Weird Fiction: An Anthology

by Edgar Allan Poe, May Sinclair, H.P. Lovecraft

Penguin Weird Fiction: a celebration of the very best of the weird, a store of novels and tales that for generations have delighted and horrified.

Sometime around the turn of the twentieth century, something happened, something... weird. In the dark halls of ivy-clad manors, in the ancient woodland escapes of New England, a generation of authors were inspired to radically reinterpret the horror and fantasy writing of the past. From the terrible plagues of Edgar Allan Poe to the religious terror of May Sinclair and on to the awful, tentacle-faced mythos of H.P. Lovecraft, this anthology celebrates the very best of this writing, a collection of brilliant tales that for generations have delighted and horrified.

‘Escape from the prison-house of the known and the real into those enchanted lands of incredible adventure and infinite possibilities which dreams open up to us, and which things like deep woods, fantastic urban towers, and flaming sunsets momentarily suggest . . .’ H.P. Lovecraft

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Horror, Classics, Fantasy, Anthologies, Weird Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published October 17, 2024

About the author

The name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.

Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.

The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...

Reviews

[Will Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Masque of the Red Death
Edgar Allen Poe

Not one of Poe’s best and not the story I would have chosen to kick things off. **

The Money’s Paw
W. W. Jacobs

Brilliant. Really horrifying and a concept that launched a great Simpsons bit. *****

‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’
M. R. James

Great setting, great characters, ‘academic’ horror. Very English. ****

A Wicked Voice
Vernon Lee

Unbelievably tedious for a short story. *

The Horror of the Heights
Arthur Conan Doyle

Imaginative, futuristic, very impressive in conception. *****

Kerfol
Edith Wharton

Sad but charming take on a ghost story. ***

Where Their Fire is Not Quenched
Mary Sinclair

A lesson in not sinning against Christ. ***

The Call of Cthulhu
H. P. lovecraft

Masterpiece of the genre. This is what ‘weird’ means. *****

Couching at the Door
D. K. Broster

Another great short story. Well paced and executed. ****

[Angelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay collection, a lot of them were quite tedious and got good only at the very end when the horror rears its head, sometimes it paid off, sometimes I was too bored to care

[Chanel Chapters]

The only thing weird about these stories were how mild and mid they were - but I have read some truly WEIRD shit so maybe the comparison isn’t fair

2⭐️

[Philippa · Rating 3 out of 5]

this wasn't my favourite anthology. I normally like weird books, but I think this collection fell a little short. maybe because my preference tends towards more surrealism and absurdist fiction, whereas this seemed to skew towards horror? additionally, just because something is labelled as "weird", it doesn't mean that it should lack good plot and literary techniques, such as the story making sense

it was nice to read some new authors though, especially more classics. though that was also a slight shortfall in this book: most authors were 19th/early 20th century, which is already very well known. it would have been nice to have more modern "weird fiction" novels from unknown authors

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The British Library has a very successful (and for me: iconic) book series about "Tales of the Weird", structured into topical issues about Forests, Oceans, the Arctic and many more. But all those books by The British Library are finely and very visibly curated by literature profs, librarians etc, who give a short introduction about each text and each author before the actual story starts.

And it is exactly this work of curation and introduction that falls short or is completely invisible here, which almost leads me to believe this was a desperate attempt by Penguin Books to copy this British Library Tales-of-the-Weird series in a way that is more cost-efficient (the copyrights of the texts have expired anyway, and even though they say Data Mining is prohibited on their work, it is hardly "their work", because these texts are on the Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg as well). Yet, there is truly no credit given as to who selected and curated the stories in this volume, which is kind of suspicious and seems like they asked AI to make some sort of representative list of Weird Fiction.

