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A Witch in Time: absorbing, magical and hard to put down
by Constance Sayers'Prepare to be dazzled' Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger'Fresh and original' Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches Four lives, one woman, a star-crossed love . . .In 1895, sixteen-year-old Juliet begins a passionate, doomed romance with a married artist.In 1932, aspiring actress Nora escapes New York for the bright lights of Hollywood and a new chance at love.In 1970, Californian musician Sandra's secret love affair threatens to tear her band apart.And in 2012, Helen is starting to remember the tragic details of lives that never belonged to her.Bound to her lover in 1895, and trapped by his side ever since, Helen has lived through multiple lifetimes, under different names, never escaping her tragic endings. Only this time, she might finally have the power to break the cycle . . .Absorbing, magical and hard to put down, A Witch in Time is a heartbreakingly beautiful story about a death-defying love, a time trapping curse and the power of destiny.'A captivating tapestry of a tale' Gwendolyn Womack, bestselling author of The Fortune Teller'Sayers weaves a spell of love, lust and magic to create a page-turner like no other' Steph Post, author of Miraculum
The Woman In The Mirror (Hq Fiction Ebook Ser.)
by Rebecca James‘A dark treat’ Kate Riordan, author of The Stranger Haunting and moving, The Woman in the Mirror is a tale of obsession tinged with suspense, perfect for fans of Tracy Rees and Lulu Taylor.
Wonderland: A Novel
by Zoje StageShirley Jackson meets The Shining in this richly atmospheric and thrillingly tense new novel from the acclaimed author of the "deliciously creepy" debut Baby Teeth (New York Post).One mother's love may be all that stands between her family, an enigmatic presence--and madness.After years of city life, Orla and Shaw Bennett are ready for the quiet of New York's Adirondack mountains--or at least, they think they are. Settling into the perfect farmhouse with their two children, they are both charmed and unsettled by the expanse of their land, the privacy of their individual bedrooms, and the isolation of life a mile from any neighbor.But none of the Bennetts could expect what lies waiting in the woods, where secrets run dark and deep. When something begins to call to the family-from under the earth, beneath the trees, and within their minds-Orla realizes she might be the only one who can save them . . . if she can find out what this force wants before it's too late.With an ending inescapable and deeply satisfying, Wonderland brilliantly blends horror and suspense to probe the boundaries of family, loyalty, love, and the natural world.
Xstabeth: A Guardian Book of the Day
by David KeenanPre-order XSTABETH in paperback, ebook or audio before 1 November to access the exclusive digital prequel, THE TOWERS THE FIELDS THE TRANSMITTERS. Full details: bit.ly/XstabethPreOrder 'This book spoke, it said "read me" from the very first sentence as if it were alive, it gave me visceral joy' Kim Gordon'Reading [Xstabeth] feels like being cut open to the accompanying sound of ecstatic music' Edna O'Brien'Prepare for more of that inimitable Keenan narrative voodoo brilliance' Wendy ErskineIn St Petersburg, Russia, Aneliya is torn between the love of her father and her father's best friend. Her father dreams of becoming a great musician but suffers with a naivete that means he will never be taken seriously. Her father's best friend has a penchant for vodka, strip clubs and moral philosophy.When an angelic presence named Xstabeth enters their lives - a presence who simultaneously fulfils and disappears those she touches - Aneliya and her father's world is transformed. Moving from Russia to St Andrews, Scotland, Xstabeth tackles the metaphysics of golf, the mindset of classic Russian novels and the power of art and music to re-wire reality. Charged with a consuming intensity and a torrential rhythm that pulses with music, it is an offering of transcendence and a love letter to the books of Chandler, Nabokov and Dostoevsky, by a writer who is rewriting the rulebook of contemporary fiction.
