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A Novel of forbidden love and religious war in the quest to find the mysterious Parchment of Circles • Centers…
on the search for the Parchment of Circles, an ancient map said to lead to mystical wisdom that challenges the story of Christ’s resurrection, validates the Cathar faith, and serves as the Templars’ blackmail against the Church • Includes a complex cast of characters including a rabbi and nun who fall in love, St. Francis of Assisi, Knights Templar, the Pope, and the Sultan of Egypt Set in the 13th century, this sweeping historical novel opens on the island of Torcello, outside Venice, in 1219, after the Crusaders have lost possession of Jerusalem. Yehezkel, a young yet revered kabbalist and student of Maimonides, is on the island for a secret meeting of rabbis. He is chosen to travel to Jerusalem to seek definitive proof of the Talmud’s antiquity, a search that grows to include the hunt for the mysterious Parchment of Circles. This ancient map could not only help Yehezkel’s quest, but also lead to explosive evidence about Christ’s resurrection that would destroy the Roman Church. Before leaving the island, Yehezkel rescues a young Cistercian abbess from drowning in the Venetian Lagoon. Galatea, the beautiful nun, has been plagued by mystic visions and prophetic dreams throughout her life, leading her to become a devotee of Hildegard von Bingen. Driven by premonitions of an “enigma in Jerusalem,” she abandons her monastic life and the orthodoxy of the Church and joins Yehezkel on his pilgrimage. On the way to Jerusalem, after being shipwrecked on Crete, the two meet St. Francis of Assisi in Cyprus and join him across the lines of the Fifth Crusade in his attempt to convert the Sultan of Egypt. Over the year-long trip, they also fall in love. But the rabbi and the nun are not the only ones seeking the Parchment of Circles: The Pope sends his agents in search of it, and the Knights Templar are also in pursuit of the Parchment, for the ancient map serves as the Templars’ blackmail against the Church. What none of these deadly adversaries know is that the Parchment leads to an even more startling secret with profound religious significance for the future of humanity. It’s not a question of who finds it first, but who survives to unlock the Parchment’s secrets.The Darker Sex: Tales of the Supernatural and Macabre by Victorian Women Writers
By Mike Ashley. 2009
Ghosts, precognition, suicide, and the afterlife are all themes in these thrilling stories by Britain and America's greatest Victorian women,…
proving their talent for creating dark, sensational, and horrifying tales of the supernatural. This anthology showcases some of the best and most representative work by female writers during this period, including Emily Bronte, Mary Braddon, George Eliot, and Edith Nesbit, as well as Elizabeth Gaskell, Charlotte Riddell, Louisa Baldwin, Mary Penn, Violet Quirk, and Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. Editor Mike Ashley provides valuable insight into the authors' lives. Each story still has the ability to shock, frighten, and show how Victorian women perfected and developed the Gothic genre.Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: The classic collection of eerie and fantastic Chinese stories of the supernatural (Tuttle Classics)
By Herbert A. Giles, Victoria Cass, Pu Songling. 2006
Long considered a masterpiece of the eerie and fantastic, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio is a collection of supernatural-themed…
