Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

“[This] series of Christmas ghost stories, miniature books chosen and illustrated by the cartoonist Seth … [offers] chills—and charm.�—New York Times Book Review World-renowned cartoonist Seth returns with three new ghost stories for 2023. Maitland returns to his ancestral estate after having lived a largely solitary life. He soon finds himself increasingly obsessed with the magnificent field of poppies surrounding his home, as well as the man harvesting them. 

Christmas Eve. While the world sleeps, snow falls gently from the sky, presents await under the tree ... and murder is afoot. In this collection of ten classic murder mysteries from the best crime writers in history, death and mayhem take many festive forms, from the inventive to the unexpected. From a Santa Claus with a grudge to a cat who knows who killed its owner on Christmas Eve, these are stories to enjoy - and be mystified by - in front of a roaring fire, mince pie to hand.

Black Magic begins with this ominous first line: 'In the large room of a house in a certain quiet city in Flanders, a man was guilding a devil'. That person is Dirk Renswoude, a craftsman and loner of noble birth who has been mistreated in some unspecified way by his family. He meets Thierry, a young scholar on his way to study at the university at Basle and they soon discover that they have a shared fascination with the black arts. However, Thierry is initially cautious and afraid of blasphemy, whilst Dirk is ambitious to be "as great as the Master we serve can make his followers" and thirst for power. Dirk leads them on to experiments with mystic circles drawn on the floor in chalk, the chanting of arcane incantations and the evocation of grotesque, demonic visions writhing in the speculum. Thierry still wavers, but when their experiments lead to murder the die is cast for both of them. One of the best gothic novels ever written!

An antique collector hears of an ancient woman with a large collection of china. Hoping to complete a particular set, the collector pays a visit to the woman's ramshackle house, where she makes a terrifying discovery. This 1933 story confirmed Marjorie Bowen as one of our best ghost story writers.