A captivating collection of dark poetry and prose, perfect for fans of gothic romantasy and twisted tales.
Dive into the shadowy depths of Vampires & the Shadow World, a mesmerizing collection of classic poems and stories that pulses with the lifeblood of gothic romance and eternal desire.
This anthology invites you to explore the laments of ancient vampires, whose sorrowful verses reveal the agony and ecstasy of immortal existence. Each poem is a dark jewel, weaving tales of lovers bound by the crimson threads of fate. As you turn each page, you'll be drawn deeper into a world where passion and predation intertwine, and the macabre elegance of the vampire's life is laid bare in all its haunting beauty.
Featuring works from celebrated poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Christabel and John Keats' La Belle Dame sans Merci, this collection captures the essence of gothic horror and romantic yearning. You'll also encounter the chilling verses of Lord Byron and Edgar Allen Poe, whose words echo like whispers from the shadowy corners of the night.
Vampires & the Shadow World is the perfect companion for those enchanted by the dark, the mysterious, and the eternal.
"Why looks my lord so deadly pale? Why fades the crimson from his cheek? What can my dearest husband ail? Thy heartfelt cares, O Herman, speak!
"Why, at the silent hour of rest, Dost thou in sleep so sadly mourn? Has tho' with heaviest grief oppress'd, Griefs too distressful to be borne.
"Why heaves thy breast? — why throbs thy heart? O speak! and if there be relief Thy Gertrude solace shall impart, If not, at least shall share thy grief.
"Wan is that cheek, which once the bloom Of manly beauty sparkling shew'd; Dim are those eyes, in pensive gloom, That late with keenest lustre glow'd.
"Say why, too, at the midnight hour, You sadly pant and tug for breath, As if some supernat'ral pow'r Were pulling you away to death?
"Restless, tho' sleeping, still you groan, And with convulsive horror start; O Herman! to thy wife make known That grief which preys upon thy heart."
"O Gertrude! how shall I relate Th' uncommon anguish that I feel; Strange as severe is this my fate, — A fate I cannot long conceal.
"In spite of all my wonted strength, Stern destiny has seal'd my doom; The dreadful malady at length Wil drag me to the silent tomb!"
"But say, my Herman, what's the cause Of this distress, and all thy care. That, vulture-like, thy vitals gnaws, And galls thy bosom with despair?
"Sure this can be no common grief, Sure this can be no common pain? Speak, if this world contain relief, That soon thy Gertrude shall obtain."
"O Gertrude, 'tis a horrid cause, O Gertrude, 'tis unusual care, That, vulture-like, my vitals gnaws, And galls my bosom with despair.
"Young Sigismund, my once dear friend, But lately he resign'd his breath; With others I did him attend Unto the silent house of death.
"For him I wept, for him I mourn'd, Paid all to friendship that was due; But sadly friendship is return'd, Thy Herman he must follow too!
"Must follow to the gloomy grave, In spite of human art or skill; No pow'r on earth my life can save, 'Tis fate's unalterable will!
"Young Sigismund, my once dear friend, But now my persecutor foul, Doth his malevolence extend E'en to the torture of my soul.
"By night, when, wrapt in soundest sleep, All mortals share a soft repose, My soul doth dreadful vigils keep, More keen than which hell scarely knows.
"From the drear mansion of the tomb, From the low regions of the dead, The ghost of Sigismund doth roam, And dreadful haunts me in my bed!
"There, vested in infernal guise, (By means to me not understood,) Close to my side the goblin lies, And drinks away my vital blood!
"Sucks from my veins the streaming life, And drains the fountain of my heart! O Gertrude, Gertrude! dearest wife! Unutterable is my smart.
"When surfeited, the goblin dire, With banqueting by suckled gore, Will to his sepulchre retire, Till night invites him forth once more.
"Then will he dreadfully return, And from my veins life's juices drain; Whilst, slumb'ring, I with anguish mourn, And toss with agonizing pain!
"Already I'm exhausted, spent; His carnival is nearly o'er, My soul with agony is rent, To-morrow I shall be no more!
"But, O my Gertrude! dearest wife! The keenest pangs hath last remain'd— When dead, I too shall seek thy life, Thy blood by Herman shall be drain'd!
