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The Repeater Book of the Occult: Tales from the Darkside
A selection of Repeater authors choose their favourite forgotten horror stories for this new anthology, with each also writing a critical introduction for the story of their choice.
Edited by novelist and Repeater publisher Tariq Goddard and "horror philosopher" Eugene Thacker, The Repeater Book of the Dead is a new anthology of horror stories, selected and introduced by Repeater authors.
Includes selections from Repeater authors like Graham Harman, Leila Taylor, Carl Neville, Adrian Nathan West and Rhian E Jones, with forgotten horror classics from authors such as W.W. Jacobs, Mark Twain and Sheridan Le Fanu.
Edited by novelist and Repeater publisher Tariq Goddard and "horror philosopher" Eugene Thacker, The Repeater Book of the Dead is a new anthology of horror stories, selected and introduced by Repeater authors.
Includes selections from Repeater authors like Graham Harman, Leila Taylor, Carl Neville, Adrian Nathan West and Rhian E Jones, with forgotten horror classics from authors such as W.W. Jacobs, Mark Twain and Sheridan Le Fanu.
350 pages, Hardcover
First published February 9, 2021
19 people are currently reading
240 people want to read
About the author
Tariq Goddard
15 books16 followersTariq Goddard was born in London in 1975. He read Philosophy at King’s College London. His first three novels were shortlisted for various awards including Whitbread (Costa) First Novel Award, Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize and the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize. His fourth and fifth books won the Independent Publishers Gold medal for Horror Writing and Silver medal for Literary Fiction respectively. He lives on a farm in Wiltshire with his wife and children.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 8, 2021
4 stars--I really liked it. This book contains a selection of classic horror stories, including quite a few by women writers and some that were new to me. Each story is introduced by a current author, explaining their affection for the story and/or its place in history. The book also contains some all-time favorites:
Squire Toby's Will: Sheridan Le Fanu
The Yellow Wallpaper: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
On Ghosts: Mary Shelley
Par Avion: Marlene Dotard
The Monkey's Paw: W.W. Jacobs
A Haunted House: Virginia Woolf
Green Tea: Sheridan Le Fanu
Punch, Brothers, Punch: Mark Twain
Unseen--Unfeared: Francis Stevens
The Black Cat: Edgar Allan Poe
The Willows: Algernon Blackwood
I was especially glad to read "The Willows," a story I've heard a lot about but never got around to reading. (It was, indeed, quite spooky--a classic for a reason.) If you're interested in classic horror, or would like an introduction to the genre, this is a great place to start.
I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!
Squire Toby's Will: Sheridan Le Fanu
The Yellow Wallpaper: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
On Ghosts: Mary Shelley
Par Avion: Marlene Dotard
The Monkey's Paw: W.W. Jacobs
A Haunted House: Virginia Woolf
Green Tea: Sheridan Le Fanu
Punch, Brothers, Punch: Mark Twain
Unseen--Unfeared: Francis Stevens
The Black Cat: Edgar Allan Poe
The Willows: Algernon Blackwood
I was especially glad to read "The Willows," a story I've heard a lot about but never got around to reading. (It was, indeed, quite spooky--a classic for a reason.) If you're interested in classic horror, or would like an introduction to the genre, this is a great place to start.
I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!
February 5, 2021
The Repeater Book of the Occult is definitely for those horror buffs who are looking to re-read some of their favorites. While you could probably look up any of these stories, it is nice to have them all in a single collection. The stories themselves are classics and very re-readable, I think where my issue lies is with the introductions.
Except for an exempt few, I was hoping the introductions to the stories would be a little bit more conversational. I already know these stories are dark, masterful, and spine-tingling - I wanted to know more about the symbolism or things I might've missed.
Definitely a read to take in at a slower pace, I did have some fun revisiting a story once per night.
Except for an exempt few, I was hoping the introductions to the stories would be a little bit more conversational. I already know these stories are dark, masterful, and spine-tingling - I wanted to know more about the symbolism or things I might've missed.
Definitely a read to take in at a slower pace, I did have some fun revisiting a story once per night.
Read
February 13, 2021it's a nice collection of decent supernatural horror stories but is honestly quite disappointing. The stories themselves are fine but if you're familiar with the genre you'd have read a few already.
