Michael Sims gives us a fantastic look into the Victorian love of the vampire. Spanning the entire century, Sims has collected the best of the vampire tales, including Sheridan Le Fanu,
Mary Elizabeth Braddon, and the lost chapter from the infamous Dracula by Bram Stoker. These tales reflect the early origins of the vampire myth and vary greatly in tone, depiction, and characteristics. A must for any well-read vampire fan.
If You Like: Sheridan Le Fanu, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Bram Stoker
Iain Rowan is more well known to most people for his crime writing, but he's brilliant at the gothic as well! His short story collection titled Ice Age is one of the most superb collections of dark fiction since Henry James. The stories here all reflect a creeping sense of doom. Hence the title. The cold chill of the grave is reaching out in every line, every paragraph, and every story. Things are wrong, but what? Why? Rowan takes us down very dark, sinister roads of our own making. There are no serial killers, no supernatural beings, and no spell to make things better in the morning. Rowan reminds us that we make our own evil.
If You Like: Henry James, Ambrose Bierce, H.P. Lovecraft
In another from Gothic horror editor Andrew Barger, this collection explores the more specific tales of the vampire from early modern period. Ghosts were a popular theme of the Gothic literary tradition, but the undead make plenty of appearances! These stories reflect the foundation of the vampire mythos and many differ greatly from what we know as the blood-sucking monster/ lover of today. Some of these tales have not been published for over two centuries and give a fascinating insight into the beginning of the vampire legend in modern Western Europe.
If You Like: Alexander Dumas, Théophile Gautier, Joseph le Fanu.
Dazzling sums up Paula Cappa's paranormal/ supernatural novel. Set in Concord Massachusetts, the the
spirits of transcendentalists Emerson, Thoreau, and Alcott wander the woods near an old cemetery. Elias Hatch,
the cemetery keeper, is the last of the transcendentalists in our age. There are also secrets, guilt, and pain hidden among the old tombstones. The straightforward narrative is about a kidnapping, the clues, and a family suffering from their loss. Poetry's woven among the plot to give the prose an elegance and grace that seduces you. The metaphorical elements bring a fascinating dimension to the supernatural elements.
If You Like: Algernon Blackwood, Henry James, Ralph Waldo Emerson
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