Reader discussion: Widdershins

Public reader discussion about Widdershins in the WeRead Catalog by Oliver Onions.

Foundational and classic horror

By azurewren

I had this sitting as a reply on a post asking for Victorian/old-school gothic horror stuff, but I thought it deserved its own spot. So yeah—here’s a bunch of the usual early, classic horror + gothic novels from the 1700s/1800s that are still floating around in print. If I forgot something obvious, feel free to toss more suggestions in. - Horace Walpole — *The Castle of Otranto* (1764) - Clara Reeve — *The Old English Baron* (1777) - William Beckford — *Vathek* (1786) - Ann Radcliffe — *A Sicilian Romance* (1790) - Ann Radcliffe — *The Romance of the Forest* (1791) - Ann Radcliffe — *The Mysteries of Udolpho* (1794) - Matthew G. Lewis — *The Monk* (1796) - Ann Radcliffe — *The Italian* (1797) - Charles Brockden Brown — *Wieland* (1798) - Charles Brockden Brown — *Arthur Mervyn* (1799) - Charles Brockden Brown — *Edgar Huntly* (1799) - Charlotte Dacre — *Zofloya* (1806) - Jane Austen — *Northanger Abbey* (1817) (kind of a gothic parody) - Mary Shelley — *Frankenstein* (1818) - John Polidori — *The Vampyre* (1819) - Charles Maturin — *Melmoth the Wanderer* (1820) - Mary Shelley — *Frankenstein* (1831) (revised edition—most modern copies use this, but both 1818 and 1831 are still in print) - Victor Hugo — *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* (1831) (some editions use the original French title, *Notre Dame de Paris*) - Edgar Allan Poe — *Tales of Mystery and Terror* (Poe published a lot of his horror/mystery between 1839 and 1846; he died in 1849) - Charlotte Brontë — *Jane Eyre* (1847) - Wilkie Collins — *The Woman in White* (1860) - J. Sheridan LeFanu — *Uncle Silas* (1864) - J. Sheridan LeFanu — *Carmilla* (1872) - Robert Louis Stevenson — *Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde* (1886) - Oscar Wilde — *The Picture of Dorian Gray* (1890) - Arthur Machen — *The Great God Pan* (1894) - Ambrose Bierce — *Ghost and Horror Stories* (1890s to early 1900s; he vanished on a trip to Mexico in 1913 and was never found) - Robert W. Chambers — *The King in Yellow* (1895) - Bram Stoker — *Dracula* (1897) - Richard Marsh — *The Beetle* (1897) - Henry James — *The Turn of the Screw* (1898) - Arthur Machen — *The White People* (1899) - Bram Stoker — *The Jewel of Seven Stars* (1903) - William Hope Hodgson — *The House on the Borderland* (1908) - Bram Stoker — *The Lady of the Shroud* (1909) - Gaston Leroux — *The Phantom of the Opera* (1910) - Bram Stoker — *Lair of the White Worm* (1911) - Bram Stoker — *Dracula’s Guest and Other Weird Tales* (1914) (posthumous—his widow published it; it pulls together short horror stories from across his career, some before *Dracula*) - Algernon Blackwood — *The Wendigo and Other Stories* (1899–1920s) - M.R. James — *Collected Ghost Stories* (1904–31)

Best collections of horror short stories

By field_simple

I really love horror short stories, so I’m curious what everyone’s favorite collection is. Also, who are your go-to horror short story authors?

Ghost stories

By orbit-eagle48

I’m looking for some ghosty book recs for Halloween! I read Head Full of Ghosts and really liked it. So yeah, any kind of fiction ghost book would be awesome.

What are some good one-book older fantasy stories?

By drifts-teacup2

Me and a friend do a mini book club and we keep alternating sci-fi and fantasy picks. I just noticed we haven’t really read any fantasy that isn’t pretty recent—like, basically post-1995. I’ve been trying to find some older stuff, but a lot of what I’m seeing is either series openers, or clearly meant to stretch into multiple books. I’d really like a fantasy story that actually feels complete in one volume, not the start of a whole chain. Any good recommendations?

What's your favorite collection of Horror Short Stories?

By writesharbor

Hey everyone, Lately I’ve had a bunch of downtime at work, so I’ve been hunting around on Kindle for some good short story collections. I read those *Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark* books when I was little, and I think that’s what got me hooked on both horror and short fiction. Some stuff I’ve read that I actually liked: - Stephen King’s short story collections (I love *The Raft*, *The Jaunt*, *Quitters Inc*, and *Survivor Type*—seriously some of my favorites ever) - Jack Ketchum’s *Peaceable Kingdom* (this one’s probably my top collection overall; most of the stories are just really solid) - Flannery O’Connor, *A Good Man is Hard to Find* (not really horror, but a lot of the stories mess you up in a good way) - CL Clark, *Macabre Menagerie* - *The Nightmare Collective* - Jerome Bixby, *Mirror Mirror* (kinda half sci-fi, half horror, and it includes my all-time favorite short story, “A Good Life.” It flips the whole evil kid thing around. I heard about it from someone on NoSleep whose uncle is the author—if you’re interested you can find it here: http://www.fys.ku.dk/~thoeger/its-a-good-life.pdf ) - *Books of Blood* by Clive Barker - I tried to get into Lovecraft but I only liked a couple stories :-( So yeah—any collections you’d recommend?

Authors like Joe Hill?

By BisonSky

I’ve basically burned through all of Joe Hill’s novels and short stories, and I’m getting ready to start Locke and Key next. I’m really looking for more horror writers with a similar vibe. I’ve already hit a bunch of the big mainstream/classic stuff (King, Barker, Lovecraft, Shelley, you know), so I guess it’s time to branch out. If you’ve got any recommendations—short stories or full novels—I’m all ears. Thanks!

Oliver Onions

By happy-laurel61

Lately I’ve been getting more into Oliver Onions. “Benlian” from Widdershins is definitely one of those odd, weird little tales. The only other one I’ve read from that same collection is “The Beckoning Fair One,” and I’ve also liked that. I guess Lovecraft and Blackwood really respected it, but to me it plays more like a straight-up ghost story than weird fiction. Anyone else here into Onions?

Any good horror books that are in the public domain?

By heatherkey1989

Thanks—I'm not totally sure yet, but I appreciate it.