The nights are getting cooler in November, and it’s best to stay home when it’s dark. Who knows what may wait for you out there – maybe the creatures from the following 10 gems from our catalogue…
It all starts with a Dream, which is not bad as such, except that all monks in the Swiss monastery have the same one. Led by it to a buried corpse, things suddenly go downhill very quickly in the drama by goth queen Joanna Baillie.
When Karl moves in with Lilith’s father to become his student, things look bright at first. But soon, The Cruel Painter shows his true colors, and it takes the efforts of both lovers to thwart him… Find out whether they have the upper hand in the spooky novella by George McDonald.
Don Ruy also needs help when he falls into a trap set by beloved Dona Lenor’s husband, and he receives it from an eerie source… Set in medieval Portugal, Jose Maria de Eca de Queiros weaves a tale of love and death and fear in O defunto. We also have a recording of an English translation.
Speaking of fear, Arthur Christopher Benson wrote a whole book about it, from the different types we encounter throughout our lives to how famous authors deal with it. Read his interesting psychology book Where no Fear Was: A Book About Fear.
Now you know what fear is – how to deal with it? Well, hypnosis may be a solution for crippling fear. In A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis, Melvin Powers gives an in-depth how-to manual, with hints as to practical applications.
Now that you’re properly prepared, you can delve into Black Magic. Follow Marjorie Bowen’s ultimate gothic novel into the middle ages to meet a real witch and watch her dealings with the devil and the Antichrist unfold…
Certain things should not be meddled with! Two brothers are in love with the same girl, but when one gets killed and does not remain dead for long, drastic measures must be taken. El Vampiro by Alexandre Dumas is one of the earliest vampire novels, already set in the Carpathians.
Photography was brand new when two girls from Cottingley, England, claimed they had banned fairies onto film. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was called upon to settle the ensuing dispute, and he wrote The Coming of the Fairies stating his (later proven wrong) beliefs.
Even today, many people do believe in ghosts, and for them, the verdict is still out on this matter. Theodore Parkes tells about ghosts and ghouls and other scary things in his delightful poetry collection The Spook Ballads.
Time to call it a day and to take the train home. If you’ve ever been on a night train cutting through the darkness, you will understand why Stefan Grabinski was inspired to write a railway-related collection of ghost stories: Wybrane opowiadania.
Enjoy – and sweet dreams! ;-)