Horror & Ghost Stories Books

Book Synopsis“A gripping, cinematic supernatural thriller, shot through with unsettling imagery and startling insights into the nature of good and evil.” —David Demchuk, Sunburst Award–winning author of The Bone Mother Kidnapped from his foster home, six-year-old Evan desperately searches for a way to escape his brutally violent captor, Rook. Armed with supernatural abilities, Rook is no ordinary man, but then Evan is no ordinary boy. And it soon becomes clear that on their frantic journey through a world teeming with unimaginable horrors and unnatural predators, Rook is Evan’s only hope for survival . . . “With Only the Devil Is Here, Stephen Michell announces himself as a new and powerful presence on the literary horror scene. This is curt, violent, poetic storytelling, a Cormac McCarthyesque journey from darkness into even deeper darkness, suffused from moment one on with gothic nighttime awe and terror yet also shot through with the slimmest threads of hope—intimations of numinosity, if not of salvation.” —Gemma Files, Shirley Jackson Award–winning author of Spectral Evidence “Michell subtly upends expectations with a genuinely insightful examination of the essence of good and evil. By the novel’s end, Michell delivers an invigorating chase story, a suspenseful horror-action hybrid with memorably warped characters, and terrific B-movie cinematic flair.” —Publishers Weekly “How Rook acquired his superhuman strength and came to accept his unholy mission are just two of the many revelations Michell has in store for readers. Better still is the poignant father-son relationship that slowly builds between Rook and the orphaned Evan, who is also gifted with supernatural powers. A very promising debut from a new author to watch.” —Toronto StarTrade Review“A very promising debut.” —Toronto Star “Subtly upends expectations with a genuinely insightful examination of the essence of good and evil. By the novel’s end, Michell delivers an invigorating chase story, a suspenseful horror-action hybrid with memorably warped characters, and terrific B-movie cinematic flair.” —Publishers Weekly “A gripping, cinematic supernatural thriller, shot through with unsettling imagery and startling insights into the nature of good and evil. Suspenseful, scary and unexpectedly moving, it’s a wild ride from start to finish.” —David Demchuk, Giller Prize–nominated author of The Bone Mother “With Only the Devil Is Here, Stephen Michell announces himself as a new and powerful presence on the literary horror scene. This is curt, violent, poetic storytelling, a Cormac McCarthyesque journey from darkness into even deeper darkness, suffused from moment one on with gothic nighttime awe and terror yet also shot through with the slimmest threads of hope—intimations of numinosity, if not of salvation. For all you probably won't like where it takes you, it’s just so damn hard to turn away.” —Gemma Files, Shirley Jackson Award–winning author of Experimental Film “An outstanding literary horror debut, the lean, muscular prose of which barely contains the bursting, profoundly human heart of the novel. Only the Devil Is Here is the work of a natural storyteller at the start of what will doubtless be a very long, very promising career." —Michael Rowe, award-winning author of Enter, Night; Wild Fell; and October “A breathless debut that moves too fast to accommodate bulky backstory. As such, the true nature of the characters, their origins or intentions, are only ever glimpsed. Who’s good? Who’s evil? Is the division between one and the other really so neat? Michell keeps the details―the idiomatic abode of both God and the Devil―elusive. It’s in that murky moral unknown that Only the Devil Is Here thrives.” —Bookshelf

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Book SynopsisAn unforgettable contemporary ghost story in the tradition of Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw from the award-winning author of October.Rising from the fog over the waters of Devil’s Lake, Blackmore Island is home to the infamous summerhouse called Wild Fell. A sinister past lies within its walls, and rumors of teenagers disappearing nearby have become the stuff of local legend. The townspeople do their best to avoid the place, and no one has lived there for over fifty years—until now.Jameson Browning is ready for a break from all the drama in his life when he discovers an ad in the newspaper for a turn-of-the-century estate on a private island in Georgian Bay. It’s a good location, and the price is a steal. How could he say no?Except something is waiting inside the house for Jameson, ready to show him his senses can’t always be trusted and the past isn’t always gone forever . . .“A novel for lovers of fine storytelling; a book that evokes terrors both ancient and modern . . . Wild Fell is supernatural fiction of the highest order.” —Clive Barker, author of The Scarlet Gospels “Deeply textured, richly imagined, and with characters that leap from the book, Wild Fell is an atmospheric ghost story that grips from the first page. A fine novel that is destined to become a classic.” —Tim Lebbon, New York Times–bestselling author of the Relics seriesTrade Review“The mysteries of love and time haunt the beautifully wrought pages of Michael’s Rowe’s superb ghost story. . . . Wild Fell is supernatural fiction of the highest order.” —Clive Barker “An atmospheric ghost story that grips from the first page.” —Tim Lebbon

