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American Ghost
by Janis OwensJOLIE HOYT IS A GOOD SOUTHERN GIRL living in Hendrix, a small Florida Panhandle town. The daughter of a Pentecostal preacher who sells insurance on the side, and the best friend of a lively beauty who moves to the big city to pursue a career in interior design, Jolie is all too aware of her family's closet full of secrets and long-held distrust of outsiders. Nevertheless, she throws caution to the wind when she meets Sam Lense, a Jewish anthropology student from Miami, who is in town to study the ethnic makeup of the region. Jolie and Sam fall recklessly in love and dream of beginning a life together, far away from Jolie's buried past. But their affair ends abruptly when Sam is discovered to have pried too deeply into Hendrix's dark racial history and he becomes the latest victim in a long tradition of small-town violence. Twelve years later, when a black businessman from Memphis returns to Hendrix to do right by his father's memory, Jolie and Sam are brought together again. They are forced to revisit the unresolved issues of their young love and finally shed light on the ugly history of Jolie's hometown. A complex and compulsively readable Southern saga, continuing in the tradition established by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and brought into the new millennium by writers like Karen Russell and Kathryn Stockett, American Ghost was inspired by Janis Owens's extensive research on a real lynching that occurred in 1934 in Marianna, Florida. American Ghost is a richly woven exploration of how the events of our past haunt our present.
American Ghost
by Paul GuernseyThumb Rivera is in a bind. A college dropout, aspiring writer, smalltime marijuana grower, and biker club hang-around, Thumb finds himself confined to his rural ranch house in the desolate Maine countryside, helpless to do anything but watch as his former friends and housemates scheme behind his back, conspire to steal his girlfriend, and make inroads with the Blood Eagles, a dangerous biker gang.Thumb is also dead.A ghost forced to haunt his survivors and reflect back on the circumstances that led to his unsolved murder, Thumb discovers he has one channel through which he can communicate with the living world: Ben, an unemployed ghost hunter. Ben soon convinces local curmudgeon Fred Muttkowski, failed novelist turned pig farmer, to turn Ben's Ouija-board conversations with Thumb into an actual book.Thumb has two things on his mind: To solve, and then avenge, the mystery of his own violent death, and also to tell his story. That story is American Ghost-as told to Ben, then fictionalized by Fred. It's at once a clever tale of the afterlife, a poignant examination of the ephemeral nature of life, and a celebration of writing and the written word.
American Ghost Stories (Ghost Stories)
by Flame TreeAmerican ghosts stories have their origins in the gothic, mixed with the fears of the pioneer landscapes. A terrific new collection of classic talesSettling in for a night of spine-chilling entertainment? Here's a gripping collection of classic American ghost tales by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe ('The Masque of the Red Death'), Francis Bret Harte ('The Ghosts of Stukeley Castle'), Edith Wharton ('Afterward'), Mark Twain ('A Ghost Story'), Harriet Beecher Stowe ('The Ghost in the Mill'), O. Henry ('A Ghost of a Chance'), H.P. Lovecraft ('The Outsider') and many more.FLAME TREE 451: From myth to mystery, the supernatural to horror, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and mechanical men, blood-lusty vampires, dastardly villains, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic.
American Ghost: A Novel of Weed, Ouija, and the Afterlife
by Paul Guernsey***WINNER OF THE 2018 MAINE LITERARY AWARD FOR SPECULATIVE FICTION***An inventive metafictional novel, in which a drug-dealing biker must solve his own murder from beyond the grave.Thumb Rivera is in a bind. A college dropout, aspiring writer, smalltime marijuana grower, and biker club hang-around, Thumb finds himself confined to his rural ranch house in the desolate Maine countryside, helpless to do anything but watch as his former friends and housemates scheme behind his back, conspire to steal his girlfriend, and make inroads with the Blood Eagles, a dangerous biker gang.Thumb is also dead.A ghost forced to haunt his survivors and reflect back on the circumstances that led to his unsolved murder, Thumb discovers he has one channel through which he can communicate with the living world: Ben, an unemployed ghost hunter. Ben soon convinces local curmudgeon Fred Muttkowski, failed novelist turned pig farmer, to turn Ben’s Ouija-board conversations with Thumb into an actual book.Thumb has two things on his mind: To solve, and then avenge, the mystery of his own violent death, and also to tell his story. That story is American Ghost?as told to Ben, then fictionalized by Fred. It's at once a clever tale of the afterlife, a poignant examination of the ephemeral nature of life, and a celebration of writing and the written word.