"But to avoid this horrid fate, Soon as I'm dead and laid in earth, Drive thro' my corpse a jav'lin straight; — This shall prevent my coming forth.
"O watch with me, this last sad night, Watch in your chamber here alone, But carefully conceal the light Until you hear my parting groan.
"Then at what time the vesper-bell Of yonder convent shall be toll'd, That peal shall ring my passing knell, And Herman's body shall be cold!
"Then, and just then, thy lamp make bare, The starting ray, the bursting light, Shall from my side the goblin scare, And shew him visible to sight!"
The live-long night poor Gertrude sate, Watch'd by her sleeping, dying lord; The live-long night she mourn'd his fate, The object whom her soul ador'd.
Then at what time the vesper-bell Of yonder convent sadly toll'd, The, then was peal'd his passing knell, The hapless Herman he was cold!
Just at that moment Gertrude drew From 'neath her cloak the hidden light; When, dreadful! she beheld in view The shade of Sigismund! — sad sight!
Indignant roll'd his ireful eyes, That gleam'd with wild horrific stare; And fix'd a moment with surprise, Beheld aghast th' enlight'ning glare.
His jaws cadaverous were besmear'd With clott'd carnage o'er and o'er, And all his horrid whole appear'd Distent, and fill'd with human gore!
With hideous scowl the spectre fled; She shriek'd aloud; — then swoon'd away! The hapless Herman in his bed, All pale, a lifeless body lay!
Next day in council 'twas decree, (Urg'd at the instance of the state,) That shudd'ring nature should be freed From pests like these ere 'twas too late.
The choir then burst the fun'ral dome Where Sigismund was lately laid, And found him, tho' within the tomb, Still warm as life, and undecay'd.
With blood his visage was distain'd, Ensanguin'd were his frightful eyes, Each sign of former life remain'd, Save that all motionless he lies.
The corpse of Herman they contrive To the same sepulchre to take, And thro' both carcases they drive, Deep in the earth, a sharpen'd stake!
By this was finish'd their career, Thro' this no longer they can roam; From them their friends have nought to fear, Both quiet keep the slumb'ring tomb.
from THE HAUNTED HOUSE THOMAS HOOD
O'er all there hung the shadow of a fear, A sense of mystery the spirit daunted, And said, as plain as whisper in the ear, The place is haunted.
Howbeit, the door I pushed — or so I dreamed — Which slowly, slowly gaped, the hinges creaking With such a rusty eloquence, it seemed That Time himself was speaking.
But Time was dumb within that mansion old, Or left his tale to the heraldic banners That hung from the corroded walls, and told Of former men and manners.
Those tattered flags, that with the opened door, Seemed the old wave of battle to remember, While fallen fragments danced upon the floor Like dead leaves in December.
The startled bats flew out, bird after bird, The screech-owl overhead began to flutter, And seemed to mock the cry that she had heard Some dying victim utter!
A shriek that echoed from the joisted roof, And up the stair, and further still and further, Till in some ringing chamber far aloof In ceased its tale of murther!
THE DEMON OF THE GIBBET FITZ-JAMES O 'BRIEN
There was no west, there was no east, No star abroad tor eye to see; And Norman spurred his jaded beast Hard by the terrible gallows-tree.
"O Norman, haste across this waste — For something seems to follow me! "Cheer up, dear Maud, for, thanked be God, We nigh have passed the gallows-tree!
He kissed her lip; then — spur and whip! And tast they tled across the lea! But vain the heel and rowel steel, For something leaped trom the gallows-tree!"
"Give me your cloak, your knightly cloak, That wrapped you oft beyond the sea; The wind is bold, my bones are old, And I am cold on the gallows-tree."
"O holy God! O dearest Maud, Quick, quick, some prayers, — the best that be! A bony hand my neck has spanned, And tears my knightly cloak from me!"
