Haunted Castles: The Complete Gothic Stories (Penguin Horror)

If you like gothic horror stories you must get this collection. Every story was enjoyable. A must have.

I purchased this book primarily for the story 'Sardonicus' but was pleased with the inclusion of the three 'S' stories: Sardonicus, Sagittarius, and Sanguinarius. Sardonicus was eventually made into the Roger Corman cult favorite 'Mr. Sardonicus'. Both Sardonicus and Sanguinarius are worth the purchase alone, and while I enjoyed Sagittarius, I have to admit the ending left me baffled. Russell's command of the gothic tale and his ability to recreate it in these three tales is impressive. The other stories are good as well but, for me, didn't quite live up to the first three stories. Good stuff!

Let me first say that I had never read any Russell before, so if you're a newcomer like me, listen up! (And if you're in a rush, just go ahead and buy it, it's worth your time and money.) Russell can only be labelled "modern" gothic in the sense that he was writing in the 20th century. Otherwise, his stories are set during fascinating, terrible lifespans anywhere from the 1500s to the late 1800s. His period language is meticulously researched and correct, while his grammar and writing style are gorgeous, first-rate. This rich, sometimes dense prose is balanced (I can't say lightened) by pulpy thrills: horrifically unflinching details, an unsavory but irrepressibly sexual atmosphere, and grisly motives & plot twists that will make you wince -- all of a thoroughly sadistic bent. Sardonicus, arguably the most original of the 'S' trilogy, fully deserves its reputation as a masterpiece, but it was Sanguinarius that most impressed me. When I finished that story, I had to immediately read more about Elisabeth Báthory; yet, in the end, the world Russell created is inkier, redder, more saturated and enchanting than the true history. Sagittarius had a bit of a clunky frame narrative which I can only partly endorse, but the story within was more than enjoyable. So the frame can be forgiven. I was sad and a little apprehensive after completing the 'S' trilogy -- would I be disappointed by the other stories? Rest assured, the remainder of the collection is solid. Comet Wine and The Vendetta tie in subtly to the same fictional universe by means of a minor character from Sardonicus. The Cage and The Runaway Lovers, somehow less detailed, could be called sketches. But it is probably more useful to think of them as dark parables, and they are quite effective despite having less meat on their bones. Last, I just want to add that I'm grateful to Penguin for making Russell available. It would be unjust to see a talent like his lost to dust. While other genre fiction has enjoyed increasing respect from the publishing and academic worlds, horror & supernatural literature still remain undervalued. That said, Penguin has made real efforts to correct this (usually, though not in this case, with the help of S.T. Joshi). The Oxford World Classics series has some good anthologies as well.

For many years now I’ve had a real attraction to the horror genre, in both films and literature. Horror stories are just so much fun, anything can happen because there is no requirement that the story adhere to reality. I’ve always thought of a good horror story as like a roller coaster ride. They can be very scary, but there’s no real danger. I started off primarily reading the classic horror novels, and I probably read a couple hundred classics over the past fifteen years or so. In the past year or two I’ve moved on to short stories, mostly anthologies and collections. I had never heard of Ray Russell before, which is surprising. This was just one of the many books I have stacked up to read in my horror books-to-read stack. (I guess I did notice the fantastic cover on this, and so this one does stand out visually.) Suffice it to say, I am extremely impressed. The stories are scary and they are atmospheric. It’s a nice diversity of themes as well. Yes, I guess most of the stories have at least some mention of an old castle, but that is just the locale for what happens. The intrigues are very diverse in both time in nature. It’s very rare for me to mark up a novel or a book of short stories, but there were so many interesting themes and ideas in this book that I actually whipped out the old yellow highlighter and highlighted several portions of the stories. I write my own stories on occasion, and there are certain ideas in here I want to revisit and possibly use in my own work. In conclusion, I would just say that this is perhaps the most impressive book of horror short stories that I have in my collection, and my collection consists of a couple hundred books. You will not be disappointed.

