Thirty Usher-Inspired Stories and Poems "Whisper the words “The Fall of the House of Usher” and you may conjure strange imagery… a brooding, black tarn… sullen siblings… the frenzy of undeath… This famous story, published by Edgar Allan Poe in September 1839, continues to hold sway in our society over one hundred and eighty years later. This volume is composed of thirty stories and poems inspired by this great gothic work. Explore the vaults of the House of Usher and this haunted palace will reveal to you its horrifying secrets. When, at last, you reach the end of this harrowing journey, you will be rewarded with a deepened appreciation for the original tale."
Authors
JACKSON KUHL is the author of the gothic novels A Season of Whispers and the forthcoming The Island of Small Misfortunes, as well as the Revolutionary War biography Samuel Smedley, Connecticut Privateer. Kuhl has written for Atlas Obscura, the Journal of the American Revolution, National Geographic News, and other publications. His short fiction has been published in numerous anthologies.
Canadian author Mary Rajotte has a penchant for penning nightmarish tales of Gothic folk horror which have been published in a number of anthologies. In 2022, she launched Frightmarish: a quarterly Gothic LitZine for devotees of dark fiction, poetry, and the creative macabre. Her debut paranormal dark fantasy novel, The Bone Key, launched in October 2024 from Quill & Crow Publishing House. When Mary isn’t writing, you can find her standing on her tiptoes at concerts or conjuring ideas by moonlight. Sometimes camera-elusive but always coffee-fueled, Mary lives in Toronto, Canada with her fiancé. She welcomes messages via her website maryrajotte.com
Paul D Coombs is an author of stories mired in either one or all of the strange, the Gothic, the dark, and the beautifully tragic. He lives on a rock, floating in space where he inhabits a small clutch of islands known as the United Kingdom. Born in Cardiff, Wales, he now lives in the splendid and sepulchral North West of England. His stories have appeared in anthologies and magazines, many of which can be found in his collection of short stories - For Strangers Only. His novel, The Great Orme - is his dark, gothic psychological thriller - a tale of betrayal and paranoia as a group of friends confront violent secrets from their past, was released in October 2024 by Northodox Press.
Elou Carroll writes spooky, whimsical, and strange stories. Her work appears or is forthcoming in The Deadlands, Baffling Magazine, FOUND #2, Flash Fiction Online, Cosmic Horror Monthly and others. When she’s not hoarding skeleton keys and whispering with ghosts, she can be found editing Crow & Cross Keys, publishing all things dark and lovely, and loitering on instagram (@keychilde), bsky (@keychild.bsky.social) and the website formerly known as twitter (@keychild). She keeps a catalogue of her weird little wordcreatures on www.eloucarroll.com.
