The theme is Gothic-- the horror of Gothic romance. Throughout the mid-century, paperback Gothic romance books dominated the shelves, always featuring a woman running away from a house. (Go ahead, Google "women running from houses.") Gothic romances tended to tell stories of women coming into conflict with old families, old houses and old traditions. So we've asked a bevy of best-selling writers to celebrate the movement with their own horrific takes on gothic. Run from the house with us! In Churl Yo offers a Bradburyesque sci-fi take on the Gothic, Alethea Kontis also chooses sci-fi in her tale of a futuristic medical procedure gone awry, John Ohno brings a classic governess-arrives-and-things-go-bad story, Jim Towns sets his story in 1972 with his movie-world horror tale, Amanda DeWees has a Gothic tale with an ingenious and tech-savvy female, Jeremiah Dylan Cook gives us a mysterious mansion-and sexy maybe-ghost, Leanna Renee Hieber brings us a ballad-like ghost origin story, Rob Nisbet makes a Lovecraft story out of Lovecraft himself, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam comes to us with a ghost story of a house with its own ideas, Jason Henderson brings the beginning of a serialized story about an expedition into the fabled and haunted House of Usher, Charles R. Rutledge returns with a Carter Decamp psychic mystery, Henry Herz turns to folklore with his tale of a supernatural being wreaking vengeance on Scottish shores, Tony Jones spins us in the direction of violent, supernatural creatures with a taste for the nightlife, Michael Aronovitz weaves a tale about a person coming to terms with what it takes to escape an attic, Sam Knight perfectly evokes the smells and textures of life at an orchard, and Scott Pearson returns us once again to the contemporary era with his feminist commentary on the Modern Gothic.

The Darkest Lullaby is an anthology full of suspense and horror. You'll not want to miss this heart-pounding collection if you loved Survive the Night by Riley Sager, works by Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, or American Horror Story. Six authors come together to bring to life thrilling and heart-pounding horror stories of nannies and their wards, creating something unsettling that will haunt the reader long after they've finished reading! A governess is plagued by nightmares of her own death each night—but are they mere dreams? Atrocities of the past collide with the future for a nighttime nanny. Secrets surrounding a castle are murderous for a caregiver. A failed witch's apprentice must take up her late aunt's babysitting shift at a terrifying house. For one babysitter, discovering the truth about a local house, and her ward, comes with a hefty price. An unsuspecting young woman gets more than she bargained for when she takes on a nannying job… for a doll. Your new favorite hair-raising thrill awaits.

THE STORY: The home of the Blackwoods near a Vermont village is a lonely, ominous abode, and Constance, the young mistress of the place, can't go out of the house without being insulted and stoned by the villagers. They have also composed a nasty s

Readers are in for the fright of the night when they help Jodie and Johnny search for their Uncle Barnaby in the monster-filled halls of Grizzlemyst Castle. The reader chooses an optional path and gets drawn into an adventure where shrieking ghouls, brain-dead drudges, mutants, and torturers appear at every turn. Full color.

Published for the first time in over a hundred years, Mildred Darby's "The House of Horrors" is her first-hand account of one of the world's most terrifying hauntings. Although written under the pen name of Andrew Merry, with the name of the castle changed from Leap to Kliman Castle and using pseudonyms in order to protect the identity of those involved, all of the incidents dramatized in her narrative are true, having occurred in the Darby's Leap Castle home. With sightings over the centuries of at least nineteen individual ghosts, accounts of the sounds of a phantom battle being heard to play out upon the castle grounds, a banshee and the frighteningly hideous and oppressively foul-smelling Elemental; Leap Castle truly merits its longstanding reputation as "The most Haunted Castle in Ireland." In addition to Mildred Darby's original account, this new edition features a comprehensive Introduction providing relevant historical background as well as first-hand witness accounts attesting to the factual basis of Mildred Darby's account.

This book contains70 short storiesfrom 10 classic, prize-winning and noteworthy authors. The stories were carefully selected by the criticAugust Nemo, in a collection that will please theliterature lovers. For more exciting titles, be sure to check out our 7 Best Short Stories and Essential Novelists collections. This book contains: Sheridan Le Fanu: - Carmilla - Green Tea - Mr. Justice Harbottle - The Familiar - The Room in the Dragon Volant - Jim Sulivan's Adventures in the Great Snow - HauntedH. Heron and E. Heron: - The Story of Saddler's Croft - The Story of Baelbrow - The Story of Yand Manor House - The Story of Konnor Old House - The Story of the Spaniards, Hammersmith - The Story of Sevens Hall - The Tale of the Moor RoadCharlotte Riddell: - A Strange Christmas Story - Walnut-Tree House - The Open Door - Nut Bush Farm - The Old House in Vauxhall Walk - Sandy the Tinker - Old Mrs. JonesFlora Annie Steel: - Sir Buzz - The Rat's Wedding - The Faitful Prince - The Bear's Bad Bargain - Prince Lionheart and HisThree Friends - Princess Aubergine - Valiant Vicky, The Brave WeaverAmelia B. Edwards: - A Night on the Borders of the Black Forest - The Story of Salome - In the Confessional - Was it an illusion? - How the Third Floor Knew the Potteries - The Tragedy in the Palazzo BardelloMargaret Oliphant: - A window's tale. - Queen Eleanor and fair Rosamond - Mademoiselle - The Lily and the thorn - The strange adventures of John Percival - A story of a wedding-tour - JohnMaria Edgeworth: - The Grateful Negro - The Prussian Vase - The Good Aunt - The Good French Governess - The Orphans - The False Key - TarltonS. Baring-Gould: - Jean Bouchon - Pomps and Vanities - McAlister - The Leaden Ring - The Mother of Pansies - The Red-haired Girl - A Professional Secret Edward Bellamy: - The Blindman's World - An Echo Of Antietam - The Old Folks' Party - The Cold Snap - Two Days' Solitary Imprisonment - Potts's Painless Cure - A Summer Evening's DreamArnold Bennett: - The Lion's Share - The Burglary - News of the Engagement - Beginning the New Year - From One Generation to Another - The Death of Simon Fuge - In a New Bottle

Witty and charming, New York Times-bestselling author Kerstin Gier's contemporary young adult novel A Castle in the Clouds follows a girl as she navigates secrets, romance, and danger in an aging grand hotel. Way up in the Swiss mountains, there's a hotel steeped in tradition and faded splendor. Once a year, when the famous New Year's Eve Ball takes place and guests from all over the world arrive, excitement returns to the vast hallways. Sophie, an intern at the hotel, is tasked with ensuring everything goes as planned. But the unexpected seems to lurk in every corner, and she soon realizes that not all the guests are as they appear to be. As Sophie finds herself embroiled in a thrilling adventure, risking not just her job but her heart, readers will be captivated by this whimsical tale of romance and mystery. Find yourself lost in the winding hallways of our grand Swiss hotel where secrets, romance, and danger coalesce into one unforgettable experience.