Over 40 tales of visitation by the undead--from vengeful and violent spirits, set on causing harm to innocent people tucked up in their homes, to rarer and more kindly ghosts, returning from the grave to reach out across the other side. Yet others entertain desires of a more sinister bent, including the erotic. This new edition includes a selection of favorite haunted house tales chosen by famous screen stars such as Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. In addition, a top ranking list of contributors includes Stephen King, Bram Stoker, Ruth Rendell, and James Herbert--all brought together by an anthologist who himself lives in a haunted house.Contents1 • The Haunted House • (2000) • short fiction by Elizabeth Albright and Ray Bradbury3 • Foreword: I Live In A Haunted House • (2000) • essay by Peter Haining9 • The Haunted and the Haunters • (1919) • novelette by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (variant of The Haunted and the Haunters; or, The House and the Brain 1859)39 • Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House • (2000) • short story by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (variant of An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House 1862)53 • A Case of Eavesdropping • [Jim Shorthouse] • (1900) • short story by Algernon Blackwood69 • A Haunted House • (1921) • short story by Virginia Woolf73 • Ghost Hunt • (1948) • short story by H. Russell Wakefield81 • Dark Winner • (1976) • short story by William F. Nolan89 • The Old House in Vauxhall Walk • (1882) • novelette by Mrs. J. H. Riddell [as by Charlotte Riddell]109 • No. 252 Rue M. Le Prince • (1895) • short story by Ralph Adams Cram125 • The Southwest Chamber • (1903) • novelette by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman [as by Mary Eleanor Freeman]145 • The Toll-House • (1907) • short story by W. W. Jacobs157 • Feet Foremost • (1932) • novelette by L. P. Hartley191 • Happy Hour • (1990) • novelette by Ian Watson217 • The Ankardyne Pew • (1979) • short story by William Fryer Harvey [as by W. F. Harvey]231 • The Real and the Counterfeit • (1988) • short story by Mrs. Alfred Baldwin [as by Louisa Baldwin]249 • A Night at a Cottage ... • (1926) • short story by Richard Hughes253 • The Considerate Hosts • (1939) • short story by Thorp McClusky265 • The Grey House • (1967) • short story by Basil Copper309 • Watching Me, Watching You • (1981) • short story by Fay Weldon329 • A Spirit Elopement • (1915) • short story by Richard Dehan339 • The House of Dust • (1920) • short story by Herbert de Hamel357 • The Kisstruck Bogie • (1946) • short story by A. E. Coppard367 • Mr Edward • (2000) • short story by Norah Lofts (variant of Mr. Edward 1947)385 • House of the Hatchet • (1941) • short story by Robert Bloch403 • Napier Court • (1971) • short story by Ramsey Campbell423 • Lost Hearts • (1895) • short story by M. R. James435 • The Shadowy Third • (1916) • novelette by Ellen Glasgow461 • A Little Ghost • (1922) • short story by Hugh Walpole477 • The Patter of Tiny Feet • (1950) • short story by Nigel Kneale489 • Uninvited Ghosts • (1981) • short story by Penelope Lively497 • Playing with Fire • (1900) • short story by Arthur Conan Doyle [as by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]513 • The Whistling Room • [Carnacki (Hodgson)] • (1910) • short story by William Hope Hodgson533 • Bagnell Terrace • (1925) • short story by E. F. Benson547 • The Companion • (1978) • short story by Joan Aiken557 • The Ghost Hunter • (2000) • short fiction by James Herbert563 • Computer Séance • (1997) • short story by Ruth Rendell573 • In Letters of Fire • [L'homme qui a vu le diable] • (1908) • novelette by Gaston Leroux (trans. of L'homme qui a vu le diable)593 • The Judge's House • (1891) • short story by Bram Stoker613 • The Storm • (1944) • short story by McKnight Malmar627 • The Waxwork • (1931) • short story by A. M. Burrage [as by Ex-Private X]641 • The Inexperienced Ghost • (1902) • short story by H. G. Wells655 • Sophy Mason Comes Back • (1930) • short story by E. M. Delafield669 • The Boogeyman • (1973) • short story by Stephen King683 • Appendix: Haunted House Novels: A Listing • (2000) • essay by Peter Haining

