Terrific Tales

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The body of a woman who had been hanged infested by the devil – Hobgoblins that appeared near the castle of Lusignan in 1620 – A Young Lady murdered by an evil Spirit through her impious wishes, and afterwards transformed into a Black Cat – The Night-mare – A young gentleman who sold himself to the devil. These are just some of the forty-four short stories contained in this strange collection. First published in 1804 during the height of the Gothic literary phenomenon, Isabella Lewis’s Terrific Tales sought to capitalize on the public’s fascination with spectres, ghosts, demons, and other supernatural happenings. But the most shocking thing about these horror stories is, as Lewis claims, they are all true! Meticulously culled from accounts in ancient Roman texts, medieval monks’ manuscripts, church documents, and actual legal records, and supported by factual evidence, these terrifying and bizarre tales will make even modern readers reconsider their beliefs regarding the supernatural. This curious book, which is very likely the first such collection of ghost stories published in the English language, is extremely rare today, with only four copies known to exist. The Valancourt Books edition reprints the unabridged 1804 text, together with a new preface, in a cloth-bound hardcover volume with an attractive dust jacket.