The Nightmare Reader

Aleister Crowley (/ˈkroʊli/; born Edward Alexander Crowley) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Æon of Horus in the early 20th century. A prolific writer, he published widely over the course of his life. ---Wikipedia

Born and brought up in England during the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods, Algernon Henry Blackwood spent his early adult life in a variety of occupations in Canada and the U.S.A. before returning to England (Wikipedia). He was a lifelong bachelor. His fascination with the supernatural and mysticism was reflected in many of his writings, which influenced numerous 20th century science fiction and fantasy writers.

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist.

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke CBE FRAS was a British science fiction writer, science writer and futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He is famous for being co-writer of the screenplay for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, widely considered to be one of the most influential films of all time. Clarke was a science writer, who was both an avid populariser of space travel and a futurist of uncanny ability. On these subjects he wrote over a dozen books and many essays,...

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle KStJ, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a Scottish writer and physician, most noted for creating the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and writing stories about him which are generally considered milestones in the field of crime fiction. He is also known for writing the fictional adventures of a second character he invented, Professor Challenger, and for popularising the mystery of the Mary Celeste. He was a prolific writer whose other works include fantasy an...

Arthur Machen is a writer whose work often explores the strange and the uncanny. His Antología de la literatura fantástica showcases his interest in the fantastic and the supernatural. If you enjoy tales that hint at hidden worlds, you'll find much to appreciate here.

American writer and anthologist

C.F. Hoffman is the author of The Nightmare Reader, a collection that explores the darker corners of the human psyche. If you enjoy unsettling stories that linger long after you've turned the page, you'll want to pick this up.

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.[1] He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in...

An English politician, poet, playwright, and prolific novelist. He was immensely popular with the reading public and wrote a stream of bestselling novels which earned him a considerable fortune. He coined the phrases "the great unwashed", "pursuit of the almighty dollar", "the pen is mightier than the sword", and that famous opening line, "it was a dark and stormy night."

Herbert George Wells was an English author, best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Lovecraft spent most of his life in New England. After his father's institutionalization in 1893, he lived affluently until his family's wealth dissipated after the death of his grandfather. He then lived with his mother, in reduced financial security, until her institutionalization in 1919. He began to write essays for the United Amateur Press Association, and in 1913 wrote a critical letter to a pulp magazine that ultimately led to his involvement in pulp fi...

John Gawsworth is the author behind the chilling collection, The Nightmare Reader. He's a writer who knows how to craft a good scare, specializing in tales that will keep you up at night. If you enjoy dark fantasy and horror, his work is definitely worth checking out.

Lafcadio Hearn was a writer who explored the darker side of human experience. His collection, "Bodies of the Dead and Other Great American Ghost Stories," showcases his talent for chilling tales. He's a go-to for anyone who enjoys a good ghost story.

Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett was born in Ireland, the first son of John William Plunkett, 17th Baron of Dunsany and Ernle Elizabeth Louisa Maria Grosvenor Ernle-Erle-Drax. He spent his childhood at several family properties, including Dunstall Priory in Shoreham, Kent, Dunsany Castle in County Meath, as wells as other family homes such as in London. His schooling was at Cheam, Eton and finally Sandhurst, which he entered in 1896. He became the 18th Baron of Dunsany when his father died in 1...

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus (1818). She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin, and her mother was the philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. ([Source][1].) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_...

Matthew Gregory Lewis (9 July 1775 – 14 or 16 May 1818)[1] was an English novelist and dramatist, whose writings are often classified as "Gothic horror". He was frequently referred to as "Monk" Lewis, because of the success of his 1796 Gothic novel, The Monk. He also worked as a diplomat, politician, and an estate owner in Jamaica. Source: [Matthew Lewis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Gregory_Lewis) on Wikipedia.

Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–18), and of Eton College (1918–36). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (1913–15). Though James's work as a medievalist and scholar is still highly regarded, he is best remembered for his ghost stories, which some regard as among the best in the genre. James redefined the ghost story for the new century by abandoning many of the forma...

English author and clergyman. He is known primarily for his scholarly work on the English drama of the 17th century, as well as for his studies on witches, vampires, and werewolves.

Peter Haining wrote Dead of Night, a chilling collection of supernatural tales. He's a writer you'll want to check out if you enjoy spine-tingling horror.

Ray Bradbury is one of those rare individuals whose writing has changed the way people think. His more than five hundred published works -- short stories, novels, plays, screenplays, television scripts, and verse -- exemplify the American imagination at its most creative. Once read, his words are never forgotten. His best-known and most beloved books, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes, are masterworks that readers carry wi...

Robert Albert Bloch was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of German-Jewish Americans. During the 1930s, he was an avid reader of Weird Tales magazine and H. P. Lovecraft in particular. He wrote to Lovecraft, who responded with advice on writing, and Bloch sold his first published short story, "The Feast in the Abbey" to Weird Tales when he was just seventeen. He continued to write for Weird Tales and went on to become one of its most popular authors, while also contributing to other magazine...

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (28 August 1814 – 7 February 1873), best known as Sheridan Le Fanu, was an Irish writer of Gothic tales, mystery novels, and horror fiction. He was a leading ghost story writer of the nineteenth century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. M. R. James described Le Fanu as "absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories". Three of his best-known works are Uncle Silas, Carmilla, and The House by the Churchyard. **S...

An English essayist, best known for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (Wikipedia).

American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent" (Wikipedia).

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (née Hahn von Rottenstern), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian and American mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international following as the leading theoretician of Theosophy.