"A Hideous Bit of Morbidity"

Jason Colavito is also a frequent contributor to Skeptic magazine, and has earned praise from Archaeology magazine for his archaeology writing. He lives in Delmar, New York and can be found online at www.JasonColavito.com.

• Table of ContentsIntroduction      1A Note on the Text      111. FEAR, TERROR, AND THE SUPERNATURAL      On the Words for "Fear" in Certain Languages:A Study in Linguistic PsychologyAlex F. Chamberlain      13Excerpt from On the Sublime and BeautifulEdmund Burke      18On the Pleasure of Writing Dismal Stories,Exciting Surprize and HorrorDaniel Defoe      22Excerpt from "The Prodigal and His Brother"Frederick W. Robertson      25The Dread of the SupernaturalThe Spectator      Gothic HorrorLafcadio Hearn      312. THE GOTHICS AND THEIR SUCCESSORS      Excerpt from The Supernatural in Romantic FictionEdward Yardley      37Excerpt from "On Gothic Superstition"Nathan Drake      41Excerpt from a Review of Literary Hoursby Nathan Drake The Monthly Review      Introductory Dialogue to Tales of TerrorMatthew Lewis (attributed)      Excerpt from "The Revival of Romance"Walter Raleigh      53The School of TerrorThomas E. Rankin and Wilford M. Aikin      58Fiction in the Romantic MovementWilliam Allen Neilson      59Excerpt from "Mrs. Ann Radcliffe"Sir Walter Scott      60Excerpt from "Fragments of an Unpublished Manuscript"Adam Eagle (Fitz-James O'Brien)      Letter to William GodwinCharles Lamb      66Introduction to Ghost StoriesRudolph Ackermann      67A Tale for a Chimney-CornerLeigh Hunt      68Excerpt from "A Letter from Geneva"John Polidori      77Remarks on Frankenstein, or the Modern PrometheusSir Walter Scott      79Excerpt from a Review of Frankenstein; or, the Modern PrometheusJohn Croker      93Excerpt from a Review of Frankenstein; or, the Modern PrometheusThe Edinburgh Magazine and Literary Miscellany      Review of Presumption; or the Fate of FrankensteinThe London Magazine      Excerpt from "Mrs. Shelley"R. H. Horne      99Letter Denying Authorship of The VampireLord Byron      103Excerpt from "Ellis, Acton, and Currer Bell"Peter Bayne      1053. POE AND HIS SUCCESSORS      Excerpt from "Later German Romanticism"George H. Danton      108The Origins of Hawthorne andPaul Elmer More      110Edgar AllanRobert Chambers      122Excerpt from "Edgar Allan Poe"James Russell Lowell      126Review of The Raven and Other PoemsThe Knickerbocker      Poe: Lack of SubstanceW. C. Brownell      132Poe's Fixing of the Short-Story FormCharles Sears Baldwin      138Fitz-James O'BrienCharles Sears Baldwin      144Excerpt from "The Mid-Century in America"Henry Seidel Canby      145Maupassant andFrederic Rowland Marvin      148Advertisement for Tales of Soldiers and CiviliansAmerican Publishers      152Excerpt from "Ambrose Bierce: An Appraisal"Frederic Taber Cooper      152Bierce: Satire, Romance, PhilosophyEdwin Markham      158Table of Contents viiExcerpt from "The Short Story"Fred Lewis Pattee      160Excerpt from "Concerning Irvin Cobb"The Bookman      4. MONSTERS OF THE GILDED AGE      The Physiology of "Penny Awfuls"The London Hermit (Walter Parke)      164Review of The Purcell Papers by J. Sheridan Le FanuThe Saturday Review      Excerpt from "Concerning Tea"E. V. Lucas      183Excerpt from "The New Gallery"J. Charles Cox      185The Religion of Robert Louis StevensonW. J. Dawson      187Review of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeThe Dublin Review      Excerpt from "Novelists' Law"Alfred Bailey      195The SecretThe New York Herald Tribune      Excerpt from "Richard Mansfield"William Henry Frost      199Excerpt from "R. L. Stevenson"Richard Le Gallienne      200Excerpt from "Our Library List"Murray's Magazine      Review of DraculaBaron de Book-Worms      201Supped Full with HorrorsCharles F. Lummis      202Review of DraculaThe Literary World      Excerpt from "Open Questions:Talks with Correspondents"Current Literature      Excerpt from Human SexualityJ. Richardson Parke      205Letter to Julian HawthorneEdmund Clarence Stedman      206Excerpt from Modern VampirismA. Osborne Eaves      207FrankensteinThe Bookman      5. FIN DE SIÈCLE SCIENCE, DETECTION, AND TERROR      Excerpt from "Fictions of the Future"The Dublin Review      Review of The Island of Dr      MoreauThe Baron de Book-Worms      211Review of The InvisibleWilliam Morton Payne      214Excerpt from "Love, War and Pseudo-science"William Lyon Phelps      215Mr. Wells's War of the WorldsClement Shorter      215Review of The War of the WorldsWilliam Morton Payne      218Excerpt from The Technique of the Mystery StoryCarolyn Wells      219Review of My Friend the MurdererThe Literary World      Excerpt from "Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles"Arthur Bartlett Maurice      221Curiosity and Horror in the TheatreArthur Bingham Walkley      223Review of The Three ImpostersThe Bookman      Review of The Great GodRichard Henry Stoddard      228The Gospel of IntensityHarry Quilter      230Excerpt from "Oscar Wilde"A. Edward Newton      255Art and LuxuryRamiro de Maetzu      2576. GHOSTS AND KINDRED HORRORS      Excerpt from "A Study of Individual Psychology"Caroline Miles      265The Value of the Supernatural in FictionLafcadio Hearn      267Some Japanese Bogie-BooksAndrew Lang      279Ghost StoriesW. F. Dawson      292Excerpt from "Books of the Christmas Season"Noah Brooks      294Two Volumes from Henry JamesHenry Wysham Lanier      295Excerpt from "Gillette"Amy Leslie      297Excerpt from "Chronicle and Comment"The Bookman      Review of The King in YellowThe Literary World      Review of The Wind in the Rose BushThe Literary World      Mr. Morris's "The Footprint"Ward Clark      301Algernon Blackwood-An AppreciationGrace Isabel Colbron      303Robert HichensFrederic Taber Cooper      307The CreepsH. D. Traill      324The Decay of the Ghost in FictionOlivia Howard Dunbar      3297. TOWARD A HORROR GENRE      The Supernatural in FictionAndrew Lang      337The Abuse of the Supernatural in FictionEdmund Gosse      342Review of The Supernatural in Modern English FictionMontague Summers      350Excerpt from The Supernatural in Modern English FictionDorothy Scarborough      356Appendix: Timeline of Major Works of Horror      Index

“delightful...cleverly related illustrations...the volume complements rather than duplicating existing resources on the field. I hope a companion volume covering the more recent era will be forthcoming”—Science Fiction Studies; “a veritable feast...nicely produced”—SF Site.