Victorian Horror

At their newly founded school, Samuel Hood and his daughter, Caroline, promise a groundbreaking education for young women. But Caroline has grave misgivings. After all, her own unconventional education has left her unmarriageable and isolated, unsuited to the narrow roles afforded women in 19th-century New England. When a mysterious flock of red birds descends on the town, Caroline alone seems to find them unsettling. But it's not long before the assembled students begin to manifest bizarre symptoms: Rashes, seizures, headaches, verbal tics, night wanderings. One by one, they sicken.

Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915), little known now, but a renowned writer in her time, gives us five tales of the "weird" as she might herself have said. Here we have five of her better known stories, peopled with jilted lovers, blood thirsty old ladies, and grand, old houses whose restless ancestors refuse to abandon them! The five tales: "The Cold Embrace", "The Shadow in the Corner", "At Chrighton Abbey", "Good Lady Ducayne", and "Eveline's Visitant".

Before Twilight and True Blood, even before Buffy and Anne Rice and Bela Lugosi, vampires haunted the 19th century, when brilliant writers everywhere indulged their bloodthirsty imaginations, culminating in Bram Stoker's legendary 1897 novel, Dracula. Michael Sims brings together the very best vampire stories of the Victorian era - from England, America, France, Germany, Transylvania, and even Japan - into a unique collection that highlights their cultural variety.

A gothic mystery book set in Sounders Bay, Delmarvashire, during the late Victorian era. "Eyes of the Dead" masterfully spins a tale of mysteries, prophecies, and potent supernatural undercurrents, all deeply entwined with the ominously beautiful landscape of Sounders Bay. The Mysterious Bay and its Brooding AtmosphereStep into the world of Sounders Bay where looming sand hills, lush meadows and treacherous rocky inlets create a gothic atmopshere of chilling suspense. The protagonist battling with cryptic visions and messages from a gaunt mysterious lady named Gormala, successfully ...

To know Dorothy of Oz is to be afraid of her, to despise her. And yet Alice of Wonderland is very much afraid that she may love her. When they lived in Wonderland together, there were good qualities about Dorothy. They were such good friends then. But Dorothy has changed. Now she’s the sadistic, manipulative chief of the munchkin tribes, who summoned a tornado to bring Alice back to the magical realms. Dorothy has promised to send Alice back to England only if she agrees to duel the Lion, Scarecrow and Tin Knight one at a time. Dorothy keeps trying to woo Alice. Dorothy even wears an ...

Ghost stories date back centuries, but those written in the Victorian era have a unique atmosphere and dark beauty. Michael Sims, whose previous Victorian collections Dracula’s Guest (vampires) and The Dead Witness (detectives) have been widely praised, has gathered twelve of the best stories about humanity’s oldest supernatural obsession. The Phantom Coach includes tales by a surprising and often legendary cast, including Charles Dickens, Margaret Oliphant, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, and Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as lost gems by forgotten masters such as Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and W. F. Harvey. Amelia B. Edwards’s chilling story gives the collection its title, while Ambrose Bierce ("The Moonlit Road"), Elizabeth Gaskell ("The Old Nurse’s Story"), and W. W. Jacobs ("The Monkey’s Paw") will turn you white as a sheet. With a skillful introduction to the genre and notes on each story by Sims, The Phantom Coach is a spectacular collection of ghostly Victorian thrills.

In the third installment of the Dorothy vs. Alice Trilogy, Alice must face off against the Tin Man, who calls himself the Tin Knight. When Alice lived in Wonderland with Dorothy, there were good qualities about Dorothy. They were such good friends then. But Dorothy has changed. Now she’s the sadistic, manipulative chief of the munchkin tribes, who summoned a tornado to bring Alice back to the magical realms. Dorothy has promised to send Alice back to England only if she agrees to duel the Lion, Scarecrow and Tin Knight one at a time. Dorothy keeps trying to woo Alice. Dorothy even wears ...

Dive into a chilling tapestry of paranormal intrigue with Haunted Minds, a spine-tingling journey through the eerie Cornish moors and shadowy streets of London at the turn of the 20th century. This thrilling blend of horror and psychological suspense explores the mysterious interplay between the tangible brain and the intangible spirit, challenging the confines of materialist doctrine with tales of restless spirits and ghostly phenomena. Through detailed accounts and vivid storytelling, experience the eerie occurrences that lurk in the abandoned mines of Cornwall and the desolate corners of...

Addressing the corpse of her husband, who has just been pronounced dead, a hysterical Mrs Arne prays that 'if there be a God in heaven, and if He ever answered a prayer, let Him...give you back to me'. Shortly afterward, an amazed doctor finds that the patient he had thought dead has somehow miraculously recovered. But as time goes by, it's clear that there is something unsettling about Edward Arne, something that frightens people, including his once-adoring wife.

