Серия книг «Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural» — 42 книги

Night after night, out there in the moonlight, Something was trying to get in at the bedroom window. A huge malevolent Something. Something not of this world. Inside, Toby Jugg, a wounded Battle of Britain pilot, thought first that he was hallucinating, then that he must be going mad, finally that this evil Something was real and striving to reach him. So begins what is probably Dennis Wheatley's most terrifying story of the supernatural. The struggle which ensues brought Toby unexpected help but also ungues treachery as it moves inexorably towards an appalling confrontation and seemingly inevitable catastrophe.

Night after night, out there in the moonlight, Something was trying to get in at the bedroom window. A huge malevolent Something. Something not of this world. Inside, Toby Jugg,…

In this rich collection of thirteen macabre tales, Bram Stoker, creator of the Gothic masterpiece, Dracula, and one of the greatest exponents of the supernatural narrative, presents us with a weird and chilling variety of unsettling stories. Stoker's dramatic scenarios, from the opening tale of vampires, Dracula's Guest, which was omitted from the final version of Dracula, will thrill and engage the modern reader. In these pages you will encounter the devilishly dangerous haunted room in The Judge's House, the fatalistic tragedy in The Burial of the Rats, the terror of revenge from beyond the grave in The Secret of Growing Gold and the surprising twist in the tail in The Gypsy's Prophecy, amongst other strange and frightening episodes. This unique collection of Stoker's short fiction provides a feast for those who like to be unnerved as well as entertained.

In this rich collection of thirteen macabre tales, Bram Stoker, creator of the Gothic masterpiece, Dracula, and one of the greatest exponents of the supernatural narrative,…

Mrs H. D. Everett was the last in a long line of gifted Victorian novelists who knew how to grip the reader through the invasion of everyday life by the abnormal and dramatic, leaving the facts to produce their special thrills without piling on the agony. 'I always know,' says one of her characters, 'how to distinguish a true ghost story from a faked one. The true ghost story never has any point and the faked one dare not leave it out' From the chillling horror of The Death Mask to the shocking violence of The Crimson Blind, from the creeping menace of Parson Clench to the mounting suspense of The Pipers of Mallory, these thrilling stories were enthusiastically received by readers and critics when they first appeared, and are sure to delight and terrify the modern reader in equal measure. With their haunting influences, their permeating scents, their midnight apparitions and unexplained sounds, they plunge us, along with the hero or heroine, into a state of increasing nervous excitement.

Mrs H. D. Everett was the last in a long line of gifted Victorian novelists who knew how to grip the reader through the invasion of everyday life by the abnormal and dramatic,…

The Aylmer Vance stories date from the Edwardian period, and there are echoes in them of the Sherlock Holmes adventures which had proved so popular in the preceding decade. The friendship between Aylmer Vance and Dexter is not unlike that between Sherlock Holmes and Watson, and the two investigators approach the world of the supernatural in the same fearless and enquiring spirit in which Conan Doyle's heroes approach the world of crime.

The Aylmer Vance stories date from the Edwardian period, and there are echoes in them of the Sherlock Holmes adventures which had proved so popular in the preceding decade. The…

Selected and Edited with an Introduction and Notes by David Blair, University of Kent at Canterbury.

This superb new collection brings together stories from the earliest decades of Gothic writing with later 19th and early 20th century tales from the period in which Gothic diversified into the familiar forms of the ghost-and horror-story.

Some of these stories, like the haunting 'The Lame Priest' are 'lost masterpieces' and several have never been anthologised before.

Selected and Edited with an Introduction and Notes by David Blair, University of Kent at Canterbury.

This superb new collection brings together stories from the earliest…

Dorothy Kathleen Broster (1877-1950) is best known for her historical novels. But there is a darker side to her writing, glimpsed in her early poems - 'The Second of September 1792' is a fine example - and finding full expression in the stories she wrote after she had become a highly successful novelist.

Sometimes - as in 'The Window' or 'The Pestering', or 'All Soul's Day' these are what we might call 'explainable' ghost stories: apparitions or hauntings whose origin is to be found in some violent or unjust action in the past. Other stories, 'Couching at the Door' and 'From the Abyss', have little or no explanation, even in supernatural terms. Add to these an elegant reworking of the 'Persephone' myth, 'The Taste of Pomegranates', the downright bloodthirsty 'Clairvoyance', and the psychological studies, 'The Promised Land' and 'The Pavement' which so well merit the heading 'Madness and Obsession', and you have a collection to disturb and unsettle the strongest nerves.

Dorothy Kathleen Broster (1877-1950) is best known for her historical novels. But there is a darker side to her writing, glimpsed in her early poems - 'The Second of September…

Edited and with an Introduction by David Stuart Davies.

