Washington Irving was an 18th century American short story writer, historian, and diplomat. He was born into a merchant family of Scottish/English descent and was the youngest of 11 children. Irving was one of the first American writers to become popular in Europe. He was admired by some of the best-known British writers, including Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, and Walter Scott. 

First published in 1843, it tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a mean and unpleasant man who dislikes people generally and Christmas especially. One Christmas Eve he is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come and given a glimpse of the many homes and lives which Scrooge has touched in his wretched life to date. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man. 

Educated in Lebanon, United States, and France, Gibran was influenced by the European modernists of the late 19th century, but even more by Francis Marrash, who introduced poetic prose and prose poetry in the Arab world. Gibran's style of writing and ideas he wrote about are believed to have been greatly influenced by Marrash, particularly the concept of universal love.

A Tale of Two Cities is a historical fiction first published in weekly installments in 1859. The plot takes place in London and Paris between 1775 and 1792. Eighteenth-century France and England are both ruled by fear and oppression. The upper classes live in luxury while common people suffer and starve. However, there is a difference. The novel starts with the words, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," and we soon learn of the major difference between the two countries. Enjoy this timeless classic!

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in Graham's Magazine in 1841. It has been claimed as the first detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination".

Shakespeare writes about the plight of Romeo and Juliet with a lot of empathy and views their tragedy as a result of bad fate, rather than a problem with their characters. We sense from the very start that their relationship is doomed. Romeo and Juliet are portrayed as sincere and virtuous young people who are madly in love, but because of the feud between their families, their relationship has to end. As they won't even consider a separation, the only way out of the situation they find themselves in is by taking their own lives.

Dead Clown Barbecue is a collection of 29 gleefully macabre tales, seven of which were written just for this collection. There’s even a brand-new one about a ventriloquist dummy. Those things creep you out, right?  

One of the preeminent writers of weird fiction, Robert Aickman is celebrated for his unsettling and often ambiguous "strange stories", but he once wrote that "those, if any, who wish to know more about me, should plunge beneath the frivolous surface of The Late Breakfasters," his only novel, originally published in 1964.

Horror movie starlet Clarissa Lee is beautiful, internationally known, and completely broke. To cap off years of questionable financial and personal decisions, Clarissa accepts an invitation to participate in a "fully immersive" fan convention. She arrives at an off-season summer camp and finds what was supposed to be a quick buck has become a real-life slasher movie.

Sabrina Daley is still haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her sister 10 years before. Even though the case went cold long ago, she keeps holding out hope that one day she will discover what happened to her sister. Sabrina's life is turned upside down again when she discovers her friend's dead body in the alley way behind her family's coffee shop. If that isn't bad enough, after a week of investigating, the local police appear to be stumped. Terrified about a second case going cold in town, Sabrina decides to take matters into her own hands.

Hailed by critic E. F. Bleiler as a "landmark book in the history of fantasy," Mervyn Wall's classic The Unfortunate Fursey (1946) is set in 10th century Ireland, where the forces of evil have launched an assault on the monastery of Clonmacnoise. Their task is made easier by the fact that one hapless monk, the simple-minded Brother Fursey, cannot manage to pronounce the necessary words of exorcism.

One of the great pulp writers, Fredric Brown (1906-1972) combined a flair for the horrific, a quirky sense of humor, and a wild imagination, and published many classic novels in the mystery and science fiction genres. But he was also a master of the "short-short story", tales only a page or two in length, but hard-hitting and with a wicked twist at the end.

Bob Duke dreamed of becoming a wolf. Of running free on four strong legs. Howling. Stalking. Living with nature, in nature. Then his dream came true - and threatened to become a nightmare. Bob's wife and son vow to restore his humanity. But even if then can find him - a man-wolf loose in the concrete forests of Manhattan - will he even want to become human again? Once set free, no cage can hold back...the wild.

 The shipwrecked Edward Prendick is rescued by the passing ship Ipecacuanha, which is carrying a cargo of animals. On board he comes across Montgomery, who appears to have a grotesque servant named M'ling. They are put ashore onto an island that is owned by Dr. Moreau, formerly an eminent physiologist, who is known for his infamous experiments in vivisection.  

Thousands upon thousands of cats crazed with bloodlust. All over the vast city it was happening, and no one seemed able to stop them - the police, the army, the scientists. And cat after cat was infected by the ferocious fever that, for the first time, made them the masters of man....