Sleep No More


L.T.C. Rolt - 1948
    Rolt in Sleep No More, his highly effective collection of stories which was first published in 1948.Tom Rolt was an engineering historian, whose many book credits include biographies of Thomas Telford and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, as well as the highly-acclaimed Red for Danger, a history of railway accidents and railway safety.Rolt's first book, Narrow Boat, a classic in its own right, tells of his love for Britain's canals, a love which led to his involvement with the Inland Waterways Association.His knowledge of Britain's industrial past and his love for the countryside around him are very evident in this collection, which includes two stories not included in the original edition and also Rolt's essay 'The Passing of the Ghost Story'. Rolt takes us on a haunted tour of the world he knew well—from Cornwall to Wales, and from the hill country of Shropshire to the west coast of Ireland—in tales which are guaranteed to make you Sleep No More.Jacket and interior illustrations by Paul Lowe.Contents:The MineThe Cat ReturnsBosworth Summit PoundNew CornerCwm GaronA Visitor at AshcombeThe Garside Fell DisasterWorld's EndHear Not My StepsAgony of FlameHawley Bank FoundryMusic Hath CharmsThe ShoutingThe House of VengeanceThe Passing of the Ghost Story

North American Lake Monsters


Nathan Ballingrud - 2013
    Monsters, real and imagined, external and internal, are the subject. They are us and we are them and Ballingrud's intense focus makes these stories incredibly intense and irresistible.These are love stories. And also monster stories. Sometimes these are monsters in their traditional guises, sometimes they wear the faces of parents, lovers, or ourselves. The often working-class people in these stories are driven to extremes by love. Sometimes, they are ruined; sometimes redeemed. All are faced with the loneliest corners of themselves and strive to find an escape.Nathan Ballingrud was born in Massachusetts but has spent most of his life in the South. He worked as a bartender in New Orleans and New York City and a cook on offshore oil rigs. His story "The Monsters of Heaven" won the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his daughter.

The Collected Ghost Stories of E.F. Benson


E.F. Benson - 2001
    Tilly's seance --Mrs. Amworth --In the tube --Roderick's story --Reconciliation --Face --Spinach --Bagnell terrace --A tale of an empty house --Naboth's vineyard --Expiation --Home sweet home --"And no bird sings" --Corner house --Corstophine --Temple --Step --Bed by the window --James Lamp --Dance --Hanging of Alfred Wadham --Pirates --Wishing-well --Bath-chair --Monkeys --Christopher comes back --Sanctuary --Thursday evenings --Psychical mallards --Clonmel witch burning.

Worse Than Myself


Adam Golaski - 2008
    These are stories to be savored late at night in bed, read by the light of a single lamp in an empty, dark house.

In Ghostly Company


Amyas Northcote - 1997
    The silent group by the fire once more broke forth into wild gesticulations and cries, Stella prostrated herself, the Form on the altar grew clearer and with a cry of horror Mr Fowke turned away and rushed madly across the moor'. Amyas Northcote's In Ghostly Company is a rare and splendid collection of strange and disturbing tales from the golden age of ghost stories. His style is akin to that of the master of the genre M.R. James: it is measured and insidiously suggestive, producing unnerving chills rather than shocks and gasps. Northcote's tales make the reader unsettled and uneasy. This is partly due to the fact that the hauntings or strange occurrences take place in natural or mundane surroundings - surroundings familiar to the reader but never before thought of as unusual or threatening. Long out of print, this book remains an enthralling and chilling read.

The Book of Cthulhu


Ross E. LockhartMichael Shea - 2011
    Initially created by H. P. Lovecraft and a group of his amorphous contemporaries (the so-called "Lovecraft Circle"), The Cthulhu Mythos story cycle has taken on a convoluted, cyclopean life of its own. Some of the most prodigious writers of the 20th century, and some of the most astounding writers of the 21st century have planted their seeds in this fertile soil. The Book of Cthulhu harvests the weirdest and most corpulent crop of these modern mythos tales. From weird fiction masters to enigmatic rising stars, The Book of Cthulhu demonstrates how Mythos fiction has been a major cultural meme throughout the 20th century, and how this type of story is still salient, and terribly powerful today.Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

Let the Old Dreams Die


John Ajvide Lindqvist - 2011
    Now at last, in “Let the Old Dreams Die,” the title story in this absolutely stunning collection, we get a glimpse of what happened next to the pair. Fans of Let the Right One In will have to read the story, which is destined to generate much word of mouth both among fans and online.“Let the Old Dreams Die” is not the only stunner in this collection. In "Final Processing," Lindqvist also reveals the next chapter in the lives of the characters he created in Handling the Undead. “Equinox” is a story of a woman who takes care of her neighbor’s house while they are away and readers will never forget what she finds in the house. Every story meets the very high standard of excellence and fright factor that Lindqvist fans have come to expect. Totally transcending genre writing, these are world class stories from possibly the most impressive horror writer writing today.

