This collection of five novellas ranks among Blackwood's finest works. Not only does it present weird scenarios of extraordinary richness and bizarrerie--the "regeneration" of a blasé English nobleman by means of pagan rituals on a mountaintop; a dismal house haunted by the souls of those ...

This collection of five novellas ranks among Blackwood's finest works. Not only does it present weird scenarios of extraordinary richness and bizarrerie--the "regeneration" of a blasé English nobleman by means of pagan rituals on a mountaintop; a dismal house haunted by the souls of those whom its fanatical owner condemned to hell; the sapping of a man's spirit as he performs an ancient ceremony in the sands of Egypt--but also probes the characters' reactions to the bizarre with unfailing subtlety and acuteness. The result is a landmark in the history of weird fiction. With an introduction by S. T. Joshi, a leading authority on supernatural literature.