Horror Short Stories

H.P. Lovecraft

Summary

Ghouls, ghosts, and macabre terrors stalk the night in this spine-tingling collection. With tales describing unnatural frights and haunting visions of cosmic terror, you will be taken on a journey into the disturbing imaginations of some of horror's greatest writers. The stories' heroes face incredible creatures, unknowable gods, and supernatural beings who have no regard for human life.Horror literature has its roots in the mists of time. In the 19th century, writers delved into ancient folk tales and local legends to inspire an entire genre. In the 20th century, the next generation of writers brought to life a brand new array of terrifying monsters.The authors in this volume range from Victorian pioneers, such as Bram Stoker and Edgar Allan Poe, to the pulp writers of the 20th century, such as William Hope Hodgson and H. P. Lovecraft. The tradition of horror writing that developed took very different turns on either side of the Atlantic - while American authors turned to unknowable horrors and cosmic terrors, British writers such as E. F. Benson and M. R. James mastered a more familiar form, the classic ghost story.It was not only English-speakers who sought to terrify their readers. The French writer Guy de Maupassant, a prolific short story writer and pupil of the acclaimed novelist Gustave Flaubert, found ways to make his protagonists doubt their own sanity as they faced terrors that would drive any ordinary man mad.This collection of bone-chilling tales comes from the pens of some of horror's most acclaimed writers. Authors include:E. F. BensonAmbrose BierceFrancis Marion CrawfordW. W. JacobsM. R. JamesWilliam Hope HodgsonH. P. LovecraftGuy de MaupassantEdgar Allan PoeBram Stoker

Available since: 11/30/2017.

Other books that might interest you

The Sins of the Past

Jason Wallace

Kevin Kendrick must come to terms with his grandfather not being who he's always been thought to be and that he killed Kevin's real grandfather decades ago.  As times wears on, Kevin feels his mind slipping away, with each tick of the clock stealing something from him.  Can he learn to forgive and put everything in the past, where it's always been, or can he, a mild-mannered man, bring justice full circle?

Show book

Take Out & Other Stories: A...

Robert Gannon

Take Out & Other Stories: A Collection of Weird Fiction explores what happens to the human mind when one thing enters a life that cannot be explained a way with logic or reason. From a young boy's obsession with horror stories to a kitchen with a mind of its own, these five stories put the weird back in weird fiction.

Show book

Herbert Armstrong Poisoner

Edgar Wallace

Herbert Armstrong was a Welsh solicitor who murdered his wife by administering arsenic. His life was marked by love affairs and dubious business dealings. It is also probable that his hatred of his dull, respectable existence in a tiny rural village was one of the motives for his terrible crime.    
This story of the crime and trial of Armstrong is told by Edgar Wallace, who reported from the courtroom. On behalf of a newspaper syndicate, Wallace offered the convicted man £5,000 for his confession. The offer was refused.

Show book

The Last Fair Deal Going Down

David Rhodes

This novel from the acclaimed author of Driftless is “an arresting work about the salvation of a disintegrating Iowa family” (The New York Times). 
 
Survival has been the Sledge way since Reuben Sledge’s father first moved to Des Moines. Yet the family seems cursed, and one by one the Sledges are slipping away. Reuben’s oldest brother is hanged for the murder of his wife. Then another brother is committed to an asylum for spying on the woman he loves. But it’s the rape and disgrace of his beloved sister Nellie that drives Reuben into a deep despair. Into the depths of this depression wanders vulnerable, delightful Tabor, who sets Reuben alive with the promise of her love. When Reuben learns that Tabor has descended into the City, he determines, in a moment of panic, to enter and bring her out. Thus begins the novel’s second act, a harrowing journey through the horrors of the City and among a ghastly assemblage of dwellers who’ve crafted new lives for themselves in the underworld. 
 
“David Rhodes proves that there is still vigorous life in the dark Gothic roots of great American novels.” —The Tennessean

Show book

The Canterville Ghost

Oscar Wilde

When an American family move into an old house in England they don't expect to have to share it with a stranger. But then again – the stranger – a very old ghost who has lived at Canterville Chase for hundreds of years, doesn’t expect to have to share his home with them either! Unfortunately for the very grumpy Canterville Ghost, his plan to scare away the unwanted house guests doesn’t quite go to plan.

Show book

Annie

John Isaac Jones

Cousins Billy and Roy were just two mischievous boys--probably meaner than most--but still just bored, country kids looking for some adventure and excitement. During the nights they spent with their grandmother, their favorite pastime was spying on the tenants of their grandmother's rental houses. Over the years, the two had spied on all of their grandmother's renters at one time or another, but the one who provided the most fun and entertainment was a lonely, desperate woman named Annie Atkinson. Not for the squeamish!

Show book