Тъмната страна на Мопасан

Although Maupassant's short stories – over 300 in number – are extremely diverse in terms of genre, nearly 50 of them are frightening or contain horror elements. And it is precisely these terrifying tales, which are akin to the works of Poe, Hawthorne and Hoffmann, that today arouse the greatest interest among critics and readers of the French short-story writer. Some of them are supernatural, others psychological or naturalistic, and still others satirical in nature, but most are devoted to madness, spiritual corruption and moral weakness – favorite themes of the cynical and pessimistic Maupassant, who contracted syphilis as a young man. And although the disease that affected his brain did not hinder his ability to create brilliant literary works, it undoubtedly influenced his writing, which continues to move generations of readers. This volume includes Maupassant's best scary stories, some of which appear for the first time in Bulgarian. Among them is the famous 'The Horla', which inspired Bierce, Blackwood and Lovecraft to write their masterpieces 'The Damned Thing', 'The Willows' and 'The Call of Cthulhu'.