The Year of the Witching
by Alexis HendersonThe Handmaid's Tale meets The Village in this stunning feminist debut . . .Shortlisted for the GoodReads Choice Awards 2020 for Best Debut Novel and Best Horror Novel . . .'A magnificent, raw slice of folk horror, dark with threat and clenched with suspense . . . a brilliant debut to chill the brightest summer day' DAILY MAIL'Thrillingly brisk and bracing . . . it takes the best tropes of horror and witchcraft and gives them a refreshingly feminist twist.' S.A. CHAKRABORTY, author of The City of BrassBorn on the fringes of Bethel, Immanuelle does her best to obey the Church and follow Holy Protocol. For it was in Bethel that the first Prophet pursued and killed four powerful witches, and so cleansed the land.And then a chance encounter lures her into the Darkwood that surrounds Bethel.It is a forbidden place, haunted by the spirits of the witches who bestow an extraordinary gift on Immanuelle. The diary of her dead mother . . .Fascinated by and fearful of the secrets the diary reveals, Immanuelle begins to understand why her mother once consorted with witches. And as the truth about the Prophets, the Church and their history is revealed, so Immanuelle understands what must be done. For the real threat to Bethel is its own darkness.Bethel must change. And that change will begin with her . . .And readers have been bewitched:'I absolutely could not put it down' ***** 'Hecking scary and tense, it gave me goosebumps more than once' *****'Absolutely stunning read' *****'A truly OUTSTANDING read! I am so glad I picked up this book' *****
You Let Me In: As unsettling as it is unputdownable, this story of love and revenge will haunt you long after you've finished reading
by Camilla Bruce'By the end of the third page I was not only hooked, but beginning to think that this might be the best book I'd read all year.' JOANNE HARRISI wanted someone to know, you see. To know my truth, now that I am gone. How everything and none of it happened.Everyone knew bestselling novelist Cassandra Tipp had twice got away with murder. Even her family were convinced of her guilt. So when she disappears, leaving only a long letter behind, they can but suspect that her conscience finally killed her. But the letter is not what anyone expected. It tells two chilling, darkly disturbing stories. One is a story of bloody nights and magical gifts, of children lost to the woods, of husbands made from twigs and leaves and feathers and bones . . . The other is the story of a little girl who was cruelly treated and grew up crooked in the shadows . . .But which story is true? And where is Cassie now? ________________________WHAT READERS ARE SAYING'I loved this book, was blown away by it''I would certainly read more from this author''Unexpected, thrilling and darkly twisted''I found myself thinking about it for several days afterwards''The writing was just sensational''An impressive debut''I would love to see Guillermo del Toro make a movie based on this story' Praise for YOU LET ME IN'Dark and immersive; a feast of storytelling that lingers long after the last morsel's been consumed.' Sam Lloyd, author of The Memory Wood'A glorious, pitch-black fairytale of a book. Lush, strange and defiant.' Kirsty Logan, author of Things We Say in the Dark 'Inhabits that liminal space where folklore and horror collide . . . a brutal and beguiling story of love and revenge' Lucie McKnight Hardy, author of Water Shall Refuse Them
Macbeth: A Bloomsbury Reader (Bloomsbury Readers)
by Tony BradmanAn atmospheric retelling of the story of Macbeth, perfect for fans of Viking Boy and Janina Ramirez.One dark and stormy night, two men come across three witches who foretell the future. One man is promised a royal future as king, the other that his son will rule one day. But King Duncan still lives and the path to the throne is unclear. What follows next is murder most foul...This atmospheric retelling of William Shakespeare's Macbeth from much-loved author Tony Bradman has haunting black-and-white illustrations by Mark Oldroyd and is a perfect introduction to Shakespeare's classic story.The Bloomsbury Readers series is packed with brilliant books to get children reading independently in Key Stage 2, with book-banded stories by award-winning authors like double Carnegie Medal winner Geraldine McCaughrean and Waterstones Prize winner Patrice Lawrence covering a wide range of genres and topics. With charming illustrations and online guided reading notes written by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), this series is ideal for reading both in the classroom and at home. For more information visit www.bloomsburyguidedreading.com.Book Band: Dark BlueIdeal for ages 9+
The Deep: We all know the story of the Titanic . . . don't we?
