The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe (approx. 1589): A dramatic Elizabethan tragedy in which the titular character makes pact with the devil, exchanging his soul for 24 years of knowledge and power to do as he likes.

Zofloya, or The Moor by Charlotte Dacre (1806): A purposefully melodramatic gothic tale of scandal, sexual deviancy, and violent revenge, in which a wicked heroine shuns the mores of aristocratic views to reach her own ends.

About the Series Editors

Eric J. Guignard has twice won the Bram Stoker Award®, been a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award, and been a multi-nominee of the Pushcart Prize for his works of dark and speculative fiction. He has over one hundred stories and nonfiction credits appearing in publications around the world, has edited multiple anthologies, and has created an ongoing series of primers exploring modern masters of literary short fiction, titled Exploring Dark Short Fiction. His latest books are his story collection, That Which Grows Wild (Cemetery Dance) and novel, Doorways to the Deadeye (JournalStone).

Leslie S. Klinger is the New York Times–bestselling editor of the Edgar®-winning New Annotated Sherlock Holmes and the Edgar®-winning Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s, as well as numerous other annotated books, anthologies, and articles on Holmes, Dracula, Lovecraft, Frankenstein, mysteries, horror, and the Victorian age. Twice nominated for the Bram Stoker Award® for Best Nonfiction, his work includes the acclaimed New Annotated Dracula and New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft, as well as the World Fantasy Award–nominated New Annotated Frankenstein and several anthologies of classic vampire and horror fiction. His latest books are New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft: Beyond Arkham and Annotated American Gods with Neil Gaiman.