American Classic Gothic

This isn’t just Washington Irving’s classic tale—it’s a spine-tingling plunge into a world of restless spirits, haunted woods, and one of the most unforgettable legends of all time! Feel your pulse pound as you walk alongside Ichabod Crane through misty roads where every shadow hides a secret and every whisper might belong to the Headless Horseman himself. With every chilling moment, you’ll be swept into the eerie charm of early America, where folklore comes alive and fear takes the reins.

Here 19 classic tales from masters of the genre. The collection comprises 'Schalken the Painter' by J. S. Lefanu; 'Sredni Vashtar' by Saki (H. H. Munro); 'The Room in the Tower' by E. F. Benson; 'Charles Ashmore's Trail' by Ambrose Bierce; 'The Mark of the Beast' by Rudyard Kipling; 'The Castle of Ratcliffe Cross' by J. Wadham; 'The Bead Necklace' by Alice Perrin; 'The Oval Portrait' by Edgar Allan Poe; 'The Leather Funnel' by Arthur Conan Doyle; 'Berenice' by Edgar Allan Poe; and many more.

Some places are too good to be true. Under a pink moon, there is a perfect little town not found on any map. In that town, there are quiet streets lined with pretty houses, houses that conceal the strangest things. After a couple years of hard traveling, ex-cop Mona Bright inherits her long-dead mother's home in Wink, New Mexico. And the closer Mona gets to her mother's past, the more she understands that the people of Wink are very, very different....

Marvelous creations, including a short story set in the world of The Matrix and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction, can be found in this extraordinary collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his entertaining (and dark) sense of humor.

My name is Lance Steel. I’m the owner of Caprice Casino and Club Moroii, located on the Las Vegas strip. I’m a husband, a damned good father, and I’m also a vampire. I’ve lived many lives over the years, having been turned in the twelfth century… the year 1113 AD, to be exact. Throughout my life, I’ve known many women but have only loved two women. But only Leila has touched my heart and very soul. My wife, Leila, is completely human, and I aim to keep it that way. I wish I could become human again for her. In fact, I dream of it. There is nothing that I want more than to have a...

For more than 50 years, William Gaddis collected notes for a book about the mechanization of the arts, told by way of a social history of the player piano in America. In the years before his death in 1998, he distilled the whole mass into a fiction, a dramatic monologue by an elderly man with a terminal illness. Continuing Gaddis's career - long reflection on those aspects of corporate technological culture that are uniquely destructive of the arts - Agape Agape is a stunning achievement from one of the indisputable masters of postwar American fiction.

I’ve been in love with Zoe London from the moment I first set eyes on her. My obsession runs deep—so much so that I have her dorm room bugged. And that’s why I know I have to become Santa Claus. When she agrees to sit on a Santa Claus’s lap and have her picture taken as part of a bet, there’s no way I’m going to let some other man have the job. I might be a stalker, but I’m also going to be Santa this year, and I’ll give my princess anything she wants.

During a visit to her dying friend, a woman discovers to her horror that his family and his home are one. SonicMovies are premium audios with strong vocal performances enhanced by music and sound effects to such an extent they sound like movies, hence, SonicMovies.

Isabella Dance is my life. The ballet is my home, but amidst the elegance and grace of the ballet world, my life takes a treacherous turn I could never have imagined. I'm Isabella, a dancer whose every step is a testament to the passion that consumes me. But in the shadows of my glittering career, there is a darkness that threatens to unravel everything I hold dear—a man named Vincenzo De Luca, a mobster whose obsession knows no bounds. His presence is a constant, lurking in the wings of my world like a dangerous, intoxicating allure. Vincenzo, a man of power and danger, finds something ...

Elizabeth Gaskell, famed author of Cranford, is cherished for her incise social observations and portrayals of the changing nature of English life through the Industrial Revolution of the Victorian era. In Cousin Phillis, Paul Manning has only recently left home to work on the railway line for the dashing Mr Holdsworth. Lodging with an Independent Minister on the outskirts of London, he becomes acquainted with his distant cousins, where he is delighted to meet his genial relations, and not least his cousin Phyllis

“The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether” is an Edgar Allan Poe short story that expertly blends his dark perspective with the comic. -This is the original story—only word order and difficult vocabulary have been updated. -End notes, interpretation, and discussion of major themes follow the text. -Biographical information on Edgar Allan Poe is included. -For other classic short stories in easy to understand updated English search for “Simplified for Modern Readers Series.”

Victor Frankenstein, un jeune étudiant brillant, crée de toutes pièces un être à l'apparence humaine. Bien vite, il regrette son geste. En effet, la créature prend l'apparence d'un monstre sanguinaire qui ne pense qu'à semer la mort et le malheur sur son passage et qui persécute son créateur. Au travers de l'histoire de Victor Frankenstein et de son monstre, Mary W. Shelley nous pose la question de l'origine de la cruauté humaine. Le monstre de Frankenstein est rejeté par tous. Il aimerait avoir des relations avec les humains mais ceux-ci le fuient. Il devient alors violent et s'en prend aux personnes qu'il rencontre.

I’ve been obsessed with her for as long as I can remember, but she’s way out of my league. She’s a rich girl, and I’m a man from the wrong side of the tracks. Add our age gap on top of that, and it’s a recipe for a love story gone wrong. But fate throws me a bone when I catch her stranded on the side of the road. She’s in trouble, but I’m just the kind of daddy who can rescue her.