by Alma Katsu'Beautifully written, thoroughly absorbing and totally terrifying.' C.J. Tudor, bestselling author of The Chalk ManSomeone, or something, is haunting the Titanic. Deaths and disappearances have plagued the vast liner from the moment she began her maiden voyage on 10 April 1912. Four days later, caught in what feels like an eerie, unsettling twilight zone, some passengers - including millionaire Madeleine Astor and maid Annie Hebbley - are convinced that something sinister is afoot. And then disaster strikes. Four years later and the world is at war. Having survived that fateful night, Annie is now a nurse on board the Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic, now refitted as a hospital ship. And she is about to realise that those demons from her past and the terrors of that doomed voyage have not finished with her yet . . .Bringing together Faustian pacts, the occult, tales of sirens and selkies with themes of guilt and revenge, desire and destiny, The Deep offers a thrilling, tantalizing twist on one of the world's most famous tragedies.
The Art of Pure Cinema: Hitchcock and His Imitators
by Bruce IsaacsIn a now-famous interview with François Truffaut in 1962, Alfred Hitchcock described his masterpiece Rear Window (1954) as "the purest expression of a cinematic idea." But what, precisely, did Hitchcock mean by pure cinema? Was pure cinema a function of mise en scène, or composition within the frame? Was it a function of montage, "of pieces of film assembled"? This notion of pure cinema has intrigued and perplexed critics, theorists, and filmmakers alike in the decades following this discussion. And even across his 40-year career, Hitchcock's own ideas about pure cinema remained mired in a lack of detail, clarity, and analytical precision. The Art of Pure Cinema is the first book-length study to examine the historical foundations and stylistic mechanics of pure cinema. Author Bruce Isaacs explores the potential of a philosophical and artistic approach most explicitly demonstrated by Hitchcock in his later films, beginning with Hitchcock's contact with the European avant-garde film movement in the mid-1920s. Tracing the evolution of a philosophy of pure cinema across Hitchcock's most experimental works - Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Marnie, and Frenzy - Isaacs rereads these works in a new and vital context. In addition to this historical account, the book presents the first examination of pure cinema as an integrated stylistics of mise en scène, montage, and sound design. The films of so-called Hitchcockian imitators like Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and Brian De Palma are also examined in light of a provocative claim: that the art of pure cinema is only fully realized after Hitchcock.
On the Ghost Trail: A Bloomsbury Reader (Bloomsbury Readers)
by Chris PowlingA spooky comedy from Chris Powling with hilarious illustrations by Loretta Schauer. Perfect for fans of Amelia Fang and Knitbone Pepper.A ghost has been haunting Ben's grandpa's house with cobweb trails and the TAP-TAP-TAP of its heartbeat. So when the clock strikes twelve, Ben's brother dares him to go on a hunt for the ghost in the church graveyard. Will he be brave enough? This quirky story from Chris Powling has engaging black-and-white illustrations by Loretta Schauer and is perfect for children who are developing as readers. The Bloomsbury Readers series is packed with brilliant books to get children reading independently in Key Stage 2, with book-banded stories by award-winning authors like double Carnegie Medal winner Geraldine McCaughrean and Waterstones Prize winner Patrice Lawrence covering a wide range of genres and topics. With charming illustrations and online guided reading notes written by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), this series is ideal for reading both in the classroom and at home. For more information visit www.bloomsburyguidedreading.com.Book Band: BrownIdeal for ages 7+
Stoneywish and other chilling stories: A Bloomsbury Reader (Bloomsbury Readers)
by Joan AikenA brilliant collection of spine-chilling tales by Joan Aiken, author of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. From a mysterious traveller who leaves an injured horse with a stranger, to a garden plant that slowly creeps into a house during a thunderstorm and a man who comes across two angry forces in the middle of a forest, this chilling collection of stories will have readers jumping at bumps in the night.Much-loved author Joan Aiken is best known for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and the Arabel and Mortimer books. This brilliant collection has spooky black-and-white illustrations by TBC and is perfect for children who are developing as readers. The Bloomsbury Readers series is packed with brilliant books to get children reading independently in Key Stage 2, with book-banded stories by award-winning authors like double Carnegie Medal winner Geraldine McCaughrean and Waterstones Prize winner Patrice Lawrence, covering a wide range of genres and topics. With charming illustrations and online guided reading notes written by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), this series is ideal for reading both in the classroom and at home. For more information visit www.bloomsburyguidedreading.com.Book Band: Dark BlueIdeal for ages 8+
She Wanted to Be Haunted
by Marcus EwertWith whimsical, rhyming stanzas, She Wanted to be Haunted offers a delightful, lyrical twist on the ever-important question of how to be your very best self.Clarissa the cottage is adorable . . . bright pink, with windows that wink, and flowers growing all around. But Clarissa doesn't want to be adorable--being cute is boring. Couldn't she be like her father, a creepy castle home to vampires and crypts? Or like her mother, a witch's hut full of spells and smells? If only she were haunted! Then she'd be less ordinary . . . What will it take for Clarissa to go from adorable to horrible?
