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The Dark Descent

by David G. Hartwell (editor)

In this anthology, a woman reports her husband missing and describes encounters with monsters. Two night-shift policemen disagree over whether to believe her account.

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Winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. "A gigantic, superlatively edited historical overview of horror fiction.” ― Chicago Sun-Times

In The Dark Descent , hailed as one of the most important anthologies ever to examine horror fiction, editor David G. Hartwell traces the complex history of horror in literature back to the earliest short stories. The Dark Descen t showcases the finest of these ever written--from the time-honored classics of masters of the form.

First published: 1987
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Pages: 1,024
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Book tags

Unknown / Unseen Entity

Content warnings

Body Horror / Body Trauma
Gore
Graphic Violence
Mental Illness

Missing warnings do not mean other content is absent.

Horror profile

Scary: Not rated
Creepy: Not rated
Gore: Not rated
Disturbing: Not rated
Weird: Not rated

How we calculate this

These are editorial estimates of intensity, informed by reading and review evidence, then checked before publication. They aren't star ratings, reader-vote averages or a measure of quality.

Each dimension runs from 1 (low) to 5 (exceptionally intense). A 5 is reserved for strongly consistent evidence. People experience horror differently.

Scary: Fear, tension and immediate threat.
Creepy: Unease, dread and an uncanny atmosphere.
Gore: Graphic injury, blood and bodily detail.
Disturbing: Upsetting ideas and lingering psychological impact.
Weird: Surreal, strange and reality-bending elements.

We draw a filled profile only when all five scores have been reviewed. Unrated does not mean mild. Missing scores are not estimated from genre tags or your saved taste. This profile isn't a complete content-warning guide.