A collection of "mesmerizing tales, each one creepier than the next" that go beyond the traditional vampire myths ( Library Journal).When we think of vampires, an image instantly arises: fangs sunk deep into the throat of the victim. But bloodsucking is merely one form of vampirism. For this brilliantly original anthology, multiple award-winning editor Ellen Datlow solicited stories from many of the most powerfully dark voices in contemporary horror, who co...

Weird fiction icon and award-winning author Michael Cisco's Black Brane, begins with the physical pain of a bad foot and later voyages into absurdity, mad science, occultism, and existential dread.A man lying in a bed of pain flees from physical torment into his own memories, and into speculations about life and reality. He was, once, employed by the Temporary Institute for the Study of Holes, a think tank pursuing research that ranges from occult studies ...

"Readers who know Lovecraft's legacy mostly through turgid and tentacled Cthulhu Mythos pastiches will find this book a treasure trove of literary terrors." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)Here are nineteen Lovecraftian stories—both new and rediscovered—that take their cues from the mythos of the iconic horror writer. Today's masters of supernatural thrills celebrate H. P. Lovecraft's oeuvre with tales of weird fiction and cosmic horror, collected by H...

Pest presents the bizarre events that lead a new, parallel life for a man named Chalo as a wild yak living in the Himalayas.Chalo the man is recruited by a latter day prophet named Grant to design and build a campus on Catalina Island, where initiates will be trained to receive a celestial visitor, the "Ancient Newborn." Chalo the yak reflects on his human past while the annual rut looms ominously nearer and nearer. The struggle to fund and construct the campus is ...

Simon thought he left his fascination with the infamous “The Sunshine Killer” and his cult, the “Sunshine Circle,” behind in childhood, but the past may be closer than he realized…At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In a traditional folktale from Alak, a dreamy good-for-nothing young woman seeking excitement discovers a life of adventures may not be what she expected. Be careful what you wish for!At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Weird Fiction: A Genre Study presents a comprehensive, contemporary analysis of the genre of weird fiction by identifying the concepts that influence and produce it. Focusing on the sources of narrative content—how the content is produced and what makes something weird—Michael Cisco engages with theories from Deleuze and Guattari to explain how genres work and to understand the relationship between identity and the ordinary. Cisco also uses these theories to examine the supernatur...

H.P. Lovecraft, one of the twentieth century’s most important writers in the genre of horror fiction, famously referred to Edgar Allan Poe as both his “model” and his “God of Fiction.” While scholars and readers of Poe’s and Lovecraft’s work have long recognized the connection between these authors, this collection of essays is the first in-depth study to explore the complex literary relationship between Lovecraft and Poe from a variety of critical perspectives. Of the thirteen essays incl...

Since H. P. Lovecraft first invited colleagues such as Frank Belknap Long and Robert Bloch (among others) to join in his creation of what has come to be known as the “Cthulhu Mythos” (over Lovecraft’s less invocative name of “Yog-Sothery”), dozens of authors have tried their hand at adding to this vast tapestry with varying degrees of success. Some, like the then teenage Ramsey Campbell, used the Mythos as a starting point to his own career while still finding his own authorial voice. Othe...

Supernatural Youth: The Rise of the Teen Hero in Literature and Popular Culture, edited by Jes Battis, addresses the role of adolescence in fantastic media, adventure stories, cinema, and television aimed at youth. The goal of this volume is to analyze the ways in which young heroic protagonists are presented in such popular literary and visual texts. Supernatural Youth surveys a variety of sources whose young protagonists are placed in heroic positions, whether by magic,...

Even though he passed over 80 years ago, H. P. Lovecraft maintains a visceral influence over a host of contemporary writers. Inspired by the Master of the Macabre's more optimistic writings, this unique collection spotlights the weird works of nine current horror and fantasy authors, including the award-winning Michael Cisco and Livia Llewellyn plus Victor LaValle, Molly Tanzer, and Masahiko Inoue. Also includes Clark Ashton Smith's 1931 "The City of the Singing Flame" and Lovecraft's own ...

A Bram Stoker Award–winning anthology featuring twenty stories based on local legends and ghost stories from around the world.Wherever you're from, there are local stories of ghosts, unexplained phenomena, or some thing that people are afraid to talk about. You can dismiss them as old wives' tales, and yet they stay with us, haunting our everyday lives. In Haunted Legends, these tales are brought disturbingly to life by some of the best horror and ...