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Book Synopsis “An irresistible tale that ventures into the ghostly realms of psychology, personality and intimacy” from the bestselling author of The Music Room (San Francisco Chronicle).   When their daughter leaves for college, newly minted empty nesters Cookson and Ellen Selway decide to escape the eerie quiet of their home and take a trip to London. But not long after arriving, it becomes apparent that the Selways have traded one unsettling locale for another. Like Cookson, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, the Hotel Willerton has a disturbing past. Fifty years ago, a young girl fell to her death from one of the hotel’s windows, and her ghost is haunting Cookson, slowly drawing him back toward the darkness that once consumed him. As Cookson descends into a spiral of self-destruction, he is joined by two more apparitions, each reflecting the worst parts of himself and forcing him to confront the mistakes of his past that have tormented him for years. From the celebrated author of the Washington Post Best Book of the Year Nostalgia and the New York Times–bestselling The Music Room, this is “a gripping, stylish, consistently entertaining novel” that offers a literary spin on the traditional ghost story (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).  

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Book SynopsisFifty years ago Pan launched a series of books that were to delight and disgust - sometimes even on the same page – readers for thirty years. From classics in the genre to scraping-the-barrel nastiness, the Pan Books of Horror had them all and they continue to be a major influence in published anthologies to the present day. We're delighted, therefore, to announce the reissue of the very first Pan Book of Horror, with a new introduction by Johnny Mains. Specially selected for Pan Books, here are 22 terrifying tales of horror by such famous authors as Peter Fleming, C. S. Forester, Bram Stoker, Angus Wilson, Noel Langley, Jack Finney and L. P. Hartley. Stories of the uncanny jostle with tales of the macabre. Stories of subtle beastliness - like Raspberry Jam; of sickening horror - like The Fly or His Beautiful Hands; and of utter chilling terror - like The Horror of the Museum! The perfect bedside book - for those with nerves of steel!

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Book SynopsisGhosts, intrigue and a murder long ago sit at the heart of House of Many Shadows, the gripping Gothic romance by New York Times bestseller Barbara Michaels.When a car crash leaves Meg Rittenhouse suffering from strange hallucinations, an invitation to recuperate at her elderly relative’s crumbling mansion in the Pennsylvania hills seems like the answer to her prayers. But she couldn’t be more wrong . . .There, in a remote old house miles from anywhere, the terrible sights and sounds become even worse. Suddenly eerie black shapes dance in the shadows – mocking Meg, haunting her . . . threatening her. And the presence of kind, considerate Andy Brenner, the caretaker, both reassures her and terrifies her – because Andy also sees these dark spectres . . .Trade ReviewBarbara Michaels is a consummate storyteller -- Mary Higgins Clark

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Book SynopsisGhosts, a mysterious diary and a harrowing of a family split by the American Civil War sit at the heart of The Walker in the Shadows, a haunting Gothic romance by New York Times bestseller Barbara Michaels.The house next door to Pat Robbins – eerily identical to the home she shares with her teenage son, Mark – has been empty for years. And it’s not surprising, as there’s a feeling of darkness radiating from the house that seems to scare everyone away.But now new tenants are moving in: friendly Josef and his lovely daughter, Kathy, who has stolen Mark's heart on first glance. But something is not right – something old and secret is lurking in the shadows, something that fresh paint and new furnishings cannot mask or exorcise. There is evil alive in the heart of the house next door – and it means to feed on the fears of two families . . .Trade ReviewBarbara Michaels is a consummate storyteller -- Mary Higgins Clark

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Book SynopsisAn imposing stately home, Grayhaven Manor has been transported stone by stone from England to the isolated hills of Pennsylvania. An ideal summer retreat, the house calls to Anne and Kevin – it’s the perfect quiet spot to finally write the book they’ve been planning together. But they are not alone . . .There are distractions in the halls and shadows, luring them from their work. Something lives on here from Grayhaven's shocking past, something beautiful, powerful and eerily seductive, something unlocking the doors of human desire, of fear . . . and unearthly passion.Set over 150 years after the events of Black Rainbow, Someone in the House, the suspenseful Gothic romance by New York Times bestseller Barbara Michaels, will have you on the edge of your seat.Trade ReviewBarbara Michaels is a consummate storyteller -- Mary Higgins Clark

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