Classic Horror Fiction

Groundbreaking for the time in which they were written, the vampire stories of the 1800s have inspired many modern writers. Enjoy the thrilling stories that originated the genre of vampire fiction.

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.

Voici 7 nouvelles fantastiques courtes de H.P. Lovecraft : "Dagon", "Celephaïs", "La musique d'Eric Zann", "Mémoire", "Azatoth", "Les chats d'Ulthar", "Nyarlathotep". Stephen King a dit de Lovecraft qu'il était "le plus grand artisan du récit classique d'horreur du vingtième siècle." Ses sources d'inspiration, tout comme ses créations, se réfèrent à la notion d'horreur cosmique, selon laquelle l'être humain est insignifiant à l'échelle du cosmos qui lui est profondément étranger.

The Castle of Otranto is regarded as the first Gothic novel. The son of Manfred, Prince of Otranto, is mysteriously killed on his wedding day by a huge helmet. The event leads to a fast-paced story of jealous passion, intrigue, murder and supernatural phenomena unfolding in an atmosphere of thunderclaps, moonlight, and dark castle walls mirroring the inner turmoil of the characters themselves.

“You will all remain seated. Anyone who tries to get up, or even moves, will be shot. There will be no further warning. If you move you will be killed…” Four men seize a New York City subway train, and hold its passengers hostage. The identities of the hijackers are unknown. Their demands...

Un ministre venu des Etats-Unis fait l'acquisition d'un manoir anglais, hanté par un fantôme depuis plus de trois siècles. Le fantôme parviendra-t-il à perpétuer la tradition et à semer la terreur au sein de cette famille pragmatique et moderne ? "Lorsque M. Hiram B. Otis, le ministre d'Amérique, fit l'acquisition de Canterville-Chase, tout le monde lui dit qu'il faisait là une très grande sottise, car on ne doutait aucunement que l'endroit ne fût hanté."

In The Dunwich Horror, H.P. Lovecraft weaves a tale of cosmic terror and ancient forces unleashed. The story is set in the remote, decaying town of Dunwich, where strange occurrences and dark rumors abound. When the Whateley family begins delving into forbidden knowledge, they unleash a horrifying entity beyond human comprehension. As the terror escalates, the townsfolk are forced to confront an ancient evil that threatens to consume everything.

Private investigator Charles Maddox is surprised when he is approached by Edward Tulkinghorn for help. The feared and shadowy attorney offers Charles a handsome price he can't refuse to do some sleuthing for a client. Charles learns that Sir Julius Cremorne has been receiving threatening letters, and now Tulkinghorn wants him to find and stop whoever is responsible. But what starts as a simple open-and-shut case swiftly escalates into something bigger and much darker. As he cascades toward a collision with powerful forces, Charles will need all the assistance he can get…

The Conjuring meets The Vow! This terrifying audiobook tells the story of a girl, a dark angel, and the cult hellbent on taking over her small, coastal town. Vera Martinez wants nothing more than to escape Roaring Creek and her parents' reputation as demonologists. Not to mention she's the...

In Edgar Allan Poe's eerie title story, an old man's diseased eye drives the narrator to murder. But while the murderer can rid himself of the eye, he can't silence the old man's heart.

Sparks fly when bitter exes are forced to team up for an elaborate Feywild heist, in this cozy fantasy romance by the bestselling author of the Kingston Cycle and Even Though I Knew the End. Saeldian has sworn never to fall in love. That oath isn’t just a personal promise, but rather a magical...

Volume 11 begins with Doug's well-researched insight into the stories and their authors. This is followed by Edgar Allan Poe’s highly acclaimed gothic romance "Ligeia", Ambrose Bierce's haunting "A Fruitless Assignment", H. P. Lovecraft's dark and disturbing "Pickman's Model", Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sinister masterpiece "Blue John Gap", and more.

What if horror didn’t crawl, speak, or breathe—but fell from the sky? The Colour Out of Space is not just a story; it’s a chilling descent into a nightmare beyond human understanding. When a strange meteorite crashes onto a quiet New England farm, it leaves behind something impossible to describe—an unnatural presence that seeps into the land, the animals, and the people who live there. Crops rot, livestock change, and the air itself feels wrong as an invisible force spreads with silent, relentless intent.

Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, was an Irish writer known also by the Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo. His book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, comprises two parts, the first being the "Kwaidan Proper" and the second, "Insect-Studies", which consists of an essay each on ants, butterflies and mosquitos. According to the author, most of the folk tales and ghost stories in the first part were translated from old Japanese texts. The themes encompass resurrection, sacrifice, magic, and the realm of dreams.

The first gothic novel! Manfred, the lord of the castle intends to wed his son to a lovely princess. But after the untimely death of his son, Manfred takes up the task of trying to marry the princess Isabella. She does not desire to marry Manfred, and steals away with the help of a peasant named Theodore.

Paru en 1887 avec d'autres récits, "Le Horla" est incontestablement le plus original et le plus effrayant de tous les contes fantastiques de Maupassant. Pour l'écrire, l'auteur s'est documenté auprès du docteur Charcot, célèbre spécialiste des névroses et des hystéries. Mais surtout, il s'est probablement inspiré des troubles nerveux qui commençaient alors à le détruire et qui allaient bientôt l'empoter.

Writing to her only friend from her deathbed, Mathilda finally reveals the history that led to her isolated life of despairing melancholy. Of her mother dying in childbirth, her father's confession of his incestuous desire and subsequent suicide, and her relationship with a handsome young poet that fails to reverse Matilda's emotional withdrawal or prevent her lonely death. The haunting and relentlessly self-examining voice of Mary Shelley's protagonist is a bare narrative of trauma of a brave woman's failed search for love, atonement, and redemption.

It's midnight. Turn out the lights, cuddle with your true love, and shiver to fright-meisters Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and H. P. Lovecraft. Quicken your pulse with the elegant terror of Henry James, Edith Wharton, and Guy de Maupassant. Chortle at the black glee of H. H. Munro and Ambrose Bierce.

When we left Sophie Edwards at the end of Savy Wisdom 2, Sophie had earned her joy: loving husband, beautiful baby, successful career. The only gray cloud in Sophie’s life was the death of her dear friend and mentor, Savy, also known to the world as billionaire Stephen Alexander Vaughan.

In an isolated castle deep in the Austrian forest, Laura leads a solitary life with only her ailing father for company. Until one moonlit night, a horse-drawn carriage crashes into view, carrying an unexpected guest—the beautiful Carmilla. So begins a feverish friendship between Laura and her mysterious, entrancing companion. But as Carmilla becomes increasingly strange and volatile, prone to eerie nocturnal wanderings, Laura finds herself tormented by nightmares and growing weaker by the day.