Damnable Tales: A Folk Horror Anthology

by Richard Wells (Editor), Sheridan Le Fanu (Contribution by), Edith Nesbit (Contribution by), Robert Louis Stevenson (Contribution by), Thomas Hardy (Contribution by)

Overview

These twenty-two stories take the reader into the isolated and untamed wilderness of unholy rights, witches’ curses, sinister village traditions and ancient horrors—with beautiful illustrations They stalk the moors at night, the deep forests, cornered fields and dusky churchyards, the narrow lanes and old ways of these ancient places, drawing upon the haunted landscapes of folk-horror… This richly illustrated anthology gathers together classic short stories from masters of supernatural fiction including Shirely Jackson, M. R. James, Edith Nesbit, Thomas Hardy, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sheridan Le Fanu and Arthur Machen, alongside lesser-known voices in the field including Eleanor Scott and Margery Lawrence, and popular writers less bound to the horror genre, such as Thomas Hardy and E. F. Benson. These are damnable tales, selected and beautifully illustrated by Richard Wells.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781800181823
Publisher:	Unbound
Publication date:	09/13/2022
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	134,709
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Richard Wells is an illustrator and graphic designer. He has provided graphic props for the likes of Poldark, Sherlock, Doctor Who, and the 2020 BBC adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Outside of his television work, he makes and sells his own darkly folkloric artwork, often lino cut and hand-printed. His recent work includes a series of prints based on the ghost stories of M.R. James. @Slippery_Jack

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/15/2022

Anthologies don’t get much better than this masterful assembly of 23 horror shorts, first published between 1872 and 1964. Wells spotlights some of the usual suspects—including M.R. James, Arthur Machen, and Algernon Blackwood—alongside relative unknowns like L.T.C. Rolt and Bernard Capes, producing a complete package that will delight and surprise genre fans. Every story combines evocative prose with genuine chills, facilitating belief in the supernatural by dint of carefully painted word-pictures, whether of a dream (as in “The Withered Arm” by Thomas Hardy), or an isolated landscape (in “Gavon’s Eve” by E.F. Benson). Edith Nesbit especially stands out with “Man-Size in Marble,” the tale of a tragic young couple, which opens with the tantalizing line, “Although every word of this story is as true as despair, I do not expect people to believe it.” This is a book that demands to be read aloud—perhaps on a darkening winter evening before a roaring fire. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Anthologies don’t get much better than this masterful assembly of 23 horror shorts, first published between 1872 and 1964…This is a book that demands to be read aloud—perhaps on a darkening winter evening before a roaring fire.” — STARRED review, Publishers Weekly 

"Wicked witches, bad fairies, and the restless dead be damned, for those who are looking to fill up their folk horror fiction shelves, Damnable Tales is a must-have." — Andy Paciorek, Horrified Magazine

"I had to keep pulling myself away from it so I didn’t finish it in one sitting . . . An incredible book." — Annie Kapur, Vocal Media

"An absolute treasure trove for fans of the genre." — Tom Templar, Astral Noize

"These are damnable tales, selected and beautifully illustrated by Richard Wells. They stalk the moors at night, the deep forests, cornered fields and dusky churchyards, the narrow lanes and old ways of these ancient places, drawing upon the haunted landscapes of folk-horror." — Kev Harrison, This Is Horror

From the Publisher