    Bounds, and a reclusive islander shares his world with shape-changing selkies in Robert Holdstock's haunting tale The Silvering.Late-night office workers are menaced by hungry horrors in Ramsey Cambell's claustrophobic Down There, while the monsters of both Brian Lumley's The Thin People and Basil Copper's The Flabby Men share only a semblance of humanity. The King of the Monsters himself turns up in Godzilla's Twelve Step Program by Joe R. Lansdale, R. Chetwynd-Hayes' The Shadmock and Clive Barker's Rawhead Rex are genuinely new monsters, and the last monster-fighter and the last classic monster confront each other in Kim Newman's The Chill Clutch of the Unseen.If you like monsters, then there are plenty to choose from in this creature-filled collection boasting some of the biggest names in horror, fantasy and science fiction.Contents:Introduction: How to Make a Monster by Stephen JonesVisitation by David J. SchowDown There by Ramsey CampbellThe Man He Had Been Before by Scott EdelmanCalling All Monsters by Dennis EtchisonThe Shadmock by R. Chetwynd-HayesThe Spider Kiss by Christopher FowlerCafé Endless: Spring Rain by Nancy HolderThe Medusa by Thomas LigottiIn the Poor Girl Taken by Surprise by Gemma Files Downmarket by Sydney J. BoundsFat Man by Jay LakeThe Thin People by Brian LumleyThe Hill by Tanith LeeGodzilla's Twelve Step Program by Joe R. Lansdale.220 Swift by Karl Edward WagnerOur Lady of the Sauropods by Robert SilverbergThe Flabby Man by Basil CopperThe Silvering by Robert HoldstockSomeone Else's Problem by Michael Marshall SmithRawhead Rex by Clive BarkerThe Chill Clutch of the Unseen by Kim Newman

    Here are over 20 stories and short novels by the masters of gore, including Ramsey Campbell, Dennis Etchison, F. Paul Wilson, Brian Lumley, Tanith Lee and John Kaine. This classic Mammoth title features new and previously uncollected stories from some of the biggest and brightest names on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as classics from acknowledged masters.The contents include:Fruiting Bodies by Brian LumleyNeedle Song by Charles L. GrantTurbo-Satan by Christopher FowlerTalking In The Dark by Dennis EtchisonThe Circus by Sydney J. BoundsFoet by F. Paul WilsonThe Candle In The Skull by Basil CopperThe Chimney by Ramsey CampbellDark Wings by Phyllis EisensteinReflection Of Evil by Graham MastertonMirror Of The Night by E.C. TubbMaypole by Brian MooneyUnder The Crust by Terry LamsleyTir Nan Og by Lisa TuttleA Living Legend by R. Chetwynd-HayesWake-Up Call by David J. SchowThe Fourth Seal by Karl Edward WagnerUnlocked by Tanith Lee & John KaiineClosing Time by Neil GaimanIt Was The Heat by Pat CadiganFodder by Tim Lebbon & Brian KeeneOpen Doors by Michael Marshall SmithAndromeda Among The Stones by Caitlín R. KiernanFlowers On Their Bridles, Hooves In The Air by Glen HirshbergAmerikanski Dead At The Moscow Morgue Or: Children Of Marx And Coca–Cola by Kim NewmanAmong The Wolves by David Case

