For the Discerning Reader of Weird Literature
Join the Miskatonic Literary Society and you'll receive a beautiful edition of a classic weird tale carefully selected by Garrison Matthis, Ph.D., Chairman of the English Department at Miskatonic University in Arkham, Mass. For the Society's inaugural year, Dr. Matthis and his Executive Committee have chosen the stories:
- "What Was It?" by Fitz James O'Brien (shipping December 15, 2022) - a tale of an otherworldly apparition in a New York boarding house
- "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (shipping March 2023) - the story of a woman's incipient madness brought on by her confinement in a wallpapered room
- "Markheim" by Robert Louis Stevenson (shipping June 2023) - good and evil collide strangely in a London antique shop
- "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe (shipping September 2023) - Poe knits a disturbing tale of revenge in one of literature's greatest short stories
These stories have been carefully curated by the MLS to provide readers with uncanny thrills and macabre delights, wrapped in the most elegant writing of the modern age and illustrated by artists with a penchant for the outré. Bespoke publisher Helios House Press has commissioned original artwork for each story, and had these fine volumes offset printed and thread bound by a traditional printer in Scotland, with letterpress covers. These editions are published exclusively for the MLS and are not available elsewhere. The print run is limited to 500 hand-numbered copies.
Join the Society and you'll receive a welcome letter from Professor Matthis and your personal deluxe membership card along with your first story. You need do nothing more than read and enjoy, and subsequent volumes will be mailed to you, along with additional ephemera and other bonus items. Each volume also comes with a companion MP3 Mythophonic audio recording by the esteemed orators Mssrs. Branney & Leman, suitable for playback through all manner of digital phonographs.
You can also get MLS merch in our Redbubble store! We have shirts, hats, journals, mugs and more!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are you serious?
A: Yes, we are very serious. If you join the Society you will receive a subscription and will receive all four books, sent to you on a quarterly basis. If you subscribe prior to March 1, 2023, you'll get the first issue immediately and the 2nd issue will be sent out the first week of March. If you subscribe after that, you'll get the first two issues immediately and the third issue will be sent to you in June.
Q: The HPLHS is a society. So this is a society within the society?
A: Yes. This is a joint enterprise between the HPLHS and Helios House.
Q: These books are small - why are they so expensive?
A: These books are published by Helios House and are printed using high quality techniques and materials by craftsmen in Scotland. They are produced in limited quantities for discerning readers. You will receive four separate shipments from us including the books and possibly surprises we're not telling you about. Your subscription also includes a download of a special Mythophonic recording of each story, produced by the HPLHS.
Q: Egad! Why is shipping so expensive?
A: As you may have seen elsewhere, shipping prices are way up for just about everything. This product requires us to send four separate parcels to you. If you're outside the USA the shipping cost is considerable. Believe us, we wish shipping costs were lower.
Q: Can HPLHS Members earn a bonus stamp by joining the Miskatonic Literary Society?
A: Why yes, they can and will!
Q: Will my subscription automatically be renewed after one year?
A: No. Some of the default language on the checkout page might make it sound that way, but no, you will only be charged once for one year's subscription. If you want to renew for another year that would be a separate transaction and will NOT happen automatically.
Q: What is the actual price of this subscription?
A: It's US$125 for a one year subscription that includes four books. Our subscription management software is sometimes showing a price of $31.25 (the price of one of the four issues). The issues are ONLY available via a one-time subscription payment of $125 + shipping. Everything seems to be displaying correctly at checkout.
