v. 2

In this book-length essay, the undisputed Master of Cosmic Horror gives an intense and often penetrating examination of the place of the macabre and the supernatural in the literary canon, beginning with a history of the Gothic novel, and taking us through the various works of Poe, Bierce, Bram Stoker, F. Marion Crawford, and other classic wordsmiths of the otherworldly and weird. An erudite examination of the psychology of dread, this small classic is presented here for the edification and delectation of modern revelers in the morbid and macabre. For those who like to dream their nightmares wide awake, this little book is lovingly dedicated.