Anthologies of classic horror/gothic/ghost stories.

[Yohei72]

Hi, all. First-time caller. Nice forum you've got here.

What are some one-volume anthologies of classic/canonical horror fiction that you would recommend? Ones that survey the short fiction any historically interested horror fan should read that covers the last couple hundred years, at least. Poe, M.R. James, Lovecraft, etc., but also hits more recent names like Ramsey Campbell, King, Barker, etc. Though maybe to cover all of those things, you'd need a couple different books.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[J-Sun]

Welcome to the forum! There are some threads on classic anthologies, but I can't remember where they are. David G. Hartwell's The Dark Descent is sitting on my shelves and has all those authors and more.

(I must read it one of these days. )

 

[Extollager]

Without doubt, Fraser and Wise's Modern Library Giant, Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural. You didn't know it, but that was the book you were asking for, at least for writing published up to the time of its issuing around 1944.

 

[Yohei72]

Thank you both!

 

[Guttersnipe]

Classic Horror Stories: Sixteen Legendary Stories of the Supernatural, edited by Charles A. Coulombe includes a novelette by Robert W. Chambers, a writer who inspired Lovecraft, along with other tales probably categorized as "Weird" fiction.

If you're looking for some more contemporary stories, I'd go with The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, edited by Jeff VanderMeer. It features works by Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, China Miéville, Clive Barker, and Ramsey Campbell.

 

[BAYLOR]

Thank you both!

Adrift own the Haunted Seas : The Best stories of William Hope Hodgeson
Cold Hand on Mine by Robert Aickman
Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories by Algernon Blackwood
Cold Print by Ramsey Campbell
Songs of the Dead Dreamer by Thomas Ligotti
Nightshade and Damnation by Gerald Kersh
The Dark Domain by Stephan Grabinski
In a Lonely Place by Karl Edward Wagner
Haunted Castle The Compete Tales of Ray Russel
The Yellow Sign and Other Stories( The Compete Weird Tales of Robert W Chambers )
The Casting of Runes By Mr James
Kwaidan Japanese Ghost Stories by Lafcadio Hearn
The Complete Tales of Jules De Grandin by Seabury Quinn
Perchance to Dream Selected Stories by Charles Beaumont
Darque Masques and Other Modern Msdter of Terror . Stephen King Ramsey Campbell , James Herbert , Robert R McCammon and others
Mysteries of the Worm by Robert Bloch
The Nightmare and Other Tales o fDark Fantasy by Francis Stevens

 

[paeng]

Also, American Fantastic Tales

American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps | Library of America

Library of America

www.loa.org

American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from the 1940s to Now | Library of America

Library of America

www.loa.org

 

[Randy M.]

Hi, Yohei.

I'd second Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural and The Dark Descent. I don't think the former has been out of publication since it was first published in the 1940s; the second should still be available in some format, as well (in mass market paperback, this was split into 3 different books, if that helps). These are the standard answer to your question.

Not sure if this is easy to find anymore, but And the Darkness Falls ed. by Boris Karloff (probably with much assistance from someone) is considered a great anthology covering similar territory to Great Tales... . I have not read it, but the contents look solid.

I don't think there are as many of these kind of anthologies as there once was. Back in the '80s Marvin Kaye started producing anthologies of older works mixed with newer: Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural and Ghosts: A Treasury of Chilling Tales Old and New were both entertaining.

And Baylor suggests some good single-author story collections. If you decide to dig further into this route, I'm sure we can offer still more.

Randy

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Flame tree press do some lovely ones