'Nothing is so improbable as what is true'

Of all the writers of ghost and horror stories, Ambrose Bierce is perhaps the most colourful. He was a dark, cynical and pessimistic soul who had a grim vision of fate and the unfairness of life, which he channelled into his fiction. And in his death, or rather his disappearance, he created a mystery as strange and unresolved as any that he penned himself. But more of that later.

Ambrose Gwinett Bierce was born in a log cabin on 21st June 1842, in Horse Creek, Meigs County, Ohio, USA. He was the tenth of thirteen children, ten of whom survived infancy. His father, an unsuccessful farmer with an unseemly love of literature, had given all the Bierce children names beginning with 'A'. There was Abigail, the eldest; then Amelia, Ann, Addison, Aurelius etc. So oddness was a part of Bierce's life from the beginning. Poverty and religion of the extreme variety were the two chief influences on young Ambrose's childhood. He not only hated this period of his life, he also developed a deep hatred for his family and this is reflected in some of his stories which depict families preying on and murdering one another. For example the unforgettable opening sentence of 'An Imperfect Conflagration' seems to sum up his bitter attitude: 'Early in 1872 I murdered my father - an act that made a deep impression on me at the time'.

Edited and with an Introduction by David Stuart Davies.

'Nothing is so improbable as what is true'

Of all the writers of ghost and horror stories, Ambrose Bierce is…

Erik, the Phantom of the Paris Opera House, is one of the great icons of horror literature. This tormented and disfigured creature has made his home in the labyrinthine cellars of this opulent building where he can indulge in his great passion for music, which is a substitute for the love and emotion denied him because of his ghastly appearance. It is in the Opera House that he encounters Christine Daae whom he trains in secret to become a great singer. Erik s passionate obsession with a beautiful woman beyond his reach is doomed and leads to the dramatic tragic finale. Gaston Leroux's novel is a marvellous blend of detective story, romance and spine-tingling terror which has fascinated readers ever since the work was first published.

Erik, the Phantom of the Paris Opera House, is one of the great icons of horror literature. This tormented and disfigured creature has made his home in the labyrinthine cellars of…

As I fell the thing sprang across me and seemed to throw itself upon the captain. When I last saw him on his feet his face was white and his lips set. It seemed to me that he struck a violent blow at the dead being, and then he, too, fell forward upon his face, with an inarticulate cry of horror.
This unique collection contains all the supernatural works of the prolific F.Marion Crawford, including his classic chillers For Blood is the Life, The Upper Berth and the title story, The Screaming Skull which was based on a true horror legend.
Also included in this volume is his amazing novel The Witch of Prague which Dennis Wheatley described as a classic of occult fiction. For a potent blend of horror, fantasy and fear Crawford s tales have rarely been surpassed.
Most of these stories have long been out of print, so this collection is a special treat for all lovers of supernatural mysteries.

As I fell the thing sprang across me and seemed to throw itself upon the captain. When I last saw him on his feet his face was white and his lips set. It seemed to me that he…

This work includes an Introduction by Antony Lejeune. "The Devil Rides Out" is the most famous work of a master storyteller, a classic of weird fiction which has been described as "the best thing of its kind since Dracula" a genuinely frightening tale of devil-worship and sorcery in modern Britain.
A group of old friends discover that one of them has been lured into a coven of Satanists. They determine to rescue him - and a beautiful girl employed as a medium.
The head of the coven proves to be no charlatan but an Adept of the Dark Arts, able to infiltrate dreams and conjure up fearsome entities. De Richleau fights back with his own knowledge of occultism and ancient lore. A duel ensues between White and Black Magic, Good and Evil used as weapons.
Whenever, subsequently, Dennis Wheatley was asked what he really believed about the supernatural, he would just reply "Don't meddle!" Few readers will need that warning repeated.

This work includes an Introduction by Antony Lejeune. "The Devil Rides Out" is the most famous work of a master storyteller, a classic of weird fiction which has been described as…

Once more, the game's afoot as Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street returns in twenty new adventures specially commissioned for Wordsworth's Mystery & Supernatural series. The celebrated detective, along with his friend and biographer, Dr Watson, investigate a variety of baffling mysteries that will delight fans of the famous sleuth. Striding through the foggy gas-lit streets of London, Holmes tackles such cases as The Puzzle of the Green Skull, The Secret of the Brown Box, the conundrum of the Dragon of Lea Lane, as well as coming face to face once again with The Sussex Vampire. We also learn what really happened at the Reichenbach Falls when Holmes had his fateful encounter with Dr Moriarty.

Once more, the game's afoot as Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street returns in twenty new adventures specially commissioned for Wordsworth's Mystery & Supernatural series. The…