‘The Signalman’ (1866) is a short story by the English writer Charles Dickens (1812-1870). In the story, a practical-minded narrator meets a railway worker who has been seeing supernatural visions. The narrator doubts the man at first, but at the story’s conclusion a strange event makes him a believer.

Two of the darkest villains ever written by this author plague Holmes challenge Holmes in ways that would destroy the sanity of any ordinary man. THE BLEAK TREE AND THE HOLLOW HAND Mark Twain loses his best friend and desperate to find him, seeks the helpof Sherlock Holmes. IN TIMES OF DARKNESS Harry Houdini, the world's greatest wizard, is preparing his most dangerous act Unknown to Harry, an old enemy is also preparing to sabotage the act and murder Harry during what should be Harry's greatest act ever! Get this exciting new book now for hours of reading pleasure.

The story's protagonist and narrator is an unnamed woman whose husband, a doctor named John, makes her spend the summer in the country for her health. The woman, her baby, John, John's sister and some servants stay in a large rented house. John chooses a bedroom for himself and his wife which is large and airy but otherwise quite unpleasant. The narrator takes an immediate dislike to the room's yellow wallpaper. She soon starts to see grotesque images in its pattern. After some time, the narrator becomes convinced that the wallpaper depicts a woman trapped behind a cage.

A Polish historian visiting Italy falls in love with a 16th-century femme fatale, who murdered a series of enthralled husbands and lovers. When he experiences visions of the beautiful Medea Da Carpi, it slowly turns his scholarly fascination into a fatal obsession.

Weigall remembers talking with Wyatt about the soul and afterlife. Wyatt states, 'If I had my way, I should stay inside my bones until the coffin had gone into its niche, that I might obviate for my poor old comrade the tragic impersonality of death.' The characters wonder about death and the destination of the human soul when it occurs. Weigall does not believe that the marshy bog, the Strid, has taken his friend, but when he sees a hand raised above the surface of the water, he knows it must be him and he desperately and quickly saves him.

A stay in Paris should be just the tonic for a distracted and insular German student. But it is the beginning of the French Revolution and the blood-stained guillotine is doing its grisly work every day. So when the student encounters a beautiful, distraught woman in need of comfort on its steps in the dead of night, he doesn’t consider this meeting perhaps as strange as he should. "The Adventure of the German Student" is taken from the Victorian Anthologies series featuring short stories by classic writers of the spooky, the scary and the supernatural.

Almost always when we think of Ghost Stories, we first think of those written by the Victorians. When you consider the depth of literary talent available over the extraordinary length of Queen Victoria’s reign, allied to the fascination with their all things spiritual on ‘the other side’, then perhaps it’s simply right place, right time. Whatever the reasons given or proffered the reality and known facts are that if you want a really good ghost story to bring that edge of chill, that foreboding of dread, then look no further than ‘The Victorian Ghost Story’ for your listening pleasure.

Private investigator Charles Maddox is surprised when he is approached by Edward Tulkinghorn for help. The feared and shadowy attorney offers Charles a handsome price he can't refuse to do some sleuthing for a client. Charles learns that Sir Julius Cremorne has been receiving threatening letters, and now Tulkinghorn wants him to find and stop whoever is responsible. But what starts as a simple open-and-shut case swiftly escalates into something bigger and much darker. As he cascades toward a collision with powerful forces, Charles will need all the assistance he can get…

Sometimes monsters are not just monsters - they are reflections of ourselves, mirrors of our own darkness and light. But do monsters only exist as a figment of our imagination, or are they real? In this late 19th-century crime fiction horror novel, Henry Blackshaw, the owner of a derelict manor, hires private detective Stephen Moore to investigate a series of strange disappearances on his property. As the detective and his team ponder who may be responsible for the missing victims, confronted with chilling evidence that makes their blood run cold, they come to a terrifying conclusion... ...

Celeste struggles with finding her way from a dark past, until she gets a summer volunteer gig at the local historical fair. Enter: outrageous actors, dominating psychics, and ghosts stirred by a medium’s presence. With the help of the psychic’s son - who isn’t at all what her dream date would look like but rather endearing all the same - Celeste uncovers secrets about the village left hidden among the dilapidated buildings.

Featuring work by Charles Dickens, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Clara Venn and Hume Nisbet, this collection of nine enduring stories - some well-known, others less familiar - evoke the many spirits of Christmas. Featuring misty journeys to distant loved ones, Christmas Eve manifestations and lonely, frost-filled vigils.