Tales Accursed
About The Book
Tales Accursed is the second collection of classic supernatural stories selected by the artist Richard Wells. Each of the eighteen tales is accompanied by one of Richard’s striking lino-print illustrations.
Richard’s previous anthology, Damnable Tales, has been acknowledged as a classic both in the UK and the US. Tales Accursedexplores similar territory: great stories by acknowledged masters of the genre like M. R. James, Shirley Jackson and Algernon Blackwood, alongside eerie tales by those less associated with the horror genre, like John Buchan, E. F. Benson and William Croft Dickinson.
What is it about these stories of the uncanny, many of them written over a century ago, that make them so appealing to contemporary readers? In his Introduction to Damnable Tales, the novelist Benjamin Myers offers a clue: ‘They take place in worlds we recognise as once-removed from our realities. These are the settings of our ancestors, and therefore are still carried somewhere deep within us now: remote villages and darkened lanes, lonely woodlands, obscure country houses and crumbling cemeteries. Places where the crepuscular light is eternally fading and in which the inanimate or the dormant is slowly stirring.’
Prepare, if you dare, to encounter a new collection, full of the old fears.
It is little wonder then that so many of us retreat into those fears we at least partially recognise, and willingly submit to. Old fears. The fear of the weird and the inexplicable. The fear of the land that rises up around us once the sun has set and the orchestra of night plays its dreary lament.
First edition hardback, with a signed bookplate designed by Richard.
Exclusive signed and numbered A5 art zine designed by Richard, featuring photographs, notes and initial sketches for Tal...
A deck of six art cards featuring lino-print illustrations from the book.
A limited edition lino-cut A4 print based on Eleanor Scott's 1929 story 'Celui-la’. Signed, numbered and hand printed on...
A limited edition lino-cut A4 print based on Margery Lawrence's 1925 story 'Morag-of-the-Cave'. Signed, numbered and han...
A limited edition lino-cut A4 print based on A. C. Benson's 1903 story 'The Hill of Trouble'. . Signed, numbered and han...
First edition hardback: royal format (234mm x 156mm), 18 full-page lino-print illustrations, two-colour printing, illust...
Be one of the book's biggest supporters and have your name listed on a special Patron list in the front of the book.
Be a part of our community! 334,112 people from 207 countries have pledged £11,980,334 to fund 646 projects - and counting!