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Horror and Ghost Stories

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By: Eden Phillpotts (1862-1960)

Book cover Loup-garou!

A book of short stories by Eden Phillpotts, all involving something of the supernatural. - Summary by Ann Boulais

By: Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe The Murders in the Rue Morgue

This story opens with a mother and daughter found brutally murdered inside a locked room in an upstairs apartment on a street in Paris. The police are baffled by both the ferocity of the crime and the lack of clues. Neighbors give conflicting evidence. Two friends are intrigued by the entire situation as reported in the newspapers. They decide to do a little investigating on their own. What they come up with is one of the most shocking and strangest of conclusions. The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe is perhaps the first modern detective tale, though similar stories by Voltaire and ETA Hoffman did appear a few decades earlier...

Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym by Edgar Allan Poe Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym

Published in 1838, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is Poe’s only complete novel and concentrates on several sea adventures gone awry. The novel follows Arthur Gordon Pym, who finds himself in the center of gloomy occurrences on board numerous vessels, as his anticipated sea adventure takes a drastic shift in the wind. Shipwreck, starvation, mutiny, near death experiences and cannibalism are just some of the issues endured in the gripping, and at times gruesome novel. The adventure...

Two Poe Tales by Edgar Allan Poe Two Poe Tales

Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his famous short horror stories; however, horror is not the only genre in which he wrote. How To Write a Blackwood Article and its companion piece A Predicament are satirical works exploring the pieces of the formula generally seen in short horror stories (”articles”) found in the Scottish periodical “Blackwood’s Magazine” and the successful misapplication of said formula by – horrors! – a woman author! – respectively.

Book cover Personal Poe Collection Compiled by EliseDee and Cavaet

We present here ten stories and poems from the master of horror, Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. They are our personal favorites. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoy presenting them to you. - Summary by cavaet

Book cover Conqueror Worm

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and American literature as a whole, and he was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story. Poe is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre and is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. - Summary by Wikipedia

Book cover Miscellaneous Poe: Poems and Short Stories

Come and hear some of the wonderful, magical, fantastic and macabre works of the inestimable Edgar Allan Poe. This collection contains the world famous poems Annabel Lee, The Bells, Eldorado and The Raven. Also included is his masterful short story, the horror classic The Tell-Tale Heart. Poe's vocabulary and ability to rhyme and 'turn a phrase' have made him one of the most celebrated and well regarded writers of all time!

By: Edgar Fawcett (1847-1904)

Book cover Douglas Duane

An introverted, kind-hearted book collector befriends a mad scientist, who isn’t exactly a good friend. When the scientist falls in love with the book collector’s fiancée, he concocts an evil plot to have her for his own. Edgar Fawcett was a prolific author of standard fiction. With Douglas Duane he stepped out of his genre and created an unusual weird fiction work.

By: Edith Nesbit (1858-1924)

Book cover Grim Tales

A collection of gentle stories that draw us into that hidden world where fear is just around the next corner, and where loving hands can touch across the boundaries of death.

By: Edith Wharton (1862-1937)

Afterward by Edith Wharton Afterward

A short story classified under the American Gothic genre, the piece depicts an eerie set of events following the distressing occurrences within the Boyne household, as their dream relocation takes a drastic turn. Wharton cleverly weaves together Gothic themes including horror, retribution, and despair to create a dynamic plot which is additionally aided by the use of foreshadowing, an uncanny setting, and the reflective voice of its character. Divided into five parts, Afterward introduces newly rich couple Mary and Ned Boyne, who decide to make their dream move to England after Ned strikes a good business investment...

By: Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873)

Book cover Great Ghost Stories

A great collection of 12 classic stories about ghosts and the supernatural. Included are stories by Thomas Hardy, Fitz-James O'Brien, and Margaret Oliphant. Recommended for fans of classic ghost stories of yesteryear. - Summary by Phyllis Vincelli

By: Eleanor M. Ingram (1886-1921)

The Thing from the Lake by Eleanor M. Ingram The Thing from the Lake

To get away from city life periodically, New Yorker Roger Locke purchases an abandoned farm house in rural Connecticut, and with the assistance of his cousin Phillida and her beau Ethan Vere, he sets about fixing up the place. Immediately however, an unseen mysterious woman begins giving him warnings during nocturnal visits to leave the house at once. Soon he begins hearing strange ominous sounds emanating from the tiny lake at the back of the house coupled with a permeation of sickly odors. An evil presence then begins to visit him during the witching hours of the late night, challenging him to a battle of wits from which there can be only one victor...

