Poe stands for every fucked up soul who wandered a graveyard on a dark and lonely night. For every person who has grieved to the point of madness, and who can draw a line between dread and fear with a sharp point pen. Poe is the beacon of darkness, the one who first reached the […]
Gothic Horror Stories: The Empty House by Algernon Blackwood
Algernon Blackwood was one of the most prolific writers of gothic horror stories, particularly ghost stories, including both novels and short stories. No less a personage than H.P. Lovecraft named Blackwood as one of his inspirations. As a young man he moved from his native England to the United States, working in a variety of […]
Eating Poe, Part II: Edgar Allan Poe’s time on Sullivan’s Island and debunking a Charleston myth
I wake up before dawn and heard the ocean outside. The dunes separate the beach house from the sea itself, but not the smell of the ocean, nor the pounding of the surf, a dull thud, without the crackle and sizzle of the foam. The sky is beginning to lighten, I get dressed and grab […]
The Secret of the Raven: At the end of Poe’s life, one finds the unexpected … hope
I spent much of the past eighteen months living with Edgar Allan Poe. I can’t say I knew the man when I first started. I had some travel experiences with him, basic biographical sketches and of course, his tales and poems. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted to get into his skin. I needed his […]
The Ash Tree by M.R. James
M.R. James nearly always appears at the top of the lists for the best gothic horror story authors, and for good reasons. His Ghost Stories of an Antiquarian (1904) is perhaps one of the best collections of spine tingling short stories ever written. + + + Everyone who has travelled over Eastern England knows the […]
A history of winter tales and Christmas ghost stories, to make the blood run wintery cold
CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES were a traditional part of the season’s festivities, and was greatly influenced by Washington Irving, most famous for his tale set in Sleepy Hollow. Above is Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow, a place Irving incorporated into his own tale. “When I returned to the drawing-room, I found the company seated around the […]
