Classics Literature Horror

The new Jim Carrey movie, Me, Myself, and Irene, hits theaters this weekend! We recommend listening to the original tale of a man with an evil twin, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as a warm-up for this summer blockbuster.

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.

The Victorian-era writers featured in this collection are known for their power of invention and command of horror and the supernatural. Included are "A Watcher by the Dead" by Ambrose Bierce; "The Body Snatchers" by Robert Louis Stevenson; "The Adventure of the German Student" by Washington Irving; "Dickon the Devil" by J. Sheridan Le Fanu; "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe; and "The Open Watcher" by Saki.

It has always been the prerogative of genius to batter on the portals of the Unknowable - and then thrust his soul into the crack, like the little Dutch boy, to keep the devil out. The satanic legends surrounding the unbelievable career of the great concertist Paganini leave little doubt that somewhere there is a window such as Erich Zann's, beyond which lies a world more terrible than imagination can grasp, where science dwindles to zero and incredible passions rage as winds in a vacuum.

During a canoe trip on the Danube, two men are forced to stop on an island due to the current. What was supposed to be a peaceful temporary camping experience turns into a disturbing and supernatural ordeal: the willows covering the island seem to move and whisper in the wind, giving the impression of being alive; the presence of hostile and terrifying invisible entities is perceived, casting doubt on every capacity for rational thought.

An Antarctic expedition runs up against a mountain range the rivals the Himalayas, and a cave concealing an ancient evil. Inside this nightmarish cavern the intrepid band of explorers make a horrifying and tragic discovery - a discovery that is best buried deep in the barren, frozen wastes of ancient Antarctica.

"The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" is a novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Begun probably in the autumn of 1926, the draft was completed on January 22, 1927 and it remained unrevised and unpublished in his lifetime. It is both the longest of the stories that make up his Dream Cycle and the longest Lovecraft work to feature protagonist Randolph Carter. Along with his 1927 novel "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward", it can be considered one of the significant achievements of that period of Lovecraft's writing.

In a fog-wreathed London, the respected Dr Jekyll’s experiments on the dual nature of man unleash a brute that feels no moral restraint or remorse. Although excited by this freedom, Jekyll discovers that he is unable to control the power of his vicious alter ego and is faced with shameful discovery or ignominious death.

Two star-crossed lovers, whose families fought and killed each other during a civil war in France, try to find their way to forgiveness and reconciliation. The heroine's plan? Sleeping on St Catherine's Couch - a terrifying ledge above the Loire where the faithful may dream of Heaven's advice. Despite the advice from King Henry and the Countess Villeneuve's faithful servant, the lovers leave their fate up to the dream.

Here is the most famous of all tales of vampirism and an enduring classic. Jonathan Harker's journeys to Transylvania and the discovers the un-dead Count Dracula. Upon his return to England, Professor Van Helsing joins the dark struggle to overcome the evil Count. Only with a pursuit back to Transylvainia can the battle between good and evil finally prove decisive.

The two stories in this collection, The Shunned House and The Dunwich Horror, are notable demonstrations of Lovecraft’s ability to build and sustain narratives permeated with a unique flavor of foreboding and horror.

Feel the breath-taking tingle of suspense. Share the captivating horror of the supernatural in these six complete stories presented by a masterful reader.

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. A skilled and imaginative cast, including Brian Cox as Van Helsing and Heathcote Williams as Dracula, brings this classic horror story to life!

Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol" is a timeless Christmas story beloved by generations of readers. Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean, miserable, bitter old man with no friends. One cold Christmas Eve, three ghosts take him on a scary journey to show him the error of his nasty ways. By visiting his past, present and future, Scrooge learns to love Christmas and the people all around him.

When modern-day occultist Aaron Pace discovers the secrets of inter-dimensional travel via a mystical pathway called The Labyrinth, he wastes no time in exploring a multitude of strange new worlds and alternate realities. But then, Aaron finds himself trapped in the most bizarre dimension of all - a place where dinosaurs coexist with giant robots, where cowboys fight reptilian lizard people, and where even the grass can kill you. This is a world populated by the missing and the disappeared, a world where myth is reality and where the extinct is reborn.

Basil Elton is a lighthouse keeper prone to fantasies - especially one recurring fantasy of a man in white robes on a white ship that only appears on a full moon. During this fantasy, Elton goes with the man on his ship, following an azure bird. Despite the man’s warnings that no man has ever returned from one of these realms, Elton asks that he take him to legendary land of hope. Their journey takes them to the end of the world, and instead of toppling over the side and dying, Elton wakes up on the rocks of his lighthouse next to the first shipwreck in his time as lightkeeper.

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.

Qui pourrait croire que derrière cette paisible ménagère, si tendre et si attentionnée avec son mari, se cache une terrible meurtrière ? Et cette logeuse débordante d'amabilité et de gentillesse, comment ne pas lui faire confiance ? Mais attention ! Les apparences sont parfois trompeuses... Voici quatre histoires à l'humour plutôt macabre dont la lecture vous fera frémir !

This collection features four spine-tingling horror stories to entice your imagination, including "Bewitched" by Edith Wharton, "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe, "The Body Snatcher" by Robert Louis Stevenson, and "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. Each story is chillingly enhanced by music and sound effects. Four Classic Horror Stories is best listened to by candle light at the midnight hour, when the wind howls ‘round the house and ghosts whisper from the dark shadows!

They're an iconic part of history's most celebrated birth. But what do we really know about the Three Kings of the Nativity, besides the fact that they followed a star to Bethlehem bearing strange gifts? The Bible has little to say about this enigmatic trio. But leave it to Seth Grahame-Smith, the brilliant and twisted mind behind Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to take a little mystery, bend a little history, and weave an epic tale.