Five Victorian Ghost Novels


Book Description

Full texts of "The Uninhabited House" by Riddell; "The Amber Witch" by Meinhold; "Monsieur Maurice" by Edwards; "A Phantom Lover" by Lee; and "The Ghost of Muir House" by Beale. 6 illustrations.




Thirty Hours with a Corpse


Book Description

Characterized by gratuitous acts of brutality and surprise endings, these tales of obsession and violence are the creations of a twentieth-century French writer whose works were staged by the legendary Théâtre du Grand-Guignol of Paris. The precursors of modern thrillers and slasher films, these stories have been specially selected for this edition and introduced by horror specialist S. T. Joshi. Thirty-nine conte cruel ("cruel tales") include "In the Light of the Red Lamp," in which a husband's photographs of his dead wife reveal a deeper tragedy; "Fascination," the tale of a morbid passion that develops when the narrator, determined to stay at home, shoots his mistress for the sake of peace and quiet; and "The Bastard," concerning a father's suspicions about his son's paternity. Other stories include "The Taint," a view of infanticide as mercy-killing; "The Test," in which an accused murderer is forced to reenact his crime; and "A Maniac," recounting a thrill-seeker's ghoulish impulse to witness death-defying stunts gone wrong.




The Early Science Fiction of Philip K. Dick


Book Description

Eleven short stories and novellas from 1950s periodicals such as Worlds of Science Fiction, Orbit, and Startling Stories include "Foster, You're Dead," "Prominent Author," "Upon the Dull Earth," and "Adjustment Team."




Varney the Vampyre


Book Description

A deathless creature with an insatiable appetite for blood, Varney is the antihero of this epic, which predates Dracula and establishes many of the conventions associated with vampirism.Volume 1 of 2.




Pharos, the Egyptian


Book Description

"This powerful novel is weird and soul-thrilling." — The Scotsman. Cyril Forrester, a young Englishman traveling on the Continent, chances to meet a secretive old man and his ward, a lovely young violinist named Valerie. Enthralled by Valerie's beauty and disturbed by the elderly Egyptian's depravity, Forrester follows the couple around Europe. A sinister plot is slowly revealed, in which a mummy's curse threatens to destroy the Western world. Victorian readers had a passion for tales of mystery and intrigue in exotic settings, especially those involving supernatural powers. This ripping yarn was created by one of the era's most popular writers of sensationalistic fiction. Pharos, the Egyptian is thought to have inspired the classic horror film The Mummy, and its gripping, action-packed story remains an enduringly compelling tale.




The Stuff of Dreams


Book Description

This original compilation presents 10 chilling tales of terror, two haunting poems, and an essay by an unjustly neglected author. Edward Lucas White weaves a tapestry of weird stories populated by ghouls, monsters, and creatures of ancient myth.




Strip for Murder


Book Description

Colorful characters with murderous motives populate this illustrated mystery in which the heated rivalry between a pair of cartoonists ends in homicide and a stripper-turned-detective and her stepson-partner seek the killer. "Great fun." — Mystery Scene.




A Killing in Comics


Book Description

A former striptease artist runs a newspaper syndicate's distribution of a superhero comic. When her publisher is murdered, she hunts for the killer among minions of a different sort of syndicate.




Knight Life


Book Description

More than 1,500 years after his disappearance into the mists of Avalon, King Arthur has returned. This time, he's prepared to rule the Camelot of a new millennium: New York City. Handsome, charismatic Arthur Penn is running for mayor on a platform of common sense, humor, and knightly virtues. His advisors include a gifted ten-year-old named Merlin; Percival, an immortal accountant; and Gwen, a lovely young woman with no end of problems. Their grassroots campaign steadily gains strength until scandal looms with the sudden emergence of Morgan Le Fay, Arthur's sorceress half-sister, and her son Mordred, the aspiring mayor's ambitious heir. Acclaimed by Kirkus Reviews as "steady fun" by "a darkly amusing fantasist," this imaginative romp is the revised and expanded version of Peter David's first novel, Sir Apropos of Nothing, originally published in 1987 and now out of print. David is the author of more than fifty novels, many of which have appeared on The New York Times bestsellers list. His sparkling update of Arthurian myth abounds in wit, irony, and astute reflections on human nature.




Lord of the World


Book Description

This 1907 novel unfolds in a world in which God has been supplanted by a religion of humanity. Gripping tale of the apocalypse, hailed as prophetic by Pope Francis.