The Guardians


Andrew Pyper - 2011
    Twenty-four years later, when Ben commits suicide, the three remaining friends gather once again in their hometown. But going home means going back, and that's not always easy. The three men are forced to confront their memories of a sinister crime that happened in an abandoned house in their neighbourhood — a crime that claws its way into the present, leaving its indelible mark on everyone.

Weird Illinois


Troy Taylor - 2005
    Troy Taylor, long a chronicler of the strangest hauntings the Prairie State has to offer, has taken a long, eerie look at the goings-on around here and has come up with more strange stuff than any one state should legally be able to have.With notepad and camera in hand, Troy has traveled the back roads, main roads, and all roads in between in search of the odd and the offbeat. He's tracked down impossible-to-believe tales, only to discover an odd grain of truth that gives the story just enough credibility to make one feel a little . . . uncomfortable. Whether it's a man-eating Piasa Bird, an abandoned insane asylum, mystery airships, or the haunted tomb of a certain famous Abe, Troy has researched and chronicled the story and presents it here for you, fellow admirers of the weird.Turn the pages and visit the hell of Hell Hollow and learn the legend of the Devil's Bake Oven. Find out about the Macomb Fire Starter, the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, and the Curse of Kaskaskia. Go off the beaten path and look for kangaroos and albino squirrels on the loose. Walk down Ghost Hollow Road, see the World's Largest Catsup Bottle, touch Lincoln's lucky nose, gawk at the miniature houses on the prairie, and gaze in puzzlement at the double-deck outhouse and the Leaning Tower of Niles. Read all about the Devil Baby of Hull House, visit the grave of the Chesterville Witch, and meet, if you dare, the demon butcher of Palos Park.A brand-new entry in the best-selling Weird U.S. series, Weird Illinois is packed with all the info about our state that your history teacher never taught you. So join Troy on his great adventure. It's a journey you'll never forget.

Nightmare House


Douglas Clegg - 2002
    Claiming his inheritance, a young man unlocks long-buried secrets of an occultist’s dark mansion, awakening a nest of hungry ghosts in this spine-tingling supernatural horror novel of the house of infinite hauntings.For fans of haunted houses and ghost stories. Note: The Harrow series consists of several books set in or around the haunted estate in the Hudson Valley. Each Harrow story can be read out-of-order because the main continuing character is the dark mansion itself or those people who have or will touch it.

Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood


Algernon Blackwood - 1973
    a midnight caller keeping his promise ... forests where Nature is deliberate and malefic ... enchanted houses ... these are the beings and ideas that flood through this collection of ghost stories by Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951). Altogether 13 stories, gathered from the entire corpus of Blackwood's work, are included; stories of such sheer power and imagination that it is easy to see why he has been considered the foremost British supernaturalist of the twentieth century.Blackwood's ability to create an atmosphere of unrelieved horror and sustain it to the end of the story is almost unsurpassed. “The Willows” — which has been called by H.P. Lovecraft the finest supernatural story — is a typical example of Blackwood's art: slowly and surely Blackwood draws the reader into a world of shadows, nuances and unearthly terror.Blackwood was also a master at evoking feelings of mysticism and cosmic experience; dealing with such ideas as interpenetrating levels of existence and pantheistic elemental powers, he expanded the content of supernatural literature enormously. But even the more traditional elements of horror stories such as ghosts and haunted houses are handled with such energy and feeling that they rise far above their predecessors.Drawing on serious Oriental thought, modern psychology and philosophy, Algernon Blackwood introduced a sophistication to the horror story that — with a few exceptions — it was devoid of before. The results are stories that are not only guaranteed to chill, but stories that have something to say to the intelligent reader.Contents:- The Willows (1907)- Secret Worship (1908)- Ancient Sorceries (1908)- The Glamour of the Snow (1911)- The Wendigo (1910)- The Other Wing (1915)- The Transfer (1911)- Ancient Lights (1914)- The Listener (1907)- The Empty House (1906)- Accessory before the Fact (1914)- Keeping His Promise (1906)- Max Hensig (1945)

The Plague Stones


James Brogden - 2019
    Scattered throughout the settlement are centuries-old stones used during the Great Plague as boundary markers. No plague-sufferer was permitted to pass them and enter the village. The plague diminished, and the village survived unscathed, but since then each year the village trustees have insisted on an ancient ceremony to renew the village boundaries, until a misguided act by the Feenans' son then reminds the village that there is a reason traditions have been rigidly stuck to, and that all acts of betrayal, even those committed centuries ago, have consequences...

The Widow of Rose House


Diana Biller - 2019
    Now his sudden death allows her to return to New York to make a fresh start, restoring Liefdehuis, a dilapidated Hyde Park mansion, and hopefully her reputation at the same time. However, fresh starts aren't as easy as they seem, as Alva discovers when stories of a haunting at Liefdehuis begin to reach her. But Alva doesn't believe in ghosts. So when the eccentric and brilliant professor, Samuel Moore, appears and informs her that he can get to the bottom of the mystery that surrounds Liefdehuis, she turns him down flat. She doesn't need any more complications in her life―especially not a handsome, convention-flouting, scandal-raising one like Sam. Unfortunately, though Alva is loath to admit it, Sam, a pioneer in electric lighting and a member of the nationally-adored Moore family of scientists, is the only one who can help. Together, the two delve into the tragic secrets wreathing Alva's new home while Sam attempts to unlock Alva's history―and her heart. Set during the Gilded Age in New York City, The Widow of Rose House is a gorgeous debut by Diana Biller, with a darkly Victorian Gothic flair and an intrepid and resilient American heroine guaranteed to delight readers.