My Friend the Alien: A Bloomsbury Reader (Bloomsbury Readers)
by Zanib MianA thought-provoking comedy about being an alien from prize-winning Zanib Mian.Maxx is an alien: a real one - from the planet Zerg. He's on Earth to research these strange things called emotions that humans have (and eat as much chocolate as he can). But some of the humans seem to think Maxx's new human friend Jibreel is an alien too, and Maxx just can't figure it out. Why would coming from another country make you an alien?!This funny science-fiction story is a perfect way to tackle difficult topics like racism and refugees with children. It has hilarious black-and-white illustrations from TBC throughout, and is ideal for children who are developing as readers. The Bloomsbury Readers series is packed with brilliant books to get children reading independently in Key Stage 2, with book-banded stories by award-winning authors like double Carnegie Medal winner Geraldine McCaughrean and Waterstones Prize winner Patrice Lawrence, covering a wide range of genres and topics. With charming illustrations and online guided reading notes written by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), this series is ideal for reading both in the classroom and at home. For more information visit www.bloomsburyguidedreading.com.Book Band: GreyIdeal for ages 8+
The Camera Lies: Acting for Hitchcock
by Dan CallahanThe first book on Hitchcock that focuses exclusively on his work with actors Alfred Hitchcock is said to have once remarked, "Actors are cattle," a line that has stuck in the public consciousness ever since. For Hitchcock, acting was a matter of contrast and counterpoint, valuing subtlety and understatement over flashiness. He felt that the camera was duplicitous, and directed actors to look and act conversely. In The Camera Lies, author Dan Callahan spotlights the many nuances of Hitchcock's direction throughout his career, from Cary Grant in Notorious (1946) to Janet Leigh in Psycho (1960). Delving further, he examines the ways that sex and sexuality are presented through Hitchcock's characters, reflecting the director's own complex relationship with sexuality. Detailing the fluidity of acting -- both what it means to act on film and how the process varies in each actor's career -- Callahan examines the spectrum of treatment and direction Hitchcock provided well- and lesser-known actors alike, including Ingrid Bergman, Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Robert Walker, Jessica Tandy, Kim Novak, and Tippi Hedren. As Hitchcock believed, the best actor was one who could "do nothing well" - but behind an outward indifference to his players was a sophisticated acting theorist who often drew out great performances. The Camera Lies unpacks Hitchcock's legacy both as a director who continuously taught audiences to distrust appearance, and as a man with an uncanny insight into the human capacity for deceit and misinterpretation.
The Adventures of Paddington: First Halloween (Paddington TV)
by HarperCollinsChildren’sBooksA hilarious Halloween-themed picture book based on the animated TV series, The Adventures of Paddington.
The Coming of the Dark (Immortal's Blood)
by Chris HumphreysThree lands. Each ruled in different ways by a decadent immortal elite for their own pleasure and power. They know nothing of each other. But there is a fourth, vast land of mortals. Led by black-eyed priests, the tribes have put aside centuries of hate to unite under the prophecy of 'the One': a child saviour who is neither boy nor girl. Now they are finally ready to conquer the whole world... and wipe the immortals out.Yet in each of those other worlds there are some who will resist, even unto a final death.Luck, a malformed god of the Northmen, desperate to give up a drug that shows him the whole world clearly, even as it destroys his will to fight for it. Ferros, a brilliant warrior recently made immortal, torn between new and old loyalties and loves. Atisha, mother of 'the One', determined to defeat all plans that have been made for her child.Among battles on sea and land, the fall of empires and the rise of the Mortals, will come the Triumph of the One.But will it be a final darkness? Or is there someone who can still save the light?
