Horror

Described by H P Lovecraft as 'the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere', Algernon Blackwood (CBE) was the acclaimed and prolific author of numerous ghost stories and horror tales. Throughout his lifetime, he wrote 14 novels, several children's books, a number of plays, and over 200 short stories.

This anthology opens with a selection of stories featuring his most influential character, occult detective Dr John Silence. The inspiration for the famous horror movie Cat People, 'Ancient Sorceries' (read by Philip Madoc), sees a timid tourist becoming enchanted by a sleepy French town whose residents have an oddly feline manner. It is followed by four chilling dramatisations starring Malcolm Hayes as Silence.

The winds shift nervously on the Kansas plain whispering of travelers lost and buried whispering of witches. Something dark and twisted has taken root at the Bender Inn . . .

At first the townspeople of Cherryvale welcome the rising medium Kate Bender and her family. Kate's messages from the Beyond give their tedious dreams hope and her mother's potions cure their little ills-for a price. No one knows about their other business the shortcut to a better life. And why shouldn't their family prosper? They're careful.

It's only from those who are marked those who travel alone and can easily disappear that the Benders demand their pound of flesh. But even a gifted seer like Kate can make a misstep. Now as the secrets festering beneath the soil of the family orchard threaten to bring them all to ruin the Benders must sharpen their craft-or vanish themselves.

The fully authorised chilling sequel to Susan Hill's' The Woman in Black' (9268). Autumn 1940. Children are being taken to the country for safety. Teacher Eve Parkins is in charge of one such group of evacuees, their destination is the desolate Eel Marsh House. Soon it becomes apparent that there is someone else in the house with them, someone Eve can't see but who is far more deadly than any number of German bombs...

When a geologist leads an expedition to the Antarctic plateau, his aim is to find rock and plant specimens. The barren landscape offers no evidence of any life-form—until they stumble upon the ruins of a lost civilization. But their discovery of the terrifying city of the Old Ones leads them to an encounter with an untold menace.

When an ageing rock band visit an old country house in an attempt to inspire some new material, they awaken more than their creativity in the woods surrounding the mansion. Their agent Troy is insistent that fame is within their grasp. But is the price of success too high?

The Beetle is a horror novel that was published in 1897 and significantly outsold Dracula, which appeared in the same year. A polymorphous Egyptian creature – the Beetle – seeks revenge on the eminent British politician Paul Lessingham for crimes committed against the disciples of an ancient cult. Although it is less well-known than Dracula to modern readers, The Beetle remains a leading example of the Gothic novel. The story is told from the perspectives of four different characters, concluding with the account of the detective Augustus Champnell. The action takes place within a three-day period in an undisclosed year in the 1800s.

Elizabeth Richmond is almost too quiet to be believed, with no friends, no parents, and a job that leaves her strangely unnoticed. But soon she starts to behave in ways she can neither control nor understand, to the increasing horror of her doctor, and the humiliation of her self-centred aunt. As a tormented Elizabeth becomes two people, then three, then four, each wilder and more wicked than the last, a battle of wills threatens to destroy the girl and all who surround her. The Bird's Nest is a macabre journey into who we are, and how close we sometimes come to the brink of madness.

When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse and arrives at Guardbridge, his estate on the Yorkshire moors, she thinks she has finally put darkness behind her. She is mistaken. 

Edward's sister, Iris, still lives in the family home. A taxidermist and medium, she urges Annie to watch out for black feathers - claiming that they mark the spot where a spirt has visited.

At first, Annie dismisses her warnings. But, before long, she begins to feel haunted. What exactly happened to Edward's first wife? Why is Iris so disturbed? And should Annie really be watching for signs from the dead - or is she the one being watched?

It's autumn in Harrow, but something is changing in the town besides the season. Because in that town there is an orchard, and in that orchard grows a new sort of apple: strange and beautiful, with skin so red it's nearly black. Take a bite of one of these apples and you will become stronger. More vital. More yourself, you will believe. But soon your appetite for the apples and their peculiar gifts will keep growing - and become darker.

This is what happens when the townsfolk discover the secret of the orchard. Soon it seems that everyone is consumed by an obsession with the magic of the apples… And then a stranger has come to town, a stranger who knows Harrow's secrets. Because it's harvest time, and the town will soon reap what it has sown.

In order to write a feature about a remote research station in Antarctica, journalist Michael Wilde joins a diving expedition which uncovers two bodies encased in ice. When they are brought to the surface and the ice begins to thaw the bodies start to reawaken and Michael is drawn into a story that started in the battlefields of the Crimea.

A collection of three ghoulish tales by Robert Louis Stevenson. Perfect for long winter nights, these stories have been specially selected to create an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, and will be enjoyed by fans of the macabre.