Beyond The Fray: Paramalgamation


Shannon LeGro - 2020
    Michael Hopf; comes a collection of unexplained, nearly impossible to classify encounters with the strange, terrifying, and life-changing. Run-ins with goblins, creatures, and human-looking copies that don’t fit into a neat little box like Bigfoot or ghosts. This is a collection of some of the strangest and scariest stories ever told by the people who experienced them. Sit back, relax and we suggest you keep a light on.

This House Is Haunted


John Boyne - 2013
    Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall on a dark and chilling night. As she makes her way across the station platform, a pair of invisible hands push her from behind into the path of an approaching train. She is only saved by the vigilance of a passing doctor.When she finally arrives, shaken, at the hall she is greeted by the two children in her care, Isabella and Eustace. There are no parents, no adults at all, and no one to represent her mysterious employer. The children offer no explanation. Later that night in her room, a second terrifying experience further reinforces the sense that something is very wrong.From the moment she rises the following morning, her every step seems dogged by a malign presence which lives within Gaudlin’s walls. Eliza realises that if she and the children are to survive its violent attentions, she must first uncover the hall’s long-buried secrets and confront the demons of its past…

The Haunting of Highdown Hall


Shani Struthers - 2014
    Not just a job for Ruby, it's a crusade and one she wants to bring to the High Street. Psychic Surveys is born. Based in Lewes, East Sussex, Ruby and her team of freelance psychics have been kept busy of late. Specialising in domestic cases, their solid reputation is spreading - it's not just the dead that can rest in peace but the living too. All is threatened when Ruby receives a call from the irate new owner of Highdown Hall. Film star Cynthia Hart is still in residence, despite having died in 1958. Winter deepens and so does the mystery surrounding Cynthia. She insists the devil is blocking her path to the light long after Psychic Surveys have 'disproved' it. Investigating her apparently unblemished background, Ruby is pulled further and further into Cynthia's world and the darkness that now inhabits it. For the first time in her career, Ruby's deepest beliefs are challenged. Does evil truly exist? And if so, is it the most relentless force of all?

Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories


Roald DahlJonas Lie - 1983
    For this superbly disquieting collection, he selected fourteen of his favorite tales by such authors as E.F. Benson, Rosemary Timperley, and Edith WhartonIncludes:"W.S." L.P. Hartley"Harry" Rosemary Timperley"The Corner Shop" Cynthia Asquith"In the Tube" E.F. Benson"Christmas Meeting" Rosemary Timperley"Elias and the Draug" Jonas Lie"Playmates" A.M. Burrage"Ringing the Changes" Robert Aickman"The Telephone" Mary Treadgold"The Ghost of a Hand" J. Sheridan Le Fanu"The Sweeper" A.M. Burrage"Afterward" Edith Wharton"On the Brighton Road" Richard Middleton"The Upper Berth" F. Marion Crawford

Spindrift: Spray from a Psychic Sea


Jan Bryant Bartell - 1973
    At first there were only the strange phenomena of unexplained shadows and sounds, and a presence that seemed to clutch at her in the dark. Then the deaths started, claiming one after another of the building's occupants.This is the story of Jan Bartell's discovery of a diabolical possession she first could not believe, then could not deny. It is the story of her fight against it, and her eventual flight from it.Jan Bartell's flight was in vain. One month after finishing this extraordinary true story, the author was found dead, and the pattern of horror was complete.

Haunts of Mackinac: Ghost Stories, Legends, & Tragic Tales of Mackinac Island


Todd Clements - 2006
    The lure of the Island has made it the top tourist destination in the state of Michigan. However, Mackinac Island holds many secrets. These secrets come in many forms—some from beyond the grave, others passed down for hundreds of years.If you have been to Mackinac Island many times before, or you have not yet visited this gem of the Great Lakes, the stories in this book will both inform and entertain you.Inside this book you will not only find many of the Island's ghost stories, legends, and tragic tales, but also a brief history describing each location. In addition, stories from the Straits of Mackinac, including deadly shipwrecks, ghost ships, and other tragedies, are included. Last, for those unfamiliar with ghostly phenomena, you will find a chapter with a crash course introduction to the who, what, when, why, and where of ghosts.

Ruined


Paula Morris - 2009
    She's staying in a creepy old house with her Aunt Claudia, who reads Tarot cards for a living. And at the snooty prep school, a pack of filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city.

The Siren and the Specter


Jonathan Janz - 2018
    But the Alexander House is different. Built by a 1700s land baron to contain the madness and depravity of his eldest son, the house is plagued by shadows of the past and the lingering taint of bloodshed. David is haunted, as well. For twenty-two years ago, he turned away the woman he loved, and she took her life in sorrow. And David suspects she’s followed him to the Alexander House.

Unexplained: Supernatural Stories for Uncertain Times


Richard MacLean Smith - 2018
    . . Demonic possession in 1970's Germany. UFOs in Rendlesham forest. Reincarnation in Middlesbrough. To this day, these real life mysteries and very many more evade explanation. Based on one of the most successful paranormal podcasts ever, with over 10 million streams and downloads to date, Unexplained consists of ten chapters focussing on a different paranormal event, from Australia to Germany, the UK to Zimbabwe, using the stories as gateways to a journey beyond the veil of the uncanny, exploring what they reveal of the human experience. Taking ideas once thought of as supernatural or paranormal and questioning whether radical ideas in science might provide a new but equally extraordinary explanation, Unexplained is The Examined Life meets The X Files.'A grisly treat' Financial Times on the podcast