Classic Supernatural Stories

by A. Merritt, Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Conan Doyle

This volume is a cornucopia of thrills and chills, featuring 25 tales of the uncanny and macabre regarded to be among the finest weird tales in the English language. Its stellar line-up of authors includes Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James, Edith Wharton, A. Merritt, Mary Elizabeth Braddon and Henry S. Whitehead. In addition to distinguished works by these authors, the book features three complete short novels: A Phantom Lover by Vernon Lee, Serapion by Francis Stevens and The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson.
Part of Barnes & Noble's Leatherbound Classic Collection (or Collectible Editions), this book features exquisitely designed bonded-leather binding, with distinctive gilt edging and a ribbon bookmark. Decorative, durable and collectible, the series offers hours of pleasure to readers young and old and each book is indispensable for the home library.

Contents:
• Edgar Allan Poe "Ligeia"
• Guy de Maupassant "The Englishman"
• Fitz-James O'Brien "What Was It?"
• J.H. Riddell "The Haunted River"
• Charles Dickens "The Trial for Murder"
• J. Sheridan le Fanu "Mr. Justice Harbottle"
• Mary Elizabeth Braddon "At Chrighton Abbey"
• Edith Wharton "The Triumph of Night"
• Henry James "Sir Edmund Orme"
• F. Marion Crawford "Man Overboard"
• Vernon Lee "A Phantom Lover"
• Arthur Machen "The Novel of the Black Seal"
• M.R. James "The Mezzotint"
• E.F. Benson "The Room in the Tower"
• Arthur Conan Doyle "The Parasite"
• H.G. Wells "The Stolen Body"
• William Fryer Harvey "The Beast with Five Fingers"
• Robert Louis Stevenson "The Isle of Voices"
• Ambrose Bierce "The Death of Halpin Frayser"
• Ralph Adams Cram "The Dead Valley"
• Francis Stevens "Serapion"
• Henry S. Whitehead "Sweet Grass"
• H.P. Lovecraft "The Shadow over Innsmouth"
• A. Merritt "The Moon Pool"
• William Hope Hodgson "The Ghost Pirates"

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

788 pages, Hardcover

Published September 7, 2019

About the author

Abraham Grace Merritt, wrote under the name of A. Merritt, born in New Jersey moved as a child to Philadelphia, Pa. in 1894, began studying law and than switched to journalism. Later a very popular writer starting in 1919 of the teens, twenties and thirties, horror and fantasy genres. King of the purple prose, most famous The Moon Pool, a south seas lost island civilization, hidden underground and The Ship of Ishtar, an Arabian Nights type fable, and six other novels and short stories collections (he had written at first, just for fun). Nobody could do that variety better, sold millions of books in his career. The bright man, became editor of the most successful magazine during the Depression, The American Weekly , with a fabulous $100,000 in salary. A great traveler, in search of unusual items he collected. His private library of 5,000 volumes had many of the occult macabre kind. Yet this talented author is now largely been forgotten.

Reviews

[Guus Hartemink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning book. Its really beautiful leatherbond and golden pages. But i think those older stories are not always that good. Sometimes there are great stories and sometimes they arent special at all. Paranormal is a big definition… and it shows. Here are my ratings:

Ligeia, Edgar Allan Poe:⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Englishmam, Gu de Maupassant:⭐️⭐️
What wat it?, Fitz-James O’Brien: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The haunted river, J.H. Riddel: not read
The trail for murder, Charles Dickens:⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mr. Justice Harbottle, J. Sheridan Le Fanu: ⭐️⭐️1/2
At Chrighton Abbey, Mary Elizabeth Braddon: ⭐️⭐️
The Triumph of Night, Edith Wharton: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Sir Edmund Orme, Henry James:⭐️⭐️1/2
Man Overboard, F Marion Crawford: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Phantom Lover, Vernon Lee:⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
The Novel Of The Black Seal, Arthur Machen: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The mezzotint, M.R. James: ⭐️⭐️1/2
The room in the tower: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
The Parasite, Arthur Conan Doyle: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Stolen Body, H.G. Wells: ⭐️⭐️
The Beast with Five Vingers, William Fryer Harvey: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Isle of Voices, Robert Louis Stevenson: ⭐️⭐️1/2
The Death of Halpin Frayser, Ambrose Bierce:⭐️⭐️
The Dead Valley, Ralph Adams Cram: ⭐️⭐️
Serapion, Francis Stevens: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sweet Grass, Henry S. Whitehead: not read
The Shadow over Innsmouth. H.P. Lovecraft: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Moon Pool, A. Merrit: not read
The ghost pirates, William Hope Hodgson: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Carly]

