Murder and Guilt
Crimes that will not stay buried. Confessions, revenge from beyond the grave and the conscience as a haunting in its own right. Poe set the pattern, and it has never stopped working.
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The Tell-Tale Heart Classic
A narrator who insists he is perfectly sane explains, very calmly, why the old man's eye had to go.
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The Body Snatcher Classic
In a country inn, the drunken Fettes recognises a famous London doctor, and the sight stirs memories of their student days in Edinburgh.
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The Moonlit Road Classic
A wealthy young man, his grieving father and a medium each give their account of one terrible night and one moonlit walk home.
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The Judge's House Classic
A student seeking total quiet to prepare for his exams rents an empty old house in a market town, despite the landlady's horror.
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Afterward Classic
An American couple buy an old house in Dorset, and they are told that it has a ghost, though you never know it's a ghost until long afterward.
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Sredni Vashtar Classic
A sickly ten-year-old boy, ruled by a strict guardian, worships a secret god he keeps in a hutch in the garden shed.
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The Empty House Classic
A man and his formidable aunt spend a night in a house where a terrible crime once happened, armed with a candle and their nerves.
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Mr. Justice Harbottle Classic
A notoriously cruel hanging judge receives a letter warning him of a trial in which he himself will be the accused.
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Berenice Classic
A brooding scholar becomes fixated on one small detail of his dying cousin's face, and cannot stop thinking about it.
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The Four-Fifteen Express Classic
A traveller on a country train shares a compartment with an old acquaintance, a man who, he later learns, had been missing for months.
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The Middle Toe of the Right Foot Classic
A wager challenges a newcomer to spend a night in the old Manton house, scene of a horrible crime, and fight a duel in the dark.
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Hop-Frog Classic
A disabled court jester, mocked once too often by a cruel king, proposes a brilliant costume for the royal masquerade.
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The Well Classic
A wealthy young man about to marry receives a visit from a disreputable cousin who knows rather too much.
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The Eyes Classic
After dinner, an old bachelor tells his young guests about the eyes that appeared at the foot of his bed on two separate occasions.
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The Cask of Amontillado Classic
During carnival season, a man nursing a thousand injuries invites a wine-loving friend down to his family vaults for a tasting.
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The Shadows on the Wall Classic
After a brother's death, three sisters notice a shadow on the study wall that no object in the room could possibly cast.
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The Diamond Lens Classic
A young man obsessed with the microscope will stop at nothing to obtain the perfect lens, and through it he sees a world in a drop of water.
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The Cats of Ulthar Classic
In the town of Ulthar, no man may kill a cat. This is the story of how that law came about.
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The Trial for Murder Classic
A London gentleman summoned for jury service recognises the accused man in the dock, and so does someone else in the courtroom.
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The Screaming Skull Classic
A retired sea captain tells a visitor about the skull he keeps in a hatbox in his cupboard, and about why he cannot get rid of it.
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Markheim Classic
On Christmas Day, a young man enters an antique shop with a story about buying a gift, and something else in mind.
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The Familiar Classic
A retired sea captain in Dublin begins to receive anonymous warnings, and then to glimpse a small, silent man who keeps his distance.
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Jerry Bundler Classic
On a night just before Christmas, commercial travellers at an old inn swap ghost stories, and one of them decides to stage a prank.
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Casting the Runes Classic
After a scholarly society rejects his paper on alchemy, the vengeful Mr. Karswell finds a quiet way to show his displeasure.
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The Black Cat Classic
On the eve of his execution, a once-gentle man sets down the story of his household pets, and of what drink made him.
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The Hound Classic
Two jaded young men who rob graves for their private museum take a jade amulet from a corpse in Holland, and something begins to follow them home.
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The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral Classic
An archdeacon's papers, found years after his sudden death, reveal his growing unease about the carved oak stalls in his cathedral.
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The Victim Classic
A jealous chauffeur nurses a grudge against his kindly employer, who has broken up his engagement.