Stories of the supernatural have been a staple of American literature since the 19th-century works of Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, and Ambrose Bierce. This collection of original essays by scholars and critics examines some of the most important 20th-century American writers of supernatural fiction. These essays are written by such experts in the field as Sam Moskowitz-well-known scholar of science fiction and fantasy, Langley Searles, publisher of "Fantasy Commentator," Brian Stableford-British novelist and critic, and Joseph Payne Brennan-the late author of fantasy and macabre stories-who discusses his career and considers the fate of the supernatural story in a technological age.

By treating both well-known writers and those not familiar to the general public, these scholars offer an overview of the achievements and the possibilities in fantastic and supernatural fiction in the 20th century.