Damnable Tales is an illustrated collection of classic short stories drawing upon the haunted landscapes of ‘Folk Horror’.

This now widely-used term was originally applied to a series of British films from the late 1960s and 1970s: Witchfinder General (1968), Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971), and The Wicker Man (1973).

But as this collection shows, writers of uncanny fiction were dabbling in the dark side of folklore long before those films. These 22 stories take the reader beyond the safety and familiarity of the town into the isolated and untamed wilderness. Unholy rites, witches’ curses, sinister village traditions and ancient horrors that lurk within the landscape all combine to remind us that the shiny modern, urban world might not have all the answers…

The collection will feature classic stories from masters of supernatural fiction including M.R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu, and Arthur Machen, alongside lesser known voices in the field including Eleanor Scott and Margery Lawrence and popular writers less bound to the horror genre, such as Thomas Hardy and E.F. Benson.

They have been selected by Richard Wells, an illustrator and graphic designer known for his dark folkloric style and whose work for television has featured in Sherlock, Doctor Who and the the recent BBC adaptation of Dracula.

Each story will be accompanied by one of Richard’s full page original lino-cut illustrations.

The book will be a beautiful and striking object: an essential addition to the library of the eerie and the wyrd.