Visitors from other planets have long obsessed us. H.G. Wells' War of Worlds spawned a huge wave of speculative fiction but the roots of such fears run deep in our literature, where the mysteries of other cultures have long threatened the familiar and the comfortable. Did aliens build the ancient pyramids? do they live amongst us today? what happens when they invade? And are they just the people from the next valley? or country? or planet? Would it be an inevitable act of aggression, one of assistance and care, or simply a reminder of our paltry existence in a crowded universe? Flame Tree's successful Gothic Fantasy series brings a brilliant new mix of classic and new writing, in this beautiful edition. These new authors appear alongside the following classic and essential writers: George Tomkyns Chesney, George Allan England, Austin Hall, H.P. Lovecraft, A. Merritt, Robert Potter, Garrett P. Serviss, Jonathan Swift, Voltaire, H.G. Wells; along with text from The Taking of Ireland (retold tales from The Book of Invasions).

Two young seekers looking for knowledge in the City of Answers come perilously close to dying for truth. A woman fighting to remain sane in the face of insanity finds the cure is worse than the disease and the end doesn't always justify the means. In two stories of sacrifice, one woman learns just how hard change is and that progress comes at a price, and a young couple have to decide if the good of the many truly outweighs the good of the few - or the family. And in the title story, a group of friends learn just what's behind the locked door that offers questionable refuge from the rain. In this collection of six urban horror stories, award-winning author Jennifer Rachel Baumer looks at the horror found within cities - and within the people inside them.

Ghosts of the Dead Ghosts of the Living A woman on the run from an abusive marriage stumbles over gravestones for the living and renews her journey to reclaiming her lost life. A serial killer prowls the night-dark highways, collecting souls of the living and the dead. A misjudgement in cultural etiquette nearly spells doom for a young bride at the hands of her angry mother-in-law. A portal between life and death disguised as a bathroom mirror leads an unhappy wife on a new journey. A family history that foretells the future is practically writing itself. A drifter on the run from events he can't quite remember takes questionable refuge with a modern-day Dorian Gray. In this collection of six ghostly tales, award-winning author Jennifer Rachel Baumer takes a journey into unnamed and unknown cities and the surreal darkness within them.

A lonely woman in a surreal city haunts her own life. A new house in a new neighborhood reveals its ghastly secrets. And the grimoire discovered in the local used bookstore proves to be more than just a curiosity. How clear is the line between life and death - or between the living and the dead? What happens at the Renaissance Fair when death in the form of the Danse Macabre doesn't pass by? In this collection of nine haunting tales, award-winning author Jennifer Rachel Baumer reveals secrets of the dead and the ghosts of the living.