Victorian Gothic

When lady’s maid Marian Osley and footman Valentine Hobbs assume their positions at the cliff-top estate of Valor Rise, they already share a history. Raised together as paupers in a London workhouse, they indulged in S&M games of imaginary crimes and sublime punishment. Now they’ve been unexpectedly reunited - in subservience to the brooding Wythe Bornholdt and his frail wife, Diana. A master and mistress with their own dark secrets.

THERE’S A GHOST IN HER BATHTUB AND A WEREWOLF IN HER GARDEN! When lovely Viveca Stanhope fled a scandalous past in Old San Francisco to make a new life for herself in Savannah, little did she know she’d just purchased the most “haunted” house in the entire South! From the ghostly specters prowling the square to the ax woman stalking her yard, “Hangman’s House” is indeed a fright. And Viveca’s “Nightmare on Lost Lane” comes complete with a half-crazed housekeeper, a mysterious houseboy with a fetish for knife-throwing and numerous other strange bedfellows. Still, Viveca ...

Strange and terrible creature... Inez came to Stark Island to catalog the library in Stark House, a rambling old mansion of field-stone and brick. Thus began her ordeal of terror, and her encounter with a madman's curse. She was taking a moonlight swim in Deepdene Pool, when she saw the creature watching her. As a wave of terror paralyzed her, she was saved by a young painter who lived at Stark House. From him she learned the legend behind the sinister creature, and the curse that followed the Stark family down through the centuries. Then came a moment of jolting horror in the family ...

Clean Regency romance with a surprising time travel twist! They say time waits for now one except for the one person who can control it! Her Time for Love is an exciting historical romance classic unraveling in a beautiful European setting filled with mystery, madness and mayhem. Desperately looking for love and willing to do whatever it takes to find the man of her dreams Abigail Leeds sets out on a not so typical adventure in Paris. The city of Amour is the perfect setting for this clean and wholesome love story. Julien Lachance a young entrepreneur with a particular eye for beautiful ...

On a stormy November night, weary traveler Reilly seeks refuge from a relentless downpour. Soon, he stumbles upon the grand yet eerie Manor Lannigan. Welcomed by the enigmatic Lord Lannigan, Reilly is drawn into a world of haunting hospitality and chilling secrets. As the fire crackles and brandy warms, Reilly's host unveils the tragic tale of his great-grandmother. Alice Lannigan is a kind-hearted woman ensnared by her ruthless husband, Edward, whose cunning and cruelty confined her to a lonely attic prison. But the manor holds more than just memories. In the early hours, Reilly hears ...

Nine ghost stories spanning the ages from the ninth century to the present day. Epitaph An academic with antiquarian inclinations is about to learn that posthumous reputations can, at times, be rather jealously guarded. The Fighting Cheribatsu As the Second World War rages, the urbane and somewhat wistful Sir Henry Fennick recollects the visit of Mr and Mrs Motazuku some quarter of a century earlier. Life at Lower Chertwell had appeared so full of promise. Such a brief visit, yet so profound. Poor little Bertie. Equal Shares An apparently generous bequest proves to possess some rather ...

"Hampshire Stories by Joe Giampaolo is a stellar collection of short stories” (Literary Titan, 2020) - "A delightful story brimming with sophistication and charm" (Indies Today, 2022) The Hampshire Stories Series, Deluxe Edition is an award-winning anthology of selected short stories set in 19th-century England. This collection includes twelve short stories divided by genre (Previously published). -- 2020 Literary Titan Book Award, Gold Medal, (Hampshire Stories) -- 2022 Global Book Awards, Bronze Medal, Historical Romance, (Hampshire Stories) -- Readers' Favorite, Five Star Seal, (The ...

“I can never go back to Terrenia,” Maxine said in a low voice. “If someone finds out…” “… that you have unusual abilities?” “That I’m a freak – yes, a freak – I will be facing worse than deportation.” Maxine Everett's hidden powers place her in danger under the dictatorial government of Terrenia. The ruling regime worships the Earth element and labels people with an affinity to other elements as unstable and treacherous. When Maxine receives an order of relocation to Demergia, a continent of dreary wilderness on the edge of the world, her prospects seem bleak. She ...

William Day should be an acclaimed Arctic explorer. But after a failed expedition, in which his remaining men only survived by eating their dead comrades, he returned in disgrace. Thirteen years later, his second-in-command, Jesse Stevens, has gone missing in the same frozen waters. Perhaps this is Day’s chance to restore his tarnished reputation by bringing Stevens­—the man who’s haunted his whole life—back home. But when the rescue mission becomes an uncanny journey into his past, Day must face up to the things he’s­ done.

Destitute and desperate, Catherine Weston accepts the summons from her childhood friend Madeline St. Aubyn to attend her at Cairncroft Abbey. Madeline's health is in a poor state, and she is terrified of her cousin Gabriel. But Gabriel has quite a different effect on Catherine, stirring longings and desires she believed long buried. Then a young woman is found dead, and Madeline's ravings point to a link between this horrific crime and Gabriel - and Catherine must decide if he is a man worthy of her love or a sinister stranger determined to make her his next victim.

