Showing results by author "Robert W. Chambers" in All Categories

America is fat and prosperous. We’ve warred with the world and come out on top. We’ve gotten rid of the riff-raff. A new era is arising, change is in the air, and to top it all off, the first Government Lethal Chamber is now open and ready for its first occupant. The future looks bright in 1895.

Contents: Edgar Allan Poe - The Murders in the Rue Morgue - The Gold Bug - The Black Cat - The Pit and the Pendulum - The Tell-Tale Heart - The Fall of the House of Usher - The Masque of the Red Death - The Cask of Amontillado - The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar - Hop-Frog - The RavenBram Stoker - DraculaMary Shelley - FrankensteinJoseph Sheridan Le Fanu - CarmillaRobert Louis Stevenson - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeH.P. Lovecraft - The Alchemist - At the Mountains of Madness - Azathoth - The Beast in the Cave.

From The King in Yellow: Anyone who possesses, even by accident, a copy of the sign is susceptible to some form of insidious mind control, or possession, by the King in Yellow or one of his heirs. The stories also suggest that the original creator of the sign was not human and possibly came from a strange alternate dimension that contains an ominous and ancient city known as Carcosa. The finder of the sign gives it as a gift to her future lover with disasterous results!

This chilling collection includes: "The Romance of Certain Old Clothes" by Henry James, "The Shadow" by E. Nesbit, "Monsieur Anastasius" by Dinah Maria Mulock, "John Granger" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon and more.

Barred from life and death alike, she waited - waited for the key that could unlock the sinister talisman that held her prisoner of eternity. Taken from The King in Yellow, often referred to in "True Detective" this is one creepy short story.

A short story from "The King in Yellow", The story is set in New York City in the year 1920, 25 years after the story's publication. It is told from the view of Hildred Castaigne, a young man whose personality changes drastically following a head injury sustained by falling from his horse. He is subsequently committed to an asylum for treatment of insanity by Dr. Archer. Due to his accident, Hildred is a prime example of an unreliable narrator.

Considered by many to be the father of supernatural fiction, Robert W. Chambers' work continues to influence writers today. Originally published in 1897, The Mystery of Choice brings together seven chilling tales, most of them set in Brittany. Distinguished by its atmospheric use of natural scenery, this important collection presents an author at the peak of his craft.

While taking a break from his latest painting, an artist casually stands at his window, looking at the street below. Much to his horror he sees a hideously disfigured man, a man whose features draw a repulsive shudder - the artist recognizes him from a nightmare foretelling his own death.

Classic Tales of Terror collects two classic chillers of the supernatural. "The Cats of Ulthar" tells of an elderly couple with a penchant for animal cruelty. They kill the pet of an orphan and the animals retaliate with a terrible vengeance. In "The Yellow Sign", an artist encounters a horribly disfigured man who exudes a terrible aura of unspeakable evil.

A short story by Robert W Chambers that appeared in the collection The King in Yellow, this vignette starts with a stray cat wandering into the flat of an artist in Paris, that eventually leads him to a love he lost in another life.

The Messenger is a chilling gothic tale by Robert W. Chambers, where reason and folklore collide in the shadow of history. As a rational American observer investigates a mysterious burial site, he uncovers the story of a long-executed traitor known as the Black Priest—a man branded in death, cursed in blood, and sworn to return if his remains are ever disturbed. What follows is a slow descent into unease: a skull that will not stay buried, a death’s-head moth appearing at windows and hearths, masked figures glimpsed in stormlight, and blood trails that defy explanation.

From The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers, this story is set in the Latin Quarter of Paris, where a young artist falls in love with a nameless girl. He has no name, so he names her by the street. Rue Barree in English translates to Road Closed. Are there connotations here, or not?

Ruhannah “Rue” Carew has always been captivated by her father’s tales of a mysterious wooden box filled with intriguing treasures, including a bronze figure of a god and the diary of a long-lost friend. When she encounters the charismatic but deceitful Eddie Brandes, he disguises his true intentions to win her affection and her familys approval, all while concealing his own marriage to the actress Ilse Dumont. The shocking truth about Eddie shatters Rues world, leaving her at a crossroads. With the support of her loyal friend Jim Neeland, Rue embarks on a journey across the Atlantic to ...

In this dark story by Robert W. Chambers we are introduced to a detective, who is tasked to uncover a hoax in the Pacific Northwest. There he investigates the possible existence of a terrible porpoise-skinned humanoid with an insatiable hunger for human females. If you like reading dark and weird stories, then "The Harbor Master" from 1904 is the right one for you. Do not hesitate to embark on this journey and solve the mystery of the porpoise-skinned humanoid. B. J.

During World War I, an American secret service agent, Evelyn Erith, opens and deciphers a coded letter. It says the Germans believe that Kay MacKay, an American concentration camp escapee, knows The Great Secret. And that MacKay must be eliminated. Erith finds McKay, saves him from German agents and convinces him to join U.S. Intelligence. Together they venture undercover into the Swiss Alps to discover and expose The Great Secret. The future of Europe depends on it!

This collection includes five of the greatest stories of American classic horror. The richest of language is used to create extraordinary atmosphere - gloom, darkness, solitude, despair - and the relentless feeling of impending doom. Includes: "The Oval Portrait", by Edgar Allan Poe; "Ethan Brand", by Nathaniel Hawthorne; "The Yellow Sign", by Robert W. Chambers; "The Upper Berth", by F. Marion Crawford; and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", by Ambrose Bierce.

In this series we listen to short stories that are NOT by perhaps the most well-known author of this type. But the many other rich talents in the volume may have treated the subject matter a little differently, or were perhaps just overlooked in the stampede to applaud the winner, but these authors are of equal merit.

In the heart of Paris, amidst the bohemian world of artists and dreamers, a chilling tale of mystery and the macabre unfolds. Louis De Cressac, a gifted painter, lives a life of solitude and obsession, haunted by a dark legacy tied to the sinister Black King. When his friend, Jack Scott, visits, he is drawn into a world where art and the supernatural intertwine in terrifying ways.

Hildred Castaigne is a young man who lives in New York City whose life changes drastically after he falls from his horse and injures his head. Castaigne gets unjustly confined to a mental institution, where Dr. Archer treats him. However, the doctor soon realizes, that this is a mistake and the young man’s condition is not as bad as he was told. During Hildred’s treatment, the United States have prospered and improved their infrastructure, a new aristocratic elite has been formed and suicide has been legalized.

In a gripping tale of survival, Tressa Norne, an American living in China, finds herself thrust into a nightmarish reality. After narrowly escaping death during a local revolution, she is captured and forced into servitude by Erlik, a sinister demon-god, and his cult. Despite her harrowing journey to escape back to America, Tressa soon discovers that her troubles are far from over; she is now hunted by the Secret Service and her former captors. (Ann Boulais)