American Gods Volume 2: My Ainsel (Graphic Novel)
by Neil Gaiman P. Craig RussellThe bizarre road trip across America continues as our heroes gather reinforcements for the imminent god war!Shadow and Wednesday leave the House on the Rock and continue their journey across the country where they set up aliases, meet new gods, and prepare for war. The Hugo, Bram Stoker, Locus, World Fantasy, and Nebula award-winning novel and hit Starz television series by Neil Gaiman is adapted as a graphic novel!Collects issues #1-9 of American Gods: My Ainsel.
American Gothic
by Robert BlochGordon Gregg built a castle-like hotel for the Chicago Fair of 1893. His guests were women who always left mysteriously. A reporter's curiosity led her to investigate.
American Gothic Short Stories (Gothic Fantasy)
by Ramsey Campbell Russell James Lucy A. Snyder Mike Robinson Wendy Nikel Lina Rather M. Regan Nemma Wollenfang Terri Bruce Maxx Fidalgo Joshua Hiles Clayton Kroh Sean Logan Madison McSweeney Lynette Mejía Joe Nazare Christi Nogle Rebecca Ring Valerie B. WilliamsWith handsome young men who never grow old, and the strangest of relatives appearing from dark corridors and long shadows, the frenzied imagination of the American Gothic is a fertile theme for this next anthology in the Gothic fantasy short story series. As with other titles in the series, new short fiction complements the work of classic authors including: Gertrude Atherton, Ambrose Bierce, Charles Brockden Brown, George Washington Cable, Charles W. Chesnutt, Kate Chopin, Ralph Adams Cram, Stephen Crane, Emma Dawson, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Ellen Glasgow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, Shirley Jackson, Sarah Orne Jewett, Grace King, H.P. Lovecraft, Herman Melville, W.C. Morrow, Flannery O'Connor, Edgar Allan Poe, Annie Trumbull Slosson, Clark Ashton Smith, Harriet Prescott Spofford, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edith Wharton, Madeline Yale Wynne.
American Gothic: A Novel
by Michael RomkeyThrough the endless waltz of time, a man becomes a monster and a monster reclaims his humanity by saving one human soul. . . . 1863 Even the opium pipe and its dark dreams isn’t enough to erase the memories that haunt Nathaniel Peregrine. His home destroyed, his wife and children butchered, his world shattered by civil war—he can find no reason to protect his soul from the intoxicating evil that pursues him. Willingly he bends his neck for the beautiful demon who will take away his pain and replace it with an otherworldly power too great and terrible to imagine. 1914 Years later, growing tired of living a vampire’s restless existence, Peregrine travels to the wild island of Haiti, where shadow blends easily into the exotic flora and fauna. There he meets Helen Fairweather, a woman who makes him yearn for a mortal life as he has not done for ages. The longing leads him to Dr. Lavalle, a man who may be able to give him back his soul. Once a foremost authority on diseases of the blood, the good doctor sets Peregrine on a steep descent that will end with salvation—or damnation. . . . From the Paperback edition.
