The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton Review

Edith Wharton (originally Edith Jones) was born in 1872 in New York City, New York to an upper class family. Her marriage to Edward Wharton was an unhappy one that ended in divorce in1913. She enjoyed mainstream success as a writer, publishing THE HOUSE OF MIRTH in 1902, ETHAN FROME in 1911, and became the […]

HOLES FOR FACES BY Ramsey Campbell

I’ve made no secret of my love for Ramsey Campbell’s work. His are the first stories I read in any anthology in which he’s featured, and I’ve consumed more of his novels than any other writer. His collection of stories, ALONE WITH THE HORRORS, would be my “trapped on a deserted island” book choice for […]

THE SHAPES OF MIDNIGHT BY JOSEPH PAYNE BRENNAN

Joseph Payne Brennan was born in Connecticut, New York in 1918. He worked at the Sterling Memorial Library of Yale University for more than 40 years and sold numerous stories to Weird Tales magazine and other publications. Some of his story collections include NINE HORRORS AND A DREAM (1958), SCREAMS AT MIDNIGHT (1963), STORIES OF […]

UNEARTHED TREASURES: GOODWILL FINDS

A quick stop in at our local Goodwill paid off tonight with a couple of late 1960’s horror anthologies. 1. THE OCCULT WORLD OF JOHN PENDRAGON Edited by Brad Steiger (1968 Ace Star Book) contains “predictions, experiences, and tape-recorded dialogues by and about England’s most celebrated clairvoyant and prophet.” I don’t know about the accuracy […]

M.R. James: The Grandmaster of Horror

An antiquary is either an expert on, or collector of antiques, or both. The protagonists in GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY by M.R. James generally hale from this studious bunch, who tend to come into contact with some hideous spectral entity as a result of their antiquarian quests. Montague Rhodes James was born on August […]

THE HAUNTED PLANET Review

THE HAUNTED PLANET: By DJ Arneson and Tony Tallarico Published by Watermill Press 1980 I read this book in Elementary School and enjoyed it. The stories are relatively simple, but they each have pretty dark endings for a young adult book. Overall, it’s a fun read. THE STORIES: 1. “The Haunted Gull” – A boy […]

LIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT: HARD AND HEAVY STORIES REVIEW

This anthology, edited by David T. Wilbanks and Craig Clark, was the first offering from e-publisher ACID GRAVE PRESS. Each contributor was asked to produce a story using the name of one of their favorite hard rock or heavy metal bands as the title with the bands music as inspiration. It’s a great collection of […]

THE ADVENTURES OF CARNACKI THE GHOST FINDER

Paranormal super-sleuth Carnacki the Ghost Finder was the creation by William Hope Hodgson. Carnacki would recite details from each case to a group of friends who gathered at his house. During his investigations he’d employ pseudo-science along with arcane magic rituals, often mixing the two, to identify and combat these forces. Some cases turned out […]

ROBERT W. CHAMBERS

Robert W. Chambers was born Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1865. He became a successful artist, selling work to several magazines and publications. He later turned to writing, publishing his first novel (In the Quarter) in 1887. Chambers wrote in multiple genres, but his biggest success was his weird fiction collected in “The King in Yellow” (1895). […]

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE CREEPY by Marianne Halbert

Marianne Halbert’s collection of stories, WAKE UP AND SMELL THE CREEPY, contains nine stories ranging from horror to sci-fi to crime. What stands out in each is how well-developed the characters are, a difficult task in the constraint of a short story. My personal favorites were “Invisible Fences“, “The House of Abandoned Characters” and “A […]