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The Wizard's Daughter (Americana Ser.)
by Barbara MichaelsIn The Wizard's Daughter beautiful and spirited Marianne Ransom has to use all her wits and looks to survive the cruel life of an orphan on the perilous backstreets of Victorian London. But it is her gift of second sight that carries her into the world of money and privilege – a power brought on by a strange twist of fate . . .In the opulent Scottish castle of a wealthy duchess, Marianne is being called upon to summon her late father – a noted mystic – from the grave. But her exceptional abilities have become a perilous trap. And suddenly knowing too much could prove fatal.Séances, ghostly apparitions and romantic intrigues abound in this wonderful Gothic suspense by New York Times bestseller Barbara Michaels.
House of Many Shadows (Center Point Premier Romance (large Print) Ser.)
by Barbara MichaelsGhosts, intrigue and a murder long ago sit at the heart of House of Many Shadows, the gripping Gothic romance by New York Times bestseller Barbara Michaels.When a car crash leaves Meg Rittenhouse suffering from strange hallucinations, an invitation to recuperate at her elderly relative’s crumbling mansion in the Pennsylvania hills seems like the answer to her prayers. But she couldn’t be more wrong . . .There, in a remote old house miles from anywhere, the terrible sights and sounds become even worse. Suddenly eerie black shapes dance in the shadows – mocking Meg, haunting her . . . threatening her. And the presence of kind, considerate Andy Brenner, the caretaker, both reassures her and terrifies her – because Andy also sees these dark spectres . . .
The Walker in the Shadows
by Barbara MichaelsGhosts, a mysterious diary and a harrowing of a family split by the American Civil War sit at the heart of The Walker in the Shadows, a haunting Gothic romance by New York Times bestseller Barbara Michaels.The house next door to Pat Robbins – eerily identical to the home she shares with her teenage son, Mark – has been empty for years. And it’s not surprising, as there’s a feeling of darkness radiating from the house that seems to scare everyone away.But now new tenants are moving in: friendly Josef and his lovely daughter, Kathy, who has stolen Mark's heart on first glance. But something is not right – something old and secret is lurking in the shadows, something that fresh paint and new furnishings cannot mask or exorcise. There is evil alive in the heart of the house next door – and it means to feed on the fears of two families . . .
Black Rainbow (Someone In The House Ser. #1)
by Barbara MichaelsSet in the turbulent North of England during the Crimean War, Black Rainbow is a thrilling Gothic romance by New York Times bestseller Barbara Michaels.When Megan O’Neill arrives at Greyhaven Manor one moonlit night, an ominous black rainbow hangs in the sky. It seems like a sinister warning to stay away, but her fears are soon banished by the warmth and kindness of the aristocratic Mandeville family – and her growing obsession with her handsome, mysterious new employer blinds her to the darkness within . . .But the price of desire is more than she could ever have imagined. And the shocking secrets enclosed in Grayhaven's walls threaten to pull Megan into the terrifying shadows, never to emerge again.
Witch
by Barbara MichaelsA wonderful Gothic suspense story filled with clever twists and turns, Witch by Barbara Michaels will have you on the edge of your seat.It was more than her dream house. For divorcee Ellen March, buying the secluded old house nestled in the pine woods marked the start of a new life. Now she could put her failed marriage behind her, enjoy the quiet solitude of small town life in Virginia, and get to know her new neighbour, the handsome Norman McKay.But strange visions began to cloud her mind – the shadowy figure of a woman, a ghostly white cat – and Ellen's safe haven slowly became her prison. Has she buried the past? Or has a dark legend come back to haunt her?
Someone in the House
by Barbara MichaelsAn imposing stately home, Grayhaven Manor has been transported stone by stone from England to the isolated hills of Pennsylvania. An ideal summer retreat, the house calls to Anne and Kevin – it’s the perfect quiet spot to finally write the book they’ve been planning together. But they are not alone . . .There are distractions in the halls and shadows, luring them from their work. Something lives on here from Grayhaven's shocking past, something beautiful, powerful and eerily seductive, something unlocking the doors of human desire, of fear . . . and unearthly passion.Set over 150 years after the events of Black Rainbow, Someone in the House, the suspenseful Gothic romance by New York Times bestseller Barbara Michaels, will have you on the edge of your seat.