When Nate's father dies, he leaves behind a final gift for his son: his childhood home. Married now, Nate decides to move in with his wife, Maddie, and their son, Oliver, seeking peace from the chaos of the city. But it doesn't take long before things get strange in the night and even stranger by day. Because Nate was a child being abused by his father, and has never told his family. Because Maddie was a little girl who saw something she shouldn't have. Because something sinister, something hungry, walks in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of this town in rural Pennsylvania... And now, what happened all those years ago is happening again, and this time, it is happening to Oliver. When he meets a strange boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic, he has no idea that what comes next will put his family at the heart of a battle of good versus evil.

Ariel Panek, a promising young academic, is stranded in a lonely guesthouse on the Suffolk coast, his plane grounded by fog at Stanstead. He falls in with a family who appear to be commemorating an event. But this is no ordinary celebration. And this is no ordinary family…

Welcome to Chapel Croft. For Rev Jack Brooks and teenage daughter Flo it's supposed to be a fresh start. New job, new home. But, as Jack knows, the past isn't easily forgotten. And in a close-knit community where the residents seem as proud as they are haunted by Chapel Croft's history, Jack must tread carefully. Ancient superstitions as well as a mistrust of outsiders will be hard to overcome.

Yet right away Jack has more frightening concerns. Why is Flo plagued by visions of burning girls? Who's sending them sinister, threatening messages? And why did no one mention that the last vicar killed himself? 

Chapel Croft's secrets lie deep and dark as the tomb. Jack wouldn't touch them if not for Flo. But the past is catching up with Chapel Croft - and with Jack.

Remshi is the oldest vampire in existence. He is searching for the werewolf named Talulla, whom he believes is the reincarnation of his long lost - and only - love. But he is not the only one seeking Talulla. Hunted by the Militi Christi, a religious order hell-bent on wiping out werewolves and vampires alike, Remshi and Talulla must join forces to protect their families, fulfil an ancient prophecy and save both of their lives. Book three in the series.

The mesmerising tale of a cat with nine lives, and a relationship as ancient as time itself and just as powerful.

A SERIES OF STRANGE BIRTHS A young woman is rushed to the hospital with stabbing pains. The chief surgeon performs a C-section, and delivers a catastrophically malformed foetus that is somehow alive... A DEVASTATING ATTACK Sewage engineer Gemma is plunged into a ghostly darkness in the tunnel where she works. She escapes, but her boss goes missing in the chaos. He is later found alive... but his legs have been severed and his eyes pulled out. A SUPERNATURAL THREAT DC Jerry Pardoe and DS Jamila Patel of the supernatural squad must team up once more to solve the mystery and save the city. But, if they are to succeed, first they must delve into the dark arts of witchcraft...

When Holly applies for a job at the Paradise - one of the city's oldest cinemas, squashed into the ground floor of a block of flats - she thinks it will be like any other shift work. She cleans toilets, sweeps popcorn, avoids the belligerent old owner, Iris, and is ignored by her aloof but tight-knit colleagues who seem as much a part of the building as its fraying carpets and endless dirt. Dreadful, lonely weeks pass while she longs for their approval, a silent voyeur.

So when she finally gains the trust of this cryptic band of oddballs, Holly transforms from silent drudge to rebellious insider and gradually she too becomes part of the Paradise - unearthing its secrets, learning its history and haunting its corridors after hours with the other ushers. It is no surprise when violence strikes, tempers change and the group, eyes still affixed to the screen, starts to rapidly go awry...

Matthew's parents thought he was just going through a phase of talking to himself, and they waited for him to get over it. Then Matthew started doing things he couldn't do before, like counting in binary-code mathematics. So he told them about Chocky - the person who lived inside his head.

In the deep glens of Massachusetts, in the wild hills of Vermont, and in Australia's sandy wastes, unfathomable things lurk. Things that shine with an unnatural light, that speak and buzz strangely in the night, that prowl in the mind. Things not of our Earth. Widely considered to be the most significant writer of supernatural tales in the twentieth century, H.P. Lovecraft made a profound contribution to science fiction. From their singularly creepy atmospheres to their portrayal of extraordinary creatures and happenings, the three stories included in this collection - 'The Colour Out of Space', 'The Whisperer in the Darkness' and 'The Shadow Out of Time' - are peerless examples of the genre.

Noah Turner's family are haunted by monsters that are all too real. His bookish mother Margaret, his Lovecraft-obsessed father Harry, his eldest sister Sydney and the brilliant but awkward Eunice - the Turners each face their demons alone. When his terminally-ill father becomes obsessed with the construction of an elaborate haunted house - the Wandering Dark - the family grant his last wish, creating themselves a legacy, and a new family business in their grief. As the family falls apart, fighting demons of poverty, loss and sickness, the real monsters grow ever closer...

