Black Wings: Tales of Lovecraftian Horror


S.T. JoshiRamsey Campbell - 2010
    Kiernan, Brian Stableford, Ramsey Campbell, Michael Shea, Darrell Schweitzer, Donald R. Burleson, and David J. Schow delve deep into the psyche, expanding on concepts H.P. Lovecraft created and taking them in new directions. The result is stories that are wholly original, some even featuring Lovecraft himself as a character. Black Wings editor S.T. Joshi is the recognized authority on all things Lovecraftian, and is famous for his restorations of Lovecraft's original works. He has assembled a star-studded line-up in a book that is essential for every horror library.  Including:  Pickman's Other Model - Caitlín R. Kiernan  Desert Dreams - Donald R. Burleson  Engravings - Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.  Copping Squid - Michael Shea  Passing Spirits - Sam Gafford  The Broadsword - Laird Barron  Usurped - William Browning Spencer  Denker's Book - Davd J. Schow  Inhabitants of Wraithwood - W.H Pugmire  The Dome - Mollie L. Burleson  Rotterdam - Nicholas Royle  Tempting Providence - Jonathan Thomas  Howling in the Dark - Darrell Schweitzer  The Truth About Pickman - Brian Stableford  Tunnells - Philip Haldeman  The Correspondence of Cameron Thaddeus Nash - Annotated by Ramsey Campbell  Violence, Child of Trust - Michael Cisco  Lesser Demons - Norman Partridge  An Eldritch Matter - Adam Niswander  Substitutions - Michael Marshall Smith  Susie - Jason Van Hollander

A Dog's Tale


Mark Twain - 1904
    It's a unique view of how family members react to a calamity and their treatment of each member emphasized by contrasting the dark and inconsiderate nature of humans with the benign and loyal nature of dogs. The story is told from the viewpoint of a dog named Aileen Mavourneen, a self-proclaimed Presbyterian, whose mother is a Collie, and father is a St. Bernard. It begins with her life as a puppy while living with her mother. Eventually, she is taken from her mother to live with a loving family. At first, life for Aileen seems perfect. She lives in a spacious, adorned house with open space where she is free to roam and play with other dogs. All that changes, however, when a fire breaks out in the nursery, prompting Aileen to risk her own life to save her owner’s infant from harm’s way. Despite her heroic deed, Aileen’s motives are misunderstood and she is cruelly beaten and treated with the utmost brutality that changes her life forever. A recommended read that evokes much powerful, heartfelt emotions throughout.

Dr. Heidegger's Experiment


Nathaniel Hawthorne - 1837
    Each book in the series has been designed with today's young reader in mind. As the words come to life, students will develop a lasting appreciation for great literature.The humor of Mark Twain...the suspense of Edgar Allan Poe...the danger of Jack London...the sensitivity of Katherine Mansfield. Creative Short Stories has it all and will prove to be a welcome addition to any library.

The Cat's Quizzer


Dr. Seuss - 1976
    Seuss! Do fish sleep with one eye open? What do they call one-eyed eyeglasses? Are snails faster than turtles? How many will you get right? (The Zozzfozzels got them ALL wrong!) Featuring a mixture of picture puzzles, logic tricks, and silly questions, The Cat's Quizzer will keep readers fascinated with a wide array of facts and fun!Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.

Philomel Cottage: A Short Story


Agatha Christie - 1924
    Each time she can see the murderer clearly, and it’s the mild-mannered man she had previously been engaged to, taking his revenge. But, what’s worse is that at the end of the dream she thanks the murderer. Perplexed, Alix tries to calm herself by spending time in the garden of her picturesque cottage. But her gardener confuses her further by wishing her well on her trip to London—a trip which Alix knows nothing about. Now Alix is scared: is the gardener imagining things, or is she?

A Study in Emerald


Neil Gaiman - 2003
    P. Lovecraft, and of course, Neil Gaiman.A Study in Emerald draws listeners in through carefully revealed details as a consulting detective and his narrator friend solve the mystery of a murdered German noble. But with its subtle allusions and surprise ending, this mystery hints that the real fun in solving this case lies in imagining all the details that Gaiman doesn't reveal, and challenges listeners to be detectives themselves.

The Coffee House of Surat


Leo Tolstoy - 1893
    One day a learned Persian theologian visits this coffee-house. He is a man who has spent his life studying the nature of the Deity, and reading and writing books upon the subject. He has thought, read, and written so much about God, that he eventually lost his wits, became quite confused, and ceased even to believe in the existence of a God. The Shah, hearing of this, banished him from Persia.

The Birthday of the Infanta


Oscar Wilde - 1891
    Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish author, playwright and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, his plays, as well as the circumstances of his imprisonment and early death."The Birthday of the Infanta" is a historical fiction short story for children by the Irish author Oscar Wilde. It was first published in the 1891 anthology House of Pomegranates, which also includes "The Young King', "The Fisherman and his Soul" and "The Star-Child".The action of "The Birthday of the Infanta" takes place in Spain at an unspecified point in the past. It is the twelfth birthday of the Infanta, the only daughter, and only child, of the King of Spain. For her entertainment, an ugly young dwarf dancer is brought to the court. The Dwarf is completely unaware of how hideous he looks and does not realize that the reason that others laugh in his presence is because they are mocking his appearance. When the Dwarf sees his own reflection for the first time in his life, the consequences are severe.

The Children's Story


James Clavell - 1981
    He writes, "The Children's Story came into being that day. It was then that I really realized how vulnerable my child's mind was —any mind, for that matter—under controlled circumstances. Normally I write and rewrite and re-rewrite, but this story came quickly—almost by itself. Barely three words were changed. It pleases me greatly because I kept asking the questions…Questions like, What's the use of 'I pledge allegiance' without understanding? Like Why is it so easy to divert thoughts? Like What is freedom? and Why is so hard to explain?The Children's Story keeps asking me all sorts of questions I cannot answer. Perhaps you can—then your child will...."

