Classic Horror Fiction

In a certain portion of a certain Australian Colony, two miners, when out prospecting in what was then, as now, one of the dreariest parts of the Island Continent, chanced upon a rich find. But before they could enjoy their riches, the field was declared abandoned, and the dead were left to take their last long sleep, undisturbed by the clank of windlass or the blow of pick.

"Here is a nice thing for a lady now - this hand-glass: fifteenth century; comes from a good collection, too; but I reserve the name of my customer, who was just like yourself, my dear sir, the nephew and sole heir of a remarkable collector." The dealer, while he thus ran on in his dry and biting voice, had stooped to take the object from its place; and, as he had done so, a shock had passed through Markheim.

One of Poe’s most famous stories and a masterpiece of psychological horror, 'The Tell-Tale Heart' is recounted by an unnamed narrator who insists he is not mad, but was driven to murder by his over-acute senses. To prove his sanity, he tells the listener how he conceived of the idea of killing the old man he lived with, how he went about it - and what happened afterwards....

On the Akasaka Road, in Tokyo, there is a slope called Kii-no-kuni-zaka. Before the era of street-lamps and jinrikishas, this neighbourhood was very lonesome after dark; belated pedestrians would go miles out of their way rather than mount the Kii-no-kuni-zaka, alone, after sunset. All because of a Mujina that used to walk there....

Here is a compelling tale sure to delight the most discerning reader of Victorian tales of terror and the supernatural.

In addition to being a prolific writer of Theosophical and occult teachings, Madame Blavatsky also penned a few tales of short fiction, although she often claimed the events of her tales to be true, for added effect. This, one of her more famous short stories, is a tale of an inheritance, a mysterious cave, and supernatural events.

Originally published in 1911, this account perhaps more accurately belongs in our series of occult fiction, but it is one of many stories Leadbeater published as being true. This particular tale is the retelling of a story relayed to him by Helena Blavatsky, about two travelers who discover a remote, old house that is haunted by the spirit of a baron who committed suicide. Enjoy this "true story".

The Leopard Man, with his sad, dreamy eyes, seems oppressed by gloom. But all attempts to get his story out of him end in frustration: he seems to lack imagination. Until, finally, he reveals the tale of the lion-tamer and the man who hated him…

On Christmas Eye, in the year 1907, Mr Batchel, who would have liked to sleep well lay hopelessly wide awake. A brilliant moon shone into his room - he heard the clocks strike the hour of midnight, and having now lost all hope of falling asleep, he rose from his bed and passed into the library, with the intention of reading himself sleepy - if he could.

"I heard, with an unpleasant surprise, close to me, a voice that was drawling, and, I fancied, sneering, repeat the words: 'Food for worms, dead and rotten; God over all.' There was a small window in the wall, here very thick, which had been built up, and in the dark recess of this, deep in the shadow, I now saw a sharp-featured man, sitting with his feet dangling. His keen eyes were fixed on me, and he was smiling cynically...."