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The Weiser Book of the Fantastic and Forgotten
ByPublisher Description
These are the authors and tales that inspired modern masters like Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Nic Pizzolatto—edited and introduced by leading occult author and scholar Judika Illes. These powerfully evocative stories—some of which have been forgotten over the years, like buried treasure—will thrill and chill readers to the bone.
During the dark, eerie hours, when the wind is blowing and the ghosts are roaming outside, these tales can fill a night with pleasant terror—as well as encouraging our minds to venture beyond the mundane into the realm of the fantastic.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Weiser Book of the Fantastic and Forgotten Reviews
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About Judika Illes
Judika Illes is the author of several books devoted to the magical arts including Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Magic When You Need It, Encyclopedia of Spirits, Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saints, and Sages, Daily Magic, and The Weiser Field Guide to Witches. A certified aromatherapist, she has been a professional tarot card reader for over three decades. A native New Yorker, Judika teaches in the US and internationally. Follow her on Instagram @judikailles
Other books by Judika Illes
Bram Stoker
A native Chicagoan, Jody Lynn Nye is a New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty books and 165 short stories. As a part of Bill Fawcett & Associates (she is the ‘ & Associates’ ), she has helped to edit more than two hundred books, including forty anthologies, with a few under her own name. She and Bill are the authors of Conventional Wisdom, another in the Million Dollar Writing series for Wordfire Press. Her solo work tends toward the humorous side of SF and fantasy. Along with her individual writing, Jody has collaborated with several notable professionals in the field, including Anne McCaffrey, Robert Asprin, John Ringo, and Piers Anthony. She collaborated with Robert Asprin on a number of his famous Myth-Adventures series, and has continued both that and his Dragons Wild series since his death in 2008. Jody runs the two-day intensive writers’ workshop at DragonCon, every Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, GA. She is also a judge for the Writers of the Future contest, the largest speculative fiction contest in the world. Jody lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, with her husband Bill Fawcett, a writer, game designer, military historian and book packager, and three feline overlords, Athena, Minx, and Marmalade. Check out her websites at www.jodylynnnye.com and mythadventures.net. She is on Facebook as Jody Lynn Nye and Twitter @JodyLynnNye.
Other books by Bram Stoker
M. R. James
M. R. James (1862–1936) is considered the father of the British ghost story. Before gaining fame as a fiction writer, James had a career as a respected scholar of the medieval period. With the release of his
, James built a reputation in horror literature that has gone on to inspire greats such as H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Stephen King. James later became provost of Eton College from 1918 until his death in 1936. He is buried in Eton.
Other books by M. R. James
Robert W. Chambers
Robert W. Chambers (1865–1933) was an American author and painter best known for his short story collection
(1895). Born in Brooklyn, Chambers studied art in Paris and was a professional illustrator before he turned to writing. In addition to
, his supernatural tales include
(1896) and
(1897). Later in his career, Chambers wrote bestselling romances and historical novels.
Other books by Robert W. Chambers
H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) was born in New England, a landscape that he turned into a stage of fiction. His stories inherited the tradition of gothic horror tales from authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, but Lovecraft set his own standards. His first stories appeared in
, a pulp magazine. “The Call of Cthulhu” (1926), a short story about a monstrous deity that inhabits the Earth, is the base of the myths related to the Cthulhu Mythos, a genre of horror fiction launched by Lovecraft. In its world, populated by beings of other dimensions, the laws of humanity are worthless. But man is incapable of understanding its insignificance in the face of the magnitude of the cosmos.
Other books by H. P. Lovecraft
W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) was an Irish poet, playwright, and author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923. Yeats published his first works in the mid-1880s while still a student; however, his most famous works, such as
and
, were not published until after he received the Nobel. He teamed up with Lady Gregory to develop plays in Ireland and soon founded the Irish National Theatre Society. He has since inspired poets and playwrights around the world.
Other books by W. B. Yeats
Arthur Machen
Arthur Machen (1863–1947) was a Welsh author and actor best known for his fantasy and horror fiction. He grew up with intentions of becoming a doctor, but followed a boyhood passion of the supernatural and occult and started to write. In 1890, Machen began publishing short stories in literary magazines. Four years later, he released his breakthrough work,
. Decried upon initial publication for its depictions of sex and violence, the tale has since become a horror classic and has been hailed as “maybe the best [horror story] in the English language” by Stephen King. Machen continued to publish supernatural novels but spent time as actor in a traveling player company after his wife’s death. His literary career revived once more with the publication of his works
and
. During World War I, Machen became a full-time journalist. Though he rallied for republications of his works, Machen’s literary career ultimately diminished, and he lived much of his life in poor finances.
Other books by Arthur Machen
Algernon Blackwood
Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (1869–1951), was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist, and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary critic S. T. Joshi stated, “His work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer’s except Dunsany’s” and that his short story collection
(1914) “may be the premier weird collection of this or any other century.”
Other books by Algernon Blackwood
Lord Dunsany
Lord Dunsany (1878–1957), born Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, was the eighteenth Baron of Dunsany as well as a writer and dramatist. Most notably known for his fantasy writing, Dunsany published over sixty works, including short stories, poetry, plays, novels, and essays. He became a prominent figure in the Irish Literary Revival in the early twentieth century, during which he worked with fellow writer W. B. Yeats. Dunsany is best known for his collections
and
, as well as his novel
, each of which continues to influence fantasy writers today
Dunsany died from appendicitis at the age of seventy-nine.
Other books by Lord Dunsany
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was an American author and poet who profoundly influenced the mystery, horror, and science fiction genres. A master of the short story, Poe wrote many classic tales, including “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and “The Masque of the Red Death.” His other enduring works include the poem “The Raven” and his only completed novel,
.
Other books by Edgar Allan Poe
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