dark fiction for imaginative readers

THE FACULTY OF TERROR
by JOHN LLEWELLYN PROBERT

Take a Diploma in Fear….

Four secretaries working a late shift in a deserted office block….

A young man who sees the ghost of his dead father in wet glass….

The British underworld boss who will do anything to restore his tortured wife’s good looks…

The old cottage in the Wye Valley whose walls are soaked with blood…

An art gallery where patrons become part of the paintings….

A shop where you can buy anything your heart desires, but at a terrible price….

— g f p —

When music graduate Paul Dearden accepts an invitation to dinner at his old university the last thing he expects is an evening of the macabre. Over the finest food and drink he learns that the institution has a history steeped in blood. Paul cannot believe that the tales he is told by his dining companions are true, even though none of them are as cruel or as terrifying as the story he needs to tell.

In the tradition of classic British anthology horror films like ‘The House that Dripped Blood’, ‘Asylum’ and ‘From Beyond the Grave’, John Llewellyn Probert’s ‘The Faculty of Terror’ offers six tales of terror linked by a framework story, the climax of which will earn all who survive it a first class degree in spine tingling horror!

— g f p —

• WINNER of the 2006 CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT AWARD

REVIEWS

"I read The 'Faculty of Terror' fast and with much enjoyment. Liked the second, fourth and sixth stories best, especially the last — but they are all trumped by the superb framework story."
— Joel Lane, author of ‘The Lost District’ & ‘The Earth Wire’

"John Probert's collection was right up my proverbial haunted street. It reminded me a lot of those old Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes collections (cf "The Monster Club"). I particularly liked the story set in the cottage with the weird wall-painting.  It's brilliant to see an updated revival of the values and techniques of classic British horror. (The) collection really was first class stuff, and I only wish Amicus were still around so they could film the episodes!  It was great. I hope John writes a few more books in this portmanteau vein."
— Mark Samuels, author of ‘The White Hands & Other Weird Tales’

"The book is a genuine pleasure, a treasure trove of entertaining — yet pleasingly nasty - horror stories. I read the entire book with a smile on my face and a chill in my bones. Excellent stuff — any fan of writers like Robert Bloch will love this. It's the type of fun/nasty/literate horror that few people bother to write any more."
— Gary McMahon, author of ‘Rough Cut’ & ‘Dirty Prayers’

"'Faculty of Terror' is exactly what it says on the packaging. The author is not joking when he states you’ll take a diploma in fear. The book comprises six interlinked stories held together by one larger piece which doesn’t disappoint in its conclusion. John is a master of terror; his eloquent prose providing a rollercoaster journey and an education in the art of fear."
— Alison L R Davies, from a forthcoming review in ‘Prism’ magazine

"This one is fun. John L. Probert writes with some of the same warped humour as the late Robert Bloch. Each of these tales is effective and provokes either shivers of fear, or repulsion — there is some very effective nastiness to be found here."
— Sean Parker, from ‘The Zone’ Review

"What a treat to read a collection of grisly tales such as these, traditionally told with expertise. Each tale is really well crafted and the connecting thread running through the book holds everything firmly together, ending with a wicked little twist which every good collection should have. I thoroughly enjoyed it."
— Berni Stevens, from ‘Voices from the Vaults’ Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS


introduction by Paul Finch

Foreword

Prologue

Over Time

interlude one

Asphyx in Glass

interlude two

A Family Affair

interlude three

Set in Stone

interlude four

States of the Art

interlude five

The Kreutzenberg Sonata

finale

Cover by Zach McCain

PUBLICATION DATE: August 2006

Trade paperback; ISBN: 0-9550922-5-6
signed by John Llewellyn Probert and Paul Finch

UK, £7.50 + £1 P&P
USA, $14 + $4 P&P (airmail)
Europe, €11 + €3 P&P (airmail)
© gray friar press 2007