Book excerpt: Spanning the extraordinary breadth of the genre, these terrifying stories are sure to leave you sleeping with the light on for many nights to come. Whether the threat comes from accursed artefacts, supernatural villains, or deadly rituals, there is always some unknowable evil lurking around the corner waiting to pounce. Ranging from the efforts of classic literary writers like Mary Shelley and Robert Louis Stevenson to pulp icon H. P. Lovecraft, these masters of the dark arts knew how to create suspense and an impending sense of dread. Horror fiction found its first connoisseurs amongst the Victorian public. This collection features several of its most accomplished pioneers. Short stories from Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, and Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, show that some of the 19th century's most revered horror novelists could provide equally terrifying experiences in a shorter form. Other authors such as H. P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson, Pearl Norton Swet, and M. P. Shiel established themselves in the emerging pulp magazines of America in the early 20th century. There, they mastered their craft and provided terrifying thrills for an audience eager for a new type of fiction. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, writers like Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, E. F. Benson, and M. R. James mastered the classic ghost story. And who can forget Edgar Allan Poe? He devoted himself almost entirely to his poetry and his short stories, and his lyrical style and ability to evoke an atmosphere are unparalleled. includes stories by: Edward Frederic Benson Ambrose Bierce Francis Marion Crawford George Allan England William Hope Hodgson W. W. Jacobs M. R. James Vernon Lee Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu H. P. Lovecraft Arthur Machen Guy de Maupassant Edgar Allan Poe Charlotte Riddell Mary Shelley M. P. Shiel Robert Louis Stevenson Bram Stoker Pearl Norton Swet