WERE-WOLF JULIAN HAWTHORNE
RUNS the wind along the waste, Run the clouds across the moon, Ghastly shadows run in haste From snowy dune to dune — Blue shadows o er the ghastly white Spectral gleaming in the night. But ghastlier, more spectral still, What fearful thing speeds hither, Running, running, running Swifter than cloud or wind? What omen of nameless ill, Whence coming, speeding Whither, Running, running, running, Leaves all save tear behind? Leaning, leaning in the race, Breath keen-drawn through nostrils tense, Fell eyes in ruthless tace, What goblin of malevolence Runs through the frozen night In superhuman flight? See it run, run, run, Outstripping the shadows that fly! Hear the fiend's heart beat, beat, Beat, beat, beat in its breast! kunning, running, running on Under the trozen sky, Fleet, so tearfully fleet, Pausing never to rest. Clutched — what is clutched so tight In its lean, cold hands as it speeds? Something soft, something white, Something human, that bleeds? Is it an infant's curly head, And innocent limbs, gnawed and red? Fleeter and yet more fleet It leans, leans and runs; Dabbled with blood are its awtul lips, Grinning in horrible glee. The wolves that follow with scurrying teet, Sniffing that goblin scent, at once Scatter in terror, while it slips Away, to the shore of the frozen sea. Away. is it man? is it woman, On such dread meat to feed? Away! is it beast? is it human? Or is it a fiend indeed? Fiend from human loins begotten, Hell-inspired, God-forgotten! Now the midnight hour draws on: Human form no fiend may keep Or ever that mystic hour is told. Lower, lower, lower it bends. Midnight is come — is come and gone! Down on all tours see it plunge and leap! A human yell in a wolf's howl ends!.. What gaunt, gray thing gallops on o er the world?
GHASTA OR THE AVENGING DEMON PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
Hark! the owlet flaps her wing, In the pathless dell beneath, Hark! night ravens loudly sing, Tidings of despair and death. —
Horror covers all the sky, Clouds of darkness blot the moon, Prepare! for mortal thou must die, Prepare to yield thy soul up soon —
Fierce the tempest raves around, Fierce the volleyed lightnings fly, Crashing thunder shakes the ground, Fire and tumult fill the sky. —
Hark! the tolling village bell, Tells the hour of midnight come, Now can blast the powers of Hell, Fiend-like goblins now can roam —
See! his crest all stained with rain, A Warrior hastening speeds his Way, He starts, looks round him, starts again, And sighs for the approach of day.
i really enjoyed this!!! i have been wanting to read more poetry and this was a great place to start for me - i never knew there was so much literature on the supernatural, but i felt i shouldn’t be so surprised. it has frightened and intrigued humans always!!
the little snippets were a great way to nab your attention and i think the author picked great examples :)
I liked this collection of vampiric, ghoulish tales overall. There was a nice balance of poetry and excerpts from a few well-known novels, and also a few texts I've never heard of. For me, the poems were the stronger part of the collection, there are some really beautiful poems in this book and I really loved all the different ways poets described these dark entities.
The excerpts were also interesting, but without the wider context sometimes felt incomplete (which, I realise, is literally the point of an excerpts but hopefully someone understands what I mean by this). I think this is down to the fact that it's really difficult to choose one impactful moment from texts that are so full of a great moments e.g. I liked the excerpt from Carmilla, and think it worked well in the vampire section of the collection, but some of the excerpts lacked any wider context and so they lacked impact for me.
Still, this was a great collection to start off spooky season, and I particularly liked the vampire poetry - honestly, I didn't know there was so much vampire poetry out there.
This anthology could've been good had it adopted a Less Is More approach rather than presenting a large number of very short poem/story excerpts. Most of these selections were too brief to make an impression and left me wondering what made them significant enough to be included in the first place.
The vampire section at least felt cohesive despite this, and through it I found my new favourite vampire poem - The Vampyre by James Clerk Maxwell. 🦇⚔️
really good anthology!! i do wish the author would've added "the black vampyre" by uriah derick d'arcy and that the order of the extracts / poems would've been different for the vampire section, but all the selections were beautiful in my opinion and it helped me discover some poets i will definitely be looking into
A short collection of stories, novel excerpts and poems relating to vampires, ghosts and things that go bump in the night. A fantastically curated collection with a gorgeous cover.
Another really provocative and captivating collection of monstrous writings. It was a truly unique read and included a few old favourites as well as inviting some new ones.