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Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead
“In Zombies you’ll find the widest, wildest, brain-popping cavalcade of multi-perspective zombie lore ever assembled—a soup-to-nuts of the shambling dead, from shadowy beginning to dear-God-please-be-merciful end—in a single volume so massive, it can also be used for staving in heads.“
—John Skipp, Introduction
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“Zombies: Encounters With the Hungry Dead compiles thirty-two diverse and diverting stories that encompass the undying allure of zombies….Skipp has chosen tales that display creativity when dealing with resurrected cannibalistic corpses. The works in this impressive volume are a reminder that there is a brain behind every good zombie story.”
—Sheila Merritt, Hellnotes
“[Skipp] sees zombies as the underdogs of the genre, finally crawling up from their graves and infecting our popular culture as well they should. [He] traces the Z-word back its origin (in a story from 1819) right up to the first very-popular cinematic germ (Night of the Living Dead, 1968…), and beyond into today.”
—Staci Layne Wilson, Horror.com
Recently zombies have risen from the grave of late night movie theaters and onto recent bestseller lists and mainstream television with The Walking Dead, World War Z, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Get in on the brain-munching action with Black Dog & Leventhal’s Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead.
Coming to you straight from the founding father of the splatterpunk genre, John Skipp, Zombies collects brain-tingling short stories from the most-loved storytellers of our time, with the foundation-layers of the genre kicking them off.
Part One: Zombies of the Old School
- Lazarus by Leonid Andreyev
- ..Dead Men Working in the Cane Fields by W.B. Seabrook
- The Return of Timmy Baterman by Stephen King
- The Emmisary by Ray Bradbury
- A Case of the Stubborns by Robert Bloch
- It by Theodore Sturgeon
- Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed by Steve Duffy
- Bitter Grounds by Neil Gaiman
- Sea Oak by George Saunders
- The Late Shift by Dennis Etchison
- A Zombie’s Lament by S.G. Browne
- Best Served Cold by Justine Musk
Part Two: Post Emancipation
- The Dead Gather on the Bridge to Seattle by Adam Golaski
- The Quarantine Act by Mehitobel Wilson
- The Good Parts by Les Daniels
- Bodies and Heads by Steve Rasnic Tem
- On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks by Joe R. Lansdale
- Jerry’s Kids Meet Wormboy by David J. Schow
- Eat Me by Robert R. McCammon
- The Visitor by Jack Ketchum
- The Prince of Nox by Kathe Koja
- Me Doctor by Eric Shapiro
- Great Wall: A Story from the Zombie War by Max Brooks
- Calcutta, Lord of Nerves by Poppy Z. Brite
- God Save the Queen by John Skipp and Marc Levinthal
- We Will Rebuild by Cody Goodfellow
- Sparks Fly Upwards by Lisa Morton
- Lemon Knives ‘N’ Cockroaches by Carlton Mellick III
- Zaambi by Terry Morgan and Christopher Morgan
- The Zombies of Madison County by Douglas E. Winter
- Dead Like Me by Adam-Troy Castro
Appendix A: Zombie Roots: A Historical Perspective by Christopher Kampe and Anthony Gambole
Appendix B: They’re Us and We’re Them: Zombies in Popular Culture by John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow
John Skipp is a New York Times bestselling author and editor, whose 18 books have sold millions of copies in a dozen languages worldwide. His first anthology, Book of the Dead, laid the foundation in 1989 for modern zombie literature, bringing George Romero’s vision of the dead-next-door to new levels of scope and intensity. He later edited three more zombie anthologies, including Mondo Zombie, which won the Bram Stoker Award for best anthology. From splatterpunk founding father to hilarious elder statesman, Skipp’s legendary horror works include The Light At The End, The Scream, Jake’s Wake, The Long Last Call, and most recently Spore. He lives in Los Angeles.
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Ghosts: True Encounters with the World Beyond
Take a journey to the world beyond…
Visit hundreds of haunted places around the world.
Learn how to make contact with “the other side.”
Read about ghostly manifestations of all kinds, from phantoms to poltergeists—and learn about the scientific investigations that have uncovered and authenticated them.
See rare, genuine photographs of ghosts and spirits, and find out how these apparitions were captured on film.
Join paranormal expert and storyteller extraordinaire Hans Holzer as he explores ghostly manifestations of every variety and delves into the true nature of “the other side.”
In this groundbreaking book—featuring eye-opening photographs of ghostly apparitions and visitations—Holzer presents hundreds of case histories, tips on interpreting sounds and other signals from the beyond, and more.
Not only does Dr. Holzer introduce you to those who visit from the next dimension, he explains why they seek contact with our world. He also offers expert advice on how to interpret sights, sounds, activities, visions, and other experiences that signal the presence of someone from “the other side.”
In Ghosts you’ll learn how to become a seeker and ghost-hunter instead of just witnessing the adventures of others on television, the big screen, and in your favorite books.
Amazon.com Review:
“Hans Holzer is a world-renowned parapsychologist and author of several paranormal books including Are You Psychic? and Ghosts, Hauntings & Possessions, in which we learn of Holzer’s earlier forays into the world of the supernatural. His encounters with the undead are apparently never-ending.
Ghosts: True Encounters with the World Beyond is a gigantic volume, documenting almost 200 cases of haunted houses, ships, castles, and just about any place imaginable! The cases are far more complex than just your average white-sheeted ghoul in the attic. Holzer examines the differences between “real ghosts,” who reveal themselves to living people, and psychic impressions, which occur to many witnesses, always at the same time and place. There is also solid advice for interpreting paranormal signals–and even photographs of ghostly apparitions. This is an informative read, but one that is open to personal interpretation.”
—Naomi Gesinger
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Vampires: Encounters with the Undead
“Do vampires really exist? The question itself may be naive. It should be obvious that vampires prowl the very fabric of modern consciousness…” —from the Introduction
Vampires covers two centuries of spine-tingling literature, lore, ephemera, and history. Noted vampire authority David J. Skal takes you on an unprecedented tour through this most captivating of subjects. From classics of the world’s literature to pulp magazine serials to actual historical accounts, all of the mysterious, bloodcurdling horror is here in this tome.
Every page of Vampires also features a column of commentary by Skal, expanding and reflecting upon the stories and exploring the evolution of the vampire mystique in folklore, literature, and popular culture.
Some 200 beautifully rendered black-and-white images, ranging from vintage engravings to film stills and posters to pop-cultural artifacts, make this book a true Vampire’s Feast.
“I recommend this book highly to anyone who has an interest in vampires. not only does it contain stories from classic gothic styling to present, the side bars provide very interesting information about vampires in general and the background of the stories and authors. This is like getting a well researched ‘the vampire book’ and a compilation of the greatest vampire stories ever written. Also contains complete listing of vampire literature and cinema with author, year of publish or cinematic release. get this book.”
—Eric Warren (Rochester, NY)
Part One: The Historical Evidence
- The Book of Vampires by Dudley Wright
- The Phantom World by Augustin Calmet
- Tale of a Russian Vampire by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
- Vampires of Roumania by Agnes Murgoci
Part Two: Romantic & Victorian Vampires
- The Vampyre: A Tale by John Polidori
- Loving Lady Death (La morte amoureuse) by Theophile Gautier
- The Family of the Vourdalak by Alexis Tolstoy
- Varney the Vampyre or, The Feast of Blood (excerpted) by James Malcolm Rymer
- Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
- The Fate of Madame Cabanel by Eliza Lynn Linton
- A True Story of a Vampire by Eric, Count Stenbock
- Good Lady Ducayne by Mary Elizabeth Baddon
- Dracula’s Guest by Bram Stoker
- Dracula (excerpt) by Bram Stoker
- Fatal Image: The Artist, the Actress, and the Vampire by David J. Skal
Part Three: Vampires in the Twentieth Century
- Luella Miller by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
- Count Magnus by M.R. James
- The Singular Death of Morton by Algernon Blackwood
- For the Blood is the Life by F. Marion Crawford
- The Room in the Tower by E.F. Benson
- Vampires by Albin Grau
- The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Bewitched by Edith Wharton
- “When She was Fed”: Bela Lugosi’s True-Life Vampire Romance by Gladys Hall
- The Dark Castle by Marion Brandon
- Revelations in Black by Carl Jacobi
- I, the Vampire by Henry Kuttner
- The Bat is My Brother by Robert Bloch
- The Girl with the Hungry Eyes by Fritz Leiber
- I Am Legend (excerpt) by Richard Matheson
- Unicorn Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas
Part Four: Postmodern Vampires
- American Vampires (excerpt) by Norine Dresser
- An Interview with a “Vampire” by David J. Skal
- Last Call for the Sons of Shock by David J. Schow
- Coppola’s Dracula by Kim Newman
- Bela’s Plot by Caitlin R. Kiernan
David J. Skal is one of the world’s leading historians and commentators on all things macabre. He is host of “Horror 101 with David J. Skal,” a monthly program on the Horror Channel. His books include Hollywood Gothic, The Monster Show, Screams of Reason, and, with Elias Savada, Dark Carnival: the Secret World of Ted Browning. He is co-editor of the Norton Critical Edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. He wrote, produced, and directed the behind-the-scenes chronicle of the Academy Award-winning film Gods and Monsters and has produced a dozen other making-of documentaries for DVD.
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Werewolves and Shapeshifters: Encounters with the Beast Within
“This is a full-spectrum showcase of excellent strangeness, drawing on the full strengths of every type of imaginative literature at play in the culture today…What [these stories] all share in common is a penetrating glimpse of the animal we are, the jungle we inhabit, and the civilized species we’d like to hope we have become.”
—John Skipp, from the Introduction
Werewolves are on the minds of the creators of popular culture. With the Twilight series and the HBO hit True Blood, this obsession may seem like a trendy phase. However, werewolf and lycanthrope lore has been around for centuries, preoccupying the minds of people among nearly every culture and time period. Black Dog & Leventhal presents an animalistic, savagely complete anthology of some of the best werewolves and shapeshifting stories in the genre. You know you’re curious…just take a peek into the beast within with Werewolves.
What will you find inside? A mind-bending collection of thirty-two new and classic short stories from the best writers in the genre:
- The Company of Wolves by Angela Carter
- The Other Side by Count Stenbock
- The Lady on the Grey by John Collier
- Gabriel-Ernest by Saki
- The Shadow Over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft
- Grandfather Wolf by Steve Rasnic Tem
- Fire Dog by Joe R. Lansdale
- Pure Silver by A.C. Crispin and Kathleen O’Malley
- Gift Wrap by Charlaine Harris
- Side-Effects May Include by Steve Duffy
- Unless You Change by Francesca Lia Block
- Forgiven by Eric Shapiro
- The Cold that Flays the Skin by Tessa Gratton
- Il Donnaiolo by Brad C. Hodson
- Werewolf 101 by Mercedes M. Yardley
- Mandible by Alice Henderson
- Far and Wee by Kathe Koja
- Braids by Melanie Tem
- Not From Around Here by David J. Schow
- The Skin Trade by George R.R. Martin
- The Animal Aspect of Her Movement by Adam Golaski
- Strange Skin by Bentley Little
- Break-Up by Richard Christian Matheson
- The Better Half: A Love Story by Scott Bradley and Peter Giglio
- Plastic Fantastic by Dieter Meyer and Maxwell Hart
- Warm, In Your Coat by Violet Glaze
- All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Piggy Class by Nicole Cushing
- Howl of the Sheep by Cody Goodfellow
- Pieces of Ethan by Adam-Troy Castro
- I Covet All the Waning Hours by Zak Jarvis
- When Sussurus Stirs by Jeremy Robert Johnson
- War Pig by Carlton Mellick III
- Dissertation by Chuck Palahniuk
- Only the End of the World Again by Neil Gaiman
- Sweetheart Come by Alethea Kontis
Appendix A: On Werewolves: Historical Roots by Christopher Kampe and Anthony Gambol
Appendix B: It’s Only Natural: Werewolves and Shapeshifters in Popular Culture by John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow
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Witches: True Encounters with Wicca, Wizards, Covens, Cults, and Magick
Professor Hans Holzer (also the author of Ghosts) explores the myriad aspects and factions of witchcraft, taking you inside the covens and cults where the ancient rituals are practiced.
“…find a treasure trove of modern Pagan, Wiccan, and Magical history going back forty years. Professor Holzer…reports on what he has observed first-hand, and gleaned from interviews, among the several personalities and groups he has visited over a period spanning four decades; and all this graphically documented by nearly a hundred photographs.”
—Poke Runyon (Orange, CA)
Experience the secrets of the craft, learn spells and incantations, and read interviews and personal testimony from the foremost practitioners. Holzer not only provides the reader with the history of witchcraft, he puts it in context and sheds light on the subject as never before. Hundreds of photographs from the author’s own collection illuminate the subject and bring the rituals and rites of “the Craft” to life.
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Demons:
Encounters with the Devil and his Minions, Fallen Angels, and the Possessed
This mind-blowing anthology cracks open the lid on demonic lore, from the possessed to fallen angels and the Devil himself. Demons features 36 terrifying stories, ranging from timeless works by Poe and Lovecraft to soul-stirring gems by Neil Gaiman, Kim Harrison, and William Peter Blatty. It’s a wild mix of certified classics and original, certifiable classics-in-the-making. Demons is the most fun you’ll ever have with the forces of evil.
Taken from editor John Skipp’s inspirational introduction:
”This world, as I’m sure you already know, is a scorching hot potato of temptation and sin. We may not want to catch it, but if someone chucks it at us, odds are good that we’ll automatically reach right out, even though we know it’s gonna burn like crazy.
It’s as if we were perversely programmed to do the wrong thing, even though doing the right thing is often just as easy and makes a lot more sense.
Such is the comedy and horror of life. And, of course, I blame the demons. Don’t you?”
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“Whoever you are, however you see things—and whatever it is that you do or don’t believe—it is my hope that you will find a staggering abundance of profound, provocative, exciting, enlightening, horrific, hilarious, charming, and alarming stories herein, many of which will hit you right where you live.”
—John Skipp, from the Introduction
“Demons is a package full of dark treats for horror readers, beautifully wrapped in grim gray and adorned with a large black bow…” —Sheila M. Merritt, Hellnotes
“…From classic tales like The Monkeys Paw to new fiction by Bentley Little, there’s a little something for everyone in Demons. …A mandatory anthology for the helplessly hellbound.” —Ryan Daley, Goodreads
“John Skipp, who is the editor of both Zombies and Werewolves, provides fascinating insights in two essays that examine the history and details of demon lore, as well as its role in popular culture. Resources at the end of the book include lists of the best long-form fiction, movies, websites, and writers.” — Fisher, Horrorbooks.co
What’s inside? Take a look at the table of contents to get an idea…
- Cherub by Adam-Troy Castro
- The Devil by Guy de Maupassant
- The Book by Margaret Irwin
- The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
- The Hound by H.P. Lovecraft
- The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe
- The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet
- Nellthu by Anthony Boucher
- The Howling Man by Charles Beaumont
- The Exorcist (excerpt) by William Peter Blatty
- Hell by Richard Christian Matheson
- Empathy by John Skipp
- Visitation by David J. Schow
- Best Friends by Robert R. McCammon
- Into Whose Hands by Karl Edward Wagner
- Pilgrims to the Cathedral by Mark Arnold
- The Bespelled by Kim Harrison
- Non Quis, Sed Quid by Maggie Stiefvater
- Demon Girl by Athena Villaverde
- He Waits by K.H. Koehler
- Happy Hour by Laura Lee Bahr
- Staying the Night by Amelia Beamer
- Daisies and Demons by Mercedes M. Yardley
- And Love Shall Have No Dominion by Livia Llewellyn
- Mom by Bentley Little
- 20th-Level Chaotic Evil Rogue Seeks Whole Wide World to Conquer by Weston Ochse
- Consuela Hates a Vacuum by Cody Goodfellow
- Our Blood in Its Blind Circuit by J. David Osborne
- Empty Church by James Steele
- Angelology (excerpt) by Danielle Trussoni
- The Coda of Solomon by Nick Mamatas
- The Law of Resonance by Zak Jarvis
- Stupid Fucking Reason to Sell Your Soul by Carlton Mellick III
- Halt and Catch Fire by Violet LeVoit
- Scars in Progress by Brian Hodge
- The Unicorn Hunter by Alethea Kontis *(read the full story above!)*
- Other People by Neil Gaiman
Appendix A: Demonic Roots: On the History of the Devil by Christopher Kampe and Anthony Gambol
Appendix B: You Must Be Certain of the Devil: Demons in Popular Culture by John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow
