First published 2017
This collection brings together four masters of supernatural fiction in tales that explore the darkest corners of human experience. Blackwood's "The Wendigo" follows hunters in the Canadian wilderness as they encounter an ancient cannibalistic spirit. Hogg's "Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner" presents Robert Wringhim, a young Calvinist who believes he is predestined for salvation and begins committing murders under the influence of a mysterious companion. Jacobs delivers "The Monkey's Paw," where the White family discovers their magical talisman grants wishes at a terrible price. Irving rounds out the volume with "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," as schoolmaster Ichabod Crane courts Katrina Van Tassel while the Headless Horseman stalks the Dutch settlement. Each story examines how ordinary people confront forces beyond their understanding, whether supernatural entities, psychological manipulation, or their own deepest fears.
Genres: short-stories, 20th-century, mystery, horror, supernatural, 19th-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, psychological-manipulation, supernatural-forces
Setting: Canada, Dutch Settlement, Sleepy Hollow
Period: 19th-Century
242 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Content warnings: violence