Captivated by books and stories, Rose dreams of a more fulfilled life, away from the confines of the Sunnyside Care Home where she works to support herself and her boyfriend. She hopes the situation will be short term. Charlotte Favell, an elderly resident, takes a strange, sinister interest in Rose, but offers an unexpected glimpse of enchantment. She has a mysterious and aged stack of letters about the Cottingley Fairies, the photographs made famous by Arthur Conan Doyle, but later dismissed as a hoax.

The author of the letters insists he has proof that the fairies exist; Rose is eager to learn more, but Charlotte only allows her to read on when she sees fit. Discovering she is unexpectedly pregnant, Rose feels another door to the future has slammed. The letters content grows more menacing, inexplicable events begin to occur inside her home, and Rose begins to entertain dark thoughts about her baby and its origins. Can this simply be depression? Or is something darker taking root?

A photograph taken at a Hollywood funeral leads Joseph Creed into a series of horrific events. Explicit sex and strong language.

Six eerie tales of love, life and the supernatural which will haunt and intrigue you.

There's something nasty in suburbia. In these deliciously dark tales, the daily commute turns into a nightmarish game of hide and seek, the loving wife hides homicidal thoughts and the concerned citizen might just be an infamous serial killer. In the haunting world of Shirley Jackson, nothing is as it seems and nowhere is safe, from the city streets to the country manor, and from the small-town apartment to the dark, dark woods...

Includes the following stories: 'The Possibility of Evil'; 'Louisa, Please Come Home'; 'Paranoia'; 'The Honeymoon of Mrs Smith'; 'The Story We Used to Tell'; 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'; 'Jack the Ripper'; 'The Beautiful Stranger'; 'All She Said Was Yes'; 'What a Thought'; 'The Bus'; 'Family Treasures'; 'A Visit'; 'The Good Wife'; 'The Man in the Woods'; 'Home'; 'The Summer People'.

The Price family, have for decades been snarled with the fate of the ancient forest of Goodmanswood. Here, Dr Lennox Price discovered a hallucinogenic moss that became the focus of a cult, and now it seems as if the whole forest can affect the minds of visitors. After Lennox is killed trying to return to his beloved wood, his widow seems to see and hear him in the trees - or is it a dark version of the Green Man that caresses her with leafy hands?

While on her daily walk with her dog in the nearby woods, our protagonist comes across a note, handwritten and carefully pinned to the ground with stones. Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn't me. Here is her dead body. Shaky even on her best days, she is also alone, and new to this area, having moved here from her long-time home after the death of her husband, and now deeply alarmed. Her brooding about the note grows quickly into a full-blown obsession, as she explores multiple theories about who Magda was and how she met her fate.

Her suppositions begin to find echoes in the real world, and the fog of mystery starts to form into a concrete and menacing shape. But is there either a more innocent explanation for all this, or a much more sinister one - one that strikes closer to home? In this triumphant blend of horror, suspense, and pitch-black comedy, we must decide whether the stories we tell ourselves guide us closer to the truth or keep us further from it.

Four gripping stories with cliff-hanging plots and chilling suspense. Contains some strong language and explicit sex.

Survivors of a nuclear conflict are forced to live below the streets but here they find the rats, demonic offspring of their irradiated forbears. They know that, in his weakened state, man has become their prey. X rated, contains graphic violence.

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned shipis wrecked off the coast of Whitby; a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival.

A collection of short stories, all on supernatural themes or filled with a physical terror reminiscent of Poe, from the enigmatic author of 'Dracula' (4878). 'Dracula's Guest' was originally part of the great novel, but was excised and published separately.

Four boyhood friends reunite each year in the remote forests of Maine. Each has his own troubles but this year a disoriented stranger stumbles into their midst mumbling about lights in the sky. Before long they are all plunged into a horrifying struggle with a creature from another world. X rated, contains graphic violence and explicit sex.

The last time the dream came, Sam was seven years old, and that was the night her parents were to die. Twenty-five years later, Sam's nightmares are starting to come true once more. Now a successful TV commercials producer, juggling her roles of career woman, wife and mother, she attempts to shut them out.  But soon Sam is faced with the reality of dreams in which her life and the lives of her family are threatened. In desperation, she consults the experts: a psychiatrist; a clairvoyant...but to no avail.  Sam is being inexorably drawn into a vortex of terror from which there is no escape....

1810 - the occasion of King George III's Golden Jubilee. The Morrigu, a creature from Celtic mythology, is accidentally trapped inside the world's first photograph. Two hundred years later, the photographer's descendant, Christopher Northway, is haunted by the Morrigu because he holds the key to its freedom, but if liberated the creature will unleash hell upon the world.

In this collection of short stories by one of the world's greatest storytellers, Stephen King explores a range of emotions and themes, and demonstrates his insight into the human spirit and its enduring capacity for both good and evil.

Another collection of classic tales about supernatural and psychological terror and of everyday life with unexpected and brilliant twists.