The six volumes in the Black Wings series, from which these “Best of” tales are selected,  stand as a monument to H. P. Lovecraft’s incalculable and unassailable influence on contemporary weird fiction, and so the time seemed right for a retrospective volume that exhibits the choicest items from the series. The task of selection was not a simple or straightforward one, for every tale in the series had some claim to be chosen; let it then be said that this volume does not contain necessarily the “best” stories, but rather the most representative stories in the series. If this selection leads readers back to the many other tales featured in those volumes, then its purpose will have been adequately served.

—S. T. Joshi

Contents

• Lesser Demons — Norman Partridge
• Howling in the Dark — Darrell Schweitzer
• Passing Spirits — Sam Gafford
• When Death Wakes Me to Myself — John Shirley
• The Abject — Richard Gavin
• Dahlias — Melanie Tem
• Bloom — John Langan
• Thistle’s Find — Simon Strantzas
• Houdini Fish — Jonathan Thomas
• Artifact — Fred Chappell
• Cult of the Dead — Lois H. Gresh
• The Dark Sea Within — Jason V Brock
• Night of the Piper — Ann K. Schwader
• The Woman in the Attic — Robert H. Waugh
• The Walker in the Night — Jason C. Eckhardt
• The Organ of Chaos — Donald Tyson
• Voodoo — Stephen Woodworth
• The Shard — Don Webb
• To Move Beneath Autumnal Oaks — W. H. Pugmire
• Lore —Wade German