The Witch (Devil's Advocates)
by Brandon GrafiusRobert Eggers' The Witch (2015) is one of the most critically acclaimed horror films of recent years, praised as a genre film of unusual depth which eschews jump scares in favour of a gradually and steadily building tension. Set in newly colonized New England in the early seventeenth century, the film’s deep historical and mythological background, as well as its complicated and interlocking character arcs, make for a film whose viewers will be well served by this Devil’s Advocate, the first stand-alone critical study of the film. As well as providing the historical and religious background necessary for a fuller appreciation, including an insight into the Puritan movement in New England Brandon Grafius situates the film within a number of horror sub-genres (such as folk horror) as well as its other literary and folkloric influences.
Deleuze and the Gynesis of Horror: From Monstrous Births to the Birth of the Monster
by Sunny HawkinsApplying Deleuze's schizoanalytic techniques to film theory, Deleuze and the Gynesis of Horror demonstrates how an embodied approach to horror film analysis can help us understand how film affects its viewers and distinguish those films which reify static, hegemonic, “molar” beings from those which prompt fluid, nonbinary, “molecular” becomings. It does so by analyzing the politics of reproduction in contemporary films such as Ex Machina; Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; Mad Max: Fury Road; the Twilight saga; and the original Alien quadrilogy and its more recent prequels, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Author Sunny Hawkins argues that films which promote a “monstrous philosophy” of qualitative, affirmative difference as difference-in-itself, and which tend to be more molecular than molar in their expressions, can help us trace a “line of flight” from the gender binary in the real world. Deleuze and the Gynesis of Horror demonstrates how the techniques of horror film – editing, sound and visual effects, lighting and colour, camera movement – work in tandem with a film's content to affect the viewer's body in ways that disrupt the sense of self as a whole, unified subject with a stable, monolithic identity and, in some cases, can serve to breakdown the binary between self/Other, as we come to realize that we are none of us static, categorizable beings but are, as Henri Bergson said, “living things constantly becoming.”
Night of the Living Dead (BFI Film Classics)
by Ben HerveyGeorge A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead is a cult classic that has resonated with audiences and independent filmmakers ever since its release in 1968. It redefined horror cinema and launched the modern zombie genre that continues with films and series like 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead and The Walking Dead.Ben Hervey's illuminating study of the movie traces Night's influences, from Powell and Pressburger to fifties horror comics, and provides the first history of its reception. Hervey argues that the film broke cultural barriers, fêted at New York's Museum of Modern Art while it was still packing 42nd Street grindhouses. Scene-by-scene analysis meshes with detailed historical contexts, showing why Night was a new kind of horror film: the expression of a generation who didn't want their world to return to normal.
The Metaphor of the Monster: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding the Monstrous Other in Literature
The Metaphor of the Monster offers fresh perspectives and a variety of disciplinary approaches to the ever-broadening field of monster studies. The eclectic group of contributors to this volume represents areas of study not generally considered under the purview of monster studies, including world literature, classical studies, philosophy, ecocriticism, animal ethics, and gender studies. Combining historical overviews with contemporary and global outlooks, this volume recontextualizes the monstrous entities that have always haunted the human imagination in the age of the Anthropocene. It also invites reflection on new forms of monstrosity in an era epitomized by an unprecedented deluge of (mis)information. Uniting researchers from varied academic backgrounds in a common effort to challenge the monstrous labels that have historically been imposed upon "the Other," this book endeavors above all to bring the monster out of the shadows and into the light of moral consideration.