There is no introduction to any of the texts or authors here, to a point where I was gender-guessing the authors because I just didn't know them and only their initials and last names were given. There is no justification in the book for including any of the texts, or what is so special about one text or what its themes are and how it was received and published at the time and so on. Superficial buyers might be intrigued by big names like Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle or H.P. Lovecraft (and I'm afraid I was too), but almost all of the stories make for good reading. My favorite story in this volume is "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' by M.R. James, even though I knew it from before and just wanted to have it in printed form. Other good stories were "Couching at the Door" by D.K. Broster and "The Horror of the Heights" by Arthur Conan Doyle (I just didn't know he also wrote stuff like this besides Sherlock Holmes). I only had to skip one story because it was written too obnoxiously, and that was "A Wicked Voice" by Vernon Lee.

The only thing that was good about the book which was originally from this issue was its cover. It looks like some sort of psychedelic take on Lovecrafts "Cthulhu", and at least there you have a credit given to an illustrator. Oh and one last thing: I read this mostly at night when our cat kept me awake because he wanted food, which made for an interesting experience in itself.

[Patrick Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much the definition of a solid, dusty 'Three' pulled own from the shelf and hocked in the marketplace.

Is 'Weird Fiction' even a thing? According to this it could be 'Ghost Stories, but not quite', 'Science Fiction, but maybe not' or 'edgy Fantasy'.

The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe; Poe would have made a good interior designer. 4 decadence points.

The Monkeys Paw by W.W. Jacobs; A great story when it came out and still good even through 'The Simpsons' and 'The Body' Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ate it up and shat it out. 3 out of ten for Mysterious Indian Influence (1 of 2 colonial majors in this collection).

'Oh whistle and I'll come to you my lad' by M.R. James; A good social capsule of its period. Has the second of two Colonial Service Majors (this one the actual hero of the story) "if you see it again just throw stones at it like a good Englishman'. Great setup. IT WAS CLOTHES.

'A Wicked Voice' by Vernon Lee; A fun time in sweaty Venice. Three points added for 'subversion of the true self & horror of living with that. Don't get malaria or trust Italian sounds.

'The Horror of the Heights' by Conan Doyle; a straight-up bonkers sci fi story about 'creatures of the upper air', add 10 points for being genuinely weird fiction, and ten more for the protagonist carefully writing everything down as it happens.

'Kerfol' by Edith Wharton; ghost dogs. Excellent setup. Story was fine after that. A ghost story.

'Where Their Fire is not Quenched' by May Sinclair. Prize of the bunch. I knew nothing about this lady. Spiritual/psychological 'ghost' (sort of) story. Troubling. Genuinely 'weird' fiction.

'The Call of Chthulu' by H.P. Lovecraft. Systemisation of a great paracosm. plus 10 points for being genuinely 'weird' - (my semi-accidental researches uncovered a world-wide conspiracy which denatures all reality). Humanity wins in this one, great! Not that great a story otherwise. Plus five racism points for the mullatoes and half-breeds.

'Crouching at the Door' by D.K. Broster. Plus fifty decadence points for its abominable protagonist. A very, very very silly story. 'Weird' because it can hardly be anything else. Evil Caterpillar!

Verdict; read more May Sinclair.

[Lydia oldtoys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Masque of red death: decadent, they deserved what they got

Monkeys paw: I too would wish away my zombie son

Oh whistle and I’ll come to you my lad: the climax in this one was actually kinda spooky, cool spectre.
‘said a person not in the story’ + ‘but, since he merely appears in this prologue, there is no need to give his entitlements’ hilarious

A wicked voice: dnf, and should’ve been right up my alley but …

The horror of the heights: lmao the way he survived this rlly cool horror and then was like Ive gotta get back up there only to go missing .. right right u deserved that

Kerfol: ghost dogs <3

Where their fire is not quenched: imagine hell but it’s just being unable to escape your situationship
‘is this one moment of eternity or the eternity of one moment’

The call of Cthulhu: Religion and racism are so strange, how are you as a white man going to be so confident in your superiority of your unseen god that their unseen god is cultish and heretical, crazy. Good monster tho.
‘I knocked with palpitant heart’
‘I cannot attempt to transcribe it verbatim in all its cloudiness and redundance’ me at work

Couching at the door: this one was fab.
‘It is we who ought not to be interrupting your rendezvous with the Muse. Terrible to bring you from such company into that of mere visitors!’

