Horror books

Barnes & Noble’s Signature Classics series offers readers great works of literature in affordable, beautifully designed editions. Each book features an authoritative text with an informative introduction and notes by a scholar expert, as well as a chronology of the author’s life, a discussion of adaptations of the work for film, television, and other media, and a bibliography of suggested further reading. These books are essential reading for lovers of classic literature and a foundation for any home library.

The tale begins with Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, visiting Count Dracula in the Carpathian Mountains on the border of Transylvania, Bukovina, and Moldavia, to provide legal support for a real estate transaction overseen by Harker's employer. At first enticed by Dracula's gracious manners, Harker soon realizes that he is Dracula's prisoner. Wandering the Count's castle against Dracula's admonition, Harker encounters three female vampires, called "the sisters", from whom he is rescued by Dracula. After the preparations are made, Dracula leaves Transylvania and abandons Harker to the sisters. Harker barely escapes from the castle with his life . . .

Poe's works frequent the topics of death, mourning, and dark romanticism, all of which made him unpopular with the Romantic poets and writers of his time. They claimed that his works lacked elegance and propriety. Poe himself was wary of the work that was overly transcendental and romantic, and he thoroughly enjoyed writing Gothic horror. Poe's stories were wildly popular with audiences, and his tales and poems remained consistently popular throughout the next 150 years. Now, Poe's stylish prose and poetry is adored and emulated by readers of all genres. Readers who want to enjoy the best of his talent will find great pleasure in "The Essential Tales and Poems."