Angel's Inferno
by William Hjortsberg'When the Devil laughs the whole damn world laughs with Him'A mind-bending thriller blending hard-boiled detective fiction, supernatural horror, and metaphysical noir that takes readers on a macabre journey into the occult, from the East Coast to Paris to the Vatican, as private investigator Harry Angel, seeking both answers about his true identity and revenge, hunts down Satan himself. Here is the stunning sequel to the Edgar-nominated novel Falling Angel, the basis for the classic cult film Angel Heart, which also stands alone as a masterwork of noir suspense fiction.Praise for Falling Angel'A terrific book...I've never read anything remotely like it. Trying to imagine what might have happened if Raymond Chandler had written the Exorcist is as close as I can come' - Stephen King'Brilliant and frightening' - Thomas McGuane'Masterfully shocking' - Observer'One of the greatest mysteries ever written' - Independent
The Exorcist (BFI Film Classics)
by Mark KermodeInspired by an alleged real case of demonic possession in 1949, The Exorcist became an international phenomenon on its release in 1973. A blockbusting adaptation of a best-selling novel, it was praised as 'deeply spiritual' by some sections of the Catholic Church while being picketed by the Festival of Light and branded 'Satanic' by the evangelist Billy Graham. Banned on video in the UK for nearly fifteen years, the film still retains an extraordinary power to shock and startle. Mark Kermode's compelling study of this horror classic was originally published in 1997, and then extensively updated and expanded in 2003 to incorporate the discovery of new material. This revised edition documents the deletion and reinstatement of key scenes that have now been integrated into the film to create The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen. Candid interviews with director William Friedkin and writer/producer William Peter Blatty reveal the behind the-scenes battles which took place during the production. In addition, exclusive stills reveal the truth about the legendary 'subliminal images' allegedly lurking within the celluloid.
The Monks of Appalling Dreadfulness
by John ConnollyThe Monks of Appalling Dreadfulness are the most feared assassins in the Multiverse. They are ruthless. They are cunning. They can do interesting things with oranges.Now they have been hired to hunt down and kill the demon Nurd, along with every friend he's ever had.But friends come in all shapes and sizes, and with all kinds of talents.The Monks of Appalling Dreadfulness are about to meet their match . . .
Near Dark (BFI Film Classics)
by Stacey AbbottFirst released in 1987, Near Dark is a vampire film set in the contemporary American Midwest that tells the story of Caleb, a half-vampire trying to decide whether to embrace his vampire nature or return to his human family. The film, an early work of the now-established director Kathryn Bigelow, skilfully mixes genre conventions, combining gothic tropes with those of the Western, road movie and film noir, while also introducing elements of the outlaw romance genre.Stacey Abbott's study of the film addresses it as a genre hybrid that also challenges conventions of the vampire film. The vampires are morally ambiguous and undermine the class structures that have historically defined stories of the undead. These are not aristocrats but instead they capture the allure and horror of the disenfranchised and the underclass. As Abbott describes, Near Dark was crucial in consolidating Bigelow's standing as a director of significance at an early point in her career, not simply because of her visual art background, but because of the way in which she would from Near Dark onward re-envision other traditionally mainstream genres of filmmaking.
The Black Vampyre: A Legend of St. Domingo
by Uriah Derick D'ArcyWARNING! Contains moderate bloody violence against slavers and plantation owners!This pioneer vampire tale from 1819 spills revenge-cold blood as its narrator leads us through high gothic terror to radical outrage on the subject of slavery, reaching a blood-soaked conclusion dripping with 'biting' polemic vilifying the bankers who caused the economic recession of that same year.An anti-capitalist horror fable from 200 years ago, The Black Vampyre vilified the worst financial predation the capitalist world would ever see, decades before Karl Marx ― the enslavement of Africans in the New World.One dead man said no! And this is his story.The Black Vampyre; A Legend of St. Domingo tells the affrighting tale of a slave who is resurrected as a vampire after being killed by his owner; the slave seeks revenge by stealing the owner's son and marrying the owner's wife. The anonymous writer D'Arcy sets the story against the conditions that led to the Haitian Revolution.First published in chapbook form in New York in 1819, this emancipatory tale from literary New York in the 1810s arguably dates the birth of horror as know it!This edition features a new introduction as well as extensive notes and a guide to literary allusions.