Storm-swept, remote light stations—and the isolated souls who man the beacons—are the perfect inspirations for tales of suspense and horror. Lighthouse Horrors collects 17 of the best from such writers as Rudyard Kipling, Robert Bloch, Jack Vance, and Ray Bradbury. This is a book to save for a fogbound or rain-dark night. Once you've read these pages, you'll never look at a lighthouse in quite the same way again.
What is it about lighthouses that stirs the heart and sparks the imagination? Built for strength and permanence, they are nonetheless always vulnerable. We look to them for guidance and reassurance yet never quite lose the feeling of being watched when near them. Their keepers work tirelessly to serve humanity, protecting many hundreds of lives each year; yet they themselves are isolated from other people. And of course, we are ever aware that these often remote outposts can be unforgiving of human frailties, so inevitably they become the setting for tragedy—and consequently—for spirits that linger at the site of their ruined hopes, their sufferings, and their obsessions. In Lighthouse Hauntings a dozen contemporary authors spin an intriguing mix of supernatural tales around this evocative theme. Some of these never before published stories are just plain creepy, others are mystifying or metaphysical; even heartwarming, but all are vividly memorable.
"The Mediterranean is a liquid road connecting places and people. Ships, words and stories travel on its waves. Sometimes fantastic creatures, hidden in the hold. The Mediterranean speaks many languages; some of them we don't recognize anymore. They are ancient, but never really dead. This speculative fiction anthology collects twenty-four pieces of fiction and poetry, new and old, and some things that are in between, because we don't believe in boundaries. It gathers Mediterranean stories with a horror twist and horror stories with a Mediterranean flavour--caring sea monsters, still dripping and briny; brave mermaids, merciless ghosts and bizarre creatures--including extracts in nine different languages and many different styles."--Page 4 of cover.
Best New Horror has established itself as the world's premier horror annual, showcasing the talents of the very best writers working in the horror and dark fantasy field today. In this latest volume, the multi-award winning editors have chosen razor-sharp stories of suspense and disturbing tales of terror by authors on the cutting edge of the genre. Along with a comprehensive review of the year and a fascinating necrology, this is the book no horror fan can afford to miss.
Fun and fright have long been partners in the cinema, dating back to the silent film era and progressing to the Scary Movie franchise and other recent releases. This guide takes a comprehensive look at the comedy-horror movie genre, from the earliest stabs at melding horror and hilarity during the nascent days of silent film, to its full-fledged development with The Bat in 1926, to the Abbott and Costello films pitting the comedy duo against Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy and other Universal Studio monsters, continuing to such recent cult hits as Shaun of the Dead and Black Sheep. Selected short films such as Tim Burton's Frankenweenie are also covered. Photos and promotional posters, interviews with actors and a filmography are included.
Future Folk Horror: Contemporary Anxieties and Possible Futures analyzes folk horror by looking at its recent popularity in novels and films such as The Ritual (2011), The Witch (2015), and Candyman (2021). Countering traditional views of the genre as depictions of the monstrous, rural, and pagan past trying to consume the present, the contributors to this collection posit folk horror as being able to uniquely capture the anxieties of the twenty-first century, caused by an ongoing pandemic and the divisive populist politics that have arisen around it. Further, this book shows how, through its increasing intersections with other genres such as science fiction, the weird, and eco-criticism as seen in films and texts like The Zero Theorum (2013), The Witcher (2007–2021), and Annihilation (2018) as well as through its engagement with topics around climate change, racism, and identity politics, folk horror can point to other ways of being in the world and visions of possible futures.
A TERRIFYING MYSTERY OF THE SEA... In December 1900, three lighthouse keepers vanished without trace from the remote Scottish island of Eilean Mor. An emergency relief crew was sent to man the lighthouse. At the end of their month-long duty, they resigned from their posts and never spoke of what they had experienced on the island. The mystery of Eilean Mor has never been solved. Until now. In the present, a group of environmental researchers arrives on the island to observe the wildlife. While exploring the lighthouse, now automated and deserted, one of the team discovers a manuscript written by one of the relief keepers, a man named Alec Dalemore. As a sudden storm moves in, cutting off their escape, the researchers come to realise that Dalemore wrote the manuscript as a warning to all the lighthouse keepers who would come after him. A warning of something on Eilean Mor and in the surrounding ocean - something ancient and powerful, and strange beyond imagining...
