Forward

Story

Author

Synopsis

Foreword

Joseph Lewis French

An introduction to the anthology and its selection of classic tales of horror and suspense.

The Horla, Part 1

Guy de Maupassant

A French gentleman experiences increasingly disturbing sensations and unexplained occurrences in his home. He begins to suspect that an invisible being is watching him and exerting control over his life.

The Horla, Part 2

Guy de Maupassant

The narrator's obsession with the unseen entity intensifies as he searches for proof of its existence. His attempts to escape its influence lead him toward increasingly desperate and destructive decisions.

A Terrible Night

William Clark Russell

A voyage at sea becomes a terrifying experience when violent weather and extraordinary natural phenomena threaten the passengers and crew.

The Torture by Hope

Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam

A prisoner condemned by the Spanish Inquisition discovers what appears to be an opportunity to escape. His desperate pursuit of freedom reveals a particularly cruel form of psychological torture.

What Was It?

Fitz-James O'Brien

A man sleeping in a supposedly haunted boardinghouse is attacked by an invisible creature. After capturing the mysterious assailant, he and his companions attempt to understand what they have discovered.

The Mark of the Beast

Rudyard Kipling

An Englishman in colonial India desecrates a religious shrine and suffers an apparently supernatural curse. His companions struggle to reverse his horrifying transformation.

The Temple of Isis

Richard Marsh

An encounter with a mysterious woman leads into a frightening world of ancient Egyptian religion, secret rituals, and supernatural danger. An excerpt from The Beetle.

The Pit and the Pendulum

Edgar Allan Poe

A prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition awakens in a dungeon where elaborate instruments of torture threaten his life. He must overcome terror and exhaustion to survive.

The Vampire

Bram Stoker

In an excerpt from Dracula, the dying Renfield reveals his connection to Count Dracula and the vampire's terrifying influence, exposing the danger facing Mina Harker.

The Avengers, Part I

Arthur Conan Doyle

A man and a young girl, stranded in the American wilderness, are rescued by members of a religious community. Their survival comes at the price of accepting a new life under strict religious authority.

The Avengers, Parts II & III

Arthur Conan Doyle

Years later, the young woman's love for an outsider comes into conflict with the demands of her community. Religious pressure, threats, and forced marriage threaten to destroy her future.

The Avengers, Parts IV & V

Arthur Conan Doyle

The consequences of persecution and betrayal culminate in tragedy. A survivor undertakes a relentless campaign of vengeance against those responsible.