Greygallows
by Barbara MichaelsFull of intrigue and mystery, Greygallows is a gripping Gothic romance by New York Times bestseller Barbara Michaels.Lucy Cartwright placed her life and future into the hands of the dashing Baron Clare, despite the rumours of his dark, unsavory past. Trusting his kind words and gentle manner, she agreed to be his wife and followed the enigmatic lord to Greygallows, his sprawling Yorkshire estate. But mystery, deception, betrayal, and danger surround the magnificent manor – a ghostly secret charges the atmosphere and horror reigns in its shadowed hallways.Lucy entered Greygallows willingly . . . and now she may never leave.
Dead Girls
by Abigail TarttelinIt's 1999 and Thera Wilde is NOT a victim . . . From the award-winning author of Golden Boy, Dead Girls tells a story of Girl Power, murder and revenge.'Tarttelin is a natural storyteller' Matt HaigA quiet community is shocked by the murder of an eleven-year-old girl. As police swarm the village, fear compels parents to keep their children indoors. Unbeknown to her Mum and Dad, though, one girl roams free.That girl is Thera Wilde.Thera was the murdered girl’s best friend. Together they were unstoppable and, even alone, Thera is not afraid: it’s 1999. Girls can do anything. And Thera reckons she can find the killer before the police do.'Sometimes brutal, often tender, and always compelling' Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven, on Golden Boy
The Woman in White: A Novel (part Two) And Short Stories: The Dead Alive; The Fatal Cradle; Fatal Fortune; Blow Up With The Brig (Macmillan Collector's Library #160)
by Wilkie CollinsThe inspiration behind BBC1's sensational psychological thriller mini series.Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure. This beautiful Macmillan Collector’s Library edition of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins features an afterword by writer, editor and playwright David Stuart Davies.On a moonlit London night, art teacher Walter Hartwright meets a young woman – beautiful, terrified and dressed entirely white – alone on the street. Compelled to help this piteous creature, he finds himself caught up in a world of secrets, murder and madness, with an impossible mystery to solve.The odds seem stacked against him, but a sleuthing partnership with the brilliantly clever Marian Halcombe may be just enough to outwit their formidable nemesis – the menacing Count Fosco.One of the great mystery thrillers of the nineteenth century and beyond, The Woman in White is a wonderful combination of rich characterisation and cunning melodrama that ensnares the reader from the very first page.
Castle Barebane
by Joan Aiken'Joan Aiken writes superbly, with a force, a colour and strength of imagination that one encounters all too rarely today. I loved every moment of it.' London Daily TelegraphStrong and independent Vahalla Montgomery, a heroine straight out of a Henry James novel, abandons her New York career as a journalist to search for her half-brother in Joan Aiken’s gothic novel, Castle Barebane.Wishing to escape from her pretentious New York fiancé, Valla is happy to have an excuse to travel to England, only to discover that her half-brother and his wife have disappeared from their London home – leaving their young two children all alone. Finding Victorian London a gloomy and sinister place, haunted by a series of Ripper style murders, Valla takes the children up to Scotland to a bleak family property known as Castle Barebane. In this Gothic ruin, perched on the edge of a cliff, the mystery surrounding her missing brother only gets darker, and more terrifying . . . This unforgettable tale of love, loss, and human nature is brought to life by Joan Aiken’s vivid story-telling and gripping plot. If you love Virginia Andrews or Nicola Cornick, Joan Aiken should certainly be your next read.
The Embroidered Sunset
by Joan Aiken'Miss Aiken’s book is immensely enjoyable – her gift for gothic romantic charm is as effectively deployed as ever' TLSLucy Culpepper doesn’t take no for an answer. An aspiring pianist she dreams of being taught by the renowned Max Benovek and will defy all odds – life threatening illness, a missing great aunt, and a disgruntled uncle – to achieve it.After finding out her Uncle Wilbie has used up her college fund, Lucy discovers a selection of enchantingly beautiful paintings in the attic. Being the miserly man he is, Wilbie wants to keep any possible profits for these paintings and bargains on sending Lucy to England to find the artist – Great-aunt Fennel. Knowing Benovek lives in London she snaps up the opportunity and undertakes the adventure of a lifetime. But though Benovek proves easy to find and immediately takes Lucy to heart, she sets off to Yorkshire only to find that her old aunt Fennel has vanished. Lucy’s search entangles her in a mystery of murder and deceit . . . can they discover who is the real aunt Fennel?Awardwinning author Joan Aiken brings a shocking finale to a witty and entertaining plot full of unexpected twists and turns in modern suspense novel, The Embroidered Sunset.
