Classic Horror Fiction

Frankenstein is the most famous novel by Mary Shelley: a dark Faustian parable of science misused that was an immediate success on its publication in 1818. Purporting to be the record of an explorer, it tells of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but wayward student of science, who builds a human from dead flesh. Horrified by what he has done, he abandons his creation. The creature, an outcast for his horrific appearance, learns language and becomes civilized. In time, he attempts to join society but is rejected because he is assumed to have murderous intentions.

A phantom has haunted the Paris Opera House for years. Now he is infatuated with singer Christine Daaé. Despite an astonishing debut performance, Christine fails to win the lead in Faust, and the Phantom’s cursed retaliation on the opera house is spectacularly fatal. As the chandelier falls, he kidnaps Christine, and through hidden passages and behind trapdoors, shares his life story with her. To secure her escape, Christine promises to stay true to him forever. But when the Phantom learns of the prima donna’s intention to flee, his passion turns terrifying.

In the summer of 1816, Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley - the two great poets of their age - and a lovely 17-year-old named Mary Shelley were partying and reading ghost stories on the shores of Lake Geneva. They dared each other to come up with the scariest story. Young Mary was the only one to rise to the challenge, and she gave birth to the entire horror and science fiction genres by crafting a brilliant and chilling account of what it means to be human, what responsibilities we have to each other, and how far we can go in tampering with nature.

In the frozen wastes north of Russia, a lone seaward vessel seeks the elusive Northwest Passage. Suddenly they sight a dog sled with a gargantuan figure in the shape of a man, driving the dogs northward to sure oblivion. The following day, they find another sled. This sled is filled with a European near death, and when asked what he is chasing, he simply replies, "to seek one who fled from me."

This volume starts with the famous M. R. James story of occult revenge, "Casting the Runes", about a slighted occultist out for murderous revenge using his diabolical black arts to achieve it. It was adapted into the equally chilling movie Night of the Demon in 1957. Next up is another famous classic, W. W. Jacobs' "The Monkeys Paw", a brilliantly written tale of greed and getting what you wish for. The third story is "Hop-Frog" by Edgar Allan Poe - a classic yarn about the grisly revenge conjured up by a mistreated court jester.

Amworth College, Connecticut - a place where the gates between our world and the Land of Faerie are thin and crumbling, a place where horrors really do lurk in the shadows, and evils in the gardens. A place where the fates of worlds really does hide within the brushstrokes of a forgotten painting. The House Across the Way is a dark fantasy novel by the World Fantasy Award-winning author of Throne of Bones.

Mysterious entities take possession of a long deserted castle creating fear among the residents of the adjacent village of Werst, in Transylvania. The village sends two men to the castle to investigate, but they are repulsed by what the men feel are "supernatural" means. The heroes of the story, Count Franz de Telek and his man Rotzko learn of the mystery while passing through the village and become determined to solve it.

Few ghost stories are as chilling as the ones written by Victorian writers. Featuring work by H.G. Wells, Edith Wharton, F.G. Loring and Florence Marryat, this second volume of eight enduring stories, some well-known, others less familiar, transport you to a cosy fireside to hear tales of disembodied voices, haunted objects and unknown entities lurking in the shadows cast by candlelight.

This collection of classic horror stories is sure to give you goose bumps, raise the hair on the back of your neck, and put some fright in your night. Includes Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper by Robert Bloch, Coin of the Realm by Charles L. Grant, Something Had to be Done by David Drake, The Graveyard Rats by Henry Kuttner, The Small Assassin by Ray Bradbury, Calling Card by Ramsey Campbell, The Words of Guru by C.M. Kornbluth, and Passengers by Robert Silverberg.

Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915), little known now, but a renowned writer in her time, gives us five tales of the "weird" as she might herself have said. Here we have five of her better known stories, peopled with jilted lovers, blood thirsty old ladies, and grand, old houses whose restless ancestors refuse to abandon them! The five tales: "The Cold Embrace", "The Shadow in the Corner", "At Chrighton Abbey", "Good Lady Ducayne", and "Eveline's Visitant".

In this atmospheric horror story, the city of the title is the ruin of a primordial site in the Arabian desert, thought to be more ancient than the first human civilization. In its heyday, the city flourished on the edge of the ocean. The inhabitants were a species of reptile looking like a hybrid of crocodile and seal, but with horns and protruding foreheads. They moved by crawling, so the remaining buildings have low ceilings.

The Riddle by Walter de la Mare is a haunting and mysterious tale about seven children sent to live with their elderly grandmother in a grand, old house. The house is full of charm, but the grandmother gives them one stern warning: they must never play near the ancient oak chest in the spare bedroom.

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.

Bram Stoker was an Irish author, and Dracula is his most famous book. Dracula was published in 1897. It was not the first vampire novel. For example, it draws on Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, who at one time was Stoker's employer in Dublin. But Dracula is without doubt the most famous vampire novel. It is narrated here by Tony Walker, producer and narrator of The Classic Ghost Stories Podcast.

In this classic, romantic ghost story, a governess on a remote country estate begins to believe her charges are possessed by the spirits of 2 dead former servants. Are her perceptions simply the fruit of her neuroses - or could they possibly be valid? A foray into the very heart of evil, Henry James's masterful novel is also remarkable for its psychological acuity and evocation of mood.

In 1827, Arthur Gordon Pym stowed away on the brig Grampus, set for the South Seas. Thus begins a saga of mutiny and butchery, recapture of the vessel by a loyal few, subsequent shipwreck and sufferings, and deliverance.

A London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. The work is commonly associated with the rare mental condition often called "split personality", referred to in psychiatry as dissociative identity disorder, where within the same body there exists more than one distinct personality. In this case, there are two personalities within Dr. Jekyll, one apparently good and the other evil.

"El color de más allá del espacio" es un relato corto de H.P. Lovecraft que sigue la experiencia de un científico y su alumno mientras estudian un meteorito que ha caído cerca de su granja. Descubren que el meteorito emite un color desconocido, que parece afectar a la vida y la percepción de la realidad en su entorno. Con el tiempo, el color comienza a tener efectos devastadores en los seres vivos y en el paisaje, transformándolos en formas grotescas y aberrantes. La narración explora temas como la alienación, la incomunicación y la fragilidad de la cordura humana frente a lo desconocido.

For a century Bram Stoker's Dracula has reigned supreme as the undisputed masterpiece of horror writing. We have all grown up under the shadow of the elegant Count, at once an attractive, brutal and erotic creature of the night. The gothic tale of Frankenstein and his construction of a human being which runs amok, has, with the help of numerous films, become one of the most vivid horror stories.

Before H.P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King and Anne Rice, Henry James wrote hair-raising stories that made horror a popular, sometimes controversial, widely-read literary form, and set the bar for all who followed. Stephen King considers James’ The Turn of The Screw one of the best horror novels ever penned.