National Network for Equitable Library Service

The prequel to Dracula, inspired by notes and texts left behind by the author of the classic novel, Dracul is a supernatural thriller that reveals not only Dracula's true origins but Bram Stoker's'and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them. It is 1868, and a twenty-one-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil. Armed only with crucifixes, holy water, and a rifle, he prays to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to record what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles down the events that led him here...

When one tragedy after another strikes a carnival, it becomes clear that their newest performer is somehow at the center of it, and Ruby the snake charmer takes it upon herself to discover how.

For more than three decades, Lucien — one of the most notorious characters in the history of the novel — has haunted the imaginations of readers around the world. Remarkably, the astounding protagonist of Gabrielle Wittkop’s lyrical 1972 novella, The Necrophiliac, has never appeared in English until now.

This new translation introduces readers to a masterpiece of French literature, striking not only for its astonishing subject matter but for the poetic beauty of the late author’s subtle, intricate writing.

An eerie and romantic Southern gothic drama. Gripping, fast-paced, gorgeously written, and with unforgettable characters, Cauchemar tells the story of 20-year-old Hannah, who finds herself living alone on the edge of a Louisianan swamp after her adopted mother and protector dies.

Eastern Oregon, 1902. Magic Child, a fifteen-year-old Native American girl, wanders into a whorehouse looking for the right men to kill the monster that lives in the ice caves under the basement of Miss Hawkline's yellow house. What follows is a series of wild, witty, and bizarre encounters.

First published in a 1843 edition of The Pioneer, The Tell-Tale Heart is one of Poe's best-known stories. In it, an unreliable narrator is increasingly troubled by the clouded eye of the old man he lives with. Similar to The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart focuses on the effects of mental instability, crime, and guilt.

Stories include: The Raven; Hop-Frog; The Black Cat; The Cask of Amontillado; The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar; The Fall of the House of Usher; The Gold-Bug; The Masque of the Red Death; The Murders in the Rue Morgue; The Purloined Letter; The Pit and the Pendulum; and The Tell-Tale Heart.

First published in a 1842 literary annual The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1843, The Pit and the Pendulum takes place during the Spanish Inquisition and follows the plight of a prisoner in a cell that has a pit and a pendulum. Unlike many of Poe's short stories, The Pit and the Pendulum does not rely on any supernatural elements to inspire fear but instead uses the narrator's heightened sensory experiences to do so.

First published in a 1842 edition of Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine, The Masque of the Red Death tells the story of Prince Prospero as he tries to avoid a plague by confining himself and his nobles to a masquerade in an abbey. Often considered a gothic allegory, the story reflects on not only life and death but also the illusion of control.