New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird


Paula GuranLaird Barron - 2011
    Lovecraft has inspired writers of supernatural fiction, artists, musicians, filmmakers, and gamers. His themes of cosmic indifference, the utter insignificance of humankind, minds invaded by the alien, and the horrors of history—written with a pervasive atmosphere of unexplainable dread—remain not only viable motifs, but are more relevant than ever as we explore the mysteries of a universe in which our planet is infinitesimal and climatic change is overwhelming it. In the early twenty-first century the best supernatural writers no longer imitate Lovecraft, but they are profoundly influenced by the genre and the mythos he created. New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird presents some of the best of this new Lovecraftian fiction—bizarre, subtle, atmospheric, metaphysical, psychological, filled with strange creatures and stranger characters—eldritch, unsettling, evocative, and darkly appealing.

The Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft


John PelanSteve Rasnic Tem - 2003
    P. Lovecraft’s shocking, terrifying, and eerily prescient Cthulhu Mythos. In twenty-one dark visions, a host of outstanding contemporary writers tap into our innermost fears, with tales set in a misbegotten new world that could have been spawned only by the master of the macabre himself, H. P. Lovecraft. Inside you’ll find:DETAILS by China Miéville: A curious boy discovers that within the splinters of cracked wood or the tangle of tree branches, the devil is in the details.VISITATION by James Robert Smith: When Edgar Allan Poe arrives, a callow man finally gets what he always wanted—and what he may eternally despise. MEET ME ON THE OTHER SIDE by Yvonne Navarro: A couple in love with terror travels beyond their wildest dreams—and into their nightmares.A FATAL EXCEPTION HAS OCCURRED AT . . . by Alan Dean Foster: Internet terrorism extends far beyond transmitting threats of evil.AND SEVENTEEN MORE HARROWING TALESFrom the Trade Paperback edition.vii • Introduction: The Call of Lovecraft • essay by Benjamin Adams and John Pelan1 • Details • short story by China Miéville21 • Visitation • short story by James Robert Smith33 • The Invisible Empire • novelette by James Van Pelt57 • A Victorian Pot Dresser • novelette by L. H. Maynard and M. P. N. Sims85 • The Cabin in the Woods • novelette by Richard Laymon109 • The Stuff of the Stars, Leaking • short story by Tim Lebbon125 • Sour Places • short story by Mark Chadbourn141 • Meet Me on the Other Side • short story by Yvonne Navarro161 • That's the Story of My Life • short story by Benjamin Adams and John Pelan181 • Long Meg and Her Daughters • novella by Paul Finch243 • A Fatal Exception Has Occurred At ... • short story by Alan Dean Foster261 • Dark of the Moon • short story by James S. Dorr275 • Red Clay • short story by Michael Reaves [as by J. Michael Reaves]291 • Principles and Parameters • novelette by Meredith L. Patterson325 • Are You Loathsome Tonight? • (1998) • short story by Poppy Z. Brite331 • The Serenade of Starlight • short story by W. H. Pugmire (variant of Serenade of Starlight) [as by W. H. Pugmire, Esq.]345 • Outside • short story by Steve Rasnic Tem355 • Nor the Demons Down Under the Sea • [Dandridge Cycle] • short story by Caitlín R. Kiernan371 • A Spectacle of a Man • short story by Weston Ochse389 • The Firebrand Symphony • (2001) • novelette by Brian Hodge437 • Teeth • novelette by Matt Cardin463 • Notes on the Contributors (Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft) • essay by Benjamin Adams and John Pelan

The Strange Orchid


H.G. Wells - 1894
    The bulbs are from a remote area of an unexplored jungle. After they are planted, one of the bulbs develops into a blood-sucking monster.

Bobok


Fyodor Dostoevsky - 1873
    The title can be translated from the Russian as meaning "little bean" and in the context of the story is taken to be synonymous with gibberish or nonsense.

An Inhabitant of Carcosa


Ambrose Bierce - 1886
    Carcosa was subsequently borrowed by Robert W. Chambers as the setting of his fictional play, The King in Yellow, and features heavily in many of the stories in the book of the same name. These concepts were further expanded upon by H. P. Lovecraft in his Cthulhu Mythos stories.

Alone With the Horrors: The Great Short Fiction, 1961-1991


Ramsey Campbell - 1993
    He has won four World Fantasy Awards, ten British Fantasy Awards, three Bram Stoker Awards, and the Horror Writers' Association's Lifetime Achievement Award. Three decades into his career, Campbell paused to review his body of short fiction and selected the stories that were, to his mind, the very best of his works. Alone With the Horrors collects nearly forty tales from the first thirty years of Campbell's writing. Included here are "In the Bag," which won the British Fantasy Award, and two World Fantasy Award-winning stories, "The Chimney" and the classic "Mackintosh Willy." Campbell crowns the book with a length preface which traces his early publication history, discusses his youthful correspondence with August Derleth, illuminates the influence of H.P. Lovecraft on his early work, and gives an account of the creation of each story and the author's personal assessment of the works' flaws and virtues.In its first publication, a decade ago, Alone With the Horrors won both the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. For this new edition, Campbell has added one of his very first published stories, a Lovecraftian classic, "The Tower from Yuggoth." From this early, Cthulhian tale, to later works that showcase Campbell's growing mastery of mood and character, Alone With the Horrors provides readers with a close look at a powerful writer's development of his craft.