American Horror Film: The Genre at the Turn of the Millennium
by Steffen HantkeCreatively spent and politically irrelevant, the American horror film is a mere ghost of its former self—or so goes the old saw from fans and scholars alike. Taking on this undeserved reputation, the contributors to this collection provide a comprehensive look at a decade of cinematic production, covering a wide variety of material from the last ten years with a clear critical eye. Individual essays profile the work of up-and-coming director Alexandre Aja and reassess William Malone’s much-maligned Feardotcom in the light of the torture debate at the end of President George W. Bush’s administration. Other essays look at the economic, social, and formal aspects of the genre; the globalization of the US film industry; the alleged escalation of cinematic violence; and the massive commercial popularity of the remake. Some essays examine specific subgenres—from the teenage horror flick to the serial killer film and the spiritual horror film—as well as the continuing relevance of classic directors such as George A. Romero, David Cronenberg, John Landis, and Stuart Gordon. Essays deliberate on the marketing of nostalgia and its concomitant aesthetic and on the curiously schizophrenic perspective of fans who happen to be scholars as well. Taken together, the contributors to this collection make a compelling case that American horror cinema is as vital, creative, and thought-provoking as it ever was.
American Magic: A Thriller
by Zach FehstIn this fast-paced, international thriller, chaos erupts after a shadowy figure with ties to an elite and ancient society posts incantations on the dark web that allow people to perform real magic.When an enigmatic message uploaded to the dark web turns out to contain an ancient secret giving regular people the power to do impossible things, like levitate cars or make themselves invisible, American government officials panic. They know the demo videos on YouTube and instructions for incantations could turn from fantastical amusement to dangerous weapon at the drop of the hat, and they scramble to keep the information out of the wrong hands. They tap Ben Zolstra, an ex-CIA field operative whose history with the Agency is conflicted at best, to lead the team that’s racing to contain the dangerous knowledge—and track down the mysterious figure behind the leak who threatens that even more dangerous spells will be released one by one until the world as we know it no longer exists. This sweeping, globe-spanning thriller explores the dark consequences of a question mankind has been asking for centuries: What if magic were real?
American Midnight: Tales of the Dark (Pushkin Collection)
by VariousA chilling collection of classic weird and supernatural tales from the dark heart of American literatureA masquerade ball cut short by a mysterious plague; a strange nocturnal ritual in the woods; a black bobcat howling in the night: these ten tales are some of the most strange and unsettling in all of American literature, filled with unforgettable imagery and simmering with tension. From Edgar Allan Poe to Shirley Jackson, Nathaniel Hawthorne to Zora Neale Hurston, the authors of these classics of supernatural suspense have inspired generations of writers to explore the dark heart of the land of the free.The stories in this collection have been selected and introduced by Laird Hunt, an author of seven acclaimed novels which explore the shadowy corners of American history.Contains:'The Masque of the Red Death', Edgar Allan Poe'Young Goodman Brown', Nathaniel Hawthorne'The Eyes', Edith Wharton'The Mask', Robert Chambers'Home', Shirley Jackson'A Ghost Story', Mark Twain'Spunk', Zora Neale Hurston'The Yellow Wallpaper', Charlotte Perkins Gilman'An Itinerant House', Emma Frances Dawson
American Narcissus
by Chandler MorrisonThe American dream is dead, and Los Angeles is burning. Stoned and porn-addicted surfer Baxter Kent is terrified of women and anxious to make things work with a sex robot. Acid junkie Arden Coover has a useless philosophy degree and a doomed relationship he believes might save him. His younger sister Tess is considering, or resisting, a convenient but loveless marriage to a wealthy, narcissistic novelist. Ryland Richter, an alcoholic insurance executive with too much money and too few scruples, is seeking toxic solace in the arms of a dangerously unhinged subordinate. As wildfires rage, this lost and hopeless cast makes their way through the embers of Los Angeles and beyond in a desperate search for meaning and connection in a world without a future. Chandler Morrison's latest satire explores our search for love in all the wrong places, and what happens when we think we find it.