There's better anthologies that delve into the philosophical aspect of horror/fantasy in a more cathartic manner ( I'd recommend The Moons at Your Door, Teatro Grotesque and The New Weird if you can get it). Intros reminded me of Dangerous Visions in that it's a cool idea conceptually but just come across as awkward. Not really worth the current price of admission; if they take another crack at it maybe focus more in finding fringe writers from the 18th century onwards who specifically use horror as a means of exploring novel conceptual framework.
A burger of a book drowned in ketchup.
There's better anthologies that delve into the philosophical aspect of horror/fantasy in a more cathartic manner ( I'd recommend The Moons at Your Door, Teatro Grotesque and The New Weird if you can get it). Intros reminded me of Dangerous Visions in that it's a cool idea conceptually but just come across as awkward. Not really worth the current price of admission; if they take another crack at it maybe focus more in finding fringe writers from the 18th century onwards who specifically use horror as a means of exploring novel conceptual framework.
A burger of a book drowned in ketchup.
January 30, 2021
Not my kind of read. I’d say I only liked 3 of the story’s. Didn’t enjoy the introductions and other story’s were just plain boring to the extent I skipped through them.
February 16, 2021
The Repeater Book of the Occult is a nice collection of ten tales, some well known others lesser known, but all classic examples of the early periods of such dark tales.
A collection of any kind will be hit or miss with many readers depending more on what the reader brings rather than the book itself. The book has ten very well written stories from excellent, and known, writers, so to give this anything less than a good rating is hubris in the extreme. But people do love to pose by being as negative as possible, so forgive them their little insecurities.
The introductions also vary since each is written by a different person and some may be less interesting to you. I didn't find any to be pointless though I also would have liked a little more depth since one part of the book blurb says they are "critical introductions." These are, by and large, less critical and more contextual introductions, background on the writer and/or story. Nothing that really subtracts from the wonderful collection, just doesn't add very much either.
Like many readers, I was familiar with most of the stories. If you only want collections to include stories that are new to you, well, good luck. Most readers will have read at least a few of these. I like collections like this because they group stories together that I might not group together. While this is not held together by a tight theme, they caused me to reread some stories that I likely would not have even though I have them in other books. I don't pull down any Poe or Twain collection very often and when I do I unfortunately gravitate toward the ones I either know or love best. So having a different one pulled out gives me the opportunity to read beyond what I would normally do. Some people, apparently, only like to have one copy of a story and even then, only in the right, to them, collection. I like different contexts for not only the fiction but for the physical location of the story.
I would recommend this to readers who are looking for a nice collection of stories, some new to them, some not. Readers who only want collections of stories they have never heard of may not want this since there will likely be a couple they know. Also, while the introductions do add some context, they are not critical in the sense of analysis and interpretation, so those readers might want to search for critical essays on the works if they want such things. If you simply like to reread good stories, however, this is an excellent book.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
A collection of any kind will be hit or miss with many readers depending more on what the reader brings rather than the book itself. The book has ten very well written stories from excellent, and known, writers, so to give this anything less than a good rating is hubris in the extreme. But people do love to pose by being as negative as possible, so forgive them their little insecurities.
The introductions also vary since each is written by a different person and some may be less interesting to you. I didn't find any to be pointless though I also would have liked a little more depth since one part of the book blurb says they are "critical introductions." These are, by and large, less critical and more contextual introductions, background on the writer and/or story. Nothing that really subtracts from the wonderful collection, just doesn't add very much either.
Like many readers, I was familiar with most of the stories. If you only want collections to include stories that are new to you, well, good luck. Most readers will have read at least a few of these. I like collections like this because they group stories together that I might not group together. While this is not held together by a tight theme, they caused me to reread some stories that I likely would not have even though I have them in other books. I don't pull down any Poe or Twain collection very often and when I do I unfortunately gravitate toward the ones I either know or love best. So having a different one pulled out gives me the opportunity to read beyond what I would normally do. Some people, apparently, only like to have one copy of a story and even then, only in the right, to them, collection. I like different contexts for not only the fiction but for the physical location of the story.
I would recommend this to readers who are looking for a nice collection of stories, some new to them, some not. Readers who only want collections of stories they have never heard of may not want this since there will likely be a couple they know. Also, while the introductions do add some context, they are not critical in the sense of analysis and interpretation, so those readers might want to search for critical essays on the works if they want such things. If you simply like to reread good stories, however, this is an excellent book.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
October 31, 2021
I really like the concept of this book – an anthology of lesser-known stories featuring the supernatural. Unfortunately, many of the stories in this collection are actually very well-known, and an avid reader of horror short stories has probably already read them, and the rest... generally are not very good.
