Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.

One of the most terrifying stories of the twentieth century, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” created a sensation when it was first published in The New Yorker in 1948.
"Power and haunting," and "nights of unrest" were typical reader responses. Today it is considered a classic work of short fiction, a story remarkable for its combination of subtle suspense and pitch-perfect descriptions of both the chilling and the mundane.
The Lottery and Other Stories, the only collection of stories to appear during Shirley Jackson's lifetime, unites "The Lottery" with twenty-four equally unusual short stories. Together they demonstrate Jackson's remarkable range―from the hilarious to the horrible, the unsettling to the ominous―and her power as a storyteller.

After the publication of her short story “The Lottery” in the New Yorker in 1948 received an unprecedented amount of attention, Shirley Jackson was quickly established as a master horror storyteller. This collection of classic and newly reprinted stories provides readers with more of her unsettling, dark tales, including the “The Possibility of Evil” and “The Summer People.” In these deliciously dark stories, the daily commute turns into a nightmarish game of hide and seek, the loving wife hides homicidal thoughts and the concerned citizen might just be an infamous serial killer. In the haunting world of Shirley Jackson, nothing is as it seems and nowhere is safe, from the city streets to the crumbling country pile, and from the small-town apartment to the dark, dark woods. There’s something sinister in suburbia.

Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods - until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiosity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp.

It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, the lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

The world of Shirley Jackson is eerie and unforgettable, writes A. M. Homes. "It is a place where things are not what they seem; even on a morning that is sunny and clear there is always the threat of darkness looming, of things taking a turn for the worse." Jackson's characters-mostly unloved daughters in search of a home, a career, a family of their own-chase what appears to be a harmless dream until, without warning, it turns on its heel to seize them by the throat. We are moved by these characters' dreams, for they are the dreams of love and acceptance shared by us all. We are shocked when their dreams become nightmares, and terrified by Jackson's suggestion that there are unseen powers-"demons" both subconscious and supernatural-malevolently conspiring against human happiness.
In this volume Joyce Carol Oates, our leading practitioner of the contemporary Gothic, presents the essential works of Shirley Jackson, the novels and stories that, from the early 1940s through the mid-1960s, wittily remade the genre of psychological horror for an alienated, postwar America. She opens with The Lottery (1949), Jackson's only collection of short fiction, whose disquieting title story-one of the most widely anthologized tales of the 20th century-has entered American folklore. Also among these early works are "The Daemon Lover," a story Oates praises as "deeper, more mysterious, and more disturbing than 'The Lottery,' " and "Charles," the hilarious sketch that launched Jackson's secondary career as a domestic humorist. Here too are Jackson's masterly short novels: The Haunting of Hill House (1959), the tale of an achingly empathetic young woman chosen by a haunted house to be its new tenant, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962), the unrepentant confessions of Miss Merricat Blackwood, a cunning adolescent who has gone to quite unusual lengths to preserve her ideal of family happiness. Rounding out the volume are 21 other stories and sketches that showcase Jackson in all her many modes, and the essay "Biography of a Story," Jackson's acidly funny account of the public reception of "The Lottery," which provoked more mail from readers of The New Yorker than any contribution before or since.

In a small American town, the local residents are abuzz with excitement and nervousness when they wake on the morning of the twenty-seventh of June. Everything has been prepared for the town’s annual tradition—a lottery in which every family must participate, and no one wants to win.

“The Lottery” stands out as one of the most famous short stories in American literary history. Originally published in The New Yorker, the author immediately began receiving letters from readers who demanded an explanation of the story’s meaning. “The Lottery” has been adapted for stage, television, radio and film.

There's something nasty in suburbia. In these deliciously dark tales, the daily commute turns into a nightmarish game of hide and seek, the loving wife hides homicidal thoughts and the concerned citizen might just be an infamous serial killer. In the haunting world of Shirley Jackson, nothing is as it seems and nowhere is safe, from the city streets to the country manor, and from the small-town apartment to the dark, dark woods...