tales compiled from ancient Chinese folk stories by Songling Pu in the eighteenth century. These tales of ghosts, magic, vampirism, and other things bizarre and fantastic are an excellent Chinese companion to Lafcadio Hearn's well-known collections of Japanese ghost stories Kwaidan and In Ghostly Japan.Already a true classic of Chinese literature and of supernatural tales in general, this new edition of the Herbert A. Giles translation converts the work to Pinyin for the first time and includes a new foreword by Victoria Cass that properly introduces the book to both readers of Chinese literature and of hair-raising tales best read with the lights turned low on a quiet night.Some of the stories found in these pages include:The Tiger of ZhaochengThe Magic SwordMiss Lianziang, the Fox-GirlThe Quarrelsome BrothersThe Princess LilyA Rip Van WinkleThe Resuscitated CorpseTaoist MiraclesA Chinese SolomonDead Letters Anthology
By Conrad Williams. 2015
The Dead Letters Office: the final repository of the undelivered. Love missives unread, gifts unreceived, lost in postal limbo. Dead…
Letters: An Anthology features new stories from the masters of horror, fantasy and speculative fiction, each inspired by object from the Dead Letters Office. Featuring original stories by:Joanne Harris * Maria Dahvana Headley & China Miéville * Michael Marshall Smith * Lisa Tuttle * Ramsey Campbell * Pat Cadigan * Steven Hall * Alison Moore * Adam LG Nevill * Nina Allan * Christopher Fowler * Muriel Gray * Andrew Lane * Angela Slatter * Claire Dean * Nicholas Royle * Kirsten KaschockZVR Diplomacy
By Mike Dubisch, Jeff Conner. 2013
Zombies vs Robots goes international! It's the Cold War in Hell as undead flesh clashes with uncaring metal. The zombie…
apocalypse is a true global conflagration, and ZVR: Diplomacy is at the frontlines with a collection of original stories either set in Russia or the UK. On all fronts rabid braineaters battle gleeful warbots, with a beleaguered (and dwindling) mankind caught in the middle. Featuring original stories by today's leading perpetrators of zombie terror and robot rampage, namely Steven Lockley, Rio Youers, Robert Hood, Gary McMahon, Ekaterina Sedia, Simon Clark, Dale Bailey, and Simon Kurt Unsworth, ZVR: Diplomacy is a unique new chapter in the ongoing Zombie vs Robots prose program, and is fully illustrated by horror-master Michael Dubisch.Anything but Zombies: A Short Story Anthology
By Jeff Strand, Tonia Brown, Gerald Rice, Lee Moan, Faye Mccray, Jake Bible, Rebecca Besser, Montilee Stormer, Jimmy Pudge, Armand Rosamilia, Tim Curran. 2015
For decades we ve had vampires werewolves Jason Freddy and Michael And now zombies have…
gone all Hollywood Out of a need to figure out what is the next classic monster publisher and lifelong horror enthusiast Gerald Dean Rice has assembled this fresh and downright disturbing collection of short stories featuring some of the most clever and imaginative horror writers of the day including Tim Curran Jeff Strand Armand Rosamilia Rebecca Besser MontiLee Stormer Lee Moan Tonia Brown Jake Bible Faye McCray and Jimmy Pudge Inside the diverse cast of contributors introduces new breeds of monsters such as sentient sex dolls anti-zombie terrorists suicidal cultists the woman who can smell sin and more These monsters come alive within the pages and they are blow-your-mind frightening They are just what the horror world needs They are Anything but ZombiesMash Up
By Gardner Dozois. 2016
Stories Inspired by Famous First Lines Pride and Prejudice meets Macbeth by way of The Wizard of Oz and a…
dollop of the speculative, in this entertaining anthology where authors get inspiration for short stories from the first lines of famous works of literature. Edited by respected anthologist Gardner Dozois, the collection features Mary Robinette Kowal's Hugo Award-winning story "The Lady Astronaut of Mars".The Creepypasta Collection: Modern Urban Legends You Can't Unread
By Mrcreepypasta. 2016
"If you place this book back on the shelf now, you'll save yourself!" --Mr Creepypasta There are stories that scare…
