J S Le Fanu

A chilling crime disturbs the quiet of respectable society, setting in motion a tale of suspicion, obsession, and secrets long buried. As the shadow of guilt falls on a once-honored gentleman, the line between innocence and evil begins to blur, and the walls of reason close in with unsettling force. In this richly atmospheric novel, J. S. Le Fanu-pioneer of gothic mystery and psychological horror-weaves a haunting narrative of murder and madness. The story unfolds with slow-burning suspense, filled with eerie details, morally complex characters, and a sense of dread that creeps in like fog on a moonless night. All in the Dark is more than a detective tale-it is a journey into the darker chambers of the human soul. With its gripping plot and gothic tension, this lesser-known classic deserves its place alongside the greats of Victorian mystery fiction.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1865.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1865.

The very best of Le Fanu’s supernatural fiction, including such classics as: ‘Schalken the Painter’, ‘Squire Toby's Will’, ‘Mr Justice Harbottle’, ‘The Familiar’, ‘Green Tea’, ‘Madam Crowl’s Ghost’ and ‘The Murdered Cousin’, introduced by genre expert Michael Cox. ‘Sheridan Le Fanu,’ wrote S. M. Ellis in 1916, ‘retains his own special place and fame as the Master of Horror and the Mysterious.’ Today, Le Fanu’s reputation is as high as ever amongst connoisseurs of supernatural and mystery fiction and well deserves the enthusiastic praise lavished on him by some of the most accomplished ghost fiction writers of the twentieth century – including E. F. Benson and M. R. James. Born in 1814, the son of an Anglo-Irish Protestant clergyman, Le Fanu single-handedly created a new kind of fictional ghost story. Gone are the sheeted spooks rattling rusty chains and the peripatetic headless ladies that infest Gothic fiction. In their place Le Fanu created formidably real supernatural presences that emerge from within, as well as invade from without. Le Fanu was the first writer to explore seriously the psychological dimensions of the ghost story; at the same time he was adept at invoking the physical presence of supernatural malevolence. The world in which his characters move is a hostile one, his stories surrounded by an infinity of outer darkness. Private anguish undoubtedly underlies these public fictions. And yet Le Fanu’s stories – be they of ghosts or tales of mystery – are also of the good old-fashioned type, best enjoyed in the sort of setting he himself described – ‘the old-fashioned parlour fire-side and its listening circle of excited faces, and, outside, the wintry blast and the moan of leafless boughs . . .’

Before Dracula, before Twilight....there was only one: CARMILLALe Fanu's novella Carmilla originally published as a novella in 1872 is the very first vampire thriller and is acknowledged as a major influence on Bram Stoker's Dracula. Le Fanu, often compared to Poe, was a Victorian writer whose tales of the occult have inspired horror writers for more than a century. In this updated version has taken the original short story and seamlessly blended new characters, darker plot lines and scenes that approach the heights of gothic romance literature. Seemingly by happenstance, the mysterious and beautiful Carmilla comes to stay with the young and virtuous Laura, who has been living a lonely existence with her father in an isolated castle. As the two become close friends, however, Laura begins to dream of nocturnal visitations, blood soaked horrors and nameless terrors. By day she seems to waste away losing her physical strength. Through much investigation, the gruesome truth about Carmilla and her family is revealed. Though the basic premise of the story of evil targeting gentle innocence is familiar to anyone who is vampire savvy, this haunting tale is surprisingly fresh, avoids clich s and builds well to its heart stopping climax. Gothic horror at its best