In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe : Classic Tales of Horror, 1816-1914

A masterful collection of horror fiction by widely acclaimed authors whose contributions to the genre have been lost in the shadow of Poe, by one of America's foremost anthologists. Edgar Allan Poe did not invent the tale of terror. There were American, English, and Continental writers who preceded Poe and influenced his work. Similarly, there were many who were in turn influenced by Poe's genius and produced their own popular tales of supernatural literature. This collection features masterful tales of terror by authors who, by and large, are little-remembered for their writing in this genre. Even Bram Stoker, whose Dracula may be said to be the most popular horror novel of all time, is not known as a writer of short fiction. Distinguished editor Leslie S. Klinger is a world-renowned authority on those twin icons of the Victorian age, Sherlock Holmes, and Dracula. His studies into the forefathers of those giants led him to a broader fascination with writers of supernatural literature of the nineteenth century. The stories in this collection have been selected by him for their impact. Each is preceded by a brief biography of the author and an overview of his or her literary career and is annotated to explain obscure references. Read on, now, perhaps with a flickering candle or flashlight at hand . . . Stories by: Ambrose Bierce, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Theodor Gautier, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Arthur Conan Doyle, Lafcadio Hearn, M. R. James, Bram Stoker, and many others. INTRODUCTION by Leslie S. Klinger • v THE SAND-MAN (1816) by E. T. A. Hoffmann • 1 THE MUMMY'S FOOT (1840) by Théophile Gautier • AN ACCOUNT OF SOME STRANGE DISTURBANCES IN AUNGIER STREET (1853) by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu • 51 THE UPPER BERTH (1886) by F. Marion Crawford • 73 HIS UNCONQUERABLE ENEMY (1889) by W. C. Morrow • 95 IN DARK NEW ENGLAND DAYS (1890) 105 by Sarah Orne Jewett • THE YELLOW WALLPAPER (1891) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman • 125 DESIREE'S BABY (1893) by Kate Chopin • 145 THE YELLOW SIGN (1895) by Robert W. Chambers • 153 A TRAGEDY OF BONES (1895) by George MacDonald • 173 A NIGHT OF HORROR (1899) by Dick Donovan • 187 THE CORPSE-RIDER (1900) by Lafcadio Hearn • 205 THE LEATHER FUNNEL (1902) by Arthur Conan Doyle • 209 THE SHADOWS ON THE WALL (1903) by Mary Wilkins Freeman • 223 LOST HEARTS (1904) by M. R. James • 241 THE MOONLIT ROAD (1907) by Ambrose Bierce • 253 THE SPIDER (1907) by Hanns Heinz Ewers • 263 THE WOMAN WITH THE HOOD (1908) by L. T. Meade • 285 THE EASTER EGG (1911) by Saki (H. H. Munro) • 301 THE SQUAW (1914) by Bram Stoker • 307 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 320 ABOUT THE EDITOR 320 Collects twenty short horror stories published between 1816 and 1914 that have been overshadowed by the works of Edgar Allen Poe, including Bram Stoker's "The Squaw" and L.T. Meade's "The Woman with the Hood." Collects twenty short horror stories published between 1816 and 1914 that have been overshadowed by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, including Bram Stoker's "The Squaw" and L.T. Meade's "The Woman with the Hood."