you. And then there are the dark and disturbing creepypasta stories that will leave you seriously freaked out. The Creepypasta Collection is an unsettling anthology of terror, full of nightmares and dangerous creatures--from unearthly supernatural beings to the murderously disturbed. So, lock the doors, check under the bed, turn up the lights, and get ready for an unforgettable, up-all-night journey into the heart of darkness.The Best Horror of the Year Volume 9
By Ellen Datlow. 2009
An elderly man aggressively defends his private domain against all comers including his daughter a policeman investigates an impossible horror…
show of a crime a father witnesses one of the worst things a parent can imagine the abuse of one child fuels another s yearning an Iraqi war veteran seeks a fellow soldier in his hometown but finds more than she bargains for The Best Horror of the Year showcases the previous year s best offerings in short fiction horror This edition includes award-winning and critically acclaimed authors Adam L G Nevill Livia Llewellyn Peter Straub Gemma Files Brian Hodge and more For more than three decades award-winning editor and anthologist Ellen Datlow has had her finger on the pulse of the latest and most terrifying in horror writing Night Shade Books is proud to present the ninth volume in this annual series a new collection of stories to keep you up at night Table of Contents Summation 2016 - Ellen Datlow Nesters -- Siobhan Carroll The Oestridae -- Robert Levy The Process is a Process All its Own -- Peter Straub The Bad Hour -- Christopher Golden Red Rabbit -- Steve Rasnic Tem It s All the Same Road in the End -- Brian Hodge Fury -- DB Waters Grave Goods -- Gemma Files Between Dry Ribs -- Gregory Norman Bossert The Days of Our Lives -- Adam LG Nevill House of Wonders -- C E Ward The Numbers -- Christopher Burns Bright Crown of Joy -- Livia Llewellyn The Beautiful Thing We Will Become -- Kristi DeMeester Wish You Were Here -- Nadia Bulkin Ragman -- Rebecca Lloyd What s Out There -- Gary McMahon No Matter Which Way We Turned -- Brian Evenson The Castellmarch Man -- Ray Cluley The Ice Beneath Us -- Steve Duffy On These Blackened Shores of Time -- Brian Hodge Honorable MentionsThe Stuff of Dreams: The Weird Stories of Edward Lucas White (Dover Horror Classics)
By S. T. Joshi, Edward Lucas White. 2016
This original compilation presents chilling tales of terror by an unjustly neglected author. Inspired by the works of Edgar Allan…
Poe as well as his own vivid nightmares, Edward Lucas White (1866-1934) weaves a tapestry of weird stories populated by ghouls, monsters, a witch doctor, and creatures of ancient myths. The collection features White's most famous story, "Lukundoo," a gripping fable of an American explorer who incurs the wrath of an African sorcerer. Other tales include "Sorcery Island," an uncanny foreshadowing of television's The Prisoner, "The Flambeau Bracket," "The House of the Nightmare," "The Song of the Sirens," and five other stories. Additional selections include the haunting poems "Azrael" and "The Ghoula" and an essay in which the author reflects on the influence of dreams in his fiction. Editor S. T. Joshi provides an informative Introduction to White's life and work.Shock Rock 2 (Shock Rock #2)
By Jeff Gelb. 1994
With this horrifying sequel of short story thrillers, the music just got turned up loud. Beginning with Mark Verheiden's exploration…
into a twisted-if-musical mind, and ending with Rush's Neal Peart and Kevin J. Anderson's creepy quest for a village peddling haunted drums, this collection rocks hard and reads heavy. A diverse group of award winning suspense writers, graphic novelists, music critics and musicians delve into the psyches of superfans, front men, and dead legends-some of whom are less than dead. From music to murder to mayhem, SHOCK ROCK II will blow your mind.Cthulhu 2000: A Lovecraftian Anthology
By Jim Turner. 1995
As successor to the now out-of-print New Tales of Cthulhu Mythos, this new anthology becomes the most celebrated assemblage of…