[Ilze Van der Merwe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just disappointing in the choice of stories here:

The red masque of death - 1
The monkey's paw - 4.5
oh, whistle, and I'll come to you, my lad - 1.5
A wicked voice - DNF
The horror of the heights - DNF
Kerfol - 4
Where their fire is not quenched - 3.5
The call of cthulu - 2
The crouching at the door - dnf

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

most of these were very good, some of these were less good, all were very weird <333

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe – 3/5.

2. The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs – 3.5/5. English teachers love to see it. I've read this maybe 4 times now, 3 of which were in school. I'm always kind of creeped, but feel it lacks a final gut punch

3. "Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad" by M. R. James – 4/5. Knew from the start that I was in the safe hands of a seasoned storyteller. I immensely enjoyed the fourth wall breaks –somehow felt like the most innovative thing ever. This was probably my second favourite overall.

4. A Wicked Voice by Vernon Lee – 0/5. Beastly, tedious prose. Barely managed to drag myself through to the end. One of the most boring things I've ever read.

5. The Horror of the Heights by Arthur Conan Doyle – 4/5. Imagine there really are sea monsters... but they live in the sky ?? And snack on intrepid pilots ?? Such an immaculate concept. Makes Sherlock Holmes seem pedestrian and dull

6. Kerfol by Edith Wharton – 3. Eerie, quite sad, maybe made less enjoyable by the fact it follows one of the collection's stronger stories.

7. Where Their Fire is Not Quenched by May Sinclair – 3.5. Thought the beginning was fantastic, but didn't personally have fun with where things ended up. I think I wanted the Hell depicted to be more creepy, or maybe more mundane.

8. The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft – 2. Eh. Agree with popular opinion that the Cthulhu monster itself is creative and unusual, but the general prose was so up its own arse. I found it pompous and mostly over-written. Felt like I was reading the ramblings of a total loser.

9. Couching the Door by D. K. Broster – 5/5. Far and away the best story in this collection. Big Dorian Gray energy, but with better pacing and much less purple prose. The ending was a real gut-puncher.

On a general note, I think some biographical information on the different authors – or even just an editor's forward, explaining how each story was selected for inclusion – would have added some interesting socio-historical context.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a real shame there was no introduction to the book, and that none of the stories were dated, it would have been nice to know why each story was included and some of the context around them. The quality of the stories was quite varied, and I was surprised to enjoy stories from authors I’d never heard of more than those by Lovecraft and Poe. Kerfol and Monkey’s Paw both stand out as excellent short stories.

[Daniela Moritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This small but fine literary horror cabinet offers the right story for every taste. Whether the reader prefers psychological depths like in "Kerfol" or fantastical-monstrous worlds like in "The Horror of the Heights" - this collection includes a varied and gripping selection of genre classics. I will definitely read some of the authors again.

[Usaid · Rating 2 out of 5]

It feels blasphemous to say this but this collection was such a disappointment.

I went in so excited after falling in love with Chambers' 'The King In Yellow' which was also sold to me as 'weird fiction' too.

There are all but perhaps 2 or 3 redeemable short stories in this collection in an otherwise sea of mediocrity. Granted, I have no doubt that theses stories were indeed revolutionary during the time they came out but now, for me, they are nothing but obtuse and mind-numbingly slow paced.

I get the impression that each author knew what the 'a-ha' moment they wanted at the end of the story but to get there, they felt the need to artificially increase the page count. Maybe their publishers wanted a minimum page count. I dont know. I dont care.

2.5 stars but rating this as 3 would be an insult to the other books i've rated 3 stars so it will sit and 2 and be content with it. It barely scrapes above a two simply because of the stories I enjoyed.

