DescriptionThis is the book (which is not a crime novel) that began Ian Rankin's phenomenal career. Mary Miller is an outcast, believed by some to have occult powers, and is the mother of a bastard son, Sandy. Mary finds herself caught up in a faltering affair with a local schoolteacher while Sandy falls in love with a strange gypsy girl. As the action moves towards a tense and unexpected climax, both mother and son are forced to come to terms with the past, in the growing knowledge that their small dramas are being played out against a much larger canvas, a drama glimpsed only in symbols and flickering images of decay and regrowth, of fire and water, of the flood.
DescriptionSaki, one of the great storytellers, weaves brilliant tales of suspense and the macabre. But his stories also specialize in impudent practical jokes and devilish trickery. This collection weaves spine-tingling thrills with funny bone-tickling laughs with such stories as "Gabriel Ernest" and "The Interlopers."…
DescriptionAmerican journalist, short story writer, and poet, Ambrose Bierce is best known for his formidably vicious wit - given free rein in his famous column, "The Prattler." But his stories were elegantly crafted, with a compelling blend of realistic detail, clever plot twists, and his own sardonic humor. These 8 macabre stories, read here by Mark Hammer, establish Bierce as a master of the genre. Included are "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, " "The Damned Thing, " "A Watcher by the Dead, " "An Inhabitant of Carcosa, " "The Famous Gilson Bequest, " "The Eyes of the Panther, " "The Secret of Macarger's Gulch, " and "The Night-Doings at 'Deadman's'."…
DescriptionIn what is arguably both the best Sherlock Holmes story in the canon and one of the classic all-time mystery novels, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle parlays his interest in the occult with keen scientific detection in a story that prominently showcases Dr. Watson. A lonely English moor, full of ancient woe and inhabited by a hound from hell, and a host of suspects all give Sherlock Holmes and Watson a baffling case to solve.
DescriptionHaving created fantastic universes of vampires and witches, Anne Rice now carries us into the realms of the occult, the mystical and the magical, and into the presence - now and through centuries - of a dark and luminous new hero: the powerful, witty, smi…
DescriptionAre sweet Flora and Miles the lovely children they appear to be or something much more sinister? In this classic gothic horror story, a young governess takes charge of the 2 charming orphans only to discover they are under some mysterious evil influence. But is it really the children who are being haunted - or the governess herself? Henry James doesn't give his readers tidy answers. Instead, he has written a brilliant piece of suspense which leaves us to ponder the psychological complexities of imagination and reality, evil, and human relationships.
DescriptionAt the center: the brilliant and beautiful Rowan Mayfair, queen of the coven, and Lasher, the darkly compelling demon whom she finds irresistible and from whose evil spell and vision she must now flee. She takes with her their terrifying and exquisite child, one of "a brood of children born knowing, able to stand and talk on the first day." Rowan's attempt to escape Lasher and his pursuit of her and their child are at the heart of this extraordinary saga. It is a novel that moves around the globe, backward and forward through time, and between the human and demonic worlds. With a dreamlike power, the novel draws the listener through twilight paths, telling a chillingly hypnotic story of occult and spiritual aspirations and passion. Lasher is Volume 2 of The Mayfair Witches series.
DescriptionUFO abductions, television psychics, paranormal phenomena, skeptics and believers alike, find themselves debating truths and lies in the strange web of pseudoscience and the occult. With everyday normal life moving too fast to comprehend, people are turning to the bizarre and wacky for comfort. Now, director of the Skeptics Society Michael Shermer explores the very human reasons why we find other worldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. The eternal search for meaning and spiritual fulfillment leads us astray by extraordinary claims and controversial ideas, particularly those in the realms of superstition and the supernatural. This celebrates the scientific spirit and the joy to be found in rationally exploring the world's greatest mysteries.