professional authors ever to appear under Lovecraftian auspices. Incorporating the three finest stories from the earlier volume, "Cthulhu 2000" reprints an additional fifteen works, not all of them Mythos tales, but the aggregate contents exemplifying the continuing influence of H. P. Lovecraft into the twenty-first century: "The Barrens" by F. Paul Wilson, "Pickman's Modem" by Lawrence Watt-Evans, "Shaft Number 247" by Basil Copper, "His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood" by Poppy Z. Brite, "The Adder" by Fred Chappell, "Fat Face" by Michael Shea, "The Big Fish" by Kim Newman, " "I Have Vacantly Crumpled It Into My Pocket. . . But by God, Eliot, It Was A Photograph From Life!'" by Joanna Russ, "H. P. L" by Gahan Wilson, "The Unthinkable" by Bruce Sterling, "Black Man with a Horn" by T. E. D. Klein, "Love's Eldritch Ichor" by Esther M. Friesner, "The Last Feast of Harlequin" by Thomas Ligotti, "The Shadow on the Doorstep" by James P. Blaylock, "Lord of the Land" by Gene Wolfe, "The Faces at Pine Dunes" by Ramsey Campbell, "On The Slab" by Harlan Ellison, and "24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai" by Roger Zelazny.Hellbound Hearts
By Clive Barker, Paul Kane, Marie O Regan. 2009
Clive Barker's iconic masterpiece The Hellbound Heart, the novella adapted into the film Hellraiser, unleashed a new mythology of horror,…
brilliantly conceived and born of the darkest imagination. Now, enter this visionary world -- the merciless realm of the demonic Cenobites -- in this collection of stories inspired by The Hellbound Heart. Featured here is the graphic work "Wordsworth," from bestselling author Neil Gaiman and artist Dave McKean, who unlock an explicit way to violate innocence -- one torturous puzzle at a time.... New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong logs on to a disturbing website for gamers, where the challenge is agonizing, and the solution beyond painful. When his father disappears, an Oxford student returns to his family's mansion, where a strange mechanism in the cellar holds a curious power, in a haunting illustrated work by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola.Rochester Knockings
By Jennifer Grotz, Hubert Haddad. 2015
"Hats off to one of the most inventive writers of French literature. . . . Hubert Haddad concocts a colorful…
novel, funny and inventive, as clever as the Fox sisters themselves."--Jean-François Delapré, Saint Christophe bookstoreThe Fox sisters grew up just outside of Rochester, NY, in a house that had a reputation for being haunted, due in large part to a series of strange "rappings" or "knockings" that plagued its inhabitants. Fed up by whatever was responsible for the knockings, the youngest of the sisters (who was twelve at the time) challenged the ghost and ended up communicating with the spirit of Charles Haynes, who had been murdered in the house and buried in the cellar.Thanks to the enthusiasm of one Isaac Post, the Fox sisters became instantly famous for talking to the dead, launching the Spiritualist Movement in the US. After taking Rochester by storm, the sisters moved to New York where they were the most famous mediums of the time, giving séances for hundreds of people.Then, it all fell apart, and the sisters were exposed as frauds. Nevertheless, even today the Fox sisters are considered to be the founders of Spiritualism, one of the most popular religious movements of the past couple centuries (consider the success of Long Island Medium and the hundreds of thousands who visit Lily Dale every year).Rich in historical detail, Rochester Knockings novelizes the rise and fall of these most infamous of mediums. Hubert Haddad was born in Tunisia, and is the author of dozens of works, including the novels Palestine (winner of the Prix des Cinq Continents de la Francophonie), Tango chinois, and La Condition magique (winner of the Grand Prix du Roman de la Société des Gens de Lettres).Dark Passions (Hot Blood Ser.)
