Why am I passionate about this?

Even before I found Lovecraft and Stephen King and my world turned, I was raised on Doyle, Wells, Hodgson, and Robert Louis Stevenson which gave me both a love of the "gentleman detective" era and a deep love of the late Victorian/early Edwardian historical period in general. Once you merge that with my abiding interest in all things weird and spooky, you can see where a lot of my stories come from. There seems to be quite a burgeoning market for this kind of mixing of detection and supernatural, and I intend to write more... maybe even a lot more.


I wrote

Carnacki: Heaven and Hell

By William Meikle,

Book cover of Carnacki: Heaven and Hell

What is my book about?

This is my first (of four) collections of stories featuring William Hope Hodgspon's Carnacki: Ghostfinder. Carnacki resonated with me…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Carnacki, The Ghost Finder

William Meikle Why did I love this book?

William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki is the ultimate occult detective, willing to venture deep into mystic lore to get to the root of any problem. You may notice while reading that Carnacki likes a drink and a smoke, and a hearty meal with his friends gathered 'round. This dovetails perfectly with my own idea of a good time. And although I no longer smoke, writing about characters who do allows me a small vicarious reminder of my own younger days. I wish I had Carnacki's library, his toys, but most of all, I envy him his regular visits from his tight group of friends, all more than willing to listen to his tales of adventure into the weird places of the world while drinking his Scotch and smoking his cigarettes.

By William Hope Hodgson,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Carnacki, The Ghost Finder as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Six tales of Carnacki the Ghost Finder, tales of the outre, the unexpected, and the unexplained from a reknowned master of the macabre, William Hope Hodgeson.


Book cover of The Complete John Silence Stories

William Meikle Why did I love this book?

Silence is much more cerebral than Carnacki, more prone to solve his mysteries from the comfort of his armchair over a pipe of tobacco. But don't let the leisurely pace fool you; Blackwood brings the chills like few others can, and you might find yourself looking over your shoulder more than once, or even getting up to put a stronger light on. If creeping dread is your thing, Blackwood's your man for it.

By Algernon Blackwood,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Complete John Silence Stories as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the former British writers of supernatural tales in the twentieth century, Algernon Blackwood (1869–1951) wrote stories in which the slow accumulation of telling details produced a foreboding atmosphere of almost unendurable tension. Blackwood's literary renown began in 1908 with the publication of a highly successful collection of stories, John Silence — Physician Extraordinary, featuring a "psychic doctor."
This volume contains all five of the John Silence stories from the 1908 edition plus one additional tale. Edited and with an informative introduction by S. T. Joshi, noted occult fiction authority, the stories include "A Psychical Invasion," in which Silence…


Book cover of Original Sins

William Meikle Why did I love this book?

These collected graphic novels set the benchmark for Occult Detectives in comic form. Constantine shows up as a fully realized character from the off, and having him as a rough-and-tumble Brit is a stroke of genius. His adventures tie together modern comic sensibilities with pulp themes to great effect and having 'names' as the writers and artists ensures a high standard of storytelling throughout. This collection is the perfect place to start to follow his journeys. 

By Jamie DeLano, John Ridgway,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Original Sins as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The very first Hellblazer collection is back in a new edition that includes John Constantine's early appearances in SWAMP THING #76-77 along with HELLBLAZER #1-9. This is the first of a series of new HELLBLAZER collections that put all his adventures in reading order, capturing Constantine at his youthful, anarchic best.


Book cover of Who Fears the Devil (Planet Stories 24)

William Meikle Why did I love this book?

Silver John, a balladeer with a silver-stringed guitar, crisscrosses rural USA encountering all manner of supernatural entities, and does it with a song in his heart. There's a deep love of ancient folklore that shines through in this wonderful collection. It's far removed from Carnacki or Silence's cozy sitting rooms and libraries, but every bit as tied to a desire to get to the root of ancient mysteries. There's an almost Bradburyesque sense of wonder in these tales that lifts you up and carries you alongside John on his travels.

By Manly Wade Wellman, Mike Resnick, Karl Edward Wagner

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Who Fears the Devil (Planet Stories 24) as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There's a traveling man the Carolina mountain folk call Silver John for the silver strings strung on his guitar. In his wanderings, John encounters a parade of benighted forest creatures, mountain spirits, and shapeless horrors from the void of history with only his enduring spirit, playful wit, and the magic of his guitar to preserve him. Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John is one of the most beloved figures in fantasy, a true American folk hero of the literary age. For the first time the "Planet Stories" edition of "Who Fears the Devil?" collects all of John's adventures published throughout Wellman's…


Book cover of The Compleat Crow

William Meikle Why did I love this book?

Lumley is steeped in both the occult detective and the Lovecraftian tradition, and it shows most clearly in this set of pulpy occult detective stories featuring his cerebral-yet-tough Titus Crow, and involving wild flights of fancy in time and space that also arguably show some influence from Doctor Who. We get a lovely creepy origin story here, and several vignettes, but the highlight is the longer tale of the mysteries of the wyrm, and festering, crawling things in an ancient manor house and its library. It fairly oozes supernatural evil and is one of my favorite things.

By Brian Lumley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Compleat Crow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Titus Crow is an occult investigator, psychic sleuth and cosmic voyager. In this book 11 short stories featuring Crow are brought together. These stories were written before the "Cthulhu Mythos" novels and follow Crow as he explores beyond the frontiers where mortal man is not meant to tread.


Explore my book 😀

Carnacki: Heaven and Hell

By William Meikle,

Book cover of Carnacki: Heaven and Hell

What is my book about?

This is my first (of four) collections of stories featuring William Hope Hodgspon's Carnacki: Ghostfinder. Carnacki resonated with me immediately on my first reading many years ago. Several of the stories have a Lovecraftian viewpoint, with cosmic entities that have no regard for the doings of mankind. The background Hodgson proposes fits with some of my own viewpoints on the ways the Universe might function, and the slightly formal Edwardian language seems to be a "voice" I fall into naturally. I write them because of love, pure and simple.

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Book cover of Love Love TV

Gabriel Ruesso

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What is my book about?

Christopher Jope was supposed to be the next great celebrity heartthrob. But then he was demoted to third wheel in the supernatural throuple romance he starred in years ago. Now, he’s a B-list celebrity at best, struggling to find success in his work or love in his personal life. 

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Interested in the supernatural, occult, and comics?

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Comics 124 books