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CLASSIC HORROR BLOG

Literary Essays on Classic Horror, Ghost Stories, & Weird Fiction

— from Mary Shelley to M. R. James —

by M. Grant Kellermeyer

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Cinematic and farsighted – a perfect subject for the pulpy comic books of ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘80s, with their over-the-top villains with...

May 25, 20216 min read

O’Brien has not been called the “Celtic Poe” without cause. Among the most famous of his works (after “What Was It?”), “The Diamond Lens”...

Jul 3, 20199 min read

Most famous in O’Brien’s oeuvre is the following episode: “What Was It?” In the original publication (which we have included), references...

Mar 21, 20197 min read

Perhaps none of O’Brien’s tales are stranger than “The Lost Room.” A bizarre, unelucidated nightmare, it combines the conventions of the...

Jul 6, 20186 min read

On February 26, 1862 Lieutenant Fitz-James O’Brien of the Seventh Regiment of New York Volunteers was reconnoitering a battlefield in...

Jan 30, 20189 min read

Why should Christmas have all the fun? Oldstyle Tales proudly presents a literary advent calendar for your favorite season. Each day has...

Oct 5, 20164 min read

For centuries Ireland has fostered a culture swarming in mystery, magic, and the macabre: it gave us Samhain and jack-o-lanterns, Dracula...

Mar 13, 20147 min read