Nightmare Tales

Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna), 1831-1891Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 229K words
Chapters: 23

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Nightmare Tales by H. P. BlavatskyAuthor: Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna), 1831-1891,Language: English, Class: PG: Language and Literatures: Slavic (including Russian), Languages and Literature, Release Date: Jan 1, 2014

Editor's review

Nightmare Tales is a short-story collection written in English by Madame Blavatsky. It belongs to the fantasy and mystical genre. Though brief, it concentrates the author's interest in dreams, the occult, and supernatural experience. For general readers, the main barrier to entry is cultural background: the stories often draw on Eastern religious and esoteric vocabulary, and the narrative pace differs from that of modern horror fiction, emphasizing atmosphere and allegory rather than shock effects. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, it costs nothing to obtain and serves as firsthand material for understanding the literary tastes of nineteenth-century mysticism. Read it as a "cultural specimen" rather than pure entertainment: it offers a view of how Victorian readers received supernatural narratives, and of how the author wove her personal beliefs into fictional plots. If you are studying the genealogy of fantasy literature or the intersection of mysticism and popular fiction, this little book is worth a look; if you want only thrilling horror stories, adjust your expectations.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century mysticism and fantasy literature
Literature enthusiasts studying supernatural narratives, dream themes, or the history of popular fiction
Readers who want a low-cost eBook introduction to Blavatsky's style

Not a good fit for

Horror readers expecting modern pacing and strong scares
Readers impatient with religious and esoteric terminology who want pure plot
Young readers, or parents seeking clear age-rating guidance

Reading tips

Read one or two stories first to get a feel for the narrative pace before deciding whether to read the whole book
Skip past religious or esoteric terms at first; there is no need to look up every word
Read alongside background material on nineteenth-century supernatural fiction to understand its historical context

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in the original English? What level of English is needed?

This is an English eBook from Project Gutenberg. The stories are not long, but they involve religious and esoteric vocabulary. It is recommended for readers with university-level English reading ability, or those willing to read slowly with a dictionary.

Is this collection suitable for reading as horror fiction?

Not really. It is closer to fantasy stories with a mystical flavor, focusing on atmosphere and allegory rather than the tension and scare tactics of modern horror. The reading experience improves once expectations are adjusted.

Where does the electronic edition come from, and is it easy to read?

The book is published by Project Gutenberg as a free public-domain eBook. Plain text and common eBook formats are available on its website, making it convenient to read on a computer, e-reader, or phone.

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About the author

Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna), 1831-1891 Author

H. P. Blavatsky (1831–1891) was a significant nineteenth-century Theosophical writer, though public information about the details of her life is limited. Seven of her works are held in this collection, spanning theoretical treatises and narrative writings. Her representative work The Secret Doctrine, in several volumes, sets out her cosmology and views on human origins, while The Key to Theosophy explains Theosophical teachings in question-and-answer form. Nightmare Tales and From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan show her work as a writer of fiction and travel sketches, and Studies in Occultism collects essays and reprints from her writings. Her writing blends religion, philosophy and mysticism in an elaborate style, and has had a lasting influence on modern Western esoteric thought and related movements, continuing to attract researchers and readers today.