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Product Description
Product Description
In this rich collection of thirteen macabre tales, Bram Stoker, creator of the Gothic masterpiece, Dracula, and one of the greatest exponents of the supernatural narrative, presents us with a weird and chilling variety of unsettling stories. Stoker's dramatic scenarios, from the opening tale of vampires, Dracula's Guest, which was omitted from the final version of Dracula, will thrill and engage the modern reader. In these pages you will encounter the devilishly dangerous haunted room in The Judge's House, the fatalistic tragedy in The Burial of the Rats, the terror of revenge from beyond the grave in The Secret of Growing Gold and the surprising twist in the tail in The Gypsy's Prophecy, amongst other strange and frightening episodes. This unique collection of Stoker's short fiction provides a feast for those who like to be unnerved as well as entertained.
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Part of Wordsworth's Mystery & Supernatural series, featuring classic spine chilling tales, some previously unavailable for many years.
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First Sentence
When we started for our drive the sun was shining brightly on Munich, and the air was full of the joyousness of early summer. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
When we started for our drive the sun was shining brightly on Munich, and the air was full of the joyousness of early summer. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For many readers, the suggestive title of 'Dracula's Guest', with it's promise of excluded material from Stoker's most-famous novel, will be the main draw for purchasing this collection. Viewed alongside the novel, 'Dracula's Guest' makes for an interesting read and certainly evinces further the masterful balancing of chilling detail and atmospheric narrative that charactises that work. Yet although the editor suggests that the narrative was written as a self-contained tale, it is not clear that readers unfamiliar with 'Dracula' would find the tale as effective or accessible.
Besides linking with Stoker's most well-known work, the lead tale connects well with the other twelve tales in the volume by showcasing Stoker's talent for writing short fiction. Often the short stories written by Victorian authors are just as intriguing as their more mainstream and commercially successful work, but in Stoker's case this is not so evident. Just as Stoker's novels besides 'Dracula' are of variable quality, so too are these short stories. Linking all of the tales are morbid and often macabre preoccupations that, although suitably unsettling for the genre, sometimes stray uncomfortably a little too far. There are echoes of Edgar Allan Poe, especially in 'The Secret of the Growing Gold', and an altogether darker vision of the traditional Victorian ghost story. Tales such as 'The Judge's House', and especially 'The Squaw', blur the line between the spine-chilling and the outrightly grisly. If your taste is for the uncompromisingly gruesome, then Stoker's imagination may appeal; however, if you prefer a more subtle, psychological approach, then Stoker's confrontational style may be a step too far.
Besides linking with Stoker's most well-known work, the lead tale connects well with the other twelve tales in the volume by showcasing Stoker's talent for writing short fiction. Often the short stories written by Victorian authors are just as intriguing as their more mainstream and commercially successful work, but in Stoker's case this is not so evident. Just as Stoker's novels besides 'Dracula' are of variable quality, so too are these short stories. Linking all of the tales are morbid and often macabre preoccupations that, although suitably unsettling for the genre, sometimes stray uncomfortably a little too far. There are echoes of Edgar Allan Poe, especially in 'The Secret of the Growing Gold', and an altogether darker vision of the traditional Victorian ghost story. Tales such as 'The Judge's House', and especially 'The Squaw', blur the line between the spine-chilling and the outrightly grisly. If your taste is for the uncompromisingly gruesome, then Stoker's imagination may appeal; however, if you prefer a more subtle, psychological approach, then Stoker's confrontational style may be a step too far.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I must admit I was very sorrowful after I had experienced Stoker's unique novel `Dracula' (which is nothing like the ridiculous movies we see on television.) I had wanted more from the novel. True the book was over three hundred pages of sorrow, excitement, joy and above all; terror, but I needed more.
So one can just imagine how truly contented I was to discover this book, and I must say that `Dracula's guest' was a phenomenal short story by Bram Stoker. You are immediately taken into the story, and the narration makes you feel as though you are actually there. The writing characteristic of Stoker makes the entire incident sound so genuine, and then the shock at the end of the story, getting the letter from Dracula. One who never read the novel might not appreciate this as I do, but any true Gothic literature admirer will love this story, alongside many other tales. In this book you shall see how Stoker's characters all have different personalities, all use different words, and in some stories such as `The gypsy's prophecy' you shall see how Stoker startles the reader with such an incredible turn of events at the end of the tale.
I would highly recommend you buy this and share it with your friends (if you are lucky enough to have any)
Perfect for a quick read (some tales are only ten pages), or for a longer one, curled up in an armchair.
Well worth every penny, and defiantly worth reading.
So one can just imagine how truly contented I was to discover this book, and I must say that `Dracula's guest' was a phenomenal short story by Bram Stoker. You are immediately taken into the story, and the narration makes you feel as though you are actually there. The writing characteristic of Stoker makes the entire incident sound so genuine, and then the shock at the end of the story, getting the letter from Dracula. One who never read the novel might not appreciate this as I do, but any true Gothic literature admirer will love this story, alongside many other tales. In this book you shall see how Stoker's characters all have different personalities, all use different words, and in some stories such as `The gypsy's prophecy' you shall see how Stoker startles the reader with such an incredible turn of events at the end of the tale.
I would highly recommend you buy this and share it with your friends (if you are lucky enough to have any)
Perfect for a quick read (some tales are only ten pages), or for a longer one, curled up in an armchair.
Well worth every penny, and defiantly worth reading.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Creepy tales of the supernatual
16 Sep 2008
Format:Paperback
I had never heard of this book before, but when I ran across it and saw who the author was, I snatched it up and started reading. What we have here is a series of short stories published by Mrs. Stoker after the passing of her husband. The stories range from the disturbing supernatural tale of "The Judge" to the vampiric title tale of "Dracula's Guest" some versions of this book include the "Lair of the White Worm" which although it is not one of my favorite of Mr. Stoker's Cannon, it is still a very creepy and disturbing novella.
This is a VERY short read, and can be completed in a day without trouble. As with all short story collections some will be more to your taste than others. None really packed the punch of "Dracula" but then few tales do. My personal favorites were "Dracula's Guest" in which a British fellow fails to head the warning of the locals and ventures into a hellish evening of wolves and the supernatural... and we are left with the feeling that his next venture may prove even worse for him.
"The Judge" was also interesting... though I really would have liked for there to be more to this story. A learned man takes up residence in the local haunted mansion to get some peace and quite while studying. He gets more than he bargained for in the end. This was a very interesting and dark tale with "Twilight Zone" or "Tales from the Crypt" written all over it. It is very cinematic in tone and could have been much longer.
In all there are tales of vengeance, redemption, the supernatural, pacts with the Devil, angry black cats, beggars run amok, murderers, insanity... if you love the short stories of Edgar Allen Poe, then you really need to pick up this collection. If you have read and re-read Dracula and can't get enough, then pick up this book... it's hard to find (my copy came from a used bookstore and it looked like a dog had gone to town on the cover) but it is well worth the hunt.
This is a VERY short read, and can be completed in a day without trouble. As with all short story collections some will be more to your taste than others. None really packed the punch of "Dracula" but then few tales do. My personal favorites were "Dracula's Guest" in which a British fellow fails to head the warning of the locals and ventures into a hellish evening of wolves and the supernatural... and we are left with the feeling that his next venture may prove even worse for him.
"The Judge" was also interesting... though I really would have liked for there to be more to this story. A learned man takes up residence in the local haunted mansion to get some peace and quite while studying. He gets more than he bargained for in the end. This was a very interesting and dark tale with "Twilight Zone" or "Tales from the Crypt" written all over it. It is very cinematic in tone and could have been much longer.
In all there are tales of vengeance, redemption, the supernatural, pacts with the Devil, angry black cats, beggars run amok, murderers, insanity... if you love the short stories of Edgar Allen Poe, then you really need to pick up this collection. If you have read and re-read Dracula and can't get enough, then pick up this book... it's hard to find (my copy came from a used bookstore and it looked like a dog had gone to town on the cover) but it is well worth the hunt.
2 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Free SF Reader
3 Aug 2007
Format:Paperback
A collection of some Stoker's short horror stories.
Dracula's Guest : Dracula's Guest - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Judge's House - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Squaw - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Secret of the Growing Gold - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Gipsy Prophecy - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Coming of Abel Behenna - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Burial of the Rats - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : A Dream of Red Hands - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : Crooken Sands - Bram Stoker
Dracula's guest employs some of the creepy local folk tales and legends. The significance of a blue flame from the ground, the howling of wolves, that sort of thing.
Here, a coachman in a coach drawn by midnight black horses, picks up a traveller. He is growing increasingly freaked out all the time.
4 out of 5
Don't stay with anyone who fancies large rats and nooses.
3.5 out of 5
Iron maiden torture time.
3.5 out of 5
Wastrel, ghost, widow.
3 out of 5
Foretold wife killer.
3.5 out of 5
Seamen conflict.
2.5 out of 5
Rats eat fast.
3 out of 5
Heaven blah.
2 out of 5
Scots change.
3 out of 5
Dracula's Guest : Dracula's Guest - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Judge's House - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Squaw - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Secret of the Growing Gold - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Gipsy Prophecy - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Coming of Abel Behenna - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : The Burial of the Rats - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : A Dream of Red Hands - Bram Stoker
Dracula's Guest : Crooken Sands - Bram Stoker
Dracula's guest employs some of the creepy local folk tales and legends. The significance of a blue flame from the ground, the howling of wolves, that sort of thing.
Here, a coachman in a coach drawn by midnight black horses, picks up a traveller. He is growing increasingly freaked out all the time.
4 out of 5
Don't stay with anyone who fancies large rats and nooses.
3.5 out of 5
Iron maiden torture time.
3.5 out of 5
Wastrel, ghost, widow.
3 out of 5
Foretold wife killer.
3.5 out of 5
Seamen conflict.
2.5 out of 5
Rats eat fast.
3 out of 5
Heaven blah.
2 out of 5
Scots change.
3 out of 5
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