Horror, ghost stories and supernatural fiction

Book SynopsisWhen Count Dracula departs Transylvania on a Russian ship, crew members begin to mysteriously disappear. After the ship docks, and more people are attacked, rumours of a monster quickly spread. When Abraham Van Helsing is asked to intervene, Dracula meets his match. On his quest to find Dracula, Van Helsing is forced to hunt newly made vampires, using a cross, garlic, and a wooden steak as weapons. But tracking down Dracula will prove to be harder, and more dangerous that Van Helsing could have ever imagined.Bram Stoker named Count Dracula after the 15th century Romanian king, Vlad iii. His father, Vlad ii was given the surname Dracul in 1431 after being inducted into the Order of the Dragon. Dracula literally means ''Son of Dracul''. Vlad iii was also know as Vlad the Impaler for killing nearly 100,000 people with wooden stakes. In the novel, Stoker twice alludes to Count Dracula being the very same Vlad iii of Romania.This case laminate collector''s edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket. 

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis complete collection of strange and unusual stories from H. P. Lovecraft features an array of dark and supernatural themes. Forbidden, esoterically veiled knowledge is at the forefront of many of Lovecraft''s works, as well as non-human influences on humanity, inherited guilt, fate, civilization under threat, race, risks of a scientific era, religion, and superstition. Many of Lovecraft''s stories were inspired by his nightmares. His interest in the supernatural started during his childhood days when his grandfather would tell him Gothic horror stories. In 1913, he wrote a critical letter to a pulp magazine that ultimately led to his involvement in pulp fiction. During the interwar period, he wrote and published stories that focused on his interpretation of humanity''s place in the universe. In his view, humanity was an unimportant part of an uncaring cosmos that could be swept away at any moment. These stories also included fantastic elements that represented the perceived fragility of anthropocentrism.This case laminate collector''s edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket. 

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Twilight saga, a series of five films adapted from Stephanie Meyer's four vampire novels, has been a sensation, both at the box office and through the attention it has won from its predominantly teenaged fans. This series has also been the subject of criticism and sometimes derision - often from critics and on occasion even from fans. However, it also offers rich opportunities for analytic and critical attention, which the contributors to Screening Twilight demonstrate with energy and style. Through examining Twilight, the book unpacks how this popular group of films work as cinematic texts, what they have to say about cinema and culture today, and how fans may seek to re-read or subvert these messages. The chapters addressTwilight in the context of the vampire and myth, in terms of genre and reception, identity, gender and sexuality, and through re-viewing the series fandom. Screening Twilight is also a revelation of how a popular cinematic phenomenon like Twilight rewards close attention from contemporary critical scholars of cinema and culture.Trade Review'Harman and Clayton have gathered together a dynamic mix of writers who tackle the series in all its complexities [ - ] This book is a must-read.' Stacey Abbott, Reader in Film and Television Studies, University of Roehampton 'Screening Twilight [ - ] examines not only the texts but also how fans and critics have responded to them and it opens up a lively discussion of the cultural significance of this new twist in the vampire tale. In short, this is a terrific book.' Milly Williams, Senior Lecturer in Film and TV Studies, Brunel UniversityTable of Contents1. Mute Monsters and Vocal [Fan] Critics: Genre and Reception Guilty Pleasures: Twilight, snark and ironic fandom Francesca Haig 'Cue the Shrieking Virgins'?: The Critical Reception of the Twilight Saga Mark Jankovich The Twilight Saga: Genre and Reception Nia Edwards-Behi 2. Werewolves, Lions and Lambs: Creating and Subverting the Myth Why Twilight Sucks And Edward Doesn’t: Contemporary Vampires and the Sentimental Tradition Judith Kohlenberger The Lore of the Wild Dr Caroline Ruddell Northwest Small Town Gothic: Location and Space in the Twilight Films Dr Ian Conrich 3. Romancing the Tomb: Gender and Sexuality My distaste for Forks’: Twilight, oral gratification and self-denial Ruth O’Donnell Of Masochistic Lions and Stupid Lambs: The Ambiguous Nature of Sexuality and Sexual Awakening in Twilight Marion Rana 'Venus in Fangs': Negotiating Masochism in Twilight Mark Adams 4. The Politics of Pallor: Post-colonialism and Racial Whiteness The Cullens: The Mimicry of the Post-Colonial Vampire Simon Bacon Racial Whiteness and Twilight Ewan Kirkland 5. Slash and Burn: Deviating Fandom and Re-writing the Text Twilight’s Queer Communities: Family and Fandom R. Justin Hunt, : Projected Interactivity and All Human Twilight Fanfic Brigid Cherry Normal Female Interest in Vampires and Werewolves Bonking: Slash and the Reconstruction of Meaning Bethan Jones Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisGenesis of a MonsterVlad III Drăcula. A warleader in a warlike time: brilliant, charismatic, pious. But what became of him? What drove him to become a creature of darkness—Bram Stoker’s cruel, ambitious “Un-Dead”—and what use did he make of this power, through the centuries?More than a hundred years after the monster’s death, the descendants of the survivors piece together the story—dusty old manuscripts, court reports from the Holy Roman Empire at its height, stories of the Szgany Roma who once served the monster—trying to understand. Because the nightmare is far from over...Five incredible fantasy authors come together to reveal a side to literature’s greatest monster you’ve never seen before.Table of Contents Prologue The Souls of Those Gone Astray From the Path, Bogi Takács Noblesse Oblige, Adrian Tchaikovsky A Stake Too Far, Melina Benini Children of the Night, Emil Minchev The Women, Caren Gussoff Sumption

