I read the 1979 edition of this book, and I'd highly recommend it as a 1st-read, prior to getting acquainted with some of the Black Lizard publisher anthologies, "The Big Book of Ghost Stories", book by Otto Penzler and 'The Vampire Archives: The Most Complete Volume of Vampire Tales Ever Published", also edited by Otto Penzler. It's wonderful that fans of what I affectionately call "Gothic" writing have hefty sources to refer to. And the stories themselves are timeless. ( )

the book started off with newer works and ended with the oldest ones. i liked it less as i progressed. the older writers are so wordy. they must use every word they know to show how erudite they are? ( )