By: Elizabeth Gaskell

The Grey Woman by Elizabeth Gaskell The Grey Woman

A “Bluebeard” story in which a young woman marries a man whom she discovers has killed his previous wives and is trying to kill her as well.

By: Elliott O’Donnell (1872—1965)

Animal Ghosts by Elliott O’Donnell Animal Ghosts

Summary: This is a collection of ghost stories in which the antagonists are various animals. Divided up into chapters of ghost sightings by each group of animals, you will hear of hauntings by dogs, cats, birds, jungle animals, etc. (Summary by Allyson Hester)

By: Émile Zola (1840-1902)

Therese Raquin by Émile Zola Therese Raquin

An unsatisfied wife kills her weak husband in order to carry on a sordid affair with another man. However, her selfish plans are spoiled when her husband continues to haunt her. This is often said to be Zola's first great novel.

By: Emma Frances Dawson (1851-1926)

Book cover Itinerant House, and Other Stories

This is a volume of short stories of supernatural fiction by American author Emma Frances Dawson. Not all of the tales depend on ghosts, most of them are much more subtle than that. The author skillfully creates undercurrents, adding a distinct quality to these stories. - Summary by Carolin

By: F. Marion Crawford

Man Overboard by F. Marion Crawford Man Overboard

Peculiar happenings aboard the schooner Helen B. Jackson when one night during a storm, the small crew found themselves diminished by one. Somebody had gone overboard, and it was surmised that it was one of the twin Benton brothers. But oddly enough, it seemed that the ‘presence’ of the missing twin continued to exist on board during the following weeks. For example, one extra set of silverware was found to be used after each meal, but nobody claimed to be using them. What then did happen that stormy night, and which brother, if indeed it was one of the brothers, was the man who went overboard?

By: Forrest Reid (1875-1947)

Book cover Spring Song

A deceptive tale, The Spring Song seems at first glance to be standard Edwardian adventure. Grif - A boy on holiday with his siblings - must set out through the English countryside to rescue their beloved dog. Slowly, however, a subtle and not always benign magic slips into the tale, imbuing it with a dark haunting that is hard to put one's finger on. A genius friend takes on the role of boy detective to figure out why Grif has become so melancholy, but in an inversion of the trope its not clear if uncovering secrets makes things better or worse...

By: Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909)

Book cover Wandering Ghosts

This is a collection of seven ghost stories by Francis Marion Crawford. The volume includes all of the essential ingredients for good ghost and horror stories, such as mysterious deaths, haunted houses, and even vampires. - Summary by Carolin

By: Frank Norris (1870-1902)

Book cover Vandover and the Brute

Vandover is a student who succumbs to a gambling addiction. This addiction causes him to divest himself of his cherished possessions and to lose his status in life, whilst his friends prosper. Eventually he is transformed by a strange degenerative lycanthropy, reduced to running back and forth across his apartment, naked, on all-fours. The novel was Norris' first, though published posthumously. Characteristically, it explores the themes of habit and addiction in a heightened "naturalistic" style.

By: G. Ranger Wormser (1893-1953)

Book cover Scarecrow and Other Stories

G. Ranger Wormser was a forgotten master of horror fiction, specializing in a kind of creeping dread and subtle psychological horror that would later be exhibited to such great effect by authors like Shirley Jackson.

By: Gaston Leroux (1868-1927)

Book cover Man with the Black Feather

Theophrastus Longuet is a retired manufacturer of rubber stamps in Paris. He now spends his days relaxing, safe from life’s vicissitudes. with his lovely wife Marceline and long time friend M. Lecamus. However into every life a little rain must fall and it becomes apparent that a perfect storm is about to arrive in the lives of our tranquil threesome. The malevolent spirit of a murdering brigand named Cartouche, who was executed in Paris in 1721, is about to disrupt their perfect lives, in a way that will change them all forever. Not even the enigmatic Mage, M. Eliphas de Saint-Elme de Taillebourg de la Nox, in his mysterious underground crypt, may be enough to save them all.

By: George du Maurier (1834-1896)

Trilby by George du Maurier Trilby

Trilby, published in 1894, fits into the gothic horror genre which was undergoing a revival during the Fin de siècle and is one of the most popular novels of its time, perhaps the second best selling novel of the Fin de siècle period after Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The story of the poor artist’s model Trilby O’Ferrall, transformed into a diva under the spell of the evil musical genius Svengali, created a sensation. Soap, songs, dances, toothpaste, and Trilby, Florida were all named for the heroine, and a variety of soft felt hat with an indented crown (worn in the London stage production of a dramatization of the novel) came to be called a trilby...

