A selection of 16 short stories by William Wymark Jacobs, best known for his sea stories. His knowledge of wharves and sailors gave him a background used in many of his most famous works, including such classics of horror and the macabre as "The Monkey's Paw."

The perils of ambition lie at the heart of this double-bill of supernatural tales. In The Monkey's Paw a family is granted three wishes, all of which come true but in a macabre and unexpected way. In The Dark a successful and ambitious novelist meets his Mephistopheles and is dispatched to a sinister fate.1 woman, 4 men

One of the greatest supernatural stories ever told, The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs has enthralled and captivated audiences since it was first published.

Considered one of the foremost humorists in England at the turn of the century, W. W. Jacobs (1863-1943) is best known for his masterpiece of horror, ""The Monkey's Paw."" He was the author of thirteen volumes of short stories-all of which were commercially successful-and eighteen of these are included together for the first time in this gripping collection of horror fiction.This book features Gothic narratives, stories of the macabre and supernatural tales. But they are also infused with shrewd and sardonic humor, for which Jacobs was justifiably famous. They demonstrate vividly his masterful instinct for weaving terror and suspense into scenes of ordinary everyday life. His boyhood memories of the South Devon Wharf lend authenticity to the many stories with nautical backgrounds or that feature seamen as protagonists.Because of its immense popularity, ""The Monkey's Paw"" has tended to overshadow a good deal of Jacobs' other work, and it is undoubtedly the most readily recognized and by far the most anthologized story in the collection. But readers will be delighted to know that Jacobs' craftmanship is abundantly apparent in many of his other tales, as they will discover in this new volume. Horror and mystery aficionados will be intrigued and delighted by his range of skillful and witty prose; and they will at last come to appreciate a writer whose other work has been for so long ""lost"" to the general public.

Attractively designed and illustrated by well-known cartoonist Seth (creator of several New Yorker covers, graphic novels, etc.) Small trim size and inexpensive price = perfect for register display Attractive Seth-designed display for books ideal for register placement Similar series of Xmas Ghost Stories by Galley Beggar Press have sold 30,000+ in UK Canadian "trial run" of books showed approx. 1,000 copies sold of each book, even as a drop-in title sold into stores in late November w/o register placement VERY STRONG response from media looking for "feel good" holiday news stories. Multiple angles: 1) reviving old tradition, 2) novel and appealingly counter-intuitive take on Christmas as a spooky time of year, 3) Seth well-known and respected, and does great interviews 4) perfect for quirky gift guides = THIS SERIES WILL CONTINUE TO GET HUGE ATTENTION FROM THE MEDIA AS AWARENESS SPREADS!!! Potential marketing to specialty shops, incl. comic book stores, Christmas gift stores Last December opened with an endorsement from actor Patton Oswalt on Twitter and closed with a capsule review by John Williams in the New York Times. Great start for a first year, and we expect the second to be even better!