The Parasite and Other Tales of Terror (Haunted Library of Horror Classics)

by Arthur Conan Doyle, Leslie S. Klinger (Editor), Eric J. Guignard (Editor), Daniel Stashower (Introduction)

Overview

Nine spine-tingling stories from the creator of Sherlock Holmes

Mournful cries in an ice-bound sea, a potion that allows the user to commune with ghosts, an Egyptian priest who cannot die, and a mesmerist of unrivaled power. Brace yourself for these and other chilling encounters in The Parasite and Other Tales of Terror. Even before he created Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle terrified and delighted readers with tales of suspense, haunted by mysterious forces that defy rational explanation. These stories capture the unique draw of the uncanny and the curiosity that compels us all to ask, "Could it be true?"

Presented by the Horror Writers Association, and introduced by award-winning author Daniel Stashower, this collection illuminates Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's talent for the macabre and the supernatural. The Parasite and the other stories in this collection showcase Conan Doyle at his most inventive, sure to entertain both new readers and his most dedicated fans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492699804
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	05/04/2021
Series:	Haunted Library of Horror Classics Series
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	363,243
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (May 22, 1859 - July 7, 1930) was a British writer who created the character Sherlock Holmes.

LESLIE S. KLINGER is the two-time Edgar® winning editor of New Annotated Sherlock Holmes and Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s. He has also edited two anthologies of classic mysteries and, with Laurie R. King, five anthologies of stories inspired by the Sherlock Holmes Canon. Klinger is the series editor of Library of Congress Crime Classics, a partnership of the Library of Congress and Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks. He is a former Chapter President of the SoCal Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America and lives in Malibu, California.

Date of Birth:

May 22, 1859

Date of Death:

July 7, 1930

Place of Birth:

Edinburgh, Scotland

Place of Death:

Crowborough, Sussex, England

Education:

Edinburgh University, B.M., 1881; M.D., 1885

Editorial Reviews

01/04/2021

The fifth release in the Horror Writer Association’s Haunted Library of Horror Classics series collects nine chilling shorts from Sherlock Holmes creator Doyle and serves as a remarkable reminder of the author’s dark imagination and influence on the horror genre. In the mystical title novelette, professor Austin Gilroy, a young skeptic, is swayed by the strange powers of a mesmerist. “The Mystery of Sasassa Valley” follows two Englishmen as they investigate rumors of a demon living in a South African valley. An injured soldier is protected by a mysterious black stone on a perilous sea voyage in “J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement,” and in “The Ring of Thoth” an Egyptologist gets trapped in the Louvre where he encounters a strange man who tells him an ancient story. Questionable depictions of African characters and a strain of Orientalism date the collection, but there’s no denying Doyle’s powerful storytelling abilities. Horror enthusiasts will delight in these classic tales of the macabre, and those primarily familiar with Doyle from his detective fiction will be fascinated to explore his darker side. (May)

Publishers Weekly