Three months after discovering her supernatural heritage and thwarting her uncle's dark ritual, eighteen-year-old Briar Worthington receives an urgent summons that will test her newfound abilities like never before. Dr. James Burton of Ravenscroft Hall writes with alarming news: the boundaries between worlds are deteriorating at an unprecedented rate, and he believes Briar's unique dual heritage may be the key to preventing catastrophic collapse. Accompanied by her loyal companions Catherine Winters and Mrs. Winters, Briar embarks on a treacherous journey across boundary-fractured moorlands...

Lust frozen and hidden in chastity's belt, Until puberty sparks and lust’s touch is felt, And perversion doth flame, and chastity, melt. --Goddess Alice of Wonderland Yesterday I (Alice) came of age. So I’m going on a journey of debauchery and self-exploration. Yes, I’m ready to finally perv out! Also yesterday, Dorothy of Oz was murdered. She had asked me to marry her. I want her back. So I’m traveling to the Greek Myth Realm, so I can bring Dorothy back from Hades. The handsome Mad Hatter is my sidekick. I intend to have lots of fun with him. I don’t like the Goddess of Chastity...

1887, the Cornwall coast. For years, rumors have flown through the village of Suttonsbury about Ashthorne Hall—that its occupants hoard pirate treasure, that a ghost walks its halls—but botanist Hyacinth Bell only cares about the estate’s extensive one-of-a-kind orchid collection. As an independent woman, she is eager to focus on her career, even if it means waiting to pursue a romantic relationship. After all, love—like an orchid—must be nurtured and tended before it can bloom. What she doesn’t expect is to be swept away by Lucas Harding, the manor’s caretaker, upon their first meeting.

After fleeing Blackthorn Manor, Eleanor Grayson and Lord Nathaniel Ashwood settle in a remote coastal estate in Cornwall, seeking a fresh start where her writing and their love can thrive away from societal scorn. They adopt new identities—Eleanor as a reclusive authoress, Nathaniel as her enigmatic patron—and begin hosting clandestine literary salons to share her sensual tales with a select few. One night, a mysterious widow, Lady Isolde Vayne, arrives uninvited, cloaked in mourning black and wearing an ornate mask. She claims to be a fellow writer, but her provocative stories and ...

The Ripper Lives: Psycho (5/10) A city in chaos. A killer in the shadows. A detective on the brink. London is drowning in fear, but Inspector Frederick Abberline refuses to let the darkness consume him. With each step deeper into the Ripper’s twisted world, he faces a truth more terrifying than murder—insanity is contagious, and no one is immune. When a routine investigation leads Abberline to a house of horrors, he finds himself entangled in the mind of a killer who defies all expectations. The crime scene is meticulous. The body—unnatural. The suspect—a man whose quiet rage has ...

Emma Parrish accepts a position no one else dares, as governess to the son of Lord Anthony Craven, the castle’s dark master. The mystery of Anthony Craven’s shadowy past lurk behind the locked doors of the estate’s forbidden Round Tower. Mysterious lights flash there in the night. The servants whisper warnings of death. Anthony himself warns Emma there is only danger to be found in his sensual embrace. Powerfully drawn to the dangerously alluring Anthony, Emma finds herself unable to deny her deepest yearnings.

Bram Stoker, despite having a name nearly as famous as his legendary undead count, has remained a puzzling enigma. Now, in this psychological and cultural portrait, David J. Skal exhumes the inner world and strange genius of the writer who conjured an undying cultural icon.

A Gothic Novel of Love, Fate, and the House That RemembersWould you live in a house whose legendary curse came long before you did? Kathryn White arrives at Lyon House – an imposing Victorian mansion steeped in history and shadow – ready for a new chapter. But something within the walls stirs. Whispers echo through candlelit corridors, and ghostly signs begin to surface. A series of mysterious events draws her deeper into the past... one that refuses to stay buried. As memories blur and timelines bend, Kathryn finds herself part of a legacy written long ago – where love defies time, ...

Really, it's too much to expect any normal man to behave like a staid accountant in order to inherit the fortune he deserves to support the lifestyle of an earl. So when Derek Saunders's favorite elderly aunt and her ill-conceived - and possibly fraudulent - Lady Travelers Society loses one of their members, what's a man to do but step up to the challenge? Now he's escorting the world's most maddening woman to the world's most romantic city to find her missing relative.

The Ripper Lives: To Catch a Killer (1/10) A city haunted by fear. A case buried in secrecy. A detective who refuses to let the past die. In the gaslit streets of Whitechapel, terror still lingers. Months have passed since the brutal murders that gripped London, yet the killer remains a phantom—unseen, unnamed, unstoppable. As whispers of conspiracy spread and trust in Scotland Yard crumbles, Inspector Frederick Abberline is left with more questions than answers. When the government issues a chilling directive—close the case publicly, but continue the hunt in absolute secrecy—...