The Freaks of Mayfair


E.F. Benson - 1916
    Each is a distinct representative of an anthropological 'type': Sir Louis and Lady Mary Marigold turn snobbery into an art form; 'Aunt' George is a bachelor with a passion for embroidery; Mrs Weston, a devotee of every new health-cult and spiritual fad; Horace Campbell, the jealous and poisonous society gossip; the socalled 'grizzly kittens' Babs Begum and Charlie Gordon, refuse to grow old gracefully; Mrs Sarah Whitehand is the social-climbing wife of an American toilet-bowl magnate; and Mr Sandow, the socialite vicar who seems interested in everything but real spirituality. These and a number of other intriguing specimens, all greedily jockeying for social standing in this most exclusive of societies, are impaled, Iabelled and preserved for our entertainment on the razor-sharp scalpel of Benson's savage wit.

Vampire Stories


Richard DalbyJohn Wyndham - 1992
    These undead beings, possessed of supernatural powers of metamorphosis and hypnotism, stalk the night for the blood of the living. They have fascinated and terrified generations of writers and readers. Here are 18 bone-chilling tales of these bloodsucking creatures of the night, written by some of the most distinguished writers of the genre. From premier writers including Anne Rice and Bram Stoker, the stories in this collection represent some of the finest horror writing spanning the past two centuries. Here are gothic melodramas set in Russia and Germany, as well as more modern twists on the vampire legend that take place in contemporary England and the United States. These are tales of decadence, lust, and loathing; they capture the dark side of the human psyche, dead and undead. Making few concessions to the squeamish, the tales in this collection will keep readers awake at night.Stories include:• "Dracula's Guest" by Bram Stoker• "Phantoms" by Ivan Turgenev• "The Lovely Lady" by D.H. Lawrence• "The Master of Rampling Gate" by Anne Rice• "The Undead" by Robert BlochEach of these finely-crafted tales is guaranteed to leave readers with goosebumps. A foreward from the late actor Peter Cushing, who starred in numerous vampire and horror films, is a fitting introduction to this collection of horrifying and captivating tales.Prepare to be terrified as you enjoy some of the best vampire stories ever written ... if you dare.

Vampire


Peter Cawdron - 2015
    Bram Stoker wrote Dracula over the course of a decade, researching historical figures and compiling notes from scattered diary entries. What was supposed to be a work of fiction holds far more truth than he realized. Dr. Jane Langford is investigating a murder-suicide unlike anything she's ever encountered before. Sleepy Boise, Idaho, is a haven to an evil that has passed unnoticed down through the centuries.

The Paying Guest


George Gissing - 1885
    Gissing has been judged to be one of the foremost novelists of the late 19th century

Only When the Sun Shines Brightly


Magnus Mills - 1999
    The wind tries first, but however hard it blows it fails to make any progress because the traveller simply buttons his coat even tighter than before. Only when the sun shines brightly does he finally remove it, and the wind roars away in a bad temper.

The Lost Phoebe


Theodore Dreiser - 1918
    Short story from the story collection FREE AND OTHER STORIES.

Stephen King's Battleground: A Commemoration of the Emmy-Winning Television Adaptation


Stephen King - 2012
    The book begins with King's short story and then moves to R.C. Matheson's script for the opening episode of "Nightmares and Dreamscapes", which starred William Hurt and was directed by Brian Henson. Henson provides storyboards used for the episode which won two Emmy awards. The book will contain one signature (8 pages) of color photos from TNT's archives; photos never before released. Those contributing to the book include:Director Brian HensonExecutive Producer Bill HaberJeff Beal, who won an Emmy for his score for BattlegroundActor William HurtMichael Wright, Executive Vice President and Director of Programming for TNTVisual Effects director Sam NicholsonProducer Jeff HayesLee Romaire, Special Makeup and Effects Designer

Lankhmar: Tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (Vol. 1)


Fritz Leiber - 2000
    So begins the fateful first (well, second...) meeting of two of the most famous heroes of sword-and-sorcery fiction: Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. The two go on to pursue grand dreams and harrowing adventures, and it all begins in the grand city of Lankhmar, the City of Sevenscore Thousand Smoke.Contents:The Snow WomenThe Unholy GrailIll Met in LankhmarThe Circle CurseJewels in the Forest

Crucial Instances


Edith Wharton - 1901
    Included are: "The Duchess at Prayer," "The Angel at the Grave," "The Recovery," "Copy: A Dialogue," "The Rembrandt," "The Moving Finger," and "The Confessional."