American Nightmares: The Haunted House Formula in American Popular Fiction
by Dale BaileyWhen Edgar Allan Poe set down the tale of the accursed House of Usher in 1839, he also laid the foundation for a literary tradition that has assumed a lasting role in American culture. "The House of Usher" and its literary progeny have not lacked for tenants in the century and a half since: writers from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Stephen King have taken rooms in the haunted houses of American fiction. Dale Bailey traces the haunted house tale from its origins in English gothic fiction to the paperback potboilers of the present, highlighting the unique significance of the house in the domestic, economic, and social ideologies of our nation. The author concludes that the haunted house has become a powerful and profoundly subversive symbol of everything that has gone nightmarishly awry in the American Dream.
American Pop: A Novel
by Snowden WrightAN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR“Mr. Wright’s imagined history of the rise and fall of the sugary drink empire is so robust and recognizable that you might feel nostalgic for the taste of a soda you’ve never had.” – Sam Sacks, TheWall Street JournalNAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK BY Parade • Cosmopolitan • Town & Country•AARP • InStyle • Garden & Gun • Vol. 1 BrooklynThe story of a family.The story of an empire. The story of a nation.Moving from Mississippi to Paris to New York and back again, a saga of family, ambition, passion, and tragedy that brings to life one unforgettable Southern dynasty—the Forsters, founders of the world’s first major soft-drink company—against the backdrop of more than a century of American cultural history. The child of immigrants, Houghton Forster has always wanted more—from his time as a young boy in Mississippi, working twelve-hour days at his father’s drugstore; to the moment he first laid eyes on his future wife, Annabelle Teague, a true Southern belle of aristocratic lineage; to his invention of the delicious fizzy drink that would transform him from tiller boy into the founder of an empire, the Panola Cola Company, and entice a youthful, enterprising nation entering a hopeful new age.Now the heads of a preeminent American family spoken about in the same breath as the Hearsts and the Rockefellers, Houghton and Annabelle raise their four children with the expectation they’ll one day become world leaders. The burden of greatness falls early on eldest son Montgomery, a handsome and successful politician who has never recovered from the horrors and heartbreak of the Great War. His younger siblings Ramsey and Lance, known as the “infernal twins,” are rivals not only in wit and beauty, but in their utter carelessness with the lives and hearts of others. Their brother Harold, as gentle and caring as the twins can be cruel, is slowed by a mental disability—and later generations seem equally plagued by misfortune, forcing Houghton to seriously consider who should control the company after he’s gone.An irresistible tour de force of original storytelling, American Pop blends fact and fiction, the mundane and the mythical, and utilizes techniques of historical reportage to capture how, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s words, “families are always rising and falling in America,” and to explore the many ways in which nostalgia can manipulate cultural memory—and the stories we choose to tell about ourselves.
American Rapture
by CJ LeedeThe instant USA Today bestseller from CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly—a scorching and sweeping new novel about the end of the world as we know it.One of Esquire and Vulture's Best Horror Books of 2024 • A GoodReads and Publishers Weekly Editors' Pick • An Indie Next Pick! “A blistering, feverish ride through a uniquely American apocalypse."—Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author A virus is spreading across America, transforming the infected and making them feral with lust. Sophie, a good Catholic girl, must traverse the hellscape of the midwest to try to find her family while the world around her burns. Along the way she discovers there are far worse fates than dying a virgin… The end times are coming.Also by CJ Leede:Maeve FlyAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
American Scary: A History of Horror, from Salem to Stephen King and Beyond
by Jeremy Dauber"America is the world's biggest haunted house and American Scary is the only travel guide you need. I loved this book." —Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support GroupFrom the acclaimed author of American Comics comes a sweeping and entertaining narrative that details the rise and enduring grip of horror in American literature, and, ultimately, culture—from the taut, terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe to the grisly, lingering films of Jordan Peele America is held captive by horror stories. They flicker on the screen of a darkened movie theater and are shared around the campfire. They blare out in tabloid true-crime headlines, and in the worried voices of local news anchors. They are consumed, virally, on the phones in our pockets. Like the victims in any slasher movie worth its salt, we can&’t escape the thrall of scary stories. In American Scary, noted cultural historian and Columbia professor Jeremy Dauber takes the reader to the startling origins of horror in the United States. Dauber draws a captivating through line that ties historical influences ranging from the Salem witch trials and enslaved-person narratives directly to the body of work we more closely associate with horror today: the weird tales of H. P. Lovecraft, the lingering fiction of Shirley Jackson, the disquieting films of Alfred Hitchcock, the up-all-night stories of Stephen King, and the gripping critiques of Jordan Peele. With the dexterous weave of insight and style that have made him one of America&’s leading historians of popular culture, Dauber makes the haunting case that horror reveals the true depths of the American mind.