The Butterfly Picnic
by Joan Aiken'For sheer enjoyability this tops almost anything' The TimesIntelligent and spirited Georgia March flies to the beautiful Greek island of Dendros to meet her cousin Sweden, but upon arrival finds her cousin Sweden’s body lying in a pool blood . . .Georgia has come to the paradise island of Dendros in search of a new life, a new job, and a way to forget about her lost lover. Instead, her adventure begins with tragedy and takes her to a mountain-top fortress – home to a powerful multi-millionaire, his jet set friends and a school for unusual children. In this stunning Greek hideaway Georgia is hired as a teacher, but as she gets to know the children and their unconventional parents she becomes ensnared in a deadly international mystery. Our not-so hapless heroine must survive a series of bizarre brushes with death, but also deal with the attentions of a strangely charming man – is he really the wickedest man on the island? Somebody certainly wants her gone as she inches closer and closer to uncovering the truth about Sweden’s death . . . Joan Aiken reveals a strong heroine, a breathtaking backdrop and shocking plot twists – The Butterfly Picnic has all the elements of a holiday romance with a dark underside of suspense.
Foul Matter
by Joan AikenI have been on nodding terms with death since age nineteen. Death holds precious little mystery for me. During the last sixteen years I have eaten death for breakfast . . .For accomplished writer and chef Clytie Churchill suffering and love come hand in hand. The life of each person she loves seems to come to a desperate end – sickness, suicide, death by drowning, orphan and widower Clytie has grieved through it all. During a long night reminiscing in a remote French Chateau she resolves to throw out all this Foul Matter – like the old proofs of a finished book.But there is still one mystery to solve – when she learns there is a chance that little Finn, her dead husband’s son, could have survived the sinking of his father’s boat Clytie seeks out lawyer and ex-lover Anthony to help her track him down.Awardwinning author Joan Aiken touches upon love and death with a thoughtfulness and courage that makes Foul Matter a romantic suspense novel like no other.
Blackground
by Joan Aiken'Blackground deals with guilty secrets, greed, betrayal and murder. Joan Aiken knows her trade.' London Review of Books.Cat Conwil is an actress on the brink of fame – will love be her saviour of her downfall?Cat lands a starring role in a TV adaptation of Middlemarch shooting on location at the splendid Knoyle Court. There, she’s pursued by the estate’s owner millionaire James Tybold – they fall for eachother hard and fast, marry and embark on the honeymoon of a lifetime. But only in romantic Venice as they start getting to really know each other do they uncover the shocking truth – that they met before, many years ago . . .From this moment everything changes – they both have dark histories, complicated families, and one of them has some devastating secrets in their past . . .Between a film set, a Venetian honeymoon and a section of the Dorset coast remodelled to resemble a Greek fishing village, award winning author Joan Aiken entwines mortal danger with quirky characters in her captivating romantic suspense novel, Blackground.
The Turn of the Screw and Owen Wingrave: and Owen Wingrave (Macmillan Collector's Library #174)
by Henry JamesDesigned to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector’s Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector’s Library are books to love and treasure. This edition of Henry James’s classic ghost stories features an afterword by bestselling author Kate Mosse OBE.A young governess is employed to look after two orphaned siblings in a grand country house. Isolated and inexperienced, she is at first charmed by the children – but gradually suspects that they may not be as innocent as they seem. She soon begins to see sinister figures at the window, but do they exist solely in her imagination, or are they ghosts intent on a terrible and devastating task? The Turn of the Screw is one of the most famous and eerily equivocal ghost stories ever written.Owen Wingrave is the story of a son in a long line of military heroes who refuses to follow tradition, yet proves his bravery in a haunted room.
