Edited and with an Introduction by David Stuart Davies. 'Have you ever heard of the fascination of terror?' This is a unique collection of strange stories from the cunning pen of Wilkie Collins, author of 'The Woman in White' and 'The Moonstone'. The star attraction is the novella 'The Haunted Hotel', a clever combination of detective and ghost story set in Venice, a city of grim waterways, dark shadows and death. The action takes place in an ancient palazzo converted into a modern hotel that houses a grisly secret. The supernatural horror, relentless pace, tight narrative, and a doomed countess characterise and distinguish this powerful tale. The other stories present equally disturbing scenarios, which include ghosts, corpses that move, family curses and perhaps the most unusual of all, the Devil's spectacles, which bring a clarity of vision that can lead to madness. Other Strange Stories include: The Dream Woman / Mrs Zant and the Ghost / A Terribly Strange Bed / The Devil's Spectacles Miss Jeromette and the Clergyman / The Dead Hand / Blow Up with the Brig! / Nine o'Clock AUTHOR: "Make 'em cry, make 'em laugh, make 'em wait exactly in that order." William Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was the leading sensational novelist of the Victorian era, and during the 1860s his novels, published in weekly instalments, equalled the popularity of the works of his friend Charles Dickens. With 'The Woman in White' and 'The Moonstone', he is credited with the creation of the detective story.