The King in Yellow: The Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading

First published in 1895, this collection of short stories by Robert W. Chambers takes its title from The King in Yellow , a fictional drama so laced with "the essence of purest poison" that it drives anyone foolish enough to read it insane. Although suppressed by authorities shortly after publication, copies of the play continue to seduce and destroy unsuspecting men and women who fall under its spell. The King in Yellow was a bestseller in its day, and was later praised by horror emeritus H.P. Lovecraft as a book that "really achieves notable heights of cosmic horror." Its ten stories include "The Yellow Sign," considered by many critics to be one of the greatest tales of horror in the English language. This edition features an introduction and notes by horror fiction scholar S.T. Joshi. An important early classic of fantasy/sci-fi. [Main story:] The ill effects of a soul-destroying play, to read which brings doom. A discovery that changes living flesh to stone. The mad adherents of a cult of evil powers from beyond. A lost traveler is suddenly 400 years in the past. Great writing; powerful emotions. Chambers wrote mainly conventional stuff, but not here.