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe second volume of the supernatural noir thriller!In an alternate 1940s USA, WWII is over - but in this world, victory was secured with occult means. Now, magic is a part of everyday life, its practitioners commonplace.Mallory Hope is one such skilled operative, though calling on the dark arts takes its toll on the user. He’s also a private investigator, hired for all manner of down ‘n’ dirty jobs.Now his services have taken him to New York at the behest of his old army colleague, Alberto Modi, who has tried to use black magic for his own nefarious ends and to become the foremost gangster in the Big Apple. A gritty detective tale from Guy Adams and Jimmy Broxton that blends classic Hollywood noir with the supernatural!"[Adams and Broxton] don’t disappoint... the story sucks you in and dares you to keep reading even as you dread what may happen... I can’t recommend this book highly enough." - Comics Crusaders"grabbed me right away" - Multiversity"In Hope, Jimmy Broxton draws a chilling horror noir that combines occult symbolism with Hollywood glamor." - Doom RocketTrade Review"Glitzy, Gritty Decadence" - Comic Crusaders * Comic Crusaders *"Adams and Broxton make a hell of a team" - Multiversity Comics * Multiversity Comics *In “Hope,” Jimmy Broxton draws a chilling horror noir that combines occult symbolism with Hollywood glamor." - Doom Rocket * Doom Rocket *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn anthology of the best tales of ghosts and terrorTales of ghosts and horror can be found in every age, country and culture on earth; they have been passed down orally for millennia and in written form have existed for almost as long as literature itself. Although there have been notable novels of spine chilling hauntings there can be little doubt that the ghost story is a form ideally suited to short stories or novellas. The story that frightens can be explicitly so, with screaming phantoms, a morality tale or humorous, it can be subtly menacing with creeping horror, and can be set almost anywhere. Such stories have never waned in their popularity with the reading public and it is for this reason that so many authors have applied their talents to creating them. Essentially we love to be thrilled and chilled simultaneously. Some of the finest exponents of the ghost story have been specialists who became masters of the genre, while others wrote scary stories to the same high standard as all their work. In the middle of the 19th century the appetite for tales of terror burgeoned and a golden age was born that lasted until the outbreak of Great War. It is probably fair to say that the finest works of the genre were created during this period and it is principally from those that the twenty-seven stories in this substantial anthology have been drawn. This bumper collection of some of the best stories of the ghostly and horrific has been gathered together by Eunice Hetherington.Included in ''The First Leonaur Book of Great Ghost and Horror Stories'' are ''The Were-Wolf'' by H.B. Marryat, ''The Withered Arm'' by Thomas Hardy,'' ''Clarimonde'' by Theophile Gautier, ''The Rival Ghosts'' by Brander Mathew, ''The Silent Woman'' by Leopold Kompert and many more wonderful tales of the macabre.Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

Read more less