Classic Gothic Literature

Released in our ‘Young Adult Classics’ format, Emily Brontë’s classic story of passion and enduring love is a masterpiece of the gothic genre. Menacing, mysterious Heathcliff and willful, beautiful Cathy are two of the best-known characters in all of English literature. Freda Dowie gives a compelling reading of a novel as bleak and elemental as the moors upon which it is set.

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.

Erst das 20. Jahrhundert hat die Visionen des amerikanischen Schriftstellers Edgar Allan Poe richtig zu würdigen gewusst. Dabei gelang es Poe mit seinen unheimlichen Erzählungen, die menschliche Grausamkeit und das Groteske im Menschen messerscharf zu analysieren. Das wohl berühmteste Schauergedicht der Weltliteratur, "Der Rabe" von 1845, erzählt von einem Hausherrn, der in finsterer Nacht ein Klopfen an seinem Fenster vernimmt. Der Störenfried entpuppt sich als Rabe, der den Mann in tiefste Verzweiflung stürzt. Mit seiner markanten Stimme haucht Hans Peter Hallwachs Poes schaurig schönen Erzählungen Leben ein.

"Rappaccini's Daughter" is a Gothic short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne first published in the December 1844. It is about Giacomo Rappaccini, a medical researcher in Padua, Italy, who grows a garden of poisonous plants. He brings up his daughter to tend the plants, and she becomes resistant to the poisons, but in the process she herself becomes poisonous to others.

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was born on August 28th, 1814, at 45 Lower Dominick Street, Dublin, into a literary family with Huguenot, Irish and English roots. Between 1838 and 1840 Le Fanu had written and published twelve stories which purported to be the literary remains of an 18th-century Catholic priest called Father Purcell. Set mostly in Ireland they include classic stories of gothic horror, with grim, shadowed castles, as well as supernatural visitations from beyond the grave, together with madness and suicide.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) will forever be known as the author of one of the all-time great Gothic novels, Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus (1818). In 1824, she published her essay "On Ghosts", which offers a personal glimpse into her own opinions and experiences. This edition includes a new preface with historical context and an excerpt from M.G. Lewis' 1796 work The Monk: A Romance that Shelley references in "On Ghosts".

Edgar Allan Poe's early literary works were poetic, but he quickly turned to prose. He worked for several magazines and journals till in January 1845, The Raven was published and became an instant classic. Poe was also an early proponent of the detective story and announced his entry to this genre with the classic short story 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue'.

This collection of short stories contains several gothic tales of the macabre and chilling, by writers as diverse as Robert Louis Stevenson, Mary Shelley, H. P. Lovecraft and A. M. Burrage. These tales are designed to unsettle you, just a little, as you sit back and take in their words as they lead you on a walk to places you’d perhaps rather not visit on your own. Our stories are: "The Body Snatcher", by Robert Louis Stevenson; "The Mortal Immortal", by Mary Shelley; "The Thing on the Doorstep", by HP Lovecraft; and "Waxworks", by AM Burrage.

This collection of short stories contains several gothic tales featuring the macabre and chilling voices of writers as diverse as Edgar Allan Poe, Rudyard Kipling, Edith Nesbit, and MR James. These tales are designed to unsettle you, just a little, as you sit back and take in their words as they lead you on a walk to places you’d perhaps rather not visit on your own.

This audio study guide for Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the novel’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as the dark side of enduring love and nature’s resistance to cultivation. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

Man weiß nicht viel vom alten Fettes - außer dass er ein trinkfester Schotte mit medizinischem Wissen ist, der nicht viel spricht. Eines Tages jedoch gibt es einen medizinischen Notfall. Als Fettes den Namen des Notarztes hört, wird er leichenblass: McFarlane! Etwa der McFarlane, mit dem Fettes damals Leichname für den Anatomiekurs auf nächtlichen Friedhöfen ausgegraben hatte? Eine wunderbar klassische Gruselgeschichte für Fans des Genres.

Ichabod Crane, a schoolteacher, came to Tarry Town in the glen of Sleepy Hollow to ply his trade in educating young minds. He was a gullible and excitable fellow, often so terrified by locals' stories of ghosts that he would hurry through the woods on his way home, singing to keep from hysterics. Until late one night, he finds that maybe they're not just stories. What is that dark, menacing figure riding behind him on a horse? And what does it have in its hands?

Northanger Abbey, a satire of Gothic melodrama, is one of Jane Austen's most popular works. When Catherine Morland is launched into the politics and pitfalls of the Bath social season, she behaves with the cheerful open-mindedness of one of Jane Austen's most eligible classic heroines.

Perfect for fans of gothic literature and classic horror, Metzengerstein delves into the themes of doom, obsession, and the unrelenting power of fate. Prepare to be captivated by this dark tale that showcases Poe’s unparalleled ability to evoke fear and wonder in equal measure.

In The Assignation, Edgar Allan Poe weaves a haunting tale of romantic despair, secrecy, and fatalism. Set against the melancholic backdrop of Venice, the story follows the mysterious interaction between a nobleman and a woman caught in an unspoken bond of passion and tragedy. With his signature Gothic elegance, Poe explores the depths of human emotion, capturing both beauty and despair in this compelling and tragic narrative.

Admirado por la belleza de Dorian Gray, el artista Basil Hallward pinta un retrato al óleo del bello y presuntuoso joven y enlazan una amistad. Situada en la alta sociedad en la época victoriana en Londres, Dorian también conoce a Lord Henry Wotton, amigo de Basil, quien lo introduce en conversaciones filosóficas sobre la belleza y el hedonismo, y lo convence de que sus más valiosas posesiones son su belleza y su juventud.

William Legrand si è trasferito da New Orleans a Sullivan's Island, nella Carolina del Sud, dopo aver perso la fortuna di famiglia. Il narratore del racconto è un amico di Legrand e la storia inizia quando, una sera, gli fa visita per osservare un insolito scarabeo d'oro che questi ha trovato. Legrand porta l'attenzione dell'amico-narratore al carapce dello scarabeo, su cui sembrerebbe disegnato un teschio stilizzato. Confuso dall'attenzione morbosa che Legrand sembra prestare a questo sinistro particolare, il narratore si congeda per la notte.

El rancio abolengo de la tradición aristocrática británica, se enfrenta a su peor enemigo: una familia americana.....El gran fantasma de Canterville que había llevado durante más de 500 años una vida tranquila, aunque triste, se va a ver de repente enfrentado a la peor de las pesadillas que se podia imaginar: los Otis.El respeto al terror tradicional, provocado por los fantasmas medievales, el pánico generado por esos espíritus ancestrales.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) diede vita a una narrativa "americana" radicata nei valori originari dei coloni, stilisticamente impeccabile. Dopo la "Lettera scarlatta" tra le opere più interessanti di Hawthorne troviamo la raccolta dei "Racconti narrati due volte" da cui sono tratti questi tre racconti che mostrano una sapiente organizzazione formale; vi troviamo le dicotomie bene-male, intelletto-emotività, ragione-istinto, la tendenza a trovare una ragione morale ai comportamenti umani.

Edgar Allan Poe's tales of the deaths of three wives and each woman's embrace or rejection of the hereafter.