Hard-hitting and hard-edged, these stories take Lovecraftian Mythos to places where only the toughest P.I.s, gangsters, and creatures dwell. Venturing into the urban sprawl and the dark places of the world, this anthology of more than 20 tales blends the hardboiled genre with the Lovecraftian.

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." --H. P. LOVECRAFT, "Supernatural Horror in Literature" Howard Phillips Lovecraft forever changed the face of horror, fantasy, and science fiction with a remarkable series of stories as influential as the works of Poe, Tolkien, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. His chilling mythology established a gateway between the known universe and an ancient dimension of otherworldly terror, whose unspeakable denizens and monstrous landscapes--dread Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, the Plateau of Leng, the Mountains of Madness--have earned him a permanent place in the history of the macabre. In Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, a pantheon of horror and fantasy's finest authors pay tribute to the master of the macabre with a collection of original stories set in the fearsome Lovecraft tradition: ¸ The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft: The slumbering monster-gods return to the world of mortals. ¸ Notebook Found in a Deserted House by Robert Bloch: A lone farmboy chronicles his last stand against a hungering backwoods evil. ¸ Cold Print by Ramsey Campbell: An avid reader of forbidden books finds a treasure trove of deadly volumes--available for a bloodcurdling price. ¸ The Freshman by Philip José Farmer: A student of the black arts receives an education in horror at notorious Miskatonic University. PLUS EIGHTEEN MORE SPINE-TINGLING TALES!

If parapolitics, a branch of radical criminology that studies the interactions between public entities and clandestine agencies, is to develop as an academic discipline, then it must develop a coherent theory of aesthetics in order to successfully perform its primary function: to render perceptible extra-judicial phenomena that have hitherto resisted formal classification. Wilson offers the work of H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) as an example of the relevance of subversive literature-in this case, cosmic horror and the weird tale-to the parapolitical criminologist. Cosmic horror is a form of writing that relies heavily upon the epistemological assumption of a radical and irreconcilable disjunction between appearance and reality, perception and truth. In many ways, the well-constructed weird tale strongly resembles the hard-boiled detective story or the noir thriller in that the resolution of the narrative hinges upon a dramatically shattering confrontation with an unspeakable reality. Apart from its obvious utilization of conspiracy theory, the primary attraction of the Lovecraftian text lies with its remarkably sophisticated utilization of two central tropes of classical aesthetic theory-the sublime and the grotesque. Not only does Lovecraft's oeuvre represent a remarkable use of both of these motifs, but the raw literary power of the Lovecraftian weird tale serves as an outstanding exemplar for the parapolitical scholar to emulate in formulating an alternative mode of discourse, or poetics.

"Discover a time when tall ships ranged the oceans and creatures lurked in the dark depths. Journey across the world from the reign of pirates to the age of Napoleon to the present, and learn what fears dwell in sailors' hearts. All hands on deck, ready the cannon, and prepare to engage in terrors unknown!"--Page 4 of cover

There’s something out there in the dark. There’s always something watching. There’s always something reaching for you. Always. And sometimes there’s someone you can call. Someone you can hire. Someone who knows these dark streets and back alleys. Someone who knows how things work in this part of town. Private eyes who are often as dark as the things they hunt. Investigators who know how to look in the shadows for the things that go bump. Good guys but not always nice guys. Hardboiled Horror collects fifteen original tales of noir mystery shot through with elements of horror and the supernatural. Occult detectives, paranormal investigators, seedy P.I.s, amateur sleuths and ghost hunters tackle the cases no one else can handle. The killer lineup includes Heather Graham, Kevin J. Anderson, Rachel Caine, Scott Sigler, Seanan McGuire Alethea Kontis, Jonathan Maberry, Chris Ryall, Dana Fredsti, Jim Beard, Jacopo della Quercia, John Gilstrap, Jon McGoran, Josh Malerman, Max Allan Collins & Matthew V. Clemens, Lois H. Gresh and Nancy Holder. Edited by New York Times bestseller and five-time Bram Stoker Award winner Jonathan Maberry.

The House of Cthulhu is classic Lovecraftian horror from one of the masters of the form, British Fantasy Award-winner Brian Lumley. Readers are introduced to the weird and wonderful world of Theem'hdra, an island continent of wonders and terrors, where brave men die terrifying deaths, awe-inspiring sorcerers hurl powerful magic at each other, and monsters abound. The volcanic eruption that created the island of Surtsey in 1967 also revealed a long hidden cache of documents that told the fantastic history of Theem'hdra as written by the sorcerer Teh Atht. Building on translations begun by the scholar Thelred Gustau-who vanished under mysterious, some say magical, circumstances-Brian Lumley brings the saga of the Primal Land to readers of today. Here, the wizard Mylarkhrion-most powerful of the terrible magicians who walked the earth in those long-ago days-battles sorcerers jealous of his knowledge, power, and wealth. His own apprentice, thinking he knows all of his master's secrets, challenges him-but Mylarkhrion has one final trick up his sleeve . . . . When the assassin Humbuss Ank, who specializes in killing wizards, makes Mylarkhrion his target, he avoids or destroys nearly all of the sorcerer's traps, forcing Mylarkhrion to a final, desperate gamble for survival. But even Mylarkhrion has a weakness, a lust for power that drives him to summon the Great One, Cthulhu, and so call doom upon himself! The fabled riches of the House of Cthulhu draw thieves and warriors from throughout the civilized-and uncivilized lands, but none escape with so much as a single gemstone, for they discover that Cthulhu's House is not a temple but a dwelling-place. Surely the Elder God lives there still, waiting for an unwary person to open the portal between his world and ours . . . . At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Tracing the development of horror entertainment since the late 18th century, this study argues that scientific discovery, technological progress, and knowledge in general have played an unparalleled role in influencing the evolution of horror. Throughout its many subgenres (biological horror, cosmic horror and others) and formats (film, literature, comics), horror records humanity's uneasy relationship with its own ability to reason, understand, and learn. The text first outlines a loose framework defining several distinct periods in horror development, then explores each period sequentially by looking at the scientific and cultural background of the period, its expression in horror literature, and its expression in horror visual and performing arts.

This volume assembles 25 tales of pulp adventure, mystery, and cthulhu by fictioneer C.J. Henderson, ranging across time and space, through fantasy, science fiction, and Lovecraftian horror -- terrific pulp-style yarns by a modern master! Complete contents: HOPE BREAD AHEAD NINE DRAGONS SO FREE WE SEEM THE IDEA OF FEAR BRING MORE SCRUPULOUS TECHNIQUE VUUDUU THE QUESTIONING OF THE AZATHOTHIAN PRIEST THE MOMENT AFTER DEATH THE HORROR AT COLUMBIA TERRACE SELLER’S MARKET JUGGERNAUT TEN MINUTES TO DEATH TWILIGHT OF THE GODS PRAGMATIC ALL THE VIRTUES OF MAN WHOSE TURN IS IT? GRASPING AT SHADOWS ALL THAT GLITTERS A BRIGHT AND HAPPY WORLD THE MAMBO KING OF THE INTER-DIMENSIONAL DANCE FLOOR A PATCH OF GRASS SHORE LEAVE And don't forget to search this ebook store for "Wildside Megapack" to see more entries in this series, covering classic authors and subjects like mysteries, science fiction, westerns, ghost stories -- and much, much more!

Dark things stir in the night. When the world sleeps and quiet settles in, shadows assume sinister shapes, guilt and regret well up from the mind’s deepest recesses, and the lonely face their greatest fears. Darkness bares the secret truths whispered on the lips of the lost and the desperate. At night, terrors come alive. For those who journey too far into the dark, no escape remains—but there is a place from which to view these nightmares, a place...on the night border. The fifteen stories collected here come from the last edge of the light and deliver glimpses into the dreadful, the mysterious, and the strange. These stories offer readers unsettling and weird visions from across the border, visions out of history and from the world around us, visions of cosmic horror, personal madness, and agonizing heartbreak. A literary legend confronts the reality of a chaotic, uncaring universe. A young girl grows up in the shadow of a ferocious monster. A man seeks to kill his memories. Love defeats death in an odd world not unlike our own. An artist’s drawings unlock a terrifying truth of his adopted city. A mask burns. The mother of plagues offers a deadly future. Readers will find here all of these and many other visions of what lies on the far side of the line, including, by special arrangement, stories of Lin Carter’s Anton Zarnak and Kolchak, the Night Stalker. Walk up to the edge. Listen to the whispers on the wind. Peer across at the terrors beyond from your vantage point...on the night border!