Love Bites


Angie Fox - 2011
    Vampire Princess Katarina Volholme D’Transylvania didn’t kill her stony, passionless husband, but she’s not shedding too many tears, either. That is until her father arranges another marriage for her three days after the funeral. She’s tired of being used, ignored and married off. And so she runs…Royal Bodyguard Fionnlagh MacLaomainn doesn’t know much about the maverick princess on the lamb. He just needs to bring her back in time for the wedding. But when he manages to capture her on the back of his Harley, their wild ride takes them to places neither one of them could have ever imagined. But will a night of forbidden passion be enough to kindle true love? Originally published in the Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2

A Tangled Web


Christine LindopW. Somerset Maugham - 2005
    This collection contains stories by Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, Maeve Binchy, V.S. Naipaul, Somerset Maugham, Frederick Forsyth, Clare Boylan, Paul Theroux, Oscar Wilde, and Joanna Trollope.

The Terrible Tide


Charlotte MacLeod - 1983
    but a freak accident had sent Holly Howe there to recover in seclusion...and to work at the only job she could find---as a servant at Cliff House. Sitting high above the bay, the gloomy mansion was filled with priceless antiques, a bedridden old woman, and things that go bump in the night.Holly didn't believe in ghosts, but she knew something eerie was happening when the moon was full and the legendary tides came sweeping in from the sea. Who was lurking about the darkened mansion? What was the strange buoy light bobbing off shore? Why was a handsome young craftsman becoming a regular visitor? And why did the ebony eyes of the withered old crone upstairs suddenly stare back at Holly---wide, clear, and luminously gray?

Women of the Night


Martin H. GreenbergTanith Lee - 1994
    Most often the realm of male authors writing about male vampires, over the last century the genre has seen a refreshing swing toward authors of both sexes exploring the other side of the vampiric gender—the women of the night.The sixteen stories collected within these pages are among the very best of their kind, from many of the best fantasy and horror authors writing today. From an encounter with a predatory spouse in a New England storm to a continuation of the Dracula story featuring a completely different tale of love, longing and loss, these stories explore both what it is to be female, human—and vampire, and often all at the same time.The selected stories include: "One for the Road" by Stephen King. The regulars at Tookey’s Bar know better than to wander around Jerusalem’s Lot—especially at night. But when a husband needs help during a snowstorm, they travel into the heart of the blizzard ... and an encounter with pure evil. <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /> "Sister Death" by Jane Yolen. Even the heart of a millennia-old vampire who accompanies the Angel of Death on his appointed rounds can be swayed by the yearning look of a young child. "Queen of the Night" by Gene Wolfe. The lady in white came for the boy in the dead of night, spiriting him away to her dark castle, wherehe would experience such things that would change his life forever... "Do Not Hasten to Bid Me Adieu" by Norman Partridge. The real story of what happened after the events of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula is told against the vast, wild Texas frontier, as one of Dracula’s hunters returns home to claim everything that is his ... including his one true love.  With stories by:Stephen King    *      Neil Gaiman    *     Eric Van Lustbader    *     Philip K. Dick    *   Nina Kiriki Hoffman    *     Kristine Kathryn Rusch     *     Nancy Holder    *    Tanith Lee    *    Gene Wolfe    *    P. D. Cacek    *    Jane Yolen    *    Susan Shwartz    *   Tanya Huff    *    Esther M. Friesner    *    Roxanne Longstreet    *    Norman Partridge

Blackwater: Two Stories of Horror and Dark Science Fiction


Christian Galacar
    In "Mercury Rain" a soldier fighting a new enemy learns the importance of holding on to his memories. "Blackwater," the title story of the collection, is an homage to Stephen King's short story, "Graveyard Shift," and it tells the tale of Paul Hawkins, a mine worker who disturbs something terrifying in the Blackwater Hills of Durham, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1976.

Laments for the Living, Collected Stories


Dorothy Parker - 1930