Lock the doors and turn on the lights! These seven blood-chilling tales of the macabre are a showcase of the supernatural that is sure to haunt your dreams. Includes John Polidori's genre-defining "The Vampyre," Edward Bulwer-Lytton's "Monos and Daimonos," Clemence Housman's "The Werewolf," plus 4 anonymous tales, including "The Curse" and "The Victim."

"The Vampyre" is a 1819 novel by John William Polidori. Considered to be the progenitor of vampire fiction, this chilling tale is not to be missed by lovers of the supernatural, and it would make for a worthy addition to any collection. John William Polidori (1795 - 1821) was an English writer and physician famous for his connection to the Romantic movement. He is commonly considered to be the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction. Other notable works by this author include: "The Diary of Dr. John William Polidori" (1816), "On the Punishment of Death" (1816), and "Ximenes, The Wreath and Other Poems" (1819). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

Not dissimilar to modern day stories, ́The Vampyre ́ offers an interesting mix of fangs and romance, and Polidori's tale of Lord Ruthven is a spooky love story that will leave you hiding under your duvet. The young Aubrey is captivated by the mysterious Lord Ruthven, who takes her to Rome. A disagreement between the two, leads Ruthven to travel onward to Greece on his own where he falls in love with Ianthe. She tells him about the tales and myths of vampires but is found killed shortly after. Without connecting the two incidents, Aubrey reunites with Ruthven once more and she rejoins him on his travels, which leads to her eventual heartbreak. Fans of ́Twilight ́, ́Dracula ́, and ́Buffy the Vampire Slayer ́ will enjoy this short story, which is regarded as the first vampire novel to be published. Known by some as the creator of vampire fiction, John William Polidori was an English writer and physician. ́The Vampyre ́ is his most successful piece of writing and the first published modern vampire story. A friend to Lord Byron, Polidori also brainstormed with Percy Bysshe Shelley and a soon-to-be Mary Shelley. Mary later worked on a tale with her husband which would become 'Frankenstein'. Polidori died at his father's London house aged 25, weighed down by depression and gambling debts.

A Rare Treasure of English Literature. Much before Bram Stoker's Dracula, there was "The Vampyre: A Tale," first published in 1819. Created in the summer of 1816 by Dr. John William Polidori, Lord Byron's physician and a close friend of Frankenstein's author Mary Shelly, "The Vampyre" tells a fascinating tale of vampirism in the early 19th century. Part of the project Immortal Literature Series of classic literature, this is a new edition of the classic work published in 1819 - not a facsimile reprint. Obvious typographical errors have been carefully corrected and the entire text has been reset and redesigned to enhance readability.

Night Of The Harvest Moon: Vampyre is a gothic horror narrative, one that delves deeply into the souls of its characters. The tale begins in the late 1800's in Central Europe, primarily Moldavia and Transylvania and expands to London and Sweden. Harvest Moon is a story of immense reprisals, hatred, and passion. Sorcery, demonology, and religion are essential elements that interweave within the physical and supernatural planes of existence of all those involved. The Vampyre learns of ancient knowledge that existed long before Egyptian civilization, the Ta Merians. The nosferatu also learns of other dimensions and secrets of man and god, another race of beings before the existence of humankind. With this knowledge the Vampyre's revenge is set in place with hatred that far surpasses that of, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed and Kremhild of the Die Nibelungen, and the avenger of Siegfried. The Command Demon, Karcist and Rulers of the North and South Airts, Azazel and Pazuzu with the aid of the Bloodstone Ematille, are summoned by the antagonist Dijon. They are to do his bidding in the Circle Of Magic for one sole purpose: the sacrifice of human life in order to gain his immortal existence.

By the early 1830s the old school of Gothic literature was exhausted. Late Romanticism, emphasising as it did the uncertainties of personality and imagination, gave it a new lease of life. Gothic—the literature of disturbance and uncertainty—now produced works that reflected domestic fears, sexual crimes, drug filled hallucinations, the terrible secrets of middle class marriage, imperial horror at alien invasion, occult demonism and the insanity of psychopaths. It was from the 1830s onwards that the old gothic castle gave way to the country house drawing room, the dungeon was displaced by the sewers of the city and the villains of early novels became the familiar figures of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Dracula, Dorian Grey and Jack the Ripper. After the death of Prince Albert (1861), the Gothic became darker, more morbid, obsessed with demonic lovers, blood sucking ghouls, blood stained murderers and deranged doctors. Whilst the gothic architecture of the Houses of Parliament and the new Puginesque churches upheld a Victorian ideal of sobriety, Christianity and imperial destiny, Gothic literature filed these new spaces with a dread that spread like a plague to America, France, Germany and even Russia. From 1830 to 1914, the period covered by this volume, we saw the emergence of the greats of Gothic literature and the supernatural from Edgar Allan Poe to Emily Bronte, from Sheridan Le Fanu to Bram Stoker and Robert Louis Stevenson. Contributors also examine the fin-de-siècle dreamers of decadence such as Arthur Machen, M P Shiel and Vernon Lee and their obsession with the occult, folklore, spiritualism, revenants, ghostly apparitions and cosmic annihilation. This volume explores the period through the prism of architectural history, urban studies, feminism, 'hauntology' and much more. 'Horror', as Poe teaches us, 'is the soul of the plot'.

The year's best, and darkest, tales of terror, showcasing the most outstanding new short stories and novellas by both contemporary masters of the macabre and exciting newcomers. As ever, this acclaimed anthology also offers the most comprehensive annual overview of horror around the world in all its incarnations; a comprehensive necrology of famous names; and a list of indispensable contact addresses for the dedicated horror fan and writer alike. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror remains the world's leading annual anthology dedicated solely to presenting the best in contemporary horror fiction. Praise for Stephen Jones: 'The best horror anthologist in the business is, of course, Stephen Jones, whose Mammoth Book of Best New Horror is one of the major bargains of this as of any other year.' Roz Kavaney 'An essential volume for horror readers.' Locus 'Stephen Jones . . . has a better sense of the genre than almost anyone in this country.' Lisa Tuttle, The Times Books