The Master of the Macabre by Russell Thorndike

Set in 1940s England, author Tayler Kent has been under a bit of stress over a four-week period, perhaps due to the 'mental strain' of working on finishing a 'complicated biography' he's been working on, but he doesn't think so. While it's not particularly frightening (or at least it wasn't to me), The Master of the Macabre is still a little gem of a book and makes for fine reading. There's a lot going on in this little book - it's a different take on the usual haunted house story, it's a ghost story, it's pulpy, and there are a number of spots where it's also funny. This first-ever republication of the novel includes the original jacket art and a new introduction by Mark Valentine. Syn, Russell Thorndike (1885-1972) in The Master of the Macabre (1947) delivers an irresistible mix of horror, adventure, and black humour that is sure to please fans of classic ghost stories and supernatural fiction. Best known for his series of novels featuring the smuggler Dr.

But the terrors are not confined to Hogarth's tales: the monastery is haunted by the evil spirit of an apostate monk and besieged by more corporeal foes, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on one of the Master's treasures. Instead, he finds things may have gone from bad to worse when he crashes his car, breaks his ankle, and is forced to take refuge at a medieval monastery now inhabited by the eccentric Charles Hogarth, known as 'The Master of the Macabre.' As Kent's ankle heals, Hogarth entertains him with fine food, brandy, and a series of gruesome stories connected with an odd assortment of old relics on display in a curio cabinet.

Some of the strange stories are horrible and not for the squeamish.' - Sydney Morning Herald 'These tales of terror and violence are quite nightmarish in their exciting conception.' - Glasgow Evening News ' Master of the Macabre is certainly macabre and provides just what you want, if you enjoy reading of 'ghosts and ghoulies, long leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night.'' The Star (Sheffield) 'It is all very good reading for a windy night, alone in front of an open fireplace.' - Winnipeg Tribune 'This book is strange, thrilling and certainly macabre.' - Yorkshire Evening Press Tayler Kent flees London in a blinding snowstorm, hoping to escape the ghosts that haunt his home.

Syn's creator cannot but write interestingly.

The Master of the Macabre by Russell Thorndike