"The Lottery", one of the most terrifying stories written in the twentieth century, created a sensation when it was published in 1948. Today it is considered a classic work of short fiction, remarkable for its combination of subtle suspense and pitch-perfect descriptions of both the chilling and the mundane. This collection, the only one to appear during Shirley Jackson's lifetime, unites "The Lottery" with twenty-four equally unusual stories.

Four seekers have arrived at the rambling old pile known as Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of psychic phenomena; Theodora, his lovely and lighthearted assistant; Luke, the adventurous future inheritor of the estate; and Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman with a dark past. As they begin to cope with chilling, even horrifying occurrences beyond their control or understanding, they cannot possibly know what lies ahead. For Hill House is gathering its powers - and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

Since its original publication in 1966, this volume has attained classic status. Now its contents have been updated and its cultural framework enlarged by the orginal editors. Many of the 44 stories come from a new writing generation with a contemporary consciousness, and this brilliant blending of masters of the past and the brightest talents of the present achieves the goal of making a great collection even greater.

The first short story collection by Shirley Jackson, featuring one of her most celebrated works.

The only collection of Jackson's short fiction to be published in her lifetime, it contains 25 stories, of which "The Lottery" is the most famous. When it was published in The New Yorker, it elicited an unprecedented stream of interest, both positive and negative, from its readers. It is a haunting take of the darker side of small town America, and one of Jackson's crowning achievements.
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آنچه بر دوش می‌کشیدند ضیافتی از داستان‌های کوتاه را ترتیب داده است. هر ‫داستان، کلاسیک یا مدرن، طعم و بوی خاص خود را دارد و مخاطب را در فضایی میان گذشته و حال شناور می‌سازد. دست‌چینی از آثار کوتاه و اندیشه‌ساز نویسندگان انگلیسی زبان، چه آن‌ها که از نژاد آنگلوساکسون بودند و در انگلستان یا ایرلند به دنیا آمدند و چه آن‌ها که در قارهٔ نو‌، پا به عرصهٔ وجود گذاشتند، پیش روی شیفتگان داستان قرار گرفته است. شخصیت‌هایی متفاوت خلق می‌شوند و برخی‌شان خواننده را در جهانی از چلش‌ها، انگیزه‌ها، کنش‌ها و تأمّلات درونی و فلسفی خویش، درگیر می‌سازند. هر شخصیت، از کودک آرمان‌خواه فاتح اسپانیایی و پدربزرگش گرفته تا ستوانی دل‌باخته به نام جیمی کراس، در آنچه بر دوش می‌کشیدند، که دل در گرو عشق مارتا دارد، جلوه‌ای آشنا از طبیعت بشر و ایده‌آل‌هایش را باز می‌آفریند و این‌گونه، احساس هم‌ذات پنداری مخاطب را برمی‌انگیزد. ولی علیرغم تفاوت‌هایی بی‌شمار که در جهان‌بینی شخصیت‌ها و نحوهٔ نگرش آن‌ها به آدم‌های پیرامونشان به چشم می‌خورد، تمامشان از وجهی مشترک برخوردارند و آن، بار تحمّل‌ناپذیر تنها بودن است که هریک به شکلی، بر دوش می‌کشند.


The present book is a selection of short and thought-provoking short stories by English-speaking authors. Each story, classic or modern, has its own taste and smell and makes the audience float between the past and the present. The theme is presented to the reader from the dark atmosphere of the stories and the pessimistic look that is housed in the lower layers, and flips over to the raw fantasy of the simple-minded who strongly believe that life is a sweet and pleasant phenomenon. In the story of "Hand", we read: A man finds an artificial hand that has fallen on the floor of the street and takes it home with him, washes it, and constantly thinks about what the owner of this hand looks like. She goes to the market to find men without hands

Originally published, New York, Viking Press, 1962.

Standard print ed. originally published: New York : Viking, 1959.