The Supernatural Collection Series

The Monkey's Paw is a horror story written by English author W. W. Jacobs in 1902. The story begins as Mr. and Mrs. White, average people with a grown son named Herbert, are visited by an old friend of theirs who was a sergeant in India. While there, he got a magical talisman in the form of a mummified monkey's paw, said to grant three wishes to whoever possesses it. Having no desire to keep the paw, he (reluctantly) gives it to the Whites, first warning them that its previous owners killed themselves for their third wish. Too excited by its mystical powers, Mr. White first wishes for £200. He gets his wish, but at a horrible price. The story continues this way until the most dramatic moment, and they learn their lesson: don't tempt fate, and Be Careful What You Wish For.

A man enters an antiques shop and buys a mummified foot which supposedly belonged to an Egyptian princess, Hermonthis. He intends to use the foot as a paperweight. In the night, he sees a vision of the princess, who explains her foot has been stolen, and he agrees to return her foot in exchange for a small statuette. The princess steals him away to Egypt where he meets her father and several other ancient pharoahs. Hermonthis' father, Xixouthros, is appropriately pleased that his daughter's foot is returned to the rest of her. Xixouthros ask what he can do in appreciation. The protagonist asks Hermonthis' hand in marriage, which is refused, as he is only 27 and Hermonthis is over 30 centuries, and deserves someone who is equally durable. The protagonist is abruptly woken from this potential dream by the arrival of a friend. Now awake, he observes that the mummified foot that was on his desk has indeed been replaced by the statuette.

With its strange, imaginative blend of horror, science fiction, romance and lyrical prose, Robert W. Chambers' The King in Yellow is a classic masterpiece of weird fiction. This series of vaguely connected stories is linked by the presence of a monstrous and suppressed book which brings fright, madness and spectral tragedy to all those who read it. An air of futility and doom pervade these pages like a sweet insidious poison. Dare you read it?

The Willows is a novella by English author Algernon Blackwood, originally published as part of his 1907 collection The Listener and Other Stories. Two friends are taking a break from a canoe-trip down the snaking, sinuous Danube River when they discover the corpse of a peasant in the woods. When they return to their canoe the oars are missing. As night sets in, a general creeping sense of unease permeates the wild and rural setting. Horror author H.P. Lovecraft considered it to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature. The Willows" is an example of early modern horror and is connected within the literary tradition of weird fiction.

Famous Modern Ghost Stories, a collection of ghost stories written by Dorothy Scarborough and published in 1920. 'Modern' is retained in the title of this book out of respect for Dorothy Scarborough's work in writing and editing, even though many of the stories are now over 100 years old. The collection, however, is notable as a collection of many of the best ghost stories of the time, written by an author who pioneered in the field. Dorothy Scarborough (1878-1935), an American writer of folk culture, cotton farming, and ghost stories, graduated from Baylor University, studied at the University of Chicago and Oxford University and received a doctorate of literature from Columbia University in 1917, where she taught until her death in 1935. Her dissertation The Supernatural in Modern English, regarded as a basic information source was published in 1917 and remains in print today. In addition to teaching and writing she edited Famous Modern Ghost Stories and several other collections of ghost stories.

On the day of his wedding, Conrad, heir to the house of Otranto, is killed in mysterious circumstances. His calculating father Manfred fears that his dynasty will now come to an end and determines to marry his son's bride himself - despite the fact he is already married. But a series of terrifying supernatural omens soon threaten this unlawful union, as the curse placed on Manfred's ancestor, who usurped the lawful Prince of Otranto, begins to unfold. First published pseudonymously in 1764, purporting to be an ancient Italian text from the time of the crusades, The Castle of Otranto is a founding work of Gothic fiction. With its compelling blend of sinister portents, tempestuous passions and ghostly visitations, it spawned an entire literary tradition and influenced such writers as Ann Radcliffe and Bram Stoker. The Castle of Otranto is generally regarded as the first gothic horror novel.

The Raven A narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe. Published originally in January 1845, the poem has a musical quality with stylized language and a supernatural atmosphere. It speaks of a mysterious talking raven's visit to a distraught lover, depicting the man's slow fall into madness. The lover is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of "Pallas", the raven seems to have a purpose of further instigating his distress with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". This poem makes good use of a number of folk and classical references.