    Dracula visits, in these pages, such locales as the Côte d'Azur, the wilds of Oregon, the Los Angeles of Raymond Chandler, communist Eastern Europe, Rome at the dawn of the 21st century (a chilling tale in which he is forced to imitate the Messiah), and the ruins of post-apocalyptic New Jersey. He encounters Bettie Page, Aleister Crowley, Timothy Leary, Lou Reed, and Francis Ford Coppola (with the entire cast and crew of Apocalypse Now, in a hilarious spoof). The authors include such contemporary masters as Kim Newman, Nicholas Royle, Terry Lamsley, Joel Lane, Brian Stableford, and Ramsey Campbell. The book also has a foreword by Bram Stoker's great-nephew, and includes the never-before-published prologue to Stoker's theatrical version of Dracula.CONTENTSIntroduction: I Bid You Welcome by Stephen JonesForeword: Geeat Uncle Bram And Vampires by Daniel FarsonDracula: or The Un-Dead: Prologue by Bram StokerDracula's Library by Christopher FowlerThe Heart of Count Dracula, Descendant of Attila, Scourge of God by Thomas LigottiDaddy's Little Girl by Mandy SlaterConversion by Ramsey CampbellThe Devil Is Not Mocked by Manly Wade WellmanTeaserama by Nancy KilpatrickBlood Freak by Nancy HolderZack Phalanx is Vlad The Impaler by Brian LumleyWhen Greek Meets Greek by Basil CopperCoppola's Dracula by Kim NewmanThe Second Time Around by Hugh B. CaveEndangered Species by Brian MooneyMelancholia by Roberta LannesChildren Of The Long Night by Lisa MortonMbo by Nicholas RoyleThe Worst Place In The World by Paul J. McAuleyLarry's Guest by Guy N. SmithA Taste Of Culture by Jan EdwardsRudolph by R. Chetwynd-HayesRoadkill by Graham MastersonVolunteers by Terry LamsleyBlack Beads by John GordonYour European Son by Joel LaneQuality Control by Brian StablefordDear Alison by Michael Marshall SmithBloodlines by Conrad WilliamsWindows '99 Of The Soul by Chris MorganBlood Of Eden by Mike ChinnThe Last Testament by Brian HodgeThe Last Vampire by Peter CrowtherThe Lord's Work by F. Paul WilsonLord Of The Undead by Jo Fletcher

    Prime Evil: New Stories by the Masters of Modern Horror

    who died years earlier; doomed pioneers forge a path westward as a young mother discovers her true nature; an alcoholic strikes a dangerous bargain with a gregarious stranger; urban explorers delve into a ruined book depository, finding more than they anticipated; residents of a rural Wisconsin town defend against a legendary monster; a woman wracked by survivor's guilt is haunted by the ghosts of a tragic crash; a detective strives to solve the mystery of a dismembered girl; an orphan returns to a wicked witch's candy house; a group of smugglers find themselves buried to the necks in sand; an unanticipated guest brings doom to a high-class party; a teacher attempts to lead his students to safety as the world comes to an end around them...What frightens us, what unnerves us? What causes that delicious shiver of fear to travel the lengths of our spines? It seems the answer changes every year. Every year the bar is raised; the screw is tightened. Ellen Datlow knows what scares us; the twenty-one stories and poems included in this anthology were chosen from magazines, webzines, anthologies, literary journals, and single author collections to represent the best horror of the year.Legendary editor Ellen Datlow (Poe: New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe), winner of multiple Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy awards, joins Night Shade Books in presenting The Best Horror of the Year, Volume One.

    Satisfy your curiosity. Surrender to wonder. Witness as the finest talents of our time bring you tales of the strangeness at the edges of existence.Featuring: Clive Barker, John Langan, Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Morton, Brian Kirk, Hal Bodner, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Erinn Kemper, John F.D. Taff, Patrick Freivald, Lucy Snyder, Brian Hodge, Kristi DeMeester, Christopher Coake, Sarah Read, and Richard Thomas. With a foreword by Josh Malerman.

    McCammon, Graham Masterton, Harlan Ellison, Ramsey Campbell and other masters of the macabre take readers into their private world of fear, fantasy, and fatal attraction--in 24 tales of dread and debauchery, riveting stories of sex and terror . . . the fresh fusion that is fast becoming America's obsession.

