Mystery

John Polidori is the least regarded figure in the history of literary vampirism and yet his novella The Vampyre (1819) is perhaps 'the most influential horror story of all time' (Frayling). Polidori's story transformed the shambling, mindless monster of folklore into a sophisticated, seductive aristocrat that stalked London society rather than being confined to the hinterlands of Eastern Europe. Polidori's Lord Ruthven was thus the ancestor of the vampire as we know it. This collection is a first book-length critical study that explores the genesis of Polidori's vampire. It tracks his bloodsucking progeny across the centuries and maps his disquieting legacy from the melodramatic vampire theatricals in the 1820s, through further Gothic fictions and horror films, to twenty-first-century paranormal romance. It includes a critique of the fascinating and little-known The Black Vampyre (1819) - a text inspired by Polidori and the first Black vampire in fiction. Leading and emerging scholars of the vampire and Gothic provide innovative analyses of the variations on monstrosity and deadly allure spawned by Polidori's revenant. The collection advances from the ground-breaking research of Open Graves, Open Minds: Representations of Vampires and the Undead from the Enlightenment to the Present Day and the first special issue of Gothic Studies devoted to vampires. Appended is an annotated edition of the text of The Vampyre and supplementary material.Polidori died a suspected suicide aged 25; he has been sorely neglected. This stimulating collection makes a coherent case for the importance of John Polidori's tale and redeeming 'poor Polidori'.

Crighton Smythe could see how everyone was going to die - except himself. In his own words, let him tell you the story of how he perished. Where is he now?Discover for yourself.

Bata, an eleven-year-old girl tormented by nightmares, wakes up one night to find herself standing sentinel before her cousin's door. Her skin, hair, and eyes have turned a dazzling white colour, which even the medicine-man can't heal. Her cousin is to get married the next morning, but only if she can escape the murderous attack of a ghostbride, who used to be engaged to her groom.Through the night, Bata battles the vengeful ghost and finally vanquishes it before collapsing. On awakening, she has no recollection of the events. And when the medicine-man tries to exorcise the entities clinging to her body as a result of her supernatural possession, Bata dies on the exorcism mat. There begins her journey.She is taken into Ibaja-La, the realm of dead brides, by Mmu?-Ka-Mmu?, the ghost-collector of the spirit realm. There she meets the ghosts of brides from every culture who died tragically before their weddings; both the kind and the malevolent. Bata is given secret powers to fight the evil ghost-brides before being sent back to the human realm, where she must learn to harness her new abilities as she strives to protect those whom she loves.

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A community driven by oil and cotton - a town where everyone knows everyone else's business. Tolly Driver, seventeen, a good kid with more potential than application, exists on the outskirts with his best friend, Amber. They navigate the hellscape of the teenage social scene, sticking together in a place that doesn't know how to be different.But when they go to a fateful party at Deek Masterton's house - a party that ends in a series of gruesome, brutal and extravagant murders - Tolly's world gets flipped upside-down. Because some slashers are born in violence and retribution, some were born that way - and some were just in the wrong place, at the wrong time...

Across Italy there are many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate to the coast or to cities. The beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina is among them, but its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild-selling abandoned homes to anyone in the world for a single Euro, as long as the buyer promises to live there for at least five years.It's a no-brainer for American couple Tommy and Kate Puglisi. Both work remotely, and Becchina is the home of Tommy's grandparents, his closest living relatives. It feels like a romantic adventure, an opportunity the young couple would be crazy not to seize. But from the moment they move in, they both feel a shadow has fallen on them. Tommy's grandmother is furious, even a little frightened, when she realizes which house they've bought.There are rooms in an annex at the back of the house that they didn't know were there. The place makes strange noises at night, locked doors are suddenly open, and when they go to a family gathering, they're certain people are whispering about them, and about their house, which one neighbor refers to as The House of Last Resort. Soon, they learn that the home was owned for generations by the Church, but the real secret, and the true dread, is unlocked when they finally learn what the priests were doing in this house for all those long years...and how many people died in the strange chapel inside. While down in the catacombs beneath Becchina...something stirs.

The Cursed House. What happens when curiosity takes over you? What happens when all your instincts are on the line? Be ready to lose all of your instincts to get out of there, except one.

