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Fighters of Fear : Occult Detective Stories

e-book


A Retrospective Collection of Classic Occult and Supernatural Detective Stories by Some of the Field’s Greatest and Best-Known Weird Fiction Authors

Since the gaslit nights at the end of the nineteenth century, the occult detective has been a beloved and recurring archetype. Mixing the best aspects of the detective tale and weird or supernatural fiction, and capitalizing in part on the massive popularity of Sherlock Holmes, these stories portrayed men and women pitted against surreal and horrifying foes, usually with little to defend them but their own savvy, experience, and know-how.

From William Hope Hodgson’s Thomas Carnacki, to Seabury Quinn’s fearless Frenchman Jules de Grandin, to Jessica Salmonson’s Penelope Pettiweather, the occult detective has taken a variety of forms, investigated a wide array of supernatural and otherworldly cases, and entertained generations of readers. This new collection compiles thirty-one all-time classic occult detective stories as it traces the genre’s growth from its nineteenth-century origins to the late twentieth century, showcasing the work of acclaimed pioneers of weird tales alongside cult favorites and exciting modern talents.

So, step into the shadows, join us on this journey into the dark, and become a fighter of fear . . .

CONTENTS

Introduction, Mike Ashley

Green Tea, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

The Shining Pyramid, Arthur Machen

The Haunted Child, Arabella Kenealy

The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel, L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace

The Story of Yand Manor House, E. & H. Heron

The Tapping on the Wainscott, Allan Upward

Samaris, Robert W. Chambers

The Whistling Room, William Hope Hodgson

The Woman with the Crooked Nose, Victor Rousseau

The Sorcerer of Arjuzanx, Max Rittenberg

The Ivory Statue, Sax Rohmer

The Stranger, Claude & Alice Askew

The Swaying Vision, Jessie Douglas Kerruish

The Sanatorium, F. Tennyson Jesse

The Villa on the Borderive Road, Rose Champion de Crespigny

The Room of Fear, Ella Scrymsour

The Seven Fires, Philippa Forest

The Subletting of the Mansion, Dion Fortune

The Jest of Warburg Tantavul, Seabury Quinn

The Soldier, A. M. Burrage

The Horror of the Height, Sydney Horler

The Mystery of Iniquity, L. Adams Beck

The Thought-Monster, Amelia Reynold Long

The Shut Room, Henry S. Whitehead

Dr. Muncing, Exorcist, Gordon MacCreagh

The Case of the Haunted Cathedral, Margery Lawrence

The Shonokins, Manly Wade Wellman

The Dead of Winter Apparition, Joseph Payne Brennan

The Garden of Paris, Eric Williams

St. Michael and All Angels, Mark Valentine

Jeremiah, Jessica Amanda Salmonson