1. Call of Cthulhu - a classic and stands the test of time (minus the racism)
2. The Monkey's Paw - Short, concise but adequately portrays the horror of wishing upon something without thinking it through.
3. Kerfol - An interesting but sad take on your classic 'ghost' story
4. Horror of the Heights - another story that I felt held more weight back in the day when the majority of the people only could dream of flying amongst the clouds. Still holds up well imo.
5. Oh Whistle, and I'll come to you, lad - another fun little ghost story
6. Where their fire is not quenched - Hopeless story about infidelity and purgatory/hell

The other three were so forgettable that I wont even attempt to write my thoughts on them.

Hey, at least the cover is pretty

[Emma Devlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the anthology suffers a bit by leading expectations in the direction of cosmic horror - the tentacles on the cover, the inclusion of Call of Cthulhu all play into ideas of what the weird actually is. Lovecraft and cosmic terror is only one mode of weird fiction. This anthology does a good job of exemplifying others: DK Broster and Edith Wharton are both welcome inclusions. If you go in expecting purely Lovecraftian works then you’ll be disappointed. Remember that even Lovecraft’s study of the genre made a point of how fluid and slippery the weird actually is. It appears in works which aren’t necessarily setting out, as Lovecraft’s do, to be “weird fiction.”

That said, some of the story choices are a bit on the tame side. I would have picked a different Poe story. Maybe even a different Lovecraft story (The Colour out of Space is, in my opinion, a better example of what he wanted his take on the genre to achieve). Vernon Lee (aka Violet Paget) is new to me, but, while I admired the ambition of the story, it fell a bit flat. Loved the Conan Doyle story more for its giddy description of moving upwards through cloud layers than the actual plot - it reminded me a little bit of the sentiment of William Beebe’s journey in the other direction in Half Mile Down.

A bit of a mixed bag, in effect, but a fun one. A decent starting place for the weird, though I’d recommend the more inventive (and capacious) British Library anthologies over this one.

[Jess Pagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of the stories are meh and I wish they had picked a stronger story (the opening story is by Edgar Allan Poe but I think it's a weak one of his). It's the first time I've actually read The Monkey Paw and Whistle and I'll come to you (I think I've misremembered that title slightly but these two are pretty famous short horror stories!). These two stories make up for the meh ones in my opinion.

I haven't read every story in here as it's one of those that you can dip in and out of. I've marked it down because they put such a weak story to open it, I started off a bit disappointed. Like the artwork on the front cover too, this is a nice anthology to own.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounding up for its historical significance. More a 3.5 honestly. The contents are a bit uneven, including some of the most famous members of the ToC (I personally don't find The Masque of the Red Death to be one of Poe's better pieces and it was a stumble right out of the gate, here). Overall though, it was a good read. I think I was most pleased by the entries from M.R. James, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edith Wharton, H.P. Lovecraft, and D.K. Broster.

[Phillip Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highlights:

• The Masque of the Red Death - Edgar Allan Poe
• The Monkey’s Paw - WW Jacobs
• The Horror of the Heights - Arthur Conan Doyle (a surprise)
• The Call of Cthulhu - HP Lovecraft (though *super* racist)

[Meg Johannessen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag as always with collections of short stories, but mostly a very strong bunch.

[alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

so bloody mid

[Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of stories, up and down on quality between them but plenty of variety to draw in anyone who's a fan of horror.

[Anna Bosman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally—I’ve read some Lovecraft! Admittedly, he wasn’t my favourite in the collection. If I have to pick favourites: The Monkey’s Paw was the one that legitimately gave me the chills, and Kerfol painted the most eerie and atmospheric picture before it delved into the ghostly nature of it all. Strangely, I was most upset by May Sinclair—a religious suffragette who put a fellow woman in hell for a clearly insufficient reason. The most amusing piece was the one by Conan Doyle—here he is again, geeking out over airplanes and the unknowns, eternally fascinated by “the progress”. I enjoyed this mixed bag of bits and bobs. Thanks, Penguin Weird Fiction!

[Alastair Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little anthology of horror fiction, serves as a good introduction to some writers.

I really enjoyed The Horror of the Heights by Conan Doyle, but found The Call of Cthulu by Lovecraft dull and pretentious.

