Classic Horror Fiction

"Here is a nice thing for a lady now - this hand-glass: fifteenth century; comes from a good collection, too; but I reserve the name of my customer, who was just like yourself, my dear sir, the nephew and sole heir of a remarkable collector." The dealer, while he thus ran on in his dry and biting voice, had stooped to take the object from its place; and, as he had done so, a shock had passed through Markheim.

I met a man in the Strand one day that I knew very well - though I had not seen him for years. We walked together to Charing Cross, and there we shook hands and parted. Next morning - I learnt, for the first time, that the man had died six months before.

Here is a compelling tale sure to delight the most discerning reader of Victorian tales of terror and the supernatural.

A doctor is sitting by his fire one evening when his peace is disturbed by a visitor: a tall woman, dressed in mourning and wearing a thick black veil. It is clear that she is in distress, and she tells him that she has come in a desperate bid to save someone dear to her who is in deadly peril. But she will not let the doctor attend to the patient immediately, insisting that he must wait until nine o’clock the following day - and the dreadful reason becomes apparent when the doctor arrives the next morning.

In a certain portion of a certain Australian Colony, two miners, when out prospecting in what was then, as now, one of the dreariest parts of the Island Continent, chanced upon a rich find. But before they could enjoy their riches, the field was declared abandoned, and the dead were left to take their last long sleep, undisturbed by the clank of windlass or the blow of pick.

A young, hard-up aristocrat decides to visit his wealthy relative in the hope of obtaining a loan. When he arrives at Greylands Court, he is warmly greeted by his cousin, but his hostess is strangely hostile. However, her husband urges the young man to pay no attention to her, and invites him to tour his menagerie. There he sees the star of his cousin’s collection: a sleek, black Brazilian puma.

The Leopard Man, with his sad, dreamy eyes, seems oppressed by gloom. But all attempts to get his story out of him end in frustration: he seems to lack imagination. Until, finally, he reveals the tale of the lion-tamer and the man who hated him…

Un hombre descubre las notas de su difunto tío y se ve envuelto en una conspiración que involucra a un antiguo dios oceánico y sus violentos seguidores.

During a late-night horse ride, the lovelorn schoolteacher Ichabod Crane passes through the sites of familiar ghost stories. It is dark and the forest is full of spooky sounds. He thinks his imagination is getting the best of him, but suddenly he finds himself being pursued by a shadowy figure. To his horror, Ichabod realizes that the figure has no head on his shoulders, but instead holds his head in front of him on the saddle. Ichabod races to safety at the other side of the bridge, only to turn around and see the horseman’s head hurled directly at him.

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first time. Horror, mystery and suspense abound in this collection of stories from the king of ghostly tales, M. R. James.

El irlandes Bram Stoker, que supo sobreponerse a la invalidez que lo aquejo en la infancia para convertirse en notable atleta, recogio esos temores al crear el personaje del Conde Dracula, un vampiro que tiene que alimentarse de sangre humana para sobrevivir.

Donovan DeChance is a collector of ancient manuscripts and books, a practicing mage, and a private investigator. He is also a very private man, and he is in love. When he invites his partner and lover, Amethyst, for a quiet dinner, she has no idea of his true intention. Donovan has planned a sharing - a vision that will give her the keys to his early life - the origins of his power - and a lot more than she bargained for. The story leads to the town of Rookwood in 1842.

Mary W. Shelley (1797-1851)Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin nació el 30 de agosto de 1797 en Londres (Inglaterra). Era hija única del filósofo William Godwin y la escritora feminista Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary creció y se educó en un ambiente intelectual y progresista, que marcaría fuertemente su personalidad.

Don Alvaro, a young but wise man, invokes Satan in a goetic-style magical ritual. Upon seeing the young Alvaro, Beelzebub falls in love with him and assumes the appearance of a beautiful young woman. In the journey that unfolds, Satan, disguised as a woman, tries to seduce Alvaro who rejects his advances lest he lose his precious virginity.

Il giovane Victor Frankenstein, dopo aver acquisito conoscenze mediche e dopo aver studiato i fenomeni che riguardano il corpo umano post-mortem, realizza il suo sogno, regalando vita a una creatura dall’aspetto deforme e con una forza immane, formata unendo parti di corpi morti. Dopo diverse vicissitudini, il mostro lo supplica di toglierlo da un’insopportabile solitudine e di creare per lui una compagna. Il rifiuto da parte del suo creatore suscita l’ira incontenibile della creatura.

En sus escritos aborda lo misterioso, incomprensible y que esta más allá de lo que puede entender nuestra razón, lo "sobrenatural". H. P. Lovecraft es uno de los autores que sobresalen en los cuentos de horror, con un mundo salido y creado por su inconsciente lleno de pesadillas y horrores.

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

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a horror story by American author Washington Irving. Written while Irving was living abroad in Birmingham, England, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was first published in 1820. It is among the earliest examples of American fiction with enduring popularity, especially during Halloween because of a character known as the Headless Horseman believed to be a Hessian soldier who lost his head to a cannonball in battle.

Young Giovanni arrives in Padua to discover a lush and mysterious garden on the estate of the mysterious Doctor Rappaccini. Amidst the verdant and exotic foliage, Giovanni finds love in the form of Beatrice - the Doctor's daughter. What deadly secret does the young girl and her father keep hidden?

The house on Benefit Street is shunned. With a dark forbidding exterior, a garden overrun by corrupt weeds and bent malformed trees, it simply looks wrong. The locals know its history, know how many people that house has killed, and fear it. Dr Elihu Whipple is not afraid of the house, he's fascinated by it and its history, and now he's decided to investigate its horrifying secret.