I finally found a copy of this book, brand new and it's the Barnes & Noble Leatherbound edition of the book.
For some of the authors in the book, they are my favourite authors, but some of the authors and the short stories they wrote, I have never heard of the author and I haven't seen or read some of the short stories in the book.

My favourite Authors:
Edgar Allan Poe
H. P. Lovecraft
H. G. Wells
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sheridan Le Fanu
Ambrose Bierce
Arthur Machen
Charles Dickens

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an anthology that truly highlights the range that exists within the supernatural genre. Some are designed to evoke fear, whilst others deliver somewhat pleasant narratives.

Most of the stories in this book are quite lengthy, though it has its shorter entries. In truth, some do feel overlong — a common feature of classic literature, to be honest. They all have something to say, though some of those things feel less relevant today.

Conversely, others feel more relevant than ever.

It took a while to get through all these stories, so it's difficult to give a proper overview of the book. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable to explore stories that, it can probably be said, contributed to the foundations of ghost tales and horror literature as we know them today.

Some didn't resonate as much as others, but that's the risk of any collection or anthology. I won't list favourites and least favourites, as everyone will connect to them differently. If you're a fan of supernatural stories, though, and you can stomach (or you really enjoy) the writing styles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this is a collection well worth your while.

[Pia Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing collection! I discovered some new stories and reread some that I knew and loved. This edition is gorgeous and I won't have to be afraid that the book gets damaged when I reread this collection over and over again.

[Helen Carolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A massive tome. Not all of the stories were truly terrifying many were more eerie and atmospheric but I really enjoyed this collection and discovered some new stories. Great read.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very nice collection of classic supernatural stories. Enjoyed it immensely. Stories in this collection are:

Ligeia by Edgar Allan Poe
The Englishman by Guy de Maupassant
What Was It? by Fitz-James O'Brien
The Haunted River by Mrs. J. H. Riddell
The Trial for Murder by Charles Dickens
Mr. Justice Harbottle by J. Sheridan LeFanu
At Chrighton Abbey by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
The Triumph of Night by Edith Wharton
Sir Edmund Orme by Henry James
Man Overboard by F. Marion Crawford
A Phantom Lover by Vernon Lee
The Novel of the Black Seal by Arthur Machen
The Mezzotint by M. R. James
The Room in the Tower by E. F. Benson
The Parasite by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Stolen Body by H. G. Wells
The Beast with Five Fingers by Willaim Fryer Harvey
The Isle of Voices by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Death of Halpin Frayser by Ambrose Bierce
The Dead Valley by Ralph Adams Cram
Serapion by Francis Stevens
Sweet Grass by Henry S. Whitehead
The Shadow over Innsmouth by H. P. Lovecraft
The Moon Pool by A. Merritt
The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson

[Deana Hamilton-Grummons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this collection very much. Some are creepier than others. Man Overboard and Shadow Over Innsmouth have stayed with me the most.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like any short story collection, I loved some, didn't care for others, causing an average star rating of three stars for this speculative fiction collection.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only a beautifully bound and affordable book but one which has something for everyone, I can’t say I enjoyed all the stories in this anthology and one or two I really disliked (I won’t name them for fear of offending someone) but they were vastly outweighed by the rest of the stories that I couldn’t put down, the last one ‘The Ghost Pirates’ was a particular favourite. What’s not too like? Especially good for reading around this time of year as we head into the colder months with a warming alcoholic drink by your side.