The book is in great condition. And it arrived in good time. Having looked through it I am not delighted with the stories included. Not at all the seller’s fault!

I had never heard of Ray Russell (for shame) before this collection. The style with which Russell writes is for me the epitome of Gothic horror. Very much like Bram Stokers Dracula, Russell’s style is both haunting and beautiful. This collection is amazing. I'm not sure what my expectations were going into this but it blew past anything I could have hoped for. I crave single author short story collections and this is one of the best I have read thus far.

I was disappointed to learn that the recent series of Penguin Horror hardcovers all had the exact same introduction by Guillermo del Toro, which not only seems like a bit of a cheat but also seems like a poor idea in encouraging people to buy the whole set. Luckily, the only one I didn't already have in some form or another was this Ray Russell volume, which I picked up, and which I loved. I was already familiar with Russell as a screenwriter--and even think I had read one or two of these stories before, though I had never put the two together--but this book was right up my alley. If you know Russell's filmography, it's not very surprising what kinds of stories are here. Great Gothic stories that would have been right at home getting filmed by Roger Corman or William Castle (in fact, one of them was) in brilliant Technicolor (that it wasn't), complete with the sorts of lurid but off-camera sexiness that you can expect from those sorts of flicks. Predictably, this was right up my alley. The meat of this collection are the three novellas or novelettes in Russell's "S trilogy": "Sardonicus," "Sagittarius," and "Sanguinarius." Of the three, "Sardonicus" is the most famous, having been filmed by William Castle (with a screenplay by Russell) as Mr. Sardonicus, but, like del Toro, my favorite of the trio was "Sagittarius," which begins as a club story and features the Grand Guignol in a major role, so you know I'm right there. My favorite tale in the whole book, though, was the first of the shorter pieces, "Comet Wine," which had a great title (and a connection to "Sardonicus") and which felt very much like the kinds of stories I am always trying to tell in my own work. The Penguin edition is a nice hardcover, and while I'm not the biggest fan of the cover choice, I do love the coloring. I've said before that more horror stuff needs to be bright pink, and it works beautifully here. Plus, if you hold the book up to the bottom part of your face, it makes a mask, so that's something.

Great compilation of stories, add to the fact they were set in the late 1800s to early 1900s.

Para um livro novo a capa tinha alguns riscos e a lombar pequenos danos mas sem ser isso impecável.

Haunted Castles is "The Complete Gothic Stories" of Ray Russell. Published by Penquin as one of a series, edited by Guillermo del Toro, and a modern edition of the original USA publication from 1985. Contents; Sardonicus, Sagittarius, Sanguinarius, Comet Wine, The Runaway Lovers, The Vendetta, The Cage. Plus; Book and Series Description, About the Author, Title, Copyright, Dedication, Epigraph, Haunted Castles Dark Mirrors; On the Penquin Horror Series by Guillermo Del Toro. Ray Russell was born in the early 1920s. His novels are now mostly out of print, keep your eyes open for stray copies, I was surprised and delighted to find this short story collection. It's probably worth mentioning much of Russell's work heralds from the 1960s - 1970s. It has that vibe and you need to approach his stories without prejudice. What you'll find is an odd blend of the mysterious and grotesque wrapped in a thick blanket of modern Gothic; castles, deformity, torture chambers, beautiful women and insanity feature large. Scary?. Not for any fan of contemporary horror but; Ray Russell regularly crossed the boundaries between what was or wasn't acceptable. He mixed it up. His style of Modern Gothic/Classic Horror/Playboy was 'horror for the masses' and influenced some of the most popular of our current crop of horror writers. I can't recommend highly enough. A must for fans of real horror writing.

An excellent read..I highly recommend this novel

Klasik kitaplar listesine girmez.

Muy buena compilación de historias de Russell. Por el tamaño y tipo de edición, el precio me parece un poco excesivo.