Revisiting the Shadows: Major Update on Our Annotated Anthologies - & a Free Gift for You!
- Michael Kellermeyer
- Sep 30
- 2 min read
This year, behind the scenes at Oldstyle Tales Press, we’ve been quietly undertaking one of the most ambitious projects in our publishing history: a comprehensive revision of our entire back catalogue to reflect the more professional standards that we've been aiming for with our most recent titles.
For longtime subscribers to our newsletter, The Gothic Almanack, this won’t come as a surprise—we’ve been sharing updates in the newsletter as each title gets its turn under the editorial scalpel. But for blog readers who haven’t yet heard the news, it’s time to formally announce what we’ve been up to—and how far we’ve come.
As of this writing, 21 out of our 29 anthologies have either already been produced with these higher standards in mind, or have been fully revised and re-released. That’s over two-thirds of our entire library, now available in updated editions that reflect our commitment to scholarship, readability, and visual storytelling. Each revised volume includes:
🕯️ Complete footnotes for every single story, offering historical context, literary insight, and clarifications that illuminate the text without overwhelming it.
📚 Expanded and edited commentary, revised for clarity, readability, typos, and analytical depth, often with new observations and connections that weren’t present in earlier editions.
🎨 Occasional new illustrations, either entirely new works for stories that could use an additional image, or complete reimaginings of a scene that I felt could have been drawn in a more beautiful or chilling manner
These aren’t just cosmetic updates—they’re substantive enhancements designed to make each collection more engaging, informative, and immersive for readers who love classic horror, ghost stories, and the strange corners of literary history.
Our most recent release marks a special milestone: the tenth revised edition in the series, and the third edition of one of our most beloved anthologies—The Annotated and Illustrated Ghost and Horror Stories of W. W. Jacobs. Jacobs, best known for “The Monkey’s Paw,” was a master of eerie understatement and maritime dread, and this new edition brings fresh life to his work with expanded notes and haunting visuals.
Finally, we are excited to have...
💀 A Gift for Our Readers If you’ve previously purchased any version of one of our anthologies—whether digital or print—we’d love to offer you a free PDF of the updated edition. No proof of purchase is required. Simply email us with any combination of the following author names in the subject line:
BIERCE, CHAMBERS, CRAWFORD, DICKENS, DOYLE, HOFFMANN, JACOBS, HENRY JAMES, MACHEN, or NESBIT
There’s no need to include a message. We’ll reply with a link to download the updated PDF—our way of saying thank you for supporting these books and helping us keep the Gothic tradition alive.
Stay tuned for more releases as we complete the final stretch of this project. Eight anthologies remain (de Maupassant, Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Hodgson, Irving, Stoker, O'Brien, Wells, and Stevenson -- who is currently underway), and each one is getting the same careful treatment.
Whether you’re a scholar, a collector, or simply a lover of the uncanny, we hope these new editions deepen your appreciation for the authors who shaped the genre—and the stories that still haunt us.