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A Retrospective Collection of Classic Occult and Supernatural Detective Stories by Some of the Field’s Greatest and Best-Known Weird Fiction Authors
Since the gaslit nights at the end of the nineteenth century, the occult detective has been a beloved and recurring archetype. Mixing the best aspects of the detective tale and weird or supernatural fiction, and capitalizing in part on the massive popularity of Sherlock Holmes, these stories portrayed men and women pitted against surreal and horrifying foes, usually with little to defend them but their own savvy, experience, and know-how.
From William Hope Hodgson’s Thomas Carnacki, to Seabury Quinn’s fearless Frenchman Jules de Grandin, to Jessica Salmonson’s Penelope Pettiweather, the occult detective has taken a variety of forms, investigated a wide array of supernatural and otherworldly cases, and entertained generations of readers. This new collection compiles thirty-one all-time classic occult detective stories as it traces the genre’s growth from its nineteenth-century origins to the late twentieth century, showcasing the work of acclaimed pioneers of weird tales alongside cult favorites and exciting modern talents.
So, step into the shadows, join us on this journey into the dark, and become a fighter of fear . . .
CONTENTS
Introduction, Mike Ashley
Green Tea, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
The Shining Pyramid, Arthur Machen
The Haunted Child, Arabella Kenealy
The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel, L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace
The Story of Yand Manor House, E. & H. Heron
The Tapping on the Wainscott, Allan Upward
Samaris, Robert W. Chambers
The Whistling Room, William Hope Hodgson
The Woman with the Crooked Nose, Victor Rousseau
The Sorcerer of Arjuzanx, Max Rittenberg
The Ivory Statue, Sax Rohmer
The Stranger, Claude & Alice Askew
The Swaying Vision, Jessie Douglas Kerruish
The Sanatorium, F. Tennyson Jesse
The Villa on the Borderive Road, Rose Champion de Crespigny
The Room of Fear, Ella Scrymsour
The Seven Fires, Philippa Forest
The Subletting of the Mansion, Dion Fortune
The Jest of Warburg Tantavul, Seabury Quinn
The Soldier, A. M. Burrage
The Horror of the Height, Sydney Horler
The Mystery of Iniquity, L. Adams Beck
The Thought-Monster, Amelia Reynold Long
The Shut Room, Henry S. Whitehead
Dr. Muncing, Exorcist, Gordon MacCreagh
The Case of the Haunted Cathedral, Margery Lawrence
The Shonokins, Manly Wade Wellman
The Dead of Winter Apparition, Joseph Payne Brennan
The Garden of Paris, Eric Williams
St. Michael and All Angels, Mark Valentine
Jeremiah, Jessica Amanda Salmonson