American Supernatural Tales
by Guillermo Del Toro S. T. JoshiIncludes "The Yellow Sign," the most horrific story from The King in Yellow, the classic horror collection by Robert W. Chambers featured on HBO's hit TV series True Detective. American Supernatural Tales is the ultimate collection of weird and frightening American short fiction. As Stephen King will attest, the popularity of the occult in American literature has only grown since the days of Edgar Allan Poe. The book celebrates the richness of this tradition with chilling contributions from some of the nation's brightest literary lights, including Poe himself, H. P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and--of course--Stephen King. By turns phantasmagoric, spectral, and demonic, this is a frighteningly good collection of stories. Part of a new six-volume series of the best in classic horror, selected by award-winning director Guillermo del Toro Filmmaker and longtime horror literature fan Guillermo del Toro serves as the curator for the Penguin Horror series, a new collection of classic tales and poems by masters of the genre. Included here are some of del Toro's favorites, from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Ray Russell's short story "Sardonicus," considered by Stephen King to be "perhaps the finest example of the modern Gothic ever written," to Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and stories by Ray Bradbury, Joyce Carol Oates, Ted Klein, and Robert E. Howard. Featuring original cover art by Penguin Art Director Paul Buckley, these stunningly creepy deluxe hardcovers will be perfect additions to the shelves of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal aficionados everywhere.
American Supernatural Tales
by Guillermo Del Toro S. T. JoshiPart of a new six-volume series of the best in classic horror, selected by award-winning director Guillermo del Toro. American Supernatural Tales is the ultimate collection of weird and frightening American short fiction. As Stephen King will attest, the popularity of the occult in American literature has only grown since the days of Edgar Allan Poe. The book celebrates the richness of this tradition with chilling contributions from some of the nation's brightest literary lights, including Poe himself, H. P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and-of course-Stephen King. By turns phantasmagoric, spectral, and demonic, this is a frighteningly good collection of stories. S. T. Joshi is a freelance writer, scholar, and editor whose previous books include Documents of American Prejudice; In Her Place: A Documentary History of Prejudice against Women; God's Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong; Atheism: A Reader; H. L. Mencken on Religion; The Agnostic Reader; and What Is Man? And Other Irreverent Essays by Mark Twain.
American Supernatural Tales
by Joshi S. T.The ultimate collection of weird and frightening American fiction As Stephen King will attest, the popularity of the occult in American literature has only grown since the days of Edgar Allan Poe. American Supernatural Tales celebrates the richness of this tradition with chilling contributions from some of the nation's brightest literary lights, including Poe himself, H. P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and - of course - Stephen King. By turns phantasmagoric, spectral, and demonic, this is a frighteningly good addition to Penguin Classics.
American Women's Regionalist Fiction: Mapping the Gothic (Palgrave Gothic)
by Monika Elbert Rita BodeAmerican Women’s Regionalist Fiction: Mapping the Gothic seeks to redress the monolithic vision of American Gothic by analyzing the various sectional or regional attempts to Gothicize what is most claustrophobic or peculiar about local history. Since women writers were often relegated to inferior status, it is especially compelling to look at women from the Gothic perspective. The regionalist Gothic develops along the line of difference and not unity—thus emphasizing regional peculiarities or a sense of superiority in terms of regional history, natural landscapes, immigrant customs, folk tales, or idiosyncratic ways. The essays study the uncanny or the haunting quality of “the commonplace,” as Hawthorne would have it in his introduction to The House of the Seven Gables, in regionalist Gothic fiction by a wide range of women writers between ca. 1850 and 1930. This collection seeks to examine how/if the regionalist perspective is small, limited, and stultifying and leads to Gothic moments, or whether the intersection between local and national leads to a clash that is jarring and Gothic in nature.
