Volume 3 in this 3-volume set, the stories in this book are not quite as good as those in Volume 1, but better than those in volume 2. The opening story, "The Terror," is here unabridged; Volume 2 had it but it was a very short abridgement of the original. A lot of people don't like this story, but I must say, it's quite good and serves as a warning against war and against the inherent powers of nature when humans screw it up.

The contents list is long, so I'll briefly give you my favorites:

"The Islington Mystery": A man who sees himself much smarter than Dr. Crippen can't stand the suspense of the wait until his capture;

"The Lost Club" : in which two men accidentally come upon a gentleman's club where strange goings-on occur

"The Bright Boy": a story told by the tutor of a young boy in a very strange household

"Out of the Picture": this is a good one. A maniac is terrorizing the streets of London and it seems that he's not real.

"Change" - a picnic in some caves uncovers the existence of foul goings-on;

and my favorite, "The Dover Road," probably the best in the book, about a man who goes along to an old house with others and disappears.

I love Machen's stories about the "little people," and how he weaves in strands dealing with Celtic myth. It's very easy to see how Lovecraft was influenced by this author. Start with Volume I, though; it's by far the best of this series. ( )