T.E.D. Klein, renowned for his supernatural horror fiction, showcases his intellectual prowess in this collection of nonfiction. Compiled by S. T. Joshi, the book features a diverse array of Klein's essays, articles, and reviews that are thought-provoking and articulate. Readers can expect a blend of insightful commentary and strong opinions on various topics, reflecting Klein's unique perspective and literary depth.
"The tree was dead, But crouched amid its branches something lived: something older far than mankind. Something that breathed, schemed, felt itself dying and, dying, lived on. It was outside nature, and alone. Its time would come..." Jeremy Freirs had decided to spend his summer in quiet seclusion on the Poroth's farm in Gilead. It was the perfect place to catch up on his reading, maybe even prepare for the course he'd be teaching next term. To spend a summer among books: it was an appealing prospect. Sarr and Deborah Poroth were a strange couple, like all the rest of Gilead's strict religious sect. And Sarr's mother was weird. They said she had visions. He'd keep himself to himself. There was always Carol, the red-haired, virginal beauty he'd just met. Manhattan was only ninety minutes away. She could come down for weekends. Yes, it was going to be a fine summer. But in the heat of this summer an ancient, unspeakable evil is stirring. 5,000 years it has waited. Now the signs are right, and the Old One, its embodiment in human form, must make his move, assemble the performers, allow the process to begin. Only he knows the dark design that propels these people toward horror and doom. Only he can perform The Ceremonies - the monstrous rites that will unleash on a despised creation an age-old promise of apocalypse...
T.E.D. Klein's highly acclaimed first novel The Ceremonies - which Stephen King called "the most exciting novel in my field to come along since Straub's Ghost Story - established him in the top rank of horror writers. Now, with the four novellas gathered here, Klein proves himself to be a master of this classic shorter form.The collection opens with "Children of the Kingdom", a beautifully crafted chiller that gradually reveals the horrors that lurk behind the shadows of the city. In "Petey", George and Phyllis and the die-hards at their housewarming think that their new rural retreat is quite a steal - unaware that foreclosure, in a particularly monstrous form, is heading their way.In the insidiously terrifying "Black Man with a Horn", a homage to Lovecraft, a chance encounter with a missionary priest over the Atlantic lures a traveller into a web of ancient mystery and fiendish retribution. And in "Nadelman's God", the protagonist discovers, degree by shocking degree, that the demons of our imaginations are not always imaginary.
In der verträumten, kaum fünfzig Meilen von New York entfernten Gemeinde Gilead verbringt Jeremy Freirs, ein junger Lehrer aus Manhattan, zusammen mit seiner Bekannten Carol Conklin die Sommerferien. Doch die anfängliche Idylle entpuppt sich bald als trügerisch: Eine dunkle, unfaßbare Bedrohung zieht über das verschlafene Nest herauf und läßt es mehr und mehr zu einer Stätte des Alptraums werden. Entsetzt beginnen Jeremy und Carol zu begreifen, daß sie in den Bann einer fremden, unheimlichen Macht geraten sind, die sie zu vernichten droht...