Historical Horror Fiction

There is lots of room for debate throughout the world about a man named Cartaphilus. Many people of good reputation claim to have spoken to him, and throughout history, some have claimed to have personally known him. There is no mention of Cartaphilus in the Bible, so many of us would write off these tales as folklore.

Dracula Comes to New York: Kim Newman returns to one of the great bestselling vampire tales of the modern era. Considered alongside I Am Legend and Interview with the Vampire as one of the stand-out vampire stories of the last century - this brand-new novel is the first in over a decade from the remarkable and influential Anno Dracula series. Newman’s dark and impish tale begins with a single question: What if Dracula had survived his encounters with Bram Stoker’s Dr. John Seward and enslaved Victorian England?

It is 1556 and the queen's astrologer, the prophet Nostradamus has uncovered a secret that could destroy the kingdom of France. The queen, Catherine de Medicis, a dabbler in black magic, has decided to get rid of the king's mistress by seeking out the legendary Undying Head of Menander the Magus, known as the Master of All Desires. But she does not know that evil befalls all those who wish upon this accursed object. And the head, in its coffer, has fallen into the possession of a charming, wryly perceptive but stubborn young woman: Sybille Artaud de la Roche.

Winter 1862, London. Adelaide McKee, a former prostitute, arrives on the doorstep of veterinarian John Crawford, a man she met once seven years earlier. Their brief meeting produced a child who, until now, had been presumed dead. McKee has learned that the girl lives - but that her life and soul are in mortal peril from a vampiric ghost. But this is no ordinary spirit; the bloodthirsty wraith is none other than John Polidori, the onetime physician to the mad, bad, and dangerous Romantic poet Lord Byron.

William’s bad luck is about to turn - for the worse. Trapped behind enemy lines on the eve of revolution, the British officer has evaded colonial militia so far. When he stumbles across a quiet village, his hopes of escaping to the relative safety of Boston suddenly look promising. Until he runs into something worse than vengeful patriots prowling the darkness. Caught between the undead and roving bands of minutemen, William devises a desperate plan to make it out with his life.

In 17th-century Hungary, Anna Darvulia has just begun working as a scullery maid for the young and glamorous Countess Elizabeth Báthory. When Elizabeth takes a liking to Anna, she’s vaulted to the dream role of chambermaid, a far cry from the filthy servants’ quarters below. She receives wages generous enough to provide for her family, and the Countess begins to groom Anna as her friend and confidante. It’s not long before Anna falls completely under the Countess’s spell - and the Countess takes full advantage.

Captain Stuart Monroe returns home from the Revolutionary War to find Thornton Hall threatened by a peacetime foe: debt. He knows the location of a treasure amassed to pay for the capture of Benedict Arnold that would restore his manor to its former glory. The catch: It's hidden in the graveyard and coveted by old enemies. Hettie Fairfax inherited the Sight from her Cherokee ancestors, and her otherworldly visitors warn her, and Stuart, away from the buried treasure. Half-dead from fever, she delivers a message: The treasure is cursed.

Abigail Argent stands out. Some people notice that she always wears gloves and shudder when they know why. The ones who know her best notice her ability with metal. Abigail's particular talent lies in the coloring of alloys, for seeing the beauty in a plain piece of metal and being able to draw it out. Her study leads her to discover a connection between her own craft and that of her favorite childhood myth: changing lead into gold.

The year is 1918. Alex White, a young American soldier recently wounded in the Great War, comes to Gatford to escape his troubled past. The pastoral English village seems the perfect spot to heal his wounded body and soul, but the neighboring woods are said to be haunted by capricious, even malevolent, spirits. He is warned to steer clear of the woods, and the perilous faerie kingdom it borders, but Alex cannot help himself.

From New York Times best-selling authors and illustrators Mike Mignola and Tom Sniegoski come two thrilling antiheroes: Grim Death and Bill the Electrocuted Criminal, battling against crime. An uneasiness festers upon the city streets, threatening the peace and safety of law-abiding citizens. A war is escalating, and it seems as though the good and righteous are being crushed beneath the unholy weight of evil's onslaught.