    There need be no monsters for us to be terrified in the dark, but if there are, they are just as often human and supernatural. Join us in this outstanding annual exploration of the year's best dark fiction that includes stories of quiet fear, the utterly fantastic, the weirdly surreal, atmospheric noir, mysterious hauntings, seductive nightmares, and frighteningly plausible futures. Featuring thirty-five tales from masterful authors and talented new writers sure to make you reconsider walking in the shadows alone...Instructions for Use • Paula GuranNo Ghosts in London • Helen MarshallFake Plastic Trees • Caitlín R KiernanThe Natural History of Autumn • Jeffrey FordGreat-Grandmother in the Cellar • Peter S. BeagleRenfrew’s Course • John LanganEnd of White • Ekaterina SediaWho is Arvid Pekon? • Karin TidbeckIphigenia in Aulis • Mike CareySlaughterhouse Blues • Tim LebbonEngland Under the White Witch • Theodora GossThe Sea of Trees • Rachel SwirskyThe Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury • Neil GaimanThe Education of a Witch • Ellen KlagesWelcome to the Reptile House • Stephen Graham JonesGlamour of Madness • Peter BellBigfoot on Campus • Jim ButcherEverything Must Go • Brooke WondersNightside Eye • Terry DowlingEscena de un Asesinato • Robert HoodGood Hunting • Ken LiuGo Home Again • Simon StrantzasThe Bird Country • K. M. FerebeeSinking Among Lilies • Cory SkerryDown in the Valley • Joseph BruchacArmless Maidens of the American West • Genevieve ValentineBlue Lace Agate • Sarah MonetteThe Eyes of Water • Alison LittlewoodThe Tall Grass • Joe R. LansdaleGame • Maria Dahvana HeadleyPearls • Priya SharmaForget You • Marc LaidlawWhen Death Wakes Me to Myself • John ShirleyDahlias • Melanie TemBedtime Stories for Yasmin • Robert ShearmanHand of Glory • Laird Barron

    Morlan, Robert Silverberg, Michael Swanwick, Jane Yolen, and many others. Supplementing the stories are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantastic fiction, Edward Bryant's witty roundup of the year's fantasy films, and a long list of Honorable Mentions-all of which adds up to an invaluable reference source, and a font of fabulous reading.

    A collection of truly gripping stories, with contributions from leading horror writers dedicated to the popular contemporary sub-genre of "body horror," which revolves around disease and mutation, whether self-inflicted or otherwise.

    Here are some of the very best short stories and novellas by today's finest exponents of horror fiction—including Kim Newman, Neil Gaiman, Paul McAuley, Glen Hirshberg, Ramsey Campbell and Tanith Lee. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 16 also contains the most comprehensive overview of horror around the world during the year, lists of useful contact addresses and a fascinating necrology. It is the one book that is required reading for every fan of macabre fiction.Contents:AcknowledgementsIntroduction: Horror in 2004 by Stephen JonesForbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire by Neil GaimanLilies by Iain RowanBreaking Up by Ramsey Campbell"The King", in: Yellow by Brian KeeneA Trick of the Dark by Tina RathThe Mutable Borders of Love by Leslie WhatFlour White and Spindle Thin by L. H. Maynard and M. P. N. SimsTighter by Christa FaustRestraint by Stephen GallagherIsrabel by Tanith LeeThe Growlimb by Michael SheaThis Is Now by Michael Marshall SmithRemnants by Tim LebbonSafety Clowns by Glen HirshbergThe Devil of Delery Street by Poppy Z. BriteApocalypse Now, Voyager by Jay RussellStone Animals by Kelly LinkSoho Golem by Kim NewmanSpells for Halloween: An Acrostic by Dale BaileyMy Death by Lisa TuttleThe Problem of Susan by Neil GaimanNecrology: 2004 (essay) by Stephen Jones and Kim NewmanUseful Addresses (essay) by Stephen Jones

    These 17 stories portray predators who feed not only on the blood of their victims but on their emotions, youth and souls as well!

    This third installment in the DOA series offers thirty stories from the originators of splatterpunk as well as the newest voices in extreme horror. You'll laugh...you'll cry...you'll vomit Don't say we didn't warn you.

