Great Irish Tales of Horror: A Treasury of Fear

From legends retold around the peat fire to modern stories of psychological terror, the Irish have always had a fascination with fear. Drawn from 200 years of short story writing, this book includes 24 powerful Irish tales with more than enough material to set pulses racing: satanic figures, ghosts, and hapless victims fleeing from their inescapable dooms. Writers includes such giants of classic horror fiction as Bram Stoker, Sax Rohmer, and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu; masters like George Bernard Shaw, John Millington Synge, and Dorothy Macardle; and such modern exponents of the genre as Brian Cleeve, Jack Higgins, and Neil Jordan.Contents9 • Introduction (Great Irish Tales of Horror) • essay by Peter Haining17 • The Morgan Score • short story by Jack Higgins31 • The Doomed Sisters • short story by Charles Maturin (variant of Leixlip Castle 1825) [as by Charles Robert Maturin]45 • The Child Who Loved a Grave • short story by Fitz-James O'Brien (variant of The Child That Loved a Grave 1861)51 • The Diplomatist's Story • (1955) • short fiction by Shane Leslie60 • The Portrait of Roisin Dhu • (1924) • short story by Dorothy Macardle69 • Danse Macabre • (1949) • short story by L. A. G. Strong76 • The Happy Autumn Fields • (1944) • short story by Elizabeth Bowen93 • Mr Murphy and the Angel • short story by Brian Cleeve109 • The Raising of Elvira Tremlett • (1977) • short story by William Trevor127 • The Unburied Legs • (1827) • short story by Gerald Griffin133 • The Man from Shorrox' • (1894) • short story by Bram Stoker147 • A House Possessed • (1912) • novelette by Sax Rohmer167 • The Miraculous Revenge • (1885) • short story by George Bernard Shaw188 • Five Pounds of Flesh • short story by J. M. Synge194 • The Watcher o' the Dead • (1929) • short story by John Guinan206 • The Samhain Feis • (1984) • short story by Peter Tremayne227 • Fly Away Finger, Fly Away Thumb • (1953) • short story by Brian Moore236 • Footsteps in the Lobby • (1838) • short story by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu245 • The Cedar Closet • (1874) • short story by Lafcadio Hearn [as by Patrick Lafcadio Hearn]255 • Will • (1899) • short story by Vincent O'Sullivan262 • The Bride • (1902) • short story by M. P. Shiel275 • Encounter at Night • (1935) • short story by Mary Frances McHugh280 • Arachnophobia • short story by Catherine Brophy292 • Last Rites • (1976) • short story by Neil Jordan