If you’ve been frightened by the monsters in the great horror films, you’ll be terrified by the original stories.

Whether its the old, classic black-and-white pictures such as Frankenstein or Dracula that you relish, or the modern special effects spectaqulars likethe Thing or Gremlins that haunt your wildest nightmares, you’ll find plenty more heart-thumpers in this unique dramatically anthology of short stories which have inspired some of the most famous cinema chillers of the century.

Together with introductions by editor Peter Haining, in which he describes their background, here is a selection of the finest  short stories by master writers in the superntural genre.