Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories

Although Bram Stoker is best known for his world-famous novel Dracula, he also wrote many shorter works on the strange and the macabre. This collection, comprising Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories, a volume of spine-chilling short stories collected and published by Stoker's widow after his death, and The Lair of the White Worm, an intensely intriguing novel of myths, legends and unspeakable evil, demonstrate the full range of his horror writing. From the petrifying open tomb in 'Dracula's Guest' to the mental breakdown depicted in 'The Judge's House' and 'Crooken Sands', these terrifying tales of the uncanny explore the boundaries between life and death, known and unknown, animal and human, dream and reality.

About the Author

Abraham 'Bram' Stoker (1847 - 1912), was always unwell when he was an infant - he couldn't stand up until he was seven years old - yet he became a champion athlete when at university at Trinity College, Dublin. Like so many children whose health is poor Bram had lots of time to read and developed a passion for literature.

After university, Bram followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Irish Civil Service in Dublin. He was soon bored and so built on his love of theatre to become the unpaid drama critic for the Dublin Mail. He met Sir Henry Irving, the most famous actor of the time - the two became friends and from 1878 until Irving's death in 1905, Bram Stoker's main job was as the actor's manager and secretary. At the same time he was working as a writer. He wrote a dozen books but is remembered today for just one - Dracula, published in 1897. It is still regarded as a masterpiece of the macabre with its evil monsters and gripping story-line. Dracula was an immediate success and has remained popular ever since. There have been many film versions of the story but none has captured the atmosphere and mounting terror of the original book.