By Jeff Gelb, Michael Garrett. 2007
Not all love is innocent. Some desires swallow you whole. . .There's more than meets the eye to the twenty…
twisted pleasures collected here, with death and desire lying in wait behind every corner. One goth girl finds the man whose love can make her beautiful and whose body can bring her ecstasy--if she can stomach the price. . . A zombie apocalypse destroys a man's family, but "til death do us part" is a vow his wife won't forget--even if she's now more on the undead side. A vampire hunter wakes up the morning after and has to discover what forbidden pleasures he indulged in the night before--he suspects they might involve the drop-dead gorgeous bloodsucker next door. . .These and many more tales of sinister passion lie inside--if you aren't afraid of the dark. . ..Originally published in 1963, this is a collection of true, authenticated accounts of experiences with "living" ghosts, written and compiled…
by the nationally recognized authority on psychic phenomena, Hans Holzer.This is a fascinating, astounding collection of the weird and inexplicable, including reports on:--The after-death messages from murdered financier Serge Rubinstein--The Bank Street ghost, discovered by a New York Times reporter--The falling mural of Artist John La Farge--The rendezvous with HoudiniFully documented reports of events guaranteed to confound the believer and non-believer alike...Occurrences in the realm of psychic phenomena that defy the laws of nature!UNBELIEVABLE YET TRUE..."True stories of ghosts and poltergeists...not the figment of the author's imagination."--Nashville Banner"Unusual reading."--Camden Courier-Post"If your interest has come to the advanced stage of scientific investigation of the occult, this book is your meat."--Sacramento Union"Fascinating reading..."--The Hollywood Reporter"Enthralling...guaranteed to amuse, amaze, baffle and entertain."--Appleton Post Crescent"Packed with spine-tingling stories."--San Francisco Call BulletinMelchizedek and the Mystery of Fire: A Treatise in Three Parts
By Manly P. Hall. 2016
Originally published in 1926, this short book focused on the symbolism surrounding the ancient patriarch Melchizedek serves as a concise…
introduction to important imperceptible truths."The elaborate rituals of the ancient Mysteries and the simpler ceremonials of modern religious institutions had a common purpose. Both were designed to preserve, by means of symbolic dramas and processionals, certain secret and holy processes, by the understanding of which man may more intelligently work out his salvation. The pages which follow will be devoted to an interpretation of some of these allegories according to the doctrine of the ancient seers and sages."Couching at the Door: Strange And Macabre Tales (Tales Of Mystery And The Supernatural Ser.)
By D. K. Broster. 2016
In this collection of dark, supernatural tales the esteemed author D. K. Broster gave full reign to her vivid imagination.…
Sometimes--as in "The Window" or "The Pestering," or "All Soul's Day"--these are what we might call 'explainable' ghost stories: apparitions or hauntings whose origin is to be found in some violent or unjust action in the past. Other stories, "Couching at the Door" and "From the Abyss," have little or no explanation, even in supernatural terms. Add to these an elegant reworking of the Persephone myth, "The Taste of Pomegranates," the downright bloodthirsty "Clairvoyance," and the psychological studies, "The Promised Land" and "The Pavement" which so well merit the heading 'Madness and Obsession', and you have a collection to disturb and unsettle the strongest nerves.Literary historian Jack Adrian describes Couching at the Door as "a pure masterwork, one of the most satisfying weird collections of the century".Charleston Ghosts
By Margaret Rhett Martin. 2016
Charleston, South Carolina, famous for its magnolia and azalea gardens, its Battery, its plantations, and its key role in early…
American history has certainly had its share of ghosts. They stalk the halls of townhouses once famous for gracious living and romance; they inhabit lonely stretches of moss-draped roads; and they roam the deserted garden paths of the old plantations outside the city.Charleston Ghosts brings to life an intriguing group of personalities who act out their fateful roles in true-to-legend style."Eighteen delightful ghost tales about Charleston and the Lowcountry told as only a native Charlestonian could tell them."--Charleston News and CourierVoodoo in Haiti
By Alfred Métraux, Hugo Charteris. 2016
Voodoo in Haiti is a masterwork of observation and description by one of the most distinguished anthropologists of the twentieth…
century. Alfred Métraux has written a rich and lasting study of the lives and rituals of the Haitian mambos and adepts, and of the history and origins of their religion. It is an accurate and engaging account of one of the most fascinating and misunderstood cultures in the world."Métraux's book is a landmark in the serious study of Afro-Atlantic religion. The breadth and subtlety of its approach is such that it remains an essential classic of Afro-American ethnology."--Robert Farris Thompson, professor of art history, Yale University, author of Flash of the Spirit"This is a work deserving of wide readership, and assured of it by its understanding and appeal."--Library Journal"This book gives what is surely the most authoritative general account of that complex of belief and practice called vaudou available in the literature....No other observer of vaudou has contributed to its study the exquisite documentation of detail that marks the work of Alfred Métraux."--Sidney W. Mintz, professor of anthropology, Johns Hopkins University