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First of all I would go with the M.R. James collection from Oxford Press, either the hardback or paperback. He didn't write many that actually took place during Christmas, but they are still absolutely perfect for the season.

If you want stories that take place during the season or tie into it, and you try any besides the Valancourt books (which are wonderful), I would go with these: https://www.amazon.com/Fireside-Ghost-Stories-Christmas-Eve/dp/1977752810

https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Night-Classics-Literatures-Connoisseurs/dp/1519762178/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_1/141-3247855-4177239?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1519762178&pd_rd_r=9e7233cb-888c-4c6e-a5f2-884918e3eedd&pd_rd_w=HvbTA&pd_rd_wg=9a4Jo&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=DF8BMC8TQ2Q5X4WVW60Z&psc=1&refRID=DF8BMC8TQ2Q5X4WVW60Z

I would also recommend the novel Midnight Sun by Ramsey Campbell, which was my Christmas read last year along with the M.R. James collection, and I would also recommend this short story of his called Christmas Present, which can be listened to here: http://pseudopod.org/2017/12/24/pseudopod-575-christmas-present/ One of my favorite short stories and I love the atmosphere in that recording, with the sound effects and all. You might also try The Last Feast Of Harlequin by Thomas Ligotti, and The Yattering And Jack by Clive Barker (short stories). Also, this short called The Triumph Of Night by Edith Wharton which may appear in the anthologies mentioned, but I'm not sure as I remember reading it online myself: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24351/24351-h/24351-h.htm I would also recommend Maynard's House by Herman Raucher, which is sort of one of those "forgotten" novels, and one of my favorites. Not exactly Christmas related, but definitely winter themed & claustrophobic. Just wanted to throw it out here in case you haven't heard of it! Also, Drood by Dan Simmons is a favorite of mine around this time of year. This next one I have yet to read, but December by Phil Rickman seems to take place during said month so I would assume it might work here as well. One more rec, just in case you want some modern Christmas shorts: Hark! The Herald Angels Scream by Christopher Golden. I absolutely loved Farrow Street by Elizabeth Hand, Christmas In Barcelona by Scott Smith and The Hangman's Bride by Sarah Pinborough, those 3 alone were worth the price of admission for me.

I'm right there with you on enjoying the classics, though. Some of my absolute favorites for this time of year: The Phantom Coach by Amelia B. Edwards, The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell, The Festival by Lovecraft & The Glamour Of The Snow by Algernon Blackwood. If you want eerie wintery atmosphere, you can not go wrong with the classics. They just don't write em like they used to, in my humble opinion. Enjoy & Happy Holidays!

The Mist by Stephen King, a novella in the collection Skeleton Crew, is about small group of people taking refuge in a supermarket when a monster-filled mist rolls into town. It's fantastic, but the ending leaves a bit to be desired.

The Wayward Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch is about a secret service agent investigating a disappearance in a small Idaho town where everything is too good to be true. It's a small spoiler to include this book here because the creatures don't show up right away, but it's great.

Relic (plus one sequel) by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, is about a creature lurking in a museum.

The Alien spinoff novels are fun (but also a bit cheesy and derivative at times).

If you're into dinosaurs, there's always the Jurassic Park books. (or my book, for something a little more pulp-y).

If you're into sharks, there's Jaws (a classic) and The Meg (also pulpy).

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Best,

Geoff Jones

Author of The Dinosaur Four

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This may seem self-serving, but I'm a new, traditionally published author and my first novel, The Beast of Rose Valley, has a romantic subplot. It's not full of sex or anything, but the B-plot centers on two characters falling in love while also saving their town from a rampaging monster.

It's getting pretty solid reviews. It's the first in the series, which is called Lorestalker, and the second book is due out next month. The second book doesn't have a romantic subplot, but the third one will.

The ebook is pretty cheap and the paperback is actually currently on sale at Amazon. Here's the link if you're interested: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LGFG2CL

Thanks for the reply. I don't do ebooks, but if I did, I definitely would get A Pleasing Terror. It does seem like it contains everything he wrote.

After a little more research, it appears that if I purchase the two Penguin Classics books of his, I'll get 36 stories total (if I counted right in the "look inside" section of the page).

https://www.amazon.com/Count-Magnus-Other-Stories-Complete/dp/0143039393/ref=pd_sbs_14_2/135-7853094-2533143?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0143039393&pd_rd_r=5d9dc4dc-9fad-11e9-b8cb-31d1039f00d9&pd_rd_w=BlGT8&pd_rd_wg=uBywT&pf_rd_p=588939de-d3f8-42f1-a3d8-d556eae5797d&pf_rd_r=G1XVSAW8C2150X6MA0GR&psc=1&refRID=G1XVSAW8C2150X6MA0GR

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https://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Dolls-House-Stories-Complete/dp/014303992X/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2/135-7853094-2533143?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=014303992X&pd_rd_r=605a7461-9fad-11e9-a93c-6bb543d57023&pd_rd_w=0ldae&pd_rd_wg=hjSGG&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=JQZW9YM23VVBB6FJRS2M&psc=1&refRID=JQZW9YM23VVBB6FJRS2M

Have you heard anything about these books? It appears they have gotten good reviews. So, now I'm leaning towards getting those two books. Although, I really prefer having all of the stories in one package and I also prefer hardcover because of the better durability of the book.