    We can find darkness anywhere: in a strange green stone etched with mysterious symbols; at a small town's annual picnic; in a ghostly house that is easy to enter but not so easy to leave; behind the dumpster in the alley where a harpy lives; in The Nowhere, a place where car keys, toys, people disappear to; among Polar explorers; and, most definitely, within ourselves. Darkness flies from mysterious crates; surrounds children whose nightlights have vanished; and flickers between us at the movie theater. Darkness crawls from the past and is waiting in our future; and there's always a chance that Halloween really is a door opening directly into endless shadow. Welcome to the dark. You may never want to leave. This inaugural volume of the year's best dark fantasy and horror features more than 500 pages of dark tales from some of today's finest writers of the fantastique. Chosen from a variety of sources, these stories are as eclectic and varied as the genre itself.Contents 9 • What the Hell Do You Mean By "Dark Fantasy and Horror?" • essay by Paula Guran13 • The Horrid Glory of Its Wings • (2009) • shortstory by Elizabeth Bear23 • Lowland Sea • (2009) • novelette by Suzy McKee Charnas41 • Copping Squid • (2009) • novelette by Michael Shea56 • Monsters • (2009) • novelette by Stewart O'Nan73 • The Brink of Eternity • (2009) • shortstory by Barbara Roden85 • Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre • (2009) • shortstory by Seth Fried95 • Sea-Hearts • (2009) • novella by Margo Lanagan138 • A Haunted House of Her Own • (2009) • shortfiction by Kelley Armstrong153 • Headstone in Your Pocket • (2009) • shortstory by Paul G. Tremblay [as by Paul Tremblay ]166 • The Coldest Girl in Coldtown • (2009) • novelette by Holly Black182 • Strange Scenes from an Unfinished Film • (2009) • shortstory by Gary McMahon190 • A Delicate Architecture • (2009) • shortstory by Catherynne M. Valente196 • The Mystery • (2009) • shortfiction by Peter Atkins205 • Variations on a Theme from Seinfeld • (2009) • shortstory by Peter Straub211 • The Wide, Carnivorous Sky • (2009) • shortfiction by John Langan251 • Certain Death for a Known Person • (2009) • novelette by Steve Duffy267 • The Ones Who Got Away • (2009) • shortfiction by Stephen Graham Jones274 • Leng • (2009) • shortfiction by Marc Laidlaw292 • Torn Away • (2009) • shortfiction by Joe R. Lansdale301 • The Nowhere Man • (2009) • shortfiction by Sarah Pinborough314 • The Bone's Prayer • (2009) • shortstory by Caitlín R. Kiernan327 • The Water Tower • (2009) • shortstory by John Mantooth337 • In the Porches of My Ears • (2009) • shortstory by Norman Prentiss348 • The Cinderella Game • (2009) • shortstory by Kelly Link355 • The Jacaranda Smile • (2009) • shortstory by Gemma Files366 • The Other Box • (2009) • shortfiction by Gerard Houarner388 • White Charles • [Kyle Murchison Booth] • (2009) • novelette by Sarah Monette406 • Everything Dies, Baby • (2009) • shortstory by Nadia Bulkin414 • Bruise for Bruise • (2009) • shortstory by Robert Davies422 • Respects • (2009) • shortstory by Ramsey Campbell433 • Diamond Shell • (2009) • shortstory by Deborah Biancotti446 • Nub Hut • (2009) • shortstory by Kurt Dinan452 • The Cabinet Child • (2009) • shortfiction by Steve Rasnic Tem458 • Cherrystone & Shards of Ice • (2009) • shortstory by Ekaterina Sedia469 • The Crevasse • (2009) • shortstory by Nathan Ballingrud and Dale Bailey482 • Vic • (2009) • shortfiction by Maura McHugh490 • Halloween Town • (2009) • novella by Lucius Shepard543 • The Long, Cold Goodbye • (2009) • novelette by Holly Phillips562 • What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night • (2009) • shortstory by Michael Marshall Smith