[LayDownYourSoul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic collection, with some exceptionally good stories, generally both very entertaining and very well written.

Liked the variety of authors and stories, definitely no filler and the pacing and order of the stories worked very well, book was engaging throughout but with the best stories at the beginning, middle and end in my opinion. There were a few of the more well-known stories included that I was re-reading but still thoroughly enjoyed (The Monkey's Paw and The Call of Cthulhu).

I had been meaning to read the The Masque of the Red Death and was blown away by it, great start. So effective in such a short story, such powerful imagery. Particularly enjoyed the image of everyone falling silent when the clock with the huge pendulum strikes, then laughing at themselves when it's over, as well as the image of the final reveal!

A Wicked Voice was really good, creepy and an enjoyable read. The MR James story was also entertaining, although I think I enjoyed the style of writing more than the story itself. The breaking of the fourth wall was great, enjoyed the dialogue followed by something along the lines of "said someone who isn't in this story".

The Horror of the Heights was a standout story, I had no idea that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote this kind of thing - well conceived, well written weird horror complete with tentacles and slime. Will definitely be seeking out anything else like this he's written.

Kerfol was really cool, liked the cute and benevolent but fearsome supernatural forces in it, and the way that a different source of horror was built up then diffused. Also well-written with a cool frame and non-linear narrative.

The Call of Cthulhu was good, great concept with some nicely written moments. Unfortunate level of racism I felt, and some elements could have been expanded on more and other parts condensed.

The final story, Couching at the Door, might have been my favourite. Had me gasping at a few moments, mix of spooky and funny, overall very entertaining. Great plot, loved the level of bizarreness and the fun antihero.

Some quotes I liked:
"[He] cannot, obviously, go on living indefinitely on two planes a once... Artistically, though, it might inspire him to something quite unprecedented. I'll write to him and point that out"

"He called himself 'psychically hypersensitive', but the staid folk of the ancient commercial city dismissed him as merely 'queer'"

"A visitor might descend upon this planet a thousand times and never see a tiger. Yet tigers exist, and if he chanced to come down into a jungle he might be devoured. There are jungles of the upper air, and there are worse things than tigers which inhabit them"

[Rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝑭𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: 𝑨𝒏 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 explores a literary genre that emerged at the turn of the 20th century, where horror, fantasy, and science fiction shed Gothic traditions for something more existential. As editor Edward Kirke notes, the movement radically reinterprets past tropes, "reimagining those tropes until they are hardly recognisable, but sometimes it’s just making them weird."

Though I'm not usually a fan of horror, I’ve always enjoyed the way science fiction probes the unknown. I found these stories to be a compelling bridge between the two genres, offering an uncanny suspense that relies more on speculative tension than typical scares. I didn't find many of the stories that weird, but then again, I’ve read 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 by Sayaka Murata, so I may be somewhat desensitised.

Arthur Conan Doyle’s 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 was a fascinating surprise, and not at all what I'd expected from the author of Sherlock Holmes. It was likely more thrilling at the time of its publication, in the early days of aviation, but I think it's still enjoyable for the modern reader. It paired well with the heavy, claustrophobic atmosphere of Edgar Allan Poe’s 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 and the mind-bending, cosmic terrors found in H.P. Lovecraft’s 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘭𝘩𝘶. The standout for me, however, was W.W. Jacobs’ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘺’𝘴 𝘗𝘢𝘸, a chilling and high-tension allegory of the consequences of greed.

The collection balances cosmic horrors and intangible threats with the psychological focus of writers like May Sinclair and Edith Wharton (and I was glad to see the inclusion of several women authors). In Sinclair’s 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 and Wharton’s 𝘒𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘭, horror isn’t found in the shadows, but in the moment the human mind begins to fracture.

Ultimately, this anthology is a satisfying amuse-bouche of the genre: a provocative exploration that left me with a lingering sense of awe and disquietude. By moving beyond the jump scare, Kirke’s curation forces the reader to confront a more profound, philosophical apprehension.

They would make ideal stories for a cold, dark night. The kind best warmed by a little existential dread.