- Squire Toby’s Will by Sheridan Le Fanu: Decent read. Not amazing, but appropriately spooky. Includes a family of some of the worst men ever and demons.
- The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: I’m just going to assume you have read this. Great story, and one I am always up for re-reading.
- On Ghosts by Mary Shelley: An essay by the authoress of Frankenstein, this essay doesn’t necessarily advocate for ghosts so much as lament the lack of magic in a world that insists on rational explanations. I did enjoy reading it, and would recommend.
- Par Avion by Marlene Dotard: Yuck. This story was… not good. The glowing essay talking about how this weird chick was friends with other authors who are well known and how Marlene was so smart and insisted on trying to draw relationships between science and belief in the supernatural is better than the story itself. Do yourself a favor, skip this story, which has generally not been well-known for a reason.
- The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs: Also assuming you’ve read this one. It is well-written, and the essay beforehand includes multiple interpretation, which are interesting to read as well.
- A Haunted House by Virgina Woolf: I guess this one was inspired by a stint Virginia and her husband spent in a haunted house, which… of course it is, because wasn’t Virginia always writing about herself? It’s fine. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.
- Green Tea by Sheridan Le Fanu: The essay before this one mentions how popular this story is, although I myself hadn’t actually read it. It’s fine. I actually didn’t much like it, but it definitely involves the supernatural.
- Punch, Brothers, Punch by Mark Twain: Short, punchy, funny, and a little spooky. Very good short story, that again – you have probably already read. If you haven’t, ignore the essay and just read the story.
- Unseen – Unfeared by Francis Stevens: A weird detective story that also deals with fear of “other-ness” and indicates that perhaps the monsters are created by us because we are all awful. Not terrible, but don’t know that I would recommend, either.
- The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe: Great story that you have probably already read. In my opinion, the best short story in the collection, but also, like… it’s Poe. Like, of course it’s good… in fact, it feels a bit cliche to include it in this collection.
- The Willows by Algernon Blackwood: This story is one of those naturalist things where the author is like isn’t nature amazing and fearsome? I actually don’t much like naturalist things, so I didn’t finish this one.
- Squire Toby’s Will by Sheridan Le Fanu: Decent read. Not amazing, but appropriately spooky. Includes a family of some of the worst men ever and demons.
- The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: I’m just going to assume you have read this. Great story, and one I am always up for re-reading.
- On Ghosts by Mary Shelley: An essay by the authoress of Frankenstein, this essay doesn’t necessarily advocate for ghosts so much as lament the lack of magic in a world that insists on rational explanations. I did enjoy reading it, and would recommend.
- Par Avion by Marlene Dotard: Yuck. This story was… not good. The glowing essay talking about how this weird chick was friends with other authors who are well known and how Marlene was so smart and insisted on trying to draw relationships between science and belief in the supernatural is better than the story itself. Do yourself a favor, skip this story, which has generally not been well-known for a reason.
- The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs: Also assuming you’ve read this one. It is well-written, and the essay beforehand includes multiple interpretation, which are interesting to read as well.
- A Haunted House by Virgina Woolf: I guess this one was inspired by a stint Virginia and her husband spent in a haunted house, which… of course it is, because wasn’t Virginia always writing about herself? It’s fine. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.
- Green Tea by Sheridan Le Fanu: The essay before this one mentions how popular this story is, although I myself hadn’t actually read it. It’s fine. I actually didn’t much like it, but it definitely involves the supernatural.
- Punch, Brothers, Punch by Mark Twain: Short, punchy, funny, and a little spooky. Very good short story, that again – you have probably already read. If you haven’t, ignore the essay and just read the story.
- Unseen – Unfeared by Francis Stevens: A weird detective story that also deals with fear of “other-ness” and indicates that perhaps the monsters are created by us because we are all awful. Not terrible, but don’t know that I would recommend, either.
- The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe: Great story that you have probably already read. In my opinion, the best short story in the collection, but also, like… it’s Poe. Like, of course it’s good… in fact, it feels a bit cliche to include it in this collection.
- The Willows by Algernon Blackwood: This story is one of those naturalist things where the author is like isn’t nature amazing and fearsome? I actually don’t much like naturalist things, so I didn’t finish this one.
January 30, 2021
Anthologies where authors select the stories are usually more varied than those where one editor chooses all the stories, and such is the case in "The Repeater Book of the Occult," with stories chosen by the authors of the Repeater Books publishing house.
