A lavishly illustrated collector's edition containing all the supernatural tales ever written by M.R. James, the undisputed father of the modern ghost story. 'James is clearly the best that's ever been' MARK GATISS M.R. James is one of the finest authors of supernatural fiction in the English language and revered as the father of the modern English ghost story. Many of his stories were originally written as Christmas entertainments and were read aloud by the author to selected gatherings of friends. 'There are all sorts of writers of all sorts of nightmares, but M.R. James wrote the best ghost stories. He may well have created the ghost story in its current form. Nobody can do what he did as well as he could' NEIL GAIMAN Authorised by the writer's estate, Curious Warnings: The Complete Ghost Stories is the only volume that collects together all of James' much-loved supernatural tales - including the classics, 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad', 'A Warning to the Curious' and 'Canon Alberic's Scrapbook' - together with his novel The Five Jars, story fragments, essays and poetry. Illustrated by award-winning artist Les Edwards and featuring an extensive historical Afterword by editor Stephen Jones, this is the ultimate collection for fans of M.R. James and the classic British ghost story.

"Look," Kevin said. He pointed up the great dark face of the back of the lodge... "There's our room." Just then, though, the boys flinched. Several small, barely seen shapes seemed to flutter past their faces. "What was-" "-that?" Kevin finished. A faint chittery sound squeaked above them, rapid and whispery. Then the shapes fluttered past a second time. "Are those... birds?" Jimmy asked. "No," Kevin finally realized. "They're bats " "Run " Jimmy shouted. And they ran, alright. They ran as fast as they could... But before they could make it completely out of the darkness, and with the circles of bats still squeaking above their heads- A tall, dark figure quickly stepped out in front of them, blocking their way... --- When Kevin and his family visit his Aunt Carolyn, unusual things begin to happen, some of them downright creepy. And come to think of it, Aunt Carolyn is a bit creepy herself. She's pale, thin, always wears black, and... Why has Kevin never seen her in daylight? She lives in an old hunting lodge way back in the woods, and the lodge is full of locked doors, dark hallways, and secret passages: a perfect place...for a vampire. And when the darkness falls and the shadows thicken, Kevin learns more about his aunt and her gloomy mansion in the woods. And he hears the strangest sounds at night. Why are so many bats seen around the lodge? Why is the grumpy groundskeeper digging around the back yard late in the wee hours? And was that really a coffin he saw in the basement through the crack in the door? When Kevin finally learns the answers to these questions, he's left with no choice but to admit the truth: Vampires do exist, and his Aunt Carolyn isn't the only bloodsucker in the house Join Kevin, his family, and creepy Aunt Carolyn as the secret in the basement is finally revealed

What was THAT? Terri heard a loud cracking sound coming from the open window. It's coming from... the lake, she realized with a chill. The room was completely silent now. The steady, throbbing nightsounds had stopped the instant she'd heard the cracking, almost as if all those crickets and peepers had gotten scared from the noise and fell silent. And then- Ka-CRACK She heard it again. And... SPLASH Something had fallen into the lake, something that was very, very... big. It's nothing, Terri, she kept telling herself. Nothing to be afraid of. It was probably just a tree branch breaking off and falling in the water. Yeah, she thought sleepily, her eyes growing heavy. Just a tree branch... falling... in the water... And a moment later, Terri fell fast asleep... She never heard the next sound that sailed out of the woods... A scream. --- Terri is looking forward to spending the summer with her new friend, Patricia. Hot lazy days ahead... That is until one night Terri looks out her window and sees something moving across her lawn. Something big. Something...scary. Soon Terri finds herself on an adventure to discover what exactly she saw disappear into the woods behind her house. But she quickly realizes that the adventure will take her beyond the woods, to somewhere Terri has been forbidden to go. Down to the water... Down to...the lake. Terri is in a race against time as everyone around her starts to change: her mother, her uncle, her new best friend. She has to save them. But to do so she must head back to the old boathouse and unlock the secrets to the lake and it's horrible creatures. Creatures she thought could never exist... Monsters