⭐⭐⭐✨

Fun fact: The word "weird" comes from the Old English wyrd, meaning "fate." Following the 1606 debut of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, however, the meaning began to shift; though the "Weird Sisters" were technically the "Fated Sisters," audiences were so struck by their unsettling appearance that the word evolved to describe the strange, bizarre, or supernatural.

[Manuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating and haunting collection! This is one of those books that successfully traces the evolution of a whole genre – from gothic moral terror to psychological and cosmic horror, it’s both a reading experience and a mini literary history lesson.

I loved seeing how each era reshaped what “weird” meant. Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death (★★★★) is still a masterclass in symbolism and atmosphere – the kind of story that made me fall in love with literature in the first place. Jacobs’ The Monkey’s Paw (★★★½) feels like the blueprint for so much later horror, eerie in its simplicity and fatalistic twist.

M. R. James’s Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad (★★★) has great tension but didn’t grip me as much; whereas Conan Doyle’s The Horror of the Heights (★★★★) completely did – the prose is superb, and it’s fascinating to see early sci-fi meet Gothic dread.

Edith Wharton’s Kerfol (★★★★½) might be my favorite of the bunch: feminist, tragic, and quietly vengeful – it turns haunting into justice. May Sinclair’s Where Their Fire Is Not Quenched (★★★★½) absolutely nails psychological horror; the idea of looping your worst mistakes forever is one of the most chilling reimaginings of hell I’ve ever read.

Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu (★★★) is iconic, though cosmic horror just isn’t my thing – I admire the concept more than I enjoy it. And Broster’s Couching at the Door (★★★½) closes the collection with moral dread and corruption that feels like an echo of the earlier Gothic, reimagined through psychological horror.

What makes this anthology stand out is how clearly you can see the shifts in tone, theme, and worldview across the stories – from fear of divine punishment, to guilt and repression, to cosmic indifference. It’s like watching weird fiction evolve from the moral to the existential.

Overall, this is a brilliant and beautifully curated collection, one that rewards readers who enjoy tracing literary threads and seeing how the uncanny changes with each generation. A perfect pick for anyone who loves classic horror with substance and symbolism.

I'll be picking up future genre anthologies that Penguin releases, this was a great read!

[Tash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of classic horror short stories. In The Masque of the Red Death (Edgar Allan Poe, 1842), Prince Prospero goes into seclusion with a large entourage of guests during a deadly plague. This is genuinely creepy and explores human hubris and the inevitability of death. In The Monkey’s Paw (W.W. Jacobs, 1902), a monkey’s paw grants three wishes making for a classic and engaging tale of ‘beware what you wish for’. Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad (M. R. James, 1904) is an absorbing classic psychological horror in which Professor Perkins finds an ancient whistle at Templar ruins. In A Wicked Voice (Vernon Lee,1890), Magnus, a composer in Venice, is haunted by an 18th century singer. This is a beautifully written story that explores creativity and obsession with evocative descriptions of Italy. However, the detailed writing sacrifices emotional engagement. In The Horror of the Heights (Arthur Conan Doyle, 1913), a pilot ascends to the limits of aviation to investigate the deaths of aviators whose deaths he attributes to creatures of the air. This is told in journal format and explores the perils of technological progress. Kerfol (Edith Wharton, 1916) tells of a French Chateau in Brittany haunted by dogs and explores jealousy and emotional abuse. It’s a creepy and sad story. The Call of Cthulhu (H. P. Lovecraft, 1928) is a classic cosmic horror story about a cult worshipping otherworldly entities. It’s an interesting and creepy tale exploring insanity and the unknown. Couching at the Door (D. K. Broster, 1942) is a gripping psychological horror in which Augustine Marchant, a poet, is haunted by a feather boa related to an evil action of the past.

