Classic Literature Dark

Krayven has only ever wanted one thing: his mother's love. Cold and beautiful as starlight, he trails after the queen, an unseen shadow vying for affection she would never lower herself to give. Enshrouded in secrets and mystery, he watches each day as she travels to the Nether Lake and stares longingly into the deep.

London 1888, Jack the Ripper is on the loose terrorizing the citizens of Whitechapel. The Queen of England sends a mysterious agent to uncover the truth of the vile monster hunting England's streets. The trail of blood leads to an even bigger mystery and to a darker enemy of the Crown itself. While on Mont Orgueil, Grace Flynn, a prisoner of both England and France, awaits her execution for a very long list of crimes.

In a land of forbidden magic, a mysterious cave holds both riches and danger for three adventurers who discover a mighty treasure and a terrible secret.

"A Dark Brown Dog" is an unexpected Stephen Crane jewel. Crane is best known for three short stories, "The Open Boat", thought by many to be the best short story ever written; "The Blue Hotel"; and "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky". "A Dark Brown Dog" is the first cousin of Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, in being set in the rough, tough world of the New York Bowery of the late 19th century.

Riot Rippons, demigod and Braider, never forgave the gods for driving his mother to suicide. But carrying immortality and the ability to braid time into new endings has a price all its own--the two create an extreme evil that Riot fights every moment. But in the darkness is a small pinpoint of light warning him to save young, innocent,Braiders hidden from the gods to keep mortals safe. The gods found a way to track them, with plans to use the children's power and souls to win ego-driven wars.

Alice has had a lousy life since she left Wonderland. All grown up and trapped in an unhappy marriage, she longs to escape. But when she finally manages to leap through the mirror, she gets one twisted shock after another. Whatever happened to the crazy, charming Wonderland of her youth? This time, the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, Mock Turtle, Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledum, and Tweedledee are out for blood. Something has warped the magical mystery realm, sending Alice reeling from one close shave to the next.

‘A Wicked Voice’ reuses the theme of music from beyond the grave from Vernon Lee’s first ghost story, ‘Winthrop’s Adventure’. Here, young composer Magnus is writing an opera, determined to go against the conventions of his predecessors, but he soon finds himself haunted by a voice beyond the grave which overpowers him and stops him writing.

This gripping tale takes place in the late 19th century and follows the protagonist, Mr. Hapley, a famous entomologist who becomes embroiled in an ongoing feud with Professor Pawkins a rival in his field. Hapley has a devasting retort to Professor Pawkins's most recent attack on him, but before he can deliver the ruinous blow, Pawkins dies leaving Haply ready for battle with no opponent. The physical Pawkins may be gone, but a mysterious moth that no one but Hapley can see or feel the presence of appears.

Franz Kafka was one of the first and greatest masters of dystopian literature. In his bleak world view, man is presented as helpless and ineffectual, his destiny determined by distant, obscure and essentially unfriendly agencies. In none of his works is this savage and unreasoning enslavement presented more vividly than in Metamorphosis, a novella in which Gregor Samsa, a respectable employee and dutiful son, wakes to find himself transformed into a gigantic insect.

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the leading ghost-story writer of the 19th century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. Carmilla is Le Fanu's famous classic vampire story which has been filmed numerous times, including Vampyre (1932), Blood and Roses (1960), Crypt of Horror (1964), The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Carmilla (1999).

Five fantastical tales from the mind of H. P. Lovecraft that center around a theme of illicit substances: some used to transcend the veil of reality, some used to keep one's sanity in check. All of the stories are quite psychedelic and unreal, quite mystical, and quite frightening.

Ernest Bramah (1868-1942) was an English author of 21 novels and numerous short stories and features. His humorous works have been ranked with Jerome K Jerome, and W.W. Jacobs, his detective stories with Conan Doyle, his politico-science fiction with H.G. Wells and his supernatural stories with Algernon Blackwood. In his stories of detection, Bramah hit on the idea of a blind detective, Max Carrados, whose triumphs are all the more amazing because of his disability.

Brock takes Celeste to his Elvin city, thinking she'll be safe. He is wrong. The Warloc's protégé is bent on his physical return to the living and uses her necromancy to bring forth Brock's first victim and more. Brock and Celeste must defeat prejudice and power to continue their journey and find Brock's twin sister, Mirhana

On a trip to visit his ailing grandfather, 17-year-old Peter meets a magician who claims to know how to grant Peter's dearest wish: to perform impossible illusions. But dearest wishes come with costs, and new opportunities come with each turn of the cards in a hospital room at the edge of nowhere.

The Stars Spawn Horror. A gate to eternity, a bridge to death, a guardian under an abhorrent duty. A perpetual loser discovers a dark dimensional gateway on a lonely stretch of Florida highway - and discovers that sometimes, ends must justify means. Serve or die.

Imagine your life as a vampire. How would you survive? What would you eat? How could you handle yourself around other humans who have beating hearts? How would you face the one you really love? Would you tell them that you are a vampire? Would you change them? Or would you lead them on with a web of lies?

A novella sequel to The Succubus Apprentice that is the first part of the coming novel Succubus Schemes. The further adventures of the succubus Helen and the red headed mage Amy as they have finished their respective apprenticeships and are now forces to be reckoned with. Still even with their new skills and powers they can't help but get enmeshed in the schemes of a dark elf and dryad who rule the supernatural community in New York City.

Written in 1881, ‘Winthrop’s Adventure’ is Vernon Lee’s first ghost story. Set in Florence, the story regales the story of young painter Julian Winthrop who becomes transfixed by a piece of music. He traces this haunting back to one of his previous paintings.

“The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether” is an Edgar Allan Poe short story that expertly blends his dark perspective with the comic. -This is the original story—only word order and difficult vocabulary have been updated. -End notes, interpretation, and discussion of major themes follow the text. -Biographical information on Edgar Allan Poe is included. -For other classic short stories in easy to understand updated English search for “Simplified for Modern Readers Series.”

Aus der Tiefe des Pazifischen Ozeans ertönt infernalisches Gebrüll, das alles Menschliche verhöhnt. Die Welt, wie wir sie kennen, ist dem Untergang geweiht, denn Seine Zeit ist gekommen! Die Geschichte nimmt uns mit in die Zeit des Ersten Weltkriegs. Ein Matrose landet auf einem deutschen Kriegsschiff in Gefangenschaft. Es gelingt ihm, bei Nacht und Nebel mit einem Beiboot zu entkommen, ungewiss, ob Rettung wartet. Nach vielen Tagen auf offener See taucht unerwartet ein geheimnisvolles Eiland aus dem Meer auf und bringt eine schreckliche Wahrheit an die Oberfläche.