Paulie Zahn is a sergeant in the army, awarded with the Purple Heart, an Air Medal with a V for valor, and a Distinguished Flying Cross. One fateful meeting with a captivating woman during her vacation leads Paulie on a roller coaster of events that change her life forever.Spartak Newmark and his company has been interested in Sgt. Paulie Zahn since before her attack. After her conversion, her skills that she learned in the army as well as her new-found vampire talents make her indispensable for the Newmark Industries and their vampire coven. But someone else surfaces in their area that has become too interested in Paulie as well. A group of rogue vampires created by Newmark's adversaries begin stalking Paulie, considering her their property as she was created by one of their own. Now, Paulie along with the Newmark clan must discover the den of the rogue vampires and eliminate them before they get their hands on her.

The offer of a job over the closed winter season, taking care of The Chine, seemed the perfect escape Justyna needed. Leaving a violent breakup, this was the chance to start again, save money and distance herself from her past. She accepted the offer without hesitation, unaware that The Chine hid a dark, historic evil; one so sinister that the Church helped the estate owners hide for generations. Justyna soon made herself at home. Alone, she found solace in the free bar, helping her forget her violent past, her stupor making her oblivious to the disturbing events unfolding around her. Soon she became uneasy. Feeling she was not alone, she ventured out. She met Steven, the heir to the local estate, and innocently invited him hack to The Chine. This is when the true evil began to rise, angered by the intrusion of the family that condemned it so long ago. Now the pair must fight or die.

Happily engaged to the poet Amandus, Fräulein Anna is horrified to discover that a beautiful ring, mysteriously deposited upon her finger whilst tending her kitchen garden, forces her into marriage with the gnome Corduanspitz. Can Anna find any way of removing the ring? Will her poet lover shake off his passive demeanour and come to her aid? And has Corduanspitz truly relinquished all ties to his gnome heritage?Around a love story very much of its time, Hoffman arranges a narrative that brings to mind the most successful elements of contemporary magical realism and surreal comedy. Always entertaining, yet capable of a focused though subtle morality, The King's Bride brings disparate elements into a masterful harmony.

After one of their own people repeatedly fails to live up to a pact with the Devil, a petty and morally bankrupt village community is plagued by a swarm of deadly black spiders. Using a complex narrative structure, Gotthelf's cautionary novella shrewdly dissects the iniquitous social dynamics of rural life.First published in 1842, The Black Spider displays its author's talent for dark satire and realism, as well as the visionary powers of his imagination.

The secrets of the afterlife have never looked better in this limited edition, deluxe hardcover slipcase!

Copenhaghen, Denmark, 1905. The small Jewish ghetto is living in fear as a series of murders is shaking the population to their core. A young Jewish secretary is recruited by the Police to help them with their investigation from inside what they perceive as a very closed world. She quickly discovers that the murderer is using old superstitions as his template, leaving Kabbalistic symbols on his victims. Can she take down the monster? Will she become the next victim? The realistic art created by Christian Højgaard, gives a stunning look at Copenhaghen with its steep streets and a population living in poverty. The artist does not spare on depicting bloodshed: autopsied corpses, mutilated bodies, scenes in a butcher shop... Social violence meets physical violence. By focusing on the Jewish community, the plot draws a parallel between the violence suffered by the Jewish community then and the rise of anti-Semitism, with its terrible consequences in the 20th and 21st century. Meshugge ("crazy" in Yiddish) lifts the curtain on Scandinavian Jewish Horror like never before! It draws inspiration from both Jack the Ripper and rituals associated with Jewish culture, which are cruelly twisted by the murderer. Following the tradition of "Scandinavian noir," Meschugge offers a deep dive into horror, making it an appealing read for fans of the genre.

She lives in their dreams. They die in hers. Nothing good can grow in the forgotten town of Bedford. After the closure of the paper mill, the town has become a wasteland. A decade of layoffs has caused a collective bitterness, leading many inhabitants to alcoholism, crime and abuse. The worst symptom, however, is the nightmare they all share every single night. Susan Marley haunts their dreams. The object of derision, lust and fear, she wanders the town barefoot, never saying a word. But when she dies, betrayed by life one final time, Bedford begins to suffer horrors far more terrifying than any vision. What dark secrets has Susan Marley been keeping? And why has she come back? For fans of A. M. Shine and Rebecca Netley, The Keeper is a chilling small-town horror from Bram Stoker Award winner Sarah Langan. 'Inhabits the mind like a dark, lingering smoke' Jack Ketchum, author of Offspring 'Sarah Langan combines a genuinely poetic sensibility with a taste for horror's most bravura excesses' Peter Straub, author of Ghost Story

Exorcists Rokuro and Benio unleash serious supernatural action while purifying the world of monsters.

A young woman, committed to an asylum, undergoes a bizarre treatment that unlocks a vast well of power in this cosmic horror novella, perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher.