Book excerpt: Eerily vivid and yet never devoid of the beat of the human heart, Classic Tales of Horror presents the work of some of the world's most celebrated horror writers. This compilation is designed to provide both a gripping read and glimpses of life beyond the realm of the everyday. Spooks and inexplicable things that go bump in the night have long exercised creative imaginations and provided source material for our greatest story-tellers, as this memorable collection confirms. Included here are: The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley A Vine on a House by Ambrose Bierce Hurst of Hurstcote by Edith Nesbit The Bottle Imp by R. L. Stevenson Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker Wandering Willie's Tale by Sir Walter Scott The Lifted Veil by George Eliot Clarimonde by Théophile Gautier Thurlow's Christmas Story by John Kendrick Bangs