[Luke Hipwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

My personal ranking of the stories in this collection:

1. The Masque of Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe
Surprisingly, this was my first time ever reading one of Poe's works, and damn, it's good. The gothic setting and diseased imagery evokes similar vibes to that of Bloodborne. Loved it

2. The Call of Cthulu by H.P. Lovecraft
Aside from the racism being extremely off-putting, the prose was eloquent, imaginative and truly a feat for the time, whilst also being super accessible. The scale of the story and its implications are enormous and extremely intriguing

3. The Monkey's Paw by W.W Jacobs
All things come with a price ay

4. Kerfol by Edith Wharton
Being a woman tied to a man to this degree in any time period must have fucking sucked so hard. Let the girl have her dogs bro

5. The Horror of the Heights by Arthur Conan Doyle
This must have influenced the script for "Nope" in some way, the similarities in creature design/description is uncanny

6. Where Their Fire is Not Quenched by May Sinclair
Explored the idea of limbo and eternal damnation in a pretty cool way for sure

7. Oh Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad by M.R. James
I love the idea of stumbling upon a lost relic

8. Couching at the Door by D.K. Broster
I don't know if it's just because I was half asleep when I read this, but to me this story didn't seem to be anything of note, especially since the "creepy" article was a fucking boa??

9. A Wicked Voice by Vernon Lee
I love classical music but man I just didn't like it that much ay

[(w)ren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A passable collection of stories, though few of them particularly "weird" in any significant way (save the obvious exception). Unfortunately the best of the stories are the least weird of the bunch, tending more fairly standard ghost-stories, and the weirdest of the bunch (in particular the Arthur Conan Doyle story) are much less interesting to actually read.

The book also has no introduction, preface, or any secondary information about any of the texts (including any indication of when the stories are from,) or any editor's note explaining the choices of which stories to include, all of which would have been much appreciated.

If you want some decent vaguely spooky stories, this probably won't disappoint too much, if you're hoping to explore the weird side of The Weird, then this doesn't do the job. Would strongly recommend the British Library's Tales of the Weird anthologies instead.


The two standout stories, which may justify picking up the book are:

Vernon Lee's 'A Wicked Voice'
and
May Sinclair's 'Where Their Fire is not Quenched'

I would highly recommend seeking out these two stories in particular, perhaps in other better curated collections.

[Mehdi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely weird. It will also be "weird" if I say that regardless of the great authors you read from in this book, to my taste, the book lacks something.

There's something "weird" about this book as a whole which does not push the reader forward to the story. I understand that the book is supposed to cover "literary weirdness" from different perspectives, but it just doesn't click as a whole.

But now, from the perspective of individual stories in terms of highlights:

"Horror of the heights"by sir Arthur Conan Doyle was brilliant! best story of the book by far. very imaginative, nerdy, chilling, slimy and beautiful.

"Kerfol" was yet another brilliant story. Somewhat feminist, smooth ups and downs, page turner, sad, empathic.

"The monkey's paw" passes the test of time. The final scene is very cinematic and climatic, chilling as if it's a cold cold January.

"Masque of the red death" By Edgar Allan Poe was a great start. maybe not that weird but despite being the shortest story of the book, quite very well descriptive and imaginative.

[Michael Fredette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird Fiction: An Anthology.

A collection of classic Weird Fiction including:

“The Masque of the Red Death,” E.A. Poe. As the countryside is beset by a deadly plague, Prince Prospero and his courtiers barricade themselves within the palace walls where they are (theoretically) safe from the ravages of the Red Death.

“The Monkey’s Paw,” WW Jacobs. A British family come into possession of a monkey’s paw, which was enchanted by an Indian fakir to teach people about not interfering with fate.

“The Call of Cthulhu,” HP Lovecraft. The great-nephew of a deceased Brown University professor of Semitic languages, discovers amongst his possessions a bas relief sculpture of an ancient god.

“The Horror of the Heights,” Arthur Conan Doyle. A pioneering aviator discovers monsters in the sky.

“Kerfol,” Edith Wharton. Concerns the supernatural murder of a cruel aristocrat at a manor house called Kerfol.

“Couching at the Door,” DK Broster. A decadent poet who dabbles in black magic is haunted by a furry snake-like creature.