This Dreaming Isle


Dan CoxonAlison Littlewood - 2018
    Every few generations this strangeness crawls out from the dark places of the British imagination, seeping into our art and culture. We are living through such a time.This Dreaming Isle is an anthology of new horror stories and weird fiction with a distinctly British flavour. It collects together fifteen brand new horrifying or unsettling stories that draw upon the landscape and history of the British Isles for their inspiration. Some explore the realms of myth and legend, others are firmly rooted in the present, engaging with the country’s forgotten spaces.Featuring new and exclusive stories from:Ramsey Campbell, multi-award winning author of over 40 novels.Andrew Michael Hurley, author of The Loney and Devil’s Day.Catriona Ward, author of Rawblood and Little Eve.Robert Shearman, World Fantasy Award, British Fantasy Award and Shirley Jackson Award winning author of four collections.Jenn Ashworth, author of Fell, Cold Light and more.Gareth E. Rees, author of Marshland and The Stone Tide.Tim Lebbon, screenwriter and author of over 35 books including Dusk, The Silence and Relics.Alison Littlewood, author of The Crow Garden, The Hidden People and more.Aliya Whiteley, author of The Beauty, The Arrival of Missives and The Loosening Skin (forthcoming from Unsung Stories).Stephen Volk, screenwriter and author of Whitstable, Monsters in the Heart and more.Kirsty Logan, author of The Gloaming, The Gracekeepers, A Portable Shelter and The Rental Heart.James Miller, author of UnAmerican Activities, Lost Boys and Sunshine State.Jeannette Ng, author of Under the Pendulum Sun.Richard V. Hirst, co-author of The Night Visitors.Alison Moore, author of The Lighthouse, Missing and more.Gary Budden, author of Hollow Shores.Angela Readman, author of Don’t Try This at Home and The Book of Tides.

Shadows Over Baker Street


Michael ReavesPoppy Z. Brite - 2003
    LovecraftNew Tales of Terror!What would happen if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's peerless detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his allies were to find themselves faced with Lovecraftian mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but beyond sanity itself. In this collection of original tales, twenty of today's cutting-edge writers provide answers to that burning question.Contributors include Neil Gaiman, Brian Stableford, Poppy Z. Bright, Barbara Hambly, Steve Perry, and Caitlin R. Kierman. These and other masters of horror, mystery, fantasy and science fiction spin dark tales within a terrifyingly surreal universe.Includes the Hugo Award-winning story A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman.Cover design: David StevensonCover Illustration: John Jude Palencar

Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales


H.P. Lovecraft - 2008
    P. Lovecraft's astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction, and cosmology that are as powerful today as they were when first published. This tome presents original versions of many of his most harrowing stories, including the complete Cthulhu Mythos cycle, in order of publication.

Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fiction and Illusions


Neil Gaiman - 1998
    and anything is possible. In this, Gaiman's first book of short stories, his imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders -- a place where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under "Pest Control," and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge by the railroad tracks. Explore a new reality -- obscured by smoke and darkness, yet brilliantly tangible -- in this extraordinary collection of short works by a master prestidigitator. It will dazzle your senses, touch your heart, and haunt your dreams.

Dark Companions


Ramsey Campbell - 1982
    Not all companions are friendly. There are many that you most definitely do not want to see. When Elaine was working late at the office, she thought she was all alone. But something sinister was in the elevator shaft…working its way to her floor. Miles, too, thought he was alone in his new house, the house of a murderer, but he, too, had an unwanted companion. And Knox will never forget what was waiting for him in the dense fog. Come and meet all of these companions and more in this chilling collection of horror tales by award-winning master of terror Ramsey Campbell. That clawing sound you hear, the haunting singing, the moving shadow—they all mean that something is waiting to make your acquaintance. Contains “The Companion”, the story Stephen King called “one of the three finest horror stories I have ever read”. [cover art by Jill Bauman]

The Dark Domain


Stefan Grabiński - 1993
    These stories are explorations of the extreme in human behaviour, where the bizarre chills the spine, and few authors can match Grabinski's depiction of seething sexual frenzy. The Dark Domain will introduce to English readers one of Europe's most important authors of literary fantasy.

The Lord Came at Twilight


Daniel Mills - 2014
    In a wayside tavern, a murderous innkeeper raises a young girl among the ghosts of his past victims. Elsewhere the village of Whistler’s Gore is swept up in the tumult of religious fervor, while in rural Falmouth, the souls of the buried dead fall prey to a fungal infestation.This is New England as it was once envisioned by Hawthorne and Lovecraft, a twilit country of wild hills and barren farmland where madness and repression abound. The Lord Came at Twilight presents 14 stories of doubt and despair, haunter and haunted, the deranged and the devout.

Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things


Lafcadio Hearn - 1904
    Faceless creatures haunt an unwary traveler. A beautiful woman — the personification of winter at its cruelest — ruthlessly kills unsuspecting mortals. These and 17 other chilling supernatural tales — based on legends, myths, and beliefs of ancient Japan — represent the very best of Lafcadio Hearn's literary style. They are also a culmination of his lifelong interest in the endlessly fascinating customs and tales of the country where he spent the last fourteen years of his life, translating into English the atmospheric stories he so avidly collected.Teeming with undead samurais, man-eating goblins, and other terrifying demons, these 20 classic ghost stories inspired the Oscar®-nominated 1964 film of the same name.