By: George Griffith (1857-1906)

Book cover Mayfair Magician; a Romance of Criminal Science

Our narrator, a researcher, finds himself snowed in at a Scottish prison. The resident doctor, an observer of criminal psychology, offers him hospitality and entertainment in the form of this story, an account of the bizarre case of a strange prisoner in motorcycle goggles, why he must wear them, and what he did to earn a life sentence. - Summary by A. Gramour

By: George Sylvester Viereck (1884-1962)

The House of the Vampire by George Sylvester Viereck The House of the Vampire

The House of the Vampire is a 1907 novella that is a very unusual vampire story. A young writer comes under the powerful influence of a mysterious older master, who seems to have left a trail of ruined proteges in his wake. The story is as much about the nature of artistic creation as it is a chilling vampire tale.

By: Gerald Biss (1876-1922)

Book cover Door of the Unreal

An early werewolf novel, praised by H.P Lovecraft. The only weird fiction from an author of mainly crime fiction. Two strange disappearances occur on a road in Sussex. The second involved a member of the aristocracy and a famous actress, so a large, but fruitless investigation is held by Scotland Yard. An American, visiting an old friend, who is of the local gentry, suspects something horrible and begins to investigate to verify his fears..

By: Gertrude Barrows Bennett (1883-1948)

Book cover Citadel of Fear

Gertrude Barrows Bennett was the first major female writer of fantasy and science fiction in the United States, publishing her stories under the pseudonym Francis Stevens. Bennett wrote a number of highly acclaimed fantasies between 1917 and 1923 and has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Citadel of Fear is considered Francis Stevens' masterpiece, by Lovecraft's acclaim. Two adventurers discover a lost city in the Mexican jungle. One is taken over by an evil god while the other falls in love with a woman from the ancient Mexican city of Tlapallan...

By: Greye La Spina (1880-1969)

Book cover Gargoyle

Springing forth from the pages of Weird Tales comes celebrated author Greye La Spina's exciting tale of black magic and the occult! When painter Luke Porter is approached by eccentric occultist Cagliostro Moderno to accompany him to the sinister Fanewold Castle, he is at first skeptical. But after a series of seemingly happenstance events lands Luke at the castle's doorstep with a terrified Moderno in tow, he is drawn into the mystery of The Master, a cloaked figure who skulks in darkness and worships Lucifer, preparing his young and innocent cousin Sybil for a terrifying ritual...

By: H. G. Wells (1866-1946)

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells The Island of Dr. Moreau

One of the first instances of science fiction, Wells’ classic tale published in 1986 examines various controversial philosophical issues active at the time of its publication, most notable being the implications of vivisection and degeneration. Narrated by its everyman protagonist Edward Prendick, the novel follows the events of his stay at a mysterious island, home to ghastly secrets, horrors, and incomprehensible experiences. Furthermore, the novel features innovative themes which have become iconic in the modern science fiction genre, including moral and ethical responsibility, evolution, and man’s interference with the course of nature...

By: H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937)

Collected Public Domain Works of H. P. Lovecraft by H. P. Lovecraft Collected Public Domain Works of H. P. Lovecraft

H. P. Lovecraft’s name is synonymous with horror fiction. His major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: the idea that life is incomprehensible to human minds and that the universe is fundamentally alien. This collection contains 24 Lovecraft works that are in the public domain.

Book cover The Dunwich Horror

In a rundown farmhouse near isolated, rural Dunwich, a bizarre family conjures and nurtures an evil entity from another realm, with the purpose of destroying the world and delivering it to ancient gods to rule, and only an aged university librarian can stop them. The Dunwich Horror was first published in 1929 in Weird Tales.

Book cover Dunwich Horror (Version 2)

Horror stalks the earth. There are many dimensions that coexist with our universe and, unfortunately, overlap it in very special places. The horrific beings that live in these other dimensions are ancient, terrifying and very malign. This story is about one of these overlapping spots in a decaying community in the USA where these beings can interact with our world and where humans succeed in calling them forth in all of their stench, fetor and power with the intent of destroying all life on our planet. Mere humans cannot resist their power. Is there any hope? - Summary by Phil Chenevert


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