March Was Women in Horror Month at West End

March is Women in Horror Month, and the West End Neighborhood Library celebrated along with libraries and bookstores nationwide.
West End Library Staff member Tracy is a major supporter of speculative fiction and horror published and reissued by Valancourt Books, many of which are now available at the DC Public Library.

Valancourt Books is an independent small press located in Richmond, VA. They specialize in the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction. Check out these Valancourt titles to get started on a horrifying journey:


Monster She Wrote








The Valencourt Book of World Horror Stories. Volume 1









Benighted









In A Shallow Grave









Check out the collection at DC Public Library!

Some other books you can place on hold:

• Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories Vol 2
• The Travelling Grave and Other Stories
• The Monster She Wrote Series

-Nightmare Flower-This collection of eighteen short tales, a novelette and a short novel takes the reader inside the dark imagination of Elizabeth Engstrom, author of acclaimed horror classics like When Darkness Loves Us. In these stories, you will read about a woman asked to be complicit in her own mother's death, a grandmother with a macabre hobby, a bizarre, phallic-shaped flower that portends evil for a married couple, a father whose son is caught up in a sinister government experiment. These are weird and unsettling tales that will linger with the reader.--Back cover.




-The Women of Weird Tales- "Launched in 1923, the pulp magazine Weird Tales quickly became one of the most important outlets for horror and fantasy fiction and is often associated with writers like H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert Bloch, all of whose work appeared in its pages. But often overlooked is the fact that much of Weird Tales' content was by women writers, some of whom numbered among the magazine's most popular contributors. This volume includes thirteen fantastic tales originally published between 1925 and 1949, written by four of Weird Tales' most prolific female contributors: Greye La Spina, Everil Worrell, Mary Elizabeth Counselman, and Eli Colter. Ranging from science fiction to fantasy to horror, these classic tales of mad scientists, deadly curses, ghosts, vampires, and the risen dead remain as thrilling and sensational as when first published."--Back cover.

The Dead Hours of Night-"In a career spanning almost 50 years, Lisa Tuttle has proven herself a master of the weird tale, and ... this ... collection of twelve unsettling stories--some never previously collected--offers readers a chance to discover some of her finest work"--Back cover.






The Bishop of Hell-"Marjorie Bowen (1885-1952) was a prolific author of some 150 books and counted Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, and Graham Greene among her many admirers. Her most enduring work is her tales of the ghostly and supernatural, her favorites of which she collected in 1949 ... This collection of twelve stories ranks among the finest volumes of British ghost stories of all time and is presented here with a new introduction by Melanie R. Anderson"--Publisher marketing.




Manfrone (The One Handed Monk)- This early 19th-century novel "opens with an unforgettable Gothic scene: a lascivious monk enters the lovely Rosalina's bedroom at midnight through a secret panel, planning to rape her--but suffers the gruesome loss of his hand when he is caught in the act. But the one-handed monk is not the only danger facing Rosalina. Her father, the haughty Duca di Rodolpho, is determined to marry her to the cruel Prince di Manfroné and has imprisoned her true love Montalto in the castle dungeon. And then there is the mysterious Grimaldi. What are his inscrutable plans, and is he trying to help Rosalina or destroy her?