Ponti: A Novel
by Sharlene TeoShortlisted for the Edward Stanford Fiction, with a Sense of Place Award'Remarkable . . . her characters glow with life and humour' Ian McEwan2003. Singapore. Friendless and fatherless, sixteen-year-old Szu lives in the shadow of her mother Amisa, once a beautiful actress and now a hack medium performing séances with her sister in a rusty house. When Szu meets the privileged, acid-tongued Circe, they develop an intense friendship which offers Szu an escape from her mother’s alarming solitariness, and Circe a step closer to the fascinating, unknowable Amisa.Seventeen years later, Circe is struggling through a divorce in fraught and ever-changing Singapore when a project comes up at work: a remake of the cult seventies horror film series ‘Ponti’, the very project that defined Amisa’s short-lived film career. Suddenly Circe is knocked off balance: by memories of the two women she once knew, by guilt, and by a past that threatens her conscience . . .Told from the perspectives of all three women, Ponti by Sharlene Teo is an exquisite story of friendship and memory spanning decades. Infused with mythology and modernity, with the rich sticky heat of Singapore, it is at once an astounding portrayal of the gaping loneliness of teenagehood, and a vivid exploration of how tragedy can make monsters of us.Shortlisted for Hearsts' Big Book Award 2018.
Spirits and Wine
by Susan Jayne NewhofIt's a mystery and a ghost story, all wrapped up in one. A newly married couple buys an old house in a small lakeshore town in West Michigan and finds it haunted by the dramatic secrets of its past inhabitants. As the couple settles in, disturbing events prompt them to investigate who those residents were, what happened to them, and why one spirit remains active. Could the Spanish influenza epidemic in the region, which resulted in the deaths of an unprecedented number of young, healthy adults in Michigan and elsewhere in 1918---19, and the resulting slew of orphans, have something to do with the spirit now haunting their house? They are determined to discover the truth about their house, even if it jeopardizes their own safety.
The Corset: The captivating new novel from the prize-winning author of The Silent Companions
by Laura PurcellThe new Victorian chiller from the author of Radio 2 and Zoe Ball ITV Book Club pick, The Silent Companions.Is prisoner Ruth Butterham mad or a murderer? Victim or villain?Dorothea and Ruth. Prison visitor and prisoner. Powerful and powerless. Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor and awaiting trial for murder. When Dorothea's charitable work leads her to Oakgate Prison, she is delighted with the chance to explore her fascination with phrenology and test her hypothesis that the shape of a person's skull can cast a light on their darkest crimes. But when she meets teenage seamstress Ruth, she is faced with another theory: that it is possible to kill with a needle and thread. For Ruth attributes her crimes to a supernatural power inherent in her stitches. The story Ruth has to tell of her deadly creations – of bitterness and betrayal, of death and dresses – will shake Dorothea's belief in rationality, and the power of redemption. Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer?
Joss Whedon vs. the Horror Tradition: The Production of Genre in Buffy and Beyond (International Library of the Moving Image (PDF))
by Lorna Jowett Kristopher Karl WoofterAlthough ostensibly presented as “light entertainment,” the work of writer-director-producer Joss Whedon takes much dark inspiration from the horror genre to create a unique aesthetic and perform a cultural critique. Featuring monsters, the undead, as well as drawing upon folklore and fairy tales, his many productions both celebrate and masterfully repurpose the traditions of horror for their own means. Woofter and Jowett's collection looks at how Whedon revisits existing feminist tropes in the '70s and '80s “slasher” craze via Buffy the Vampire Slayer to create a feminist saga; the innovative use of silent cinema tropes to produce a new fear-laden, film-television intertext; postmodernist reflexivity in Cabin in the Woods; as well as exploring new concepts on “cosmic dread” and the sublime for a richer understanding of programmes Dollhouse and Firefly. Chapters provide the historical context of horror as well as the particular production backgrounds that by turns support, constrain or transform this mode of filmmaking. Informed by a wide range of theory from within philosophy, film studies, queer studies, psychoanalysis, feminism and other fields, the expert contributions to this volume prove the enduring relevance of Whedon's genre-based universe to the study of film, television, popular culture and beyond.