There are a number of well-known stories, such Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw," and two LeFanu stories. Mark Twain and Virginia Woolf were a pleasant surprise, and I had not previously heard of Francis Stevens.
Dotard's "Par Avion" was a miss for me. It didn't feel like it belonged with the others, even as loose as the theme of the anthology was.
The authors provide introductions to each story, some of which were longer than a couple of the stories, and more likely essays. While there was a lot of good information in some of them, they detracted from the stories themselves.
I would encourage the authors to choose lesser-known works that haven't had the readership of some of the selections in this book, but the choices were good, and this is recommended.
I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Repeater Books in exchange for my honest review.
Don't forget! Come back to your Review on the pub date, 09 Feb
There are a number of well-known stories, such Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw," and two LeFanu stories. Mark Twain and Virginia Woolf were a pleasant surprise, and I had not previously heard of Francis Stevens.
Dotard's "Par Avion" was a miss for me. It didn't feel like it belonged with the others, even as loose as the theme of the anthology was.
The authors provide introductions to each story, some of which were longer than a couple of the stories, and more likely essays. While there was a lot of good information in some of them, they detracted from the stories themselves.
I would encourage the authors to choose lesser-known works that haven't had the readership of some of the selections in this book, but the choices were good, and this is recommended.
I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Repeater Books in exchange for my honest review.
Don't forget! Come back to your Review on the pub date, 09 Feb
February 9, 2021
I was given an arc of this from the publisher through Netgalley, so I feel a little bad for this review, but gotta keep it honest. Not gonna lie, this was really not for me. Several of the stories were so boring I just straight up skipped through them. I also skipped most of the introductions because they didn't add anything meaningful or interesting to the reading experience. I already knew and loved The Yellow Wallpaper, and I definitely don't think you can call it a "lost story" or anything like that. It's pretty popular. Apart from that I liked the story by Poe and the one about the monkey paw. I think this collection is for the horror reader that has already read everything, and is craving literally anything horror related to add to the collection.
February 22, 2022
A fantastic collection of 11 classic horror stories by masters of the genre such as Mary Shelley and Poe. Each includes an introduction that covers not only the author and their lives but also their beliefs in the occult and what caused them to write the story being introduced.
This book feels like a college course in classic horror. I learned so much about stories I've read and also read a few I had only heard of such as The Willows by Algernon Blackwood. Must-read for anyone who loves the genre and wants to dive deeper.
This book feels like a college course in classic horror. I learned so much about stories I've read and also read a few I had only heard of such as The Willows by Algernon Blackwood. Must-read for anyone who loves the genre and wants to dive deeper.
May 4, 2022
Like most anthologies, this will be hit and miss with the range of stories. Concentrating on more classical horror stories is interesting, but not very exciting. People write horror/terror/etc different these days. The older horror writings focus on: 1) psychological horror and 2) not describing that which is terrible. Both leave too much to the imagination, but if you seek to be entertained, comes off as lazy and boring. I will give it props for including what is perhaps the greatest horror short story of all time: W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw."
February 10, 2021
I was honestly disappointed in this one. Going by the title and description I was expecting something a little more dark and twisted. It was a nice collection of classic horror stories however. I found it to be a bit boring for my tastes and found myself skipping through the introductions before each of the story as they were beyond boring. On the plus side I did enjoy the few illustrations that were in the book.
December 18, 2021
In the beginning, it was interesting until it became too much of the author giving information about the story. I mean, I do like getting details of the story's origin, yet, it could've been short and gotten onto the story. It was making me lose interested. I had to keep skipping, just to get right into the story. That's the only problem I had. Other than that, the stories were very great. Creepy as well, I will add.
March 11, 2022
Has a good mixture of stories though for a book of the occult some are... Not what I expected and rather dissapointing.
September 7, 2022
Great selection of stories. The introductions were a nice touch on some familiar material.
February 1, 2023
The actual stories contained herein are very good. Classics. Haunting.
Avoid the commentaries at all cost. Pompous nonsense. They add nothing. They detract.
Avoid the commentaries at all cost. Pompous nonsense. They add nothing. They detract.
January 26, 2024
Worth it along for the essay accompanying The Monkey’s Paw. An inspired reading of that fabulous story.
October 21, 2024
Great collection of short supernatural horror stories. Great for the spook season
January 25, 2025
Found my favorite short horror story in this book. :)
May 20, 2025
An enjoyable collection
January 21, 2026
Good enough book. Liked some of the stories more than others and some were very short. Almost more like small snippets from a larger collection.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews