Ancient Sorceries

A beautifully produced new edition of Blackwood’s weirdest supernatural stories, including “The Willows,” highlighted by H.P. Lovecraft as "the single finest weird tale in literature”

Lauded as one of our greatest storytellers, and inspiring generations of writers from H.P. Lovecraft to Tolkien to Stephen King, Algernon Blackwood left a legacy as one of Britain’s greatest conjurors of weird and supernatural stories. Blackwood’s inimitable style puts readers right in the middle of the story, with visceral and nature-inspired fear that lies just beyond the real, often in the form of a nameless dread.

This beautifully produced edition, with a stunning cover and thoughtful design and layout to ensure the most enjoyable reading experience, features four of his most unnervingly curious tales:
• Ancient Sorceries—a traveller stops in a remote French hill town and soon finds himself unable to leave; there is something strangely feline about the inhabitants, he notices, and they all seem to be watching him very closely…
• The Listener—a lodging house guest feels himself observed by a malevolent presence. Soon it transpires his room’s previous occupant is watching him from beyond the grave, and is envious of the very flesh on his bones.
• The Sea Fit—an old retired ship’s captain’s ravings build to a terrifying climax, as he offers himself up as a sacrifice to the cruel gods of the sea.
• The Willows—two friends on a canoeing trip spend a terrifying night on a lonely willow-covered island, haunted by the strange trees and sinister shapes in the water.

Story Locale: spooky rural England and French locales, incl forests and at sea