American Women’s Ghost Stories in the Gilded Age
by Dara DowneyThis book shows just how closely late nineteenth-century American women's ghost stories engaged with objects such as photographs, mourning paraphernalia, wallpaper and humble domestic furniture. Featuring uncanny tales from the big city to the small town and the empty prairie, it offers a new perspective on an old genre.
Amity
by Micol OstowHere is a house of ruin and rage, of death and deliverance. Here is where I live, not living. Here is always mine. When Connor's family moves to Amity, a secluded house on the peaceful banks of New England's Concord River, his nights are plagued with gore-filled dreams of demons, destruction, and revenge. Dreams he kind of likes. Dreams he could make real, with Amity's help. Ten years later, Gwen's family moves to Amity for a fresh start. Instead, she's haunted by lurid visions, disturbing voices, and questions about her own sanity. But who would ever believe her? And what could be done if they did? Because Amity isn't just a house. She is a living force, bent on manipulating her inhabitants to her twisted will. She will use Connor and Gwen to bring about a violent end as she's done before. Inspired by a true-crime story, Amity spans generations to weave an overlapping, interconnected tale of terror, insanity, danger, and death.
Among Thieves (Tales of Thamorr #1)
by M. J. KuhnA thrilling fantasy debut—a high-stakes heist novel set in a gritty world of magic and malice, and perfect for fans of Six of Crows! <p><p> In just over a year’s time, Ryia Cautella has already earned herself a reputation as the quickest, deadliest blade in the dockside city of Carrowwick—not to mention the sharpest tongue. But Ryia Cautella is not her real name. For the past six years, a deadly secret has kept her in hiding, running from town to town, doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the formidable Guildmaster—the sovereign ruler of the five kingdoms of Thamorr. <p><p> No matter how far or fast she travels, his servants never fail to track her down...but even the most powerful men can be defeated. Ryia’s path now leads directly into the heart of the Guildmaster’s stronghold, and against every instinct she has, it’s not a path she can walk alone. Forced to team up with a crew of assorted miscreants, smugglers, and thieves, Ryia must plan her next moves very carefully. If she succeeds, her freedom is won once and for all…but unfortunately for Ryia, her new allies are nearly as selfish as she is, and they all have plans of their own.
Among the Dolls
by William SleatorA Caldecott Honor recipient, science fiction author William Sleator presents "a fast-paced, chilling fantasy" (Booklist) of one girl's unexpected adventure beyond her imagaination. A dark awakening...When her parents give her a gloomy old dollhouse for her birthday instead of the ten speed bike she's expecting, Vicky is disappointed. But she soon becomes fascinated by the small shadowy world and its inhabitants. The hours she spends playing with the dolls is a good way to escape from her parents's arguments. As Vicky's life becomes more troubled, she starts to take out her frustration on the dolls, making their lives as unhappy as hers. Then one day, Vicky wakes up inside the dollhouse, trapped among the monsters she's created. Bewildered, Vicky is sure she's dreaming. Can she find her way out of this nightmare world?At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Among the Ghosts
by Amber Benson Sina GraceThe New Newbridge Academy has a strange, storied history and a gothic atmosphere, and since Noh's aunt is a teacher there, it's where Noh will be spending the summer while her father travels for work. Noh, slightly eccentric herself, enjoys exploring the campus, but things get spooky when she meets several other children near an old burned-out dormitory. There shouldn't be students around in the summer, right? But these kids turn out to be ghosts, and they need Noh's help. She is the only "realie" who can see them--and, now that the ghosts have started to disappear, the only one who can save them.