Early literary critics feared Gothic's potential to corrupt youth, inspire deviant sexuality, instill heretical beliefs, and encourage antisocial violence. This book examines Gothic and horror fictions over the last three centuries, from their literary foundations to the influence on modern popular culture. Topics covered include homosexuality, interest in paranormal research, and violent school shootings -- Provided by publisher.

When Megan met Carter Anderson at Harvard, their college romance took a mystical turn thanks to The Alchemy of Will. This book by Dr. Allen Fincher gave them the power to do almost anything, but with disastrous results. Years later, their six-year-old daughter, Caitlin, is dying a slow death from bone cancer. Dr. Fincher's book offers them a cure: they can save the life of their first-born by sacrificing the life of their second. But Megan and Carter don't have a second-born... yet. Only half-convinced, Megan, confined to their New York apartment, begins nine months of hell, and she and Carter enter a spiral that consumes more lives than they could have ever conceived. Ranging from domestic terror to all-out supernatural horror that flecks the American east coast with mangled bodies, Descending Lines takes a gut-wrenching question--how far would you go to save your child?--and turns it into a fast-paced journey to places where even nightmares fear to tread. Descending Lines: The only way out is down.

Frankenstein is arguably the most famous horror story ever told, written by Mary Shelley when she was just nineteen. That book explored ideas of creation, rebellion, terror, arrogance, mortality, immortality, and more. Today's most talented authors build upon the original themes and topics to present new ghastly fiction based on many of the various aspects of the original Frankenstein story. But there was a catch to the assignment -- each story could only be four pages long. Enjoy these tales, which have been distilled down to their very essence for your horrific pleasure.

Burning the Middle Ground is a dark fantasy about small-town America that transforms readers' fears about the country's direction into a haunting tale of religious conspiracy and supernatural mind control. A character-driven sensibility like Stephen King's and a flair for the bizarre like Bentley Little's delivers as much appeal for dedicated fans of fantasy and horror as for mainstream readers looking for an exciting ride. Brian McCullough comes home from school and discovers that his ten-year-old sister Fran has murdered their parents. Five years later, a journalist, Ronald Glassner, finds Brian living at the same house in the small town of Kenning, Georgia. Planning a book on the McCullough Tragedy, Ronald stumbles into a struggle between Kenning's First Church, run by the mysterious Reverend Michael Cox, and the New Church, run by the rebellious Jeanne Harper. At the same time, Kenning's pets go berserk, and dead bodies, with the eyes and tongues removed from their heads, begin to appear.

Reimagine the fairy tales of your youth through nine of the most creative authors writing today See Rose Red and Snow White through the eyes of Jason S. Walters in an intriguing new telling of the age old tale. Feel the bone-chilling "Kindertotenlieder" by horror writer L. Andrew Cooper. Have you wondered what happens "After Ever?" Experience a vision from the brilliant writing of William I. Levy. Come back to reality for a moment in a crime thriller by Christopher Kokoski that will leave you in awe, scratching the "Hair of Your Chinny-Chin-Chin." The Ugly Duckling will never look quite the same after reading "Free to Be Donnie Kinnaird" by the astonishing Michael Williams. The Big Bad Wolf comes alive in the Brad Parnell's "The Girl in the Red Hood." Go on the adventure of Hans and Grace through the unique styling of Georgia L. Jones. Wish yourself into another dimension with "Genie in the Bottle" by Bryan and Wendy Schardein. These boots are made for walking into an unusual realm in the graceful musings of "Puss in Boots" by G. L. Giles. Whether your favorite is a fairy tale by Robert Browning, the Grimm Brothers, Giovanni Francesco Straparola, or Hans Christian Andersen, you are sure to have your imagination run wild with each story in Imagination Reimagined.