Our MORBID FASCINATION with the Undead Continues

A Morbid Fascination was the latest chapbook in the series, released in October 2010:


Contents:
"A Morbid Fascination" by Series Editor Tom English
(1824) "The Adventure of the German Student" by Washington Irving (the FIRST vampire tale by an American writer.);
(1827-28) "The Skeleton Count" by Elizabeth Grey (FIRST published vampire tale written by a woman!);
(1830) "Blood Brothers" by Sir Walter Scott (a cool Norse legend that ties into vampirism);
(1833) "The Vampire Bride" by Henry Liddell (This long poem was the basis for Tim Burton's animated filmThe Corpse Bride.)


Cover art by Allen Koszowski.

A Modern Victorian Novella

Here's the cover of Blood Coven, written by husband and wife horror writers Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawkes, and published in 2008. I did two editions: a 100-copy edition signed by both writers; and a signed 26-copy lettered edition with extra material by the writers. I love this cover by Allen Koszowski.

I'm at work on another volume in the series, A Morbid Fascination, which will feature material from the early 1800s and an AK cover. I hope to have it done by mid-summer. That's the plan, at any rate.

More tales featuring the Children of Judas

The Kiss of Judas & The Death of Halpin Frayser is sort of like one of those old Ace Books double novels ... but not really.

Contents:
1893 “The Kiss of Judas” (novella) by Julian Osgood Field (X.L.)
1893 “The Death of Halpin Frayser” (story) by Ambrose Bierce

1893 “Vampires” (article) by Thomson J. Hudson

This is the latest book in the series, published in February 2009, and marks the third cover to feature art by Dave Carson.

Two more titles were published: Montague Summers' survey of vampire literature; and a new novella by Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawks. I'll post these titles soon.

The series will continue. Presently, I have at least 4 more books in the planning stages. Expect one in the Summer of '09. Limited to 26 lettered copies. So feel free to take it to the beach. If it gets wet I'll sell you another. (Obviously I need the money. I'm putting my dog through obedience school.)

You can relax now: Here's An Uneasy Repose

Okay, I realize I'm starting to post some of the titles out of order. Even I can't keep up with the bloody books! Nevertheless, here's Classic Vampires Revisited: An Uneasy Repose

Contents:

1889 “Will” (story) by Vincent O’Sullivan
1889 “The Dead Smile” (story) by F. Marion Crawford
1889 “The Stone Chamber” (story) by H. B. Marriott Watson

1900 “The Old Portrait” (story) by Hume Nisbet

Cool cover by Allen Koszowski

A Botanical Nightmare

Classic Vampires Revisited: A Botanical Nightmare
Forget The Little Shop of Horrors. Here's 5 classic tales of bloodsucking plants!

1881: “The Man-Eating Tree” (story) by Phil Robinson
1894: “The Flowering of the Strange Orchid” (story) by H. G. Wells
1899: “The Purple Terror” (story) by Fred M. White
1915: “The Pavilion” (story) by E. Nesbit
1919: “The Sumach” (story) by Ulric Daubeny

Cover art by Allen Koszowski.

This is the first and only anthology of vampiric vegetation. I believe the only similarly themed anthology is Parry's 1976 Roots of Evil, but that book dealt with the broader theme of plants that figure in weird fiction and included only Wells' “The Flowering of the Strange Orchid”.

A Botanical Nightmare gathers stories stretching from 1891 to 1919 and hence does not fit neatly into the vampire tale chronology.

Mario Guslandi posted a nice review of the chapbook at infinitiplus.co.uk

And Still We Hunger for more classic vampire tales!

Classic Vampires Revisited: And Still We Hunger
Two great detectives match wits with the undead. Plus a story that had not been reprinted since its first appearance in Weird Tales.

Contents:
1922: “Blood-Lust” (story) by Dion Fortune
1922: “Negotium Perambulans” (story) by E. F. Benson
1924: “The Sussex Vampire” (story) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1925: “Four Wooden Stakes” (story) by Victor Rowan

Another incredible cover by Allen Koszowski.

A Fearful Feasting

Because I'm an animal lover, this remains one of my favorite covers. And because the photo captured the creature's great intelligence. Okay, okay, I did do something to the photo to "tweak" it.

Classic Vampires Revisited: A Fearful Feasting

Contents:

1914: “Dracula’s Guest” (story) by Bram Stoker
1914: “An Episode of Cathedral History” (story) by M. R. James
1914: “Aylmer Vance and the Vampire” (story) by Alice & Claude Askew
1920: “The Vampire” (story) by Jan Neruda

1922: “Mrs Amworth” (story) by E. F. Benson

A Harvest of Horror

Classic Vampires Revisited: A Harvest of Horror
features some of the greatest practitioners of the weird tale!

Contents:

1904: “Count Magnus” (story) by M. R. James
1905: “For the Blood is the Life” (story) by F. Marion Crawford
1909: “An Authenticated Vampire Story” (article) by Franz Hartmann
1910: “The Singular Death of Morton” (story) by Algernon Blackwood
1912: “The Transfer” (story) by Algernon Blackwood

1912: “The Room in the Tower” (story) by E. F. Benson

A Shocking Revelation

Classic Vampires Revisited: A Shocking Revelation

Contents:

1907: “The Feather Pillow” (story) by Horacio Quiroga
1907: “A Case of Alleged Vampirism” (story) by Luigi Capuana
1908: “The Blood Fetish” (story) by Morley Roberts 1909: “The Vampirine Fair” (written 1797-1801) (poem) by Thomas Hardy

Cover art by Dave Carson

Shocking, isn't it?

The House of the Vampire

George Sylvester Viereck's 1907 novel The House of the Vampire was the second book I published. This is a classic tale of a psychic vampire who preys on the New York literati.

The cover photo depicts a building in New York, circa 1907. Just the sort of "pad" where our villain would hang out.