Psychological Anthology

In this volume our authors explore the terrors of the mind rather than the horrors of reality, although with their pens the difference makes little difference. We twist this way and that as their talents shape our path towards endings of the nerve-shredding kind.

First published in an 1839 edition of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, "The Fall of the House of Usher" is the story of the declining physical and psychological health of the residents of the House of Usher - and the way in which the house itself reflects that. Gothic in theme and style, the story is an exemplar of Poe's philosophy of composition, which dictates that literary works should be short and methodological and have a unity of effect wherein all the elements of the story are related and relevant.

Sarah Vernon has spent 20 years trying to make it as a novelist...and she’s never even come close. None of her novels has sold more than 5,000 copies, and she’s never earned enough money to make fiction her full-time job. After her last disappointing publication, Sarah’s agent dumped her, and it seems like her dream is dead. Sarah vows that she’ll do anything for one last shot at the best seller list. Enter Will Presser. Nicknamed The Viper, Will is a literary agent whose career-making reputation precedes him.

Nothing is quite as it seems in this collection of eleven dazzling stories. We meet a queen who makes a bargain she cannot keep; a secretary who watches over the life she has just left; a man who bets on a horse that may—or may not—have spoken to him. Everything that audiences love about the novels of Kate Atkinson is here: the inventiveness, the verbal felicity, the sharp observations on human nature and the deeply satisfying emotional wallop.

In this short story from Our Story Begins, three friends confront their relationships to one another as they work on plans to build their very own airplane. Clark’s parents are rich, supplying the boys with all they need to follow their pursuits, making films and building catapults. Meanwhile, Freddy’s family is dealing with the loss of his older brother, and Freddy’s friends are having a hard time knowing how to act around him anymore. The boys all have their troubles, but maybe their airplane can help them escape....

"The First Violin" (1877) is Jessie Fothergill's third novel. It was written in Düsseldorf and tells the story of an English girl who rejects the attentions of the rich farmer for the strange attractions of a German. The story was refused by two publishers because it dealt with an affair by a married woman. Excerpt: The door was opened. Jane held it open and said nothing (a trifling habit of hers, which used to cause me much annoyance), and a tall woman walked slowly into the room.

In the final years of his life, Chekhov produced some of the stories that rank among his masterpieces and some of the most highly regarded works in Russian literature. With the works collected here, Chekhov moved away from the realism of his earlier tales - developing a broader range of characters and subject matter, while forging the spare minimalist style that would inspire such modern short-story writers as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

Many of the novella's core themes, such as the struggle between individualism and collectivism, are echoed in Rand's later books, such as The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. However, the style of "Anthem" is unique among Rand's work, more narrative-centered and economical, lacking the intense didactic expressions of philosophical abstraction that occur in later works.

Sisters, Strangers and Slaughter is a psychologically thrilling collection of short stories focusing on the remote and inchoate hollows of the human condition. Each of the three stories features a narrator battling inner separateness, an arcane secret that threatens an otherwise healthy existence. In their suffering, the subjects are unable to tell physical pain from its mental shape.

Lonnie is tired. He's tired of his job, the monotony of it, and tired of the predictability ofhis home life now that he's a father. It's a day like every other day, and hecan't face the inevitability of it all. So he lies. It's a small lie, but heknows small lies become big ones. He knows it as soon as he says his daughteris in the hospital. But he can't stop himself, and he can't stop the lie fromtaking on a life of its own.

In this gothic, virtuoso debut collection, Mike McCormack dispenses nightmares both stylish and macabre. "A Is for Ax" offers alphabetized look at the killing of a parent, while the title story tracks a chilling sibling rivalry. Other works here offer multiple-quiz on the road to Calvary, a door-to-door saleswoman trafficking in strange and menacing feats, and a self-mutilating artist pushing himself to the limit. These sly and dangerous stories show us a young writer who was already a master of wicked formal play, and whose sly takes on life and death remain profoundly unsettling.

Marlene has a problem. But is her problem her boyfriend Rick, or the large spider that has invaded her space? This short story is to raise awareness of domestic violence in all its forms: physical, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse.

Edgar Allan Poe proposed that “the boundary line between instinct and reason is of a very shadowy nature” (1840). With its 21 stories of serial killers and sociopaths, fixations and fetishes, breakdowns and bad decisions crafted by authors as diverse as their writing styles, Shadowy Natures leads fans of psychological horror down dark and treacherous roads to destinations they will be too unsettled to leave.

Robert Hunter, Anfang zwanzig, ist das Wunderkind der amerikanischen Polizei. Er verfügt über eine besondere Gabe: Er weiß, was Mörder denken. Als jüngster Ermittler in der Geschichte der USA tritt er in den Dienst des LAPD Morddezernats. Worüber sein neuer Chef alles andere als glücklich ist. Was soll er mit diesem Anfänger? Er übergibt ihm einen einfachen Selbstmord. Am Tatort angekommen, stellt Hunter fest, dass das Apartment von innen verschlossen war. Auf dem Bett liegt eine junge Frau in einer riesigen Blutlache.

Do you tend to take life for granted? We may or may not take life for granted, but we all seem to ignore death entirely. Having a human life means wanting to acquire, wanting to keep indefinitely. Yet, as we get closer to death, our goals tend to change from wanting stuff to giving possessions away. It seems the meaning of life isn’t what we own, but more of what we might have learned, grown from, and experienced.

Ehe Patricia Highsmith durch ihren ersten Roman "Zwei Fremde im Zug", "Tiefe Wasser" und "Der Talentierte Mr. Ripley" über Nacht berühmt wurde, schrieb sie psychologische Stories. Über entwurzelte Einwanderer, tapfere Liebende, wissende Mädchen und Jungen und vom Leben gebeutelte Menschen. Damals erschienen ihre Stories nur verstreut in Schul- und Frauenmagazinen. Nun dürfen wir sie neu entdecken.

A collection of 14 short stories that seek to venture into the darkest depths of twisted realism. From diving into the human condition to tales of monsters lurking in the shadows of modern society, each story differs vastly from the last, but they all seek to leave an emotional impact on the listener.

When a tragedy befalls the foster house, Max and Horatio step in to lend a hand. Upon meeting 13-year-old Franny, a trafficking victim recently brought to the foster house, they aren’t prepared for the life-changing events about to impact their world.

En 1918 en la revista estudiantil Hsin Chingnien (Nueva Corriente) Lu Xun publicó Diario de un loco, que deliberadamente tomó su título de la obra del ruso Nikolás Gogol. Este relato narra en primera persona las impresiones de un hombre que cree estar prisionero de unos caníbales. En los caníbales está la naturaleza opresiva de la tradición. Fue la primera narración de estilo occidental en China, escrita en un estilo claro y sencillo.

El narrador intenta convencernos de su salud mental, diciéndonos que lo único que le pasa es que es un poco nervioso porque todos sus sentidos están extremadamente sensibilizados. El anciano con el que vive tiene un ojo azul que está velado, al que nuestro narrador describe como un ojo de buitre. El anciano realmente le cae bien pero odia el ojo de buitre....Hasta tal punto llega a odiar ese ojo que se convierte en una obsesión enfermiza, que le hace imposible no pensar en otra cosa que no sea planificar el asesinato del anciano.