Nightmare Tales

This selection of short stories from H. P. Blavatsky are superb examples of her talents at writing mystery fiction, inspired by enormous knowledge of the mystical and arcane.

Often, Blavatsky’s stories are presented as correspondences or reports by or between interested observers into strange or supernatural happenings. Typically, the tales recount events in remote, faraway lands, their tellers having experienced contact with otherworldly forces or bizarre, unexplained entities. Several begin in an intriguing manner, capturing the reader’s interest as circumstances inevitably ratchet farther and farther up into something more chillingly weird, or outright nightmarish.

Spending her lifetime investigating all manner of spiritual beliefs and the ancient mysteries behind the religions of Egypt and Asia, Helena Blavatsky translated this ample material, introducing much ancient, forgotten lore to new audiences. Though her fictional output remained only occasional, such dabbling is imbued with the esoteric sense of mystery and knowledge that characterized Blavatsky’s life work.

Among her followers and fellow members of the Theosophical Society she founded, Blavatsky’s gift for engaging audiences with storytelling were well-appreciated. Nightmare Tales is the closest the modern reader can achieve to sitting down to hear a yarn from the renowned occultist herself.