Great Tales of Terror from Europe and America: Gothic Stories of Horror and Romance 1765-1840

by Peter Haining (Editor), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann August Apel

Excellent...chills the blood of the toughest reader. The parade of great names from Goethe to Poe testifies to the quality of the writing - Sunday Times

Introduction (Gothic Tales of Terror: Volume Two; Classic Horror Stories from Europe and the United States) • (1972) • essay by Peter Haining
The New Melusina • (1816) • novelette by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (trans. of Die neue Melusine) [as by Johann von Goethe]
The Ghost-Seer, or The Apparitionist • non-genre • [Der Geisterseher • 1] • (1972) • novel by Friedrich von Schiller (trans. of Der Geisterseher 1789) [as by J. F. von Schiller]
The Harp • (1811) • short story by Karl Theodor Körner (trans. of Die Harfe)
The Wild Huntsman! Or The Demon's Skeleton Chase • [Baron Munchausen / Münchhausen] • (1972) • short fiction by Gottfried August Bürger (trans. of Der wilde Jäger? 1786) [as by Gottfried August Burger]
The Bride of the Grave • (1972) • novelette by Ernst Raupach (trans. of Laßt die Todten ruhen? 1822) [as by Johann Ludwig Tieck (in error)]
The Field of Terror • (1972) • short story by Baron Friedrich de La Motte Fouqué? (trans. of Das Schauerfeld 1814) [as by Baron de La Motte Fouqué]
The Bottle-Imp • (1972) • novelette by Baron Friedrich de La Motte Fouqué? (trans. of Das Galgenmännlein? 1814) [as by Johann Karl August Musäus (in error)?]
The Spectre Barber • (1972) • novella by Johann Karl August Musäus (trans. of Stumme Liebe 1782) [as by Anonymous]
The Cremona Violin • (1946) • novelette by E. T. A. Hoffmann (trans. of Rath Krespel 1818)
The Fatal Marksman • (1972) • short story by A. Apel (trans. of Der Freischütz? 1810) [as by Johann August Apel]
The Devil's Ladder • (1972) • short story by Alois Wilhelm Schreiber (trans. of Die Teufelsleiter 1829)
The Hall of Blood • (1972) • short story by Julia Pardoe (variant of The Hall of Blood: A Hungarian Tradition 1844) [as by Professor von Kramer (in error)]
The Witch of Eye • (1972) • short story by Henry Neele [as by Francois Baculard d'Arnaud (in error)]
The Unholy Compact Abjured • (1825) • short story by uncredited (variant of The Heroism of Love 1826) [as by Charles Pigault-Lebrun]
The Wandering Jew's Sentence • (1972) • short story by Eugène Sue?
The Parracide Punished • (unknown) • short story by Anonymous
Louise, or Living Spectre • (unknown) • short story by Anonymous
Jan Schalken's Three Wishes • (1972) • short story by H. S. Van Dyk [as by Anonymous]
Maredata and Giulio, or The Ocean Spirit • (1972) • short story by N. G. (variant of Maredata 1824) [as by Anonymous]
Valdrwulf, or The Fiend of the Moor • (unknown) • short story by J. Fitzgerald Pennie [as by Anonymous]
Rip Van Winkle • (unknown) • short story by Legend
Memoirs of Carwin, the Biloquist • (1803) • novella by Charles Brockden Brown
The Adventure of the German Student • [Strange Stories by a Nervous Gentleman] • (1824) • short story by Washington Irving
The Christmas Banquet • (1843) • short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Strange Guests • (1837) • short story by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (variant of The Two Ghosts, or Hospitality Rewarded 1825) [as by Anonymous]
Hugues, the Wer-Wolf • (1838) • short story by Sutherland Menzies
The Possessed One • (1972) • short story by uncredited [as by Anonymous]
Ben Blower's Story • (1842) • short story by Charles Hoffman
The Cask of Amontillado • [Fortunato] • (1846) • short story by Edgar Allan Poe
Shadow—A Parable • [Tales of the Folio Club] • (1850) • short story by Edgar Allan Poe (variant of Shadow: A Fable 1835)

Genres: Horror, Gothic, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fantasy, Literature

506 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1973

About the author

Peter Alexander Haining was an English journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk. Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library.

Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.

In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).

He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.

Reviews

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is full of forgotten Gothic tales that were once all the rage in Europe. The section from Germany has some of the best.

I did this as an audio book at night before going to bed. It gave me "pleasant" dreams.

I am not sure how easily avaible this book is, so if you find a copy grab it.

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best book of short horror stories and tales of the unknown from the 17 and 1800s
Most of them are amazing but I have to say a few of them actually made me bored. Rip Van winkle was a perfect short story though

[Gothic Readers Book Club · Rating 5 out of 5]

GOTHIC READERS CHOICE AWARD WINNER

What is there not to love about this collection? It's a collection of some of the greatest Gothic writers of all time. Irving, Hawthorne, Poe, Körner, von Shiller, Goethe, and more. Some of these stories are easily recognized. Others are less famous and give a new depth to the Gothic short story. Some are names that the average reader might not associate with Gothic, yet every story here weaves a haunting, disturbing portrait of human frailty. Haining has chosen well and this one of the best introductions to Gothic literature we've come across in a long time.

If You Like: Essentially any Gothic author from the 1800s (it's that good)

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