another, or defy Society, the Law—and even God—to have what he wants.

    When he is handed a collection of letters written by his predecessor, a gravedigger is rapidly immersed in a strange indeterminate narrative, that seems to overflow with mysterious characters and enigmatic apparitions.The most ordinary of lives suddenly accelerates in stream of enticing illusions and surreal visions in which he inevitably comes to face his own deeply hidden secrets.

    Instead, she woke to the news her brother was gone forever. The Alaskan pilot’s dreams have always told her the future but have never revealed the secrets of her past. Now Kira’s dreams are warning her another child in Amarok is in danger of meeting the same fate as her brother. As Kira races to save Annie Michaels’ life she comes to believe her past and Annie’s future are inextricably linked. The last thing Hunter Jackson expects to do during Spring Break is unravel a mystery. When Kira asks for his assistance, he can’t refuse her request. But can he help her protect Annie when his own heart is at risk?

    Vampires and demons have become screen icons of the modern underworld. Skulls, crosses, and religious iconography represent symbols of rebellion for a new gothic generation, a shorthand for an allegiance with a modern day underworld where monsters and misfits rule the world.Structured over three defining chapters (Gods & Monsters, The Kingdom of Darkness, and Dark Arts/Higher Power), The Book of Black provides an exploratory visual narrative through which to reveal and celebrate the artists, aesthetics, and styles of today's gothic visual arts, presenting seminal gothic artworks alongside emerging artists of today.

    But mystery and murder seek him out, and he soon succumbs to the B&B owner’s plea to investigate the year-old death of her daughter’s fiancé, a young musician. The Lake District parish seems peaceful, but a rival musician’s jealousy and a business partner’s anger boil beneath the façade. Mix that with ‘Barmy Barry’s’ sightings of fairy lights at the castle, references to Uther Pendragon's return and the secrets in the woods, and McLaren finds his sanity shaky. When the vicar is attacked and Barry disappears, McLaren sets a trap for the killer. But as it plays out, his concern shifts from the potential capture to praying he and his friend can escape with their lives.

    All of Elizabeth Walter's 31 short stories collected in one volume for the first time. Supernatural, eerie and uncanny tales from her collections Snowfall & Other Chilling Events (1965), The Sin Eater & Other Scientific Impossibilities (1967), Davy Jones's Tale & Other Supernatural Stories (1971), Come And Get Me & Other Uncanny Invitations (1973) and Dead Woman & Other Haunting Experiences (1975). Elizabeth Walter was a novelist, short story writer, translator and for thirty years from 1961 editor of The Collins Crime Club. She was a very private person, but the book's editor, Dave Brzeski has researched snippets of bibliographic information from her days with Wlliam Collins. In addition he discusses her writing and reviews the adaptations of her stories on television, in his informative introduction.Positively brilliant. They should rank as classics among occult stories. The character building and atmosphere are superb"Dennis Wheatley on 'The Sin Eater'

    After taking a liking to one another the pair take off into the night as the tragic, horrific, poignant and occasionally humorous story of Serena's life is slowly revealed over the course of the evening.

    The young Jack is a brilliant scholar from a working class background who forms an unlikely friendship at Oxford with the charismatic and mysterious aristocrat Simon de Betancourt. Many years later Tregarden is invited by de Betancourt to his family home, Ashcombe Abbey, ostensibly to revise the catalogue in the house's remarkable library. But as the days unfold Tregarden is confronted with a fiendish centuries' old puzzle which he must solve to unlock the great mystery of Ashcombe. As a result he is confronted by unimaginable forces which challenge his most fundamental beliefs. In '24th June' the anniversary of his wife's death turns into a day Matthew Hargreaves will never forget. The idea of all-pervasive Nature is given its ultimate expression in 'How the Trees Grew'. An infamous crime returns to terrify the latest member of an ancient family in 'Golgotha Heights' .

    It focuses on key literary periods, such as Romanticism, the fin-de-siecle, spiritualist writings of the early-twentieth century, and the cinematic and literary booms of the 1970s and 2000s. With illustrative case studies, Aldana Reyes demonstrates how the Gothic mode has been a permanent yet ever-shifting fixture of the literary and cinematic landscape of Spain since the late-eighteenth century. He proposes that writers and filmmakers alike welcomed the Gothic as a liberating and transgressive artistic language.