Lacey Elliot has been a woman without a past since the day her mother whisked her off to Charlottesville, refusing for 30 years to speak of her father, her family or her history. But when Lacey intercepts a desperate letter from an aunt in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, she sees her chance to confront the past that has terrified her mother and to fill in the gaps in her own life. Against the charm and the colorful, turbulent history of the picturesque town, the violent history of Lacey's own heritage is about to repeat itself.

A rollicking good romance set in 1685 in Cromwell's tumultuous days with pirates, brigands, roundheads, parliament, fantasy, romance, castles, moats, the occult, sorcery, and more in play that should bring more men in as listeners, as women have been for decades. The author was the leading British play lyricist for 50 years, with 80 plays, which underscores the quality of his writing in this, his only book.

When her grandmother dies, Catherine Llewellyn finds herself alone in the world. Her inheritance is a comfort, but her grandmother's will states she must go to the family home, Langland Hall, to live with her two unknown cousins, Garth and Jonathon. The harsh and inhospitable coast is a sharp contrast to Catherine's previous country existence, and the welcome she receives from Garth is equally cool. Only Jonathon seems happy to welcome her to her new home. But no sooner has she arrived than she realises that something dangerous is waiting for her.

Good Friday. 1917. The end begins. Lieutenant David Durant and his band of survivors run for their lives, seeking the sanctuary of the fortress at Verdun. A hammer of retribution falls and sends them careening in different directions, running for their lives, running from themselves. Ensnared by the weight of their pasts, hunted by monsters in the form of men, they fight toward safety as the darkness consuming the world begins to capture and devour them one at a time.

Lady Olivia Sophia Allen Townsend is not only young and beautiful, but considered by most in her polite social circle to be far too eccentric for her own good. Olivia’s been able to see and speak to spirits since she was very young, but the years of shunning by her peers caused Olivia to turn her back on those who need her the most; the spirits caught between two worlds. That is until the night her best friend Lilly comes to her asking for help. You see, Lilly can’t remember what happened to her, and finds herself in need of Olivia’s unique gifts to help her figure it out.

1940s Hollywood detective Sam Rock might survive Summer’s lure, the last days of Autumn and Winter’s grave, but he will struggle to welcome Spring. The Seasons of Sam Rock is noir novel with a wry sense of humor. In it, Sam must find Summer Banning’s missing brother, solve Autumn Moran’s vicious murder and discover who's buried in an unmarked grave freshly dug in the back corner of an unkempt cemetery come Winter.

Mr. Stoker and I met each dawn on the East Cliff in the shadow of Whitby Abbey. On a bench overlooking the sea, Bram soon became the confidant I had yearned for. So, in faith, I shared the events that tormented my youth and left me haunted. And after that chance encounter, I will forever live within the pages of what became Bram Stoker’s masterpiece, for it was my story that inspired Dracula.

When Elizabeth Bennet and Catherine Morland travel into Kent to visit the recently married Collinses in the village of Hunsford, Lizzy is annoyed to discover Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam at Rosings, while Cathy is certain that novel-worthy romance will ensue. Neither expect the sudden arrival of a vampire into their midst, and Mr. Darcy’s ardent admiration of Elizabeth Bennet is shaken by her expert handling of his frantic, fanged sister.

The mayor is running for governor. His wife is suddenly distant, distracted, and unhappy. And his new home is haunted. Has his wife seen a ghost? The elderly ladies next door watch day and night from their attic, peering into his windows. Watching for what? The mayor's wife has a secret that she has never confided to anyone. Rumors begin to appear in the newspapers hinting at the scandal. Will the scandal harm his campaign? What is her secret?

A duke who has imprisoned himself in an attic for nine years is in need of a wife...Evander Meyrick, the Duke of Sutherton, has lived the past 13 years under a curse. He didn’t know just how bad the curse was until every lady he married died within a year of their wedding day. Now he has a step-daughter, Tabitha, who is ready for her first Season, and he longs to give her something he can’t have for himself: A normal life. A spinster who thought her best years were behind her may find a second chance so long as the curse doesn’t touch her...