The short story "Onanon" by Michael Wehunt, featuring a writer as the protagonist that is chasing an elusive lover who keeps leaving parts of a story in her wake, is pretty great. It's in his short story collection Greener Pastures. The rest of the collection is fantastic as well.

I've left this comment to other posts here in the past, and I think it might be right up your alley!

I never see her books mentioned, but Ruby Jean Jensen was my absolute favourite pulp horror author growing up. The book covers are gorgeous in a creepy way, too. I'd recommend HOME SWEET HOME

>His parents said it would be lots of fun. Two weeks in the mountains with nice Mr. Walker. A perfect vacation for a little boy. But Timmy didn't think it was fun. The closer they got to the cabin, the less friendly Mr. Walker's smile became. The scarier the sound of his voice. The more evil the light in the depths of his eyes. Timmy was surprised to find other children at the cabin. He sensed their dread, heard their nightmarish screams, felt their unspoken terror. But then he peeked through the keyhole of the forbidden locked door and saw the bloodcurling horror that awaited him. And he knew there was no escape from the deadly welcome of home sweet home.

and MaMa

>Once upon a time there lived a sweet little dolly. Her porcelain like face was so smooth, just like a baby. Her mouth even had a tiny hole so she could eat and breathe. But her one beaded glass eye gleamed with mischief and evil. She had waited a long time in the attic for someone to set her free...

>Once upon a time there lived a sweet little girl. The only place she was happy was in the attic with her dolly. If she could have seen her little doll's legs kick, she would have been frightened. If she could have felt her little doll's arms squeeze, she would have been shocked. But if she could have read her little doll's thoughts she would have run from the attic forever--for her sweet little dolly only had killing her on her mind...

for a start. They look expensive as hell at first glance but I've managed to get used copies for friends for under $10 with a bit of poking around!

I like my anthologies to contain multiple authors across multiple eras, and to provide an overview of the field from some particular perspective.

The classic anthology is Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural a massive 1000+ page stunner that is a great primer for the genre, focusing on earlier work.

Ellen Datlow's Darkness is a great anthology for the 80s - 2000s.

Joyce Carol Oates edited a fantastic history of American gothic fiction, called, not surprisingly American Gothic Tales starting with Washington Irving and ending with Stephen King.

And for a taste of horror from a more modern perspective (while including a lot of classic stories) The Weird is a really terrific overview.

Hey there, the best anthology I've found is Halloween it's an anthology with Ray Bradbury, Peter Straub and many others. A lot of variety.

i09 has a list of good anthologies they tend to lead more toward scifi but the collections look good. If I find more I'll post or edit them in.

I'm still trudging through the book that is Larkspur's sequel. I feel like I'm pulling out my own teeth (hope y'all appreciate the imagery). Staying up tonight to write, hope I can get another chapter done.

The only thing I've read from Braunbeck is his short story Tessellations that was printed in a collection of Halloween stories. It was one of the best stories in the collection and I've been meaning to seek out more of his work. Thanks for the recommendation.

OUP is usually a good bet, but I would also offer the two volumes edited by ST Joshi published by Penguin, complete with some very good notes.

http://www.amazon.com/Count-Magnus-Other-Stories-Complete/dp/0143039393

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt is pretty interesting. I read the English translation. Also, Gemma Files' We Will All Go Down Together.

I wrote a book called Black Redneck vs. Space Zombies

Basically, a black guy raised by a white farming family to be the best horseman and marksman ever, but, when he gets old enough to think for himself, he leaves the farm and never looks back.

A decade later his older, adoptive brother leaves him the family farm. Thinking he'll return just long enough to turn it into a subdivision, his plans are thwarted by the Devourer, the nastiest creature in the galaxy. It crashes into the woods around the farm and starts turning teenagers into space-zombies. To survive long enough to get back to his previous life, our hero has to embrace the very skills he discarded so long ago, mainly shooting things.

If you like creature features, it might just be up your alley.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

https://smile.amazon.com/White-House-Horrors-Martin-Greenberg/dp/0886776597

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^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

I quite enjoyed Hex, even if the ending was a a bit off:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0765378817/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_fHSHDbEMZW34Y

I went on a Ed Lee anthology hunt.

https://www.amazon.com/White-House-Horrors-Martin-Greenberg/dp/0886776597

Good times.

It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users.
I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click!


Here is link number 1 - Previous text "Hex"



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^Please ^PM ^/u/eganwall ^with ^issues ^or ^feedback! ^| ^Delete

The Weird is likely the most comprehensive, though I'd also suggest Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural.