The Gothic Terror MEGAPACK ™: 17 Classic Tales Read online

  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

  The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series

  A CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF A TYRONE FAMILY, by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

  JACK LONG; OR, THE SHOT IN THE EYE, by Charles Wilkins Webber

  MASTER SACRISTAN EBERHART, by Sabine Baring-Gould

  CURIOUS IF TRUE, by Elizabeth Gaskell

  SELINA SEDILIA, by Bret Harte

  THE ROMANCE OF CERTAIN OLD CLOTHES, by Henry James

  JEAN-AH POQUELIN, by John Washington Cable

  OLALLA, by Robert Louis Stevenson

  BARBARA OF THE HOUSE OF GREBE, by Thomas Hardy

  THE YELLOW WALLPAPER, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

  HURST OF HURSTCOTE, by E. Nesbit

  THE DEAD VALLEY, by Ralph Adams Cram

  THE STRIDING PLACE, by Gertrude Atherton

  THE DEAD SMILE, by F. Marion Crawford

  A VINE ON A HOUSE, by Ambrose Bierce

  THE OLD ENGLISH BARON, by Clara Reeve (Part 1)

  THE OLD ENGLISH BARON, by Clara Reeve (Part 2)

  THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO, by Ann Radcliffe (Part 1)

  THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO, by Ann Radcliffe (Part 2)

  THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO, by Ann Radcliffe (Part 3)

  THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO, by Ann Radcliffe (Part 4)

  THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO, by Ann Radcliffe (Part 5)

  THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO, by Ann Radcliffe (Part 6)

  THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO, by Ann Radcliffe (Part 7)

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Gothic Terror MEGAPACK™ is copyright © 2015 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover art by Olbor / Fotolia.

  * * * *

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series name is a trademark of Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  “A Chapter in the History of a Tyrone Family,” by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, originally appeared in Dublin University Magazine, 1839.

  “Jack Long; or, The Shot in the Eye,” by Charles Wilkins Webber, is taken from Tales of the Southern Border (1853).

  “Master Sacristan Eberhart,” by Sabine Baring-Gould, originally appeared in the Hurst Johnian, December, 1858.

  “Curious If True,”by Elizabeth Gaskell, was originally published in 1860.

  “Selina Sedilia,” by Bret Harte, originally appeared (attributed “by Miss M. E. B—dd—n and Mrs. H—n—y W—d”) in The Californian, August 1865.

  “Barbara of the House of Grebe,” by Thomas Hardy, originally appeared in The Graphic, December 1890.

  “Jean-Ah Poquelin,” by John Washington Cable, originally appeared in Scribner’s Monthly, May 1875.

  “Olalla,” by Robert Louis Stevenson, originally appeared in Court and Society Review, Christmas 1885.

  “The Romance of Old Clothes,” by Henry James, originally appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, February 1868.

  “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, originally appeared in New England Magazine, January 1892.

  “Hurst of Hurstcote,” by E. Nesbit, originally appeared in Temple Bar, June 1893.

  “The Dead Valley,” by Ralph Adams Cram, originally appeared in Black Spirits and White: a Book of Ghost Stories (1895).

  “The Striding Place,” by Gertrude Atherton, originally appeared in The Speaker, 1896.

  “The Dead Smile,” by F. Marion Crawford, originally appeared in Ainslee’s Magazine, August 1899.

  “A Vine on a House,” by Ambrose Bierce, was originally published in Cosmopolitan Magazine, October 1905.

  “The Old English Baron,” by Clara Reeve, was originally published in 1778.

  The Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe, was originally published in 1794.

  A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

  We are delighted to present a new collection of 17 classic Gothic tales in The Gothic Terror MEGAPACK™. These works range from both the early and late Gothic periods and are drawn from the English and American Gothic movements. Here you will find murder, insanity, scandal, obsession, secrets, and gloom…and even the occasional ghost.

  We have attempted a rough chronological order for the presentation, alternating between the two geographical movements. Of particular note is “Jack Long; or the Shot in the Eye” by Charles Wilkins Webber, from his 1853 collection Tales from the Southern Border, a story much admired by Edgar Allan Poe. For those with a sense of self-deprecation we have included “Selina Sedilia” by Bret Harte, his 1865 ultra-condensed parody of Gothic novels. As a bonus, we have also included two early Gothic novels in their entirety: The Old English Baron (aka “The Champion of Virtue”) (1778) by Clara Reeve (“a major influence on the development of Gothic fiction”—Oxford’s World Classics) and The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) by Ann Radcliffe, often considered the archetypal Gothic novel.

  We hope you enjoy these stories filled with “much of madness and more of sin/and horror the soul of the plot” and will look into our other fine offerings, including the soon to come The Second Gothic Terror MEGAPACK™.

  —Shawn M. Garrett

  Associate Editor, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  ABOUT THE SERIES

  Over the last few years, our MEGAPACK™ ebook series has grown to be our most popular endeavor. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Shawn Garrett, Helen McGee, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)

  RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?

  Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the MEGAPACK™ ebook series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).

  Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.

  TYPOS

  Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.

  If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at [email protected] or use the message boards above.

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