Books by Lafcadio Hearn

Japanese Ghost Stories

by Lafcadio Hearn

Brilliantly entertaining and eerie ghost stories, regarded as major classics in Japan, by the Irish writer and Japanophile Lafcadio Hearn—whose life inspired bestselling writer Monique Truong's novel The Sweetest Fruits

A Penguin Classic

In this collection of classic ghost stories from Japan, beautiful princesses turn out to be frogs, paintings come alive, deadly spectral brides haunt the living, and a samurai delivers the baby of a Shinto goddess with mystical help. Here are all the phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore: "rokuro-kubi," whose heads separate from their bodies at night; "jikininki," or flesh-eating goblins; and terrifying faceless "mujina" who haunt lonely neighborhoods. Lafcadio Hearn, a master storyteller, drew on traditional Japanese folklore, infused with memories of his own haunted childhood in Ireland, to create the chilling tales in Japanese Ghost Stories. They are today regarded in Japan as classics in their own right.

Of Ghosts and Goblins (Little Clothbound Classics)

by Lafcadio Hearn

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short works by the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith

A Penguin Classic Hardcover

In this haunting collection, the phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore stalk the page. Lafcadio Hearn, a master storyteller, drew on traditional Japanese folklore, infused with memories of his own haunted childhood in Ireland, to create these chilling tales. They are today regarded in Japan as classics in their own right.

Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn (Oddly Modern Fairy Tales, 19)

by Lafcadio Hearn

A collection of twenty-eight brilliant and strange stories, inspired by Japanese folk tales and written by renowned Western expatriate Lafcadio Hearn

Lafcadio Hearn (1850–1904) was one of the nineteenth century’s best-known writers, his name celebrated alongside those of Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson. Born in Greece and raised in Ireland, Hearn was a true prodigy and world traveler. He worked as a reporter in Cincinnati, New Orleans, and the West Indies before heading to Japan in 1890 on a commission from Harper’s. There, he married a Japanese woman from a samurai family, changed his name to Koizumi Yakumo, and became a Japanese subject. An avid collector of traditional Japanese tales, legends, and myths, Hearn taught literature and wrote his own tales for both Japanese and Western audiences. Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn brings together twenty-eight of Hearn’s strangest and most entertaining stories in one elegant volume.

Hearn’s tales span a variety of genres. Many are fantastical ghost stories, such as “The Corpse-Rider,” in which a man foils the attempts of his former wife’s ghost to haunt him. Some are love stories in which the beloved is not what she appears to be: in “The Story of Aoyagi,” a young samurai narrowly escapes the wrath of his lord for marrying without permission, only to discover that his wife is the spirit of a willow tree. Throughout this collection, Hearn’s reverence for Japan shines through, and his stories provide insights into the country’s artistic and cultural heritage.

With an introduction by Andrei Codrescu discussing Hearn’s life and work, as well as a foreword by Jack Zipes, Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn provides a unique window into one writer’s multicultural literary journey.

Lafcadio Hearn’s Creole Cookbook (Classic Recipes Series)

by Lafcadio Hearn

First published in 1885, this was the first Creole cookbook ever printed'a rare collection of recipes from leading New Orleans chefs of the day, as well as from Creole housewives.

Louisiana Stories

by Lafcadio Hearn, George Cable, Grace King

An anthology of some of the best short stories ever written by Louisiana authors. Included in this compilation are works by Henry Clay Lewis, George Washington Cable, Lafcadio Hearn, Grace King, Kate Chopin, William Faulkner, Lyle Saxon, E. P. O'Donnell, Shirley Ann Grau, Ernest Gaines, Andre Dubus, James Lee Burke, and John William Corrington.

Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things

by Lafcadio Hearn

This collection of Japanese supernatural stories is a classic work in the field of Japanese horror.

Known primarily as an early interpreter of Japanese culture and customs, the famous writer Lafcadio Hearn also wrote ghost stories--"delicate, transparent, ghostly sketches"--about his adopted land. Many of the stories found in Kwaidan, "stories and studies of strange things," are based on Japanese tales told long ago to him by his wife; others possibly have a Chinese origin. All have been re-colored and reshaped by Hearn's inimitable hand.

Some critics attribute Hearn's fascination with eerie tales to his partial blindness. Whatever its roots, he was drawn to the hidden realms of the spirit world with its strange facts and marvels. In this collection of unforgettably haunting stories, Hearn brings together "the meeting of three ways"--the austere dreams of India, the subtle beauty of Japan and the relentless science of the Western world.

Japanese ghost and supernatural tales include: A musician called upon to perform for the dead Man-eating goblins Insects who uncannily mimic human behavior

La Cuisine Creole (trade): A Collection of Culinary Recipes From Leading Chefs and Noted Creole Housewives, Who Have Made New Orleans Famous for Its Cuisine

by Lafcadio Hearn

Lafcadio Hearn's La Cuisine Creole is the first Creole cookbook, one of the great rare classics of the culture. Among its recipes, collected "from leading chefs and noted Creole housewives," are gumbos with oysters, okra, and shrimp; "grenouilles frites" or fried frogs; plum, sweet potato, and gingerbread pudding; and a number of beverages, several of which use absinthe as the main ingredient. Lafcadio Hearn spent close to a dozen years in New Orleans, starting in 1877. During that time, his writings significantly shaped the impressions, myths, and symbols of the Crescent City, many of which live on to this day. Although Hearn was born in Greece in 1850, he chronicled Creole culture and the natural and domestic worlds of New Orleans - most notably its language and cuisine - as if he were born and raised there. Later in life, he became a citizen of Japan and is considered by the Japanese to be one of the greatest Japanese writers of his time.

La Cuisine Creole: A Collection of Culinary Recipes From Leading Chefs and Noted Creole Housewives, Who Have Made New Orleans Famous for Its Cuisine (Cooking in America)

by Lafcadio Hearn

Published circa 1885, this pioneering work compiles the recipes of New Orleans in one volume. Celebrating the range of ethnic influences on Creole cuisine, the book contains recipes for many of the classic New Orleans dishes, including "Gombo file, Bouille-abaisee, Courtbouillon, [and] Jambolaya," as well as those for desserts and mixed drinks. Originally published anonymously but widely accepted to have been written by Lafcadio Hearn, one of New Orleans greatest literary talents, it shows a more literary flair than most modern cookbooks. Because of that, La Cuisine Creole gives a feeling of the flavor, both culinary and cultural, of late-nineteenth century New Orleans.

Lafcadio Hearn: American Writings (Library of America, No. 190)

by Lafcadio Hearn

Featuring a wide range of writings from Hearn’s time in America, this collection is a stunning showcase of the Greek-Irish author’s uniquely decadent literary flair and keen eye for observation

A translator of Flaubert and Gautier, Lafcadio Hearn was the master of a gaudy and sometimes self-consciously decadent literary style, but he was also a tough-minded and keenly observant reporter, with an eye for the offbeat, the sensual, and occasionally the gruesome. The writings of his American years collected in this Library of America volume—on subjects as wide ranging as comparative folklore, the history of musical instruments, French literary avant-gardes, and New Orleans voodoo—reveal an omnivorous curiosity and an always eclectic sensibility.

Some Chinese Ghosts (1887), