Winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. A gigantic, superlatively edited historical overview of horror fiction.” ―Chicago Sun-Times

In The Dark Descent, hailed as one of the most important anthologies ever to examine horror fiction, editor David G. Hartwell traces the complex history of horror in literature back to the earliest short stories. The Dark Descent showcases the finest of these ever written--from the time-honored classics of masters of the form, including:

Edgar Allan Poe
D.H. Lawrence
Edith Wharton
Flannery O'Connor
Henry James
Ambrose Bierce
Shirley Jackson
Stephen King
Clive Barker
Ray Bradbury
John Collier
H.P. Lovecraft
Harlan Ellison
Robert Bloch
Richard Matheson
Philip K. Dick
Joyce Carol Oates

and many more.