The Monster in Theatre History: This Thing of Darkness
by Michael ChemersMonsters are fragmentary, uncertain, frightening creatures. What happens when they enter the realm of the theatre? The Monster in Theatre History explores the cultural genealogies of monsters as they appear in the recorded history of Western theatre. From the Ancient Greeks to the most cutting-edge new media, Michael Chemers focuses on a series of ‘key’ monsters, including Frankenstein’s creature, werewolves, ghosts, and vampires, to reconsider what monsters in performance might mean to those who witness them. This volume builds a clear methodology for engaging with theatrical monsters of all kinds, providing a much-needed guidebook to this fascinating hinterland.
The Witch’s Warning (Aberrations #2)
by Joseph DelaneyA gloriously spooky horror-fantasy story from Joseph Delaney, the internationally multi-million bestselling author of The Spook's ApprenticeCrafty halted, his heart lurching with fear, his mouth dry. There were bare footprints in the white snow, and each one was smeared with red, as if the owner of those clawed feet had stepped in a puddle of blood . . . Crafty and his friends have already faced dozens of horrifying aberrations during their time as Castle Gate Grubs - assistants to the mysterious guild of Gatemancers, who fight against the terrifying Shole. But the real battle is only just beginning. New and more dangerous aberrations are appearing all the time, and worse yet, it seems someone from within the Castle is helping them attack. And when an old enemy returns to give Crafty a disturbing warning, it seems time might be running out for all of them . . .
The Stone Forest (The Glasswater Quintet #3)
by James Morgan-JonesThe 1930s are drawing to a close. On the brink of adulthood, Phyl discovers the Creek, an isolated community stranded between the Essex marshlands and the industrial highway of the Thames, where her life is unexpectedly enriched. But in the aftermath of life-changing illness and the traumatic loss of a friend, Phyl and her sister find themselves abruptly relocated to rural Wales where it is soon clear that the spectre of grief has not released its grip on her. Following the discovery of a cryptic set of verses and haunted by the foreboding figure of a man she does not know, Phyl is compelled both to unravel the strands of past tragedy and to confront an ever more implacable present as malevolent forces gather, threatening to destroy not only her fragile happiness but her very existence.
The Glass Citadel (The Glasswater Quintet #2)
by James Morgan-JonesIn its frosted chambers, everyone is alone An abducted psychic reads the cards to preserve her sanity. In another part of the country, struggling to keep his family from disintegration and to deflect the lethal attentions of an East End gang, Luke is forced to flee his home. In the long hot summer of 1976, these two strangers are connected in a way neither of them understands. Yet, as mounting obsession and the pursuit of violent revenge send events spiralling out of control, it becomes clear that their lives depend on a mutually-powered drive to prevail. The cards offer both a line of communication and a tantalising hint at salvation: Luke and Paige need to rely not only on their wits but on symbiotic faith and vision. Can the intangible ever be strong enough to deliver them - and those closest to them - from the forces of destruction?
Dracula - The Untold Story: and Dracula - On A Ghost Trail
by Rex Greenwood Ann BradyOriginally written in 1985, this updated version of 'Dracula - the Untold Story' invites you to decide whether the story of the 'Count' was based on imagination or reality. Venture into a world beyond this to discover the line between fact and fiction, as seen through the eyes of a man who believed, as we travel a ghostly trail. He believed ghosts are merely lost souls wanting to share their stories with us.
Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus (Dover Thrift Editions)
by Mary ShelleyFew creatures of horror have seized readers' imaginations and held them for so long as the anguished monster of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The story of Victor Frankenstein's terrible creation and the havoc it caused has enthralled generations of readers and inspired countless writers of horror and suspense. Considering the novel's enduring success, it is remarkable that it began merely as a whim of Lord Byron's."We will each write a story," Byron announced to his next-door neighbors, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin and her lover Percy Bysshe Shelley. The friends were summering on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland in 1816, Shelley still unknown as a poet and Byron writing the third canto of Childe Harold. When continued rains kept them confined indoors, all agreed to Byron's proposal.The illustrious poets failed to complete their ghost stories, but Mary Shelley rose supremely to the challenge. With Frankenstein, she succeeded admirably in the task she set for herself: to create a story that, in her own words, "would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror — one to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart."