'A Stable for Nightmares; or, Weird Tales' stands as a compelling anthology that delves into the depths of the gothic and supernatural, showcasing a vivid array of literary styles from the forebodingly atmospheric to the intensely psychological. This collection encapsulates the rich diversity and the significant contribution these tales have made to the genre of horror and weird fiction. The anthology does not just present stories; it offers a mosaic of haunting narratives that embody the spectral shades of human fear and fascination with the unknown, ensuring that each piece, while unique, contributes to the overarching theme of eerie and enthralling otherness. In exploring the backgrounds of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and Charles L. Sir Young, one encounters a fascinating intersection of cultural and historical contexts that have shaped these narratives. Le Fanu, renowned for his ghost stories and mystery novels, brings a deeply psychological and nuanced approach to horror that was ahead of his time. Sir Young, though less known, contributes a distinctive voice that complements Le Fanu's, together they present a collection that resonates with the themes of their era, while also transcending time through the universal appeal of the macabre and the mysterious. 'A Stable for Nightmares; or, Weird Tales' is a must-read for enthusiasts of gothic fiction and those intrigued by the darker facets of human nature and the supernatural. This anthology offers a unique opportunity to engage with the works of two master storytellers, whose contributions to the genre continue to inspire and unsettle. Readers will find themselves on a journey through a landscape of fear, curiosity, and awe, encouraged to explore the nuances of these timeless tales and the complex interplay of history, culture, and the human psyche they reveal.

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was one of the foremost writers of ghost stories in the Victorian era, penning such renowned works as Uncle Silas and In a Glass Darkly. This collection of spine-tingling short stories is sure to please fans of gothic tales from the golden age of horror writing.

DICKON THE DEVIL.ABOUT thirty years ago I was selected by two rich old maids to visit a property in that part of Lancashire which lies near the famous forest of Pendle, with which Mr. Ainsworth's "Lancashire Witches" has made us so pleasantly familiar. My business was to make partition of a small property, including a house and demesne to which they had, a long time before, succeeded as coheiresses.The last forty miles of my journey I was obliged to post, chiefly by cross-roads, little known, and less frequented, and presenting scenery often extremely interesting and pretty. The picturesqueness of the landscape was enhanced by the season, the beginning of September, at which I was travelling.I had never been in this part of the world before; I am told it is now a great deal less wild, and, consequently, less beautiful.At the inn where I had stopped for a relay of horses and some dinner--for it was then past five o'clock--I found the host, a hale old fellow of five-and-sixty, as he told me, a man of easy and garrulous benevolence, willing to accommodate his guests with any amount of talk, which the slightest tap sufficed to set flowing, on any subject you pleased. I was curious to learn something about Barwyke, which was the name of the demesne and house I was going to. As there was no inn within some miles of it, I had written to the steward to put me up there, the best way he could, for a night.The host of the "Three Nuns," which was the sign under which he entertained wayfarers, had not a great deal to tell. It was twenty years, or more, since old Squire Bowes died, and no one had lived in the Hall ever since, except the gardener and his wife."Tom Wyndsour will be as old a man as myself; but he's a bit taller, and not so much in flesh, quite," said the fat innkeeper."But there were stories about the house," I repeated, "that, they said, prevented tenants from coming into it?""Old wives' tales; many years ago, that will be, sir; I forget 'em; I forget 'em all. Oh yes, there always will be, when a house is left so; foolish folk will always be talkin'; but I han't heard a word about it this twenty year."It was vain trying to pump him; the old landlord of the "Three Nuns," for some reason, did not choose to tell tales of Barwyke Hall, if he really did, as I suspected, remember them.I paid my reckoning, and resumed my journey, well pleased with the good cheer of that old-world inn, but a little disappointed.We had been driving for more than an hour, when we began to cross a wild common; and I knew that, this passed, a quarter of an hour would bring me to the door of Barwyke Hall.The peat and furze were pretty soon left behind; we were again in the wooded scenery that I enjoyed so much, so entirely natural and pretty, and so little disturbed by traffic of any kind. I was looking from the chaise-window, and soon detected the object of which, for some time, my eye had been in search. Barwyke Hall was a large, quaint house, of that cage-work fashion known as "black-and-white," in which the bars and angles of an oak framework contrast, black as ebony, with the white plaster that overspreads the masonry built into its interstices. This steep-roofed Elizabethan house stood in the midst of park-like grounds of no great extent, but rendered imposing by the noble stature of the old trees that now cast their lengthening shadows eastward over the sward, from the declining sun.The park-wall was gray with age, and in many places laden with ivy. In deep gray shadow, that contrasted with the dim fires of evening reflected on the foliage above it, in a gentle hollow, stretched a lake that looked cold and black, and seemed, as it were, to skulk from observation with a guilty knowledge.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

A Stable for Nightmares or Weird Tales is a fabulous novel with the fantastic and classy story of modern fiction. joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is the author of this novel. This novel is filled with twists and turns, fast-paced, lots of action, suspense which continued to increase, mystery. The author developed the characters so beautifully. A Stable for Nightmares or Weird Tales By joseph Sheridan Le Fanu Each character of the novel is interesting and amazing.

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the premier ghost story writer of the nineteenth century and had a seminal influence on the development of this genre in the Victorian era. Le Fanu studied law at Trinity College in Dublin. He soon abandoned law for journalism. In 1838 he began contributing stories to the Dublin University Magazine. He became owner of several newspapers from 1840, including the Dublin Evening Mail and the Warder. Le Fanu worked in many genres but remains best known for his mystery and horror fiction. He was a meticulous craftsman, with a penchant for frequently reworking plots and ideas from his earlier writing in subsequent pieces of writing. He specialised in tone and effect rather than “shock horror†, often following a mystery format. Key to his style was the avoidance of overt supernatural effects. Among his famous works are: The House by the Church- Yard (1863), Uncle Silas (1864), Carmilla (1872), The Purcell Papers (1880), The Evil Guest (1895) and A Stable for Nightmares; or, Weird Tales (with Sir Charles Young and others) (1896).

This book is a result of an effort made by us towards making a contribution to the preservation and repair of original classic literature. In an attempt to preserve, improve and recreate the original content, we have worked towards: 1. Type-setting & Reformatting: The complete work has been re-designed via professional layout, formatting and type-setting tools to re-create the same edition with rich typography, graphics, high quality images, and table elements, giving our readers the feel of holding a 'fresh and newly' reprinted and/or revised edition, as opposed to other scanned & printed (Optical Character Recognition - OCR) reproductions. 2. Correction of imperfections: As the work was re-created from the scratch, therefore, it was vetted to rectify certain conventional norms with regard to typographical mistakes, hyphenations, punctuations, blurred images, missing content/pages, and/or other related subject matters, upon our consideration. Every attempt was made to rectify the imperfections related to omitted constructs in the original edition via other references. However, a few of such imperfections which could not be rectified due to intentional\unintentional omission of content in the original edition, were inherited and preserved from the original work to maintain the authenticity and construct, relevant to the work. We believe that this work holds historical, cultural and/or intellectual importance in the literary works community, therefore despite the oddities, we accounted the work for print as a part of our continuing effort towards preservation of literary work and our contribution towards the development of the society as a whole, driven by our beliefs. We are grateful to our readers for putting their faith in us and accepting our imperfections with regard to preservation of the historical content. HAPPY READING!

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Please note that this book is an anthology, mostly consisting of stories published anonymously, and is NOT a collection of stories written by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. "Dickon the Devil" is indeed a story by that author. "What Was It?" is a story by Fitz-James O'Brien, and the 1896 New Amsterdam edition cites Sir Charles Young, Bart. AND OTHERS as contributors to the volume.