Supernatural Horror Short Stories

by Roger Luckhurst (Foreword), A. Merritt, Ambrose Bierce

Crawling with the dark fingers of terror, this selection of original and classic short stories brings vivid nightmares to life. Tales of monstrous creatures and mysterious curses by the haunting pens of M.R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, H.G. Wells, Elizabeth Gaskell, and many more, sit alongside dark and mystical works by a thrilling range of talented new writers.

Contents:
• Foreword by Roger Luckhurst
• E.F. Benson - Caterpillars
• Ambrose Bierce - The Boarded Window
• Ambrose Bierce - John Bartine's Watch
• Daniele Bonfanti - Bones of the Dead
• Robert W. Chambers - In the Court of the Dragon
• Carolyn Charron - Crossroads
• E.E.W. Christman - The Mourning Woman
• Kay Chronister - The Fifth Gable
• Wilkie Collins - The Dream Woman
• F. Marion Crawford - The Upper Berth
• F. Marion Crawford - For the Blood is the Life
• Arthur Conan Doyle - Lot No. 249
• Morgan Elektra - She's Gone
• Hanns Heinz Ewers - The Spider
• J. Sheridan Le Fanu - Carmilla
• Mary E. Wilkins Freeman - The Southwest Chamber
• Elizabeth Gaskell - The Doom of the Griffiths
• Matthew Gorman - Swim At Yout Own Risk
• Nathaniel Hawthorne - Edward Randolph's Portrait
• William Hope Hodgson - The Voice in the Night
• Robert E. Howard - Worms of the Earth
• M.R. James - The Mezzotint
• M.R. James - Casting the Runes
• Jason L. Kawa - Merry-Go-Round, Never Broke Down
• Stephen Kotowych - The Murmur of Its Name
• H.P. Lovecraft - The Shunned House
• G.L. McDorman - An Idle Dream, Quite Gone Now
• A. Merritt - The Pool of the Stone God
• Michelle Muenzler - This Time, Forever
• E. Nesbit - The Power of Darkness
• Fitz-James O'Brien - The Wondersmith
• Edgar Allan Poe - William Wilson
• John William Polidori - The Vampyre
• Cody Schroeder - Tracks in the Snow
• Oliver Smith - John Johnson
• Lucy A. Snyder - Magdala Amygdala
• Mariah Southworth - My Brother Tom
• Bram Stoker - The Judge's House
• Angela Sylvaine - The Bride
• Damien Angelica Walters - The Floating Girls: A Documentary
• Desmond Warzel - The Final One Percent
• H.G. Wells - The Flowering of the Strange Orchid
• H.G. Wells - The Red Room
• Michaël Wertenberg - Midnight Snack
• Edward Lucas White - The House of the Nightmare
• Trisha J. Wooldridge - Manipulation
• Biographies & Sources

Flame Tree Gothic & Fantasy, as well as Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections, bring together the entire range of myth, folklore, epic literature and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Supernatural, Short Story Collection, Fantasy, Gothic

480 pages, Hardcover

First published June 20, 2017

About the author

Roger Luckhurst is a British writer and academic. He is Professor in Modern and Contemporary Literature in the Department of English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London and was Distinguished Visiting Professor at Columbia University in 2016. He works on Victorian literature, contemporary literature, Gothic and weird fiction, trauma studies, and speculative/science fiction.

Reviews

[Nowrin Samrina Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began to draw an invisible boundary between myself and other people.. No matter who I was dealing with, I maintained a set distance, carefully monitoring the person’s attitude so that they wouldn’t get any closer. I didn’t easily swallow what other people told me. My only passions were books and anime..

শেষ পর্যন্ত এক টানে বসে বইটা শেষ করলাম। সব গল্প যদিও তেমন ভালো লাগেনি,কিন্তু কিছু কিছু গল্প আসলেই অনেক সুন্দর ছিল। এখানে The moonlit road গল্পটি ছিল না,কিন্তু থাকলে বেশ হতো। ধন্যবাদ জানাই সৌমেন দাদাকে আমাকে এই বইটা দিয়ে সারাদিন ব্যস্ত রাখার জন্য। বইটা আমাকে আজকের আবহাওয়াতে বেশ মজা দিল💜

[H.R.]

I don't want to give this a rating because some of the stories were far better than others. It's a decent collection, but the stories got better towards the end I think.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Flame Tree... You did me proud! This is the MVP! I was more than a bit wary of these editions (see Irish Fairy Tales and Bram Stoker reviews), but I'm so glad I took the leap. Horror itself is subjective; you can literally mold almost anything into a good story, so long as the atmosphere/language is strong. This reads like a huge Twilight Zone marathon. It has everything from witches, vengeful spirits, vampires, cursed objects, suicide as a siren, mourning lovers delving into the occult, even flowers get an evil spin. First time authors also get some shine here, a far cry from the Oxford editions, which is great in that we get a taste of the new brand of horror (many of which were the strongest) mixed with a healthy dose of old school standards. Here are the ones that had me peeking over my shoulder for every settling along the ceiling, and each bump in the night.
*"The Boarded Window"-Ambrose Bierce
*"John Bartine's Watch"- Ambrose Bierce
*"Crossroads"-Carolyn Charron
*"The Mourning Woman"-E.E.W. Christman
*"The Fifth Gable"-Kay Chronister
*"The Dream Woman"-Wilkie Collins
*"She's Gone"-Morgan Elektra
*"Swim At Your Own Risk"-Mathew Gorman
*"The Voice In The Night"-William Hope Hodgson
*"Merry-Go Round, Never Broke Down"-Jason L. Kawa
*"An Idle Dream, Quite Gone Now"-G.L. McDorman
*"This Time, Forever"-Michelle Muenzler
*"The Power of Darkness"-Edith Nesbit
*John Johnson"-Oliver Smith
*"The Bride"-Angela Sylvaine
*"The Floating Girls-A Documentary"-Damien Angelica Walters
The length of the list is well deserved.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic addition to the gothic fantasy collection, this anthology is full of short stories blended perfectly with old classic writers and new modern writes as they tell their dark, gothic, macabre, gloomy, haunted, creepy, tragically heartbreakingly sad, thrilling, spine chilling, spooky, stories of terrifying ghosts and their victims. This book was fantastic to read I absolutely adored reading this book, this book is perfect for curling up on a cold rainy winters night by the fire. The book cover captivated me in the story immediately and after a glancing at the book knew immediately I had to read it. I love the variety of stories and authors throughout the book giving you an experience with contemporary writers and classic stories. This gothic fantasy collection is ideal for any lovers of horror and gothic hauntings. Some of my favourite stories in this book are….

[Radu Profeanu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 2.5 out of 5 stars. There were a couple of story that managed to disturb me but other than that most of them where in the "ha nice idea" category. What I particularly enjoyed were the period pieces ( the truly gothic horror stories) such as Bram Stoker's The Judge's House. If you are looking for some nice gothic horror stories I can recommend the book otherwise if you are looking for a good scare I would chose something else such as Nightmares and Dreamscapes

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit hard to give a fair review, as some stories certainly shone brighter than others. Overall though, a decent collection. Particularly towards the end, I found the quality seemed to pick up (with the exception of a couple of storied here and there). Personally I wasn't a fan of some of the newer short stories in the collection, but I think that comes down to my personal preference regarding writing style.
I would definitely recommend this collection.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for teens and adults it has some language. this book has clear stories, but some stories have old speech used that get confusing. compared to the other books short story books I have read it uses more graphic detail and is a little bit more gruesome.

[READERS RETREAT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read I enjoyed every story in the short story collection must read for all Horror fans.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all anthologies, some stories are excellent, some are good, and some simply weren't worth the time it took to read them.

[Meg Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of fantastical & questioning tales.

[Stratos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most of the stories in this collection were very bland and boring. Nothing stood out for me.

[Emy Cornwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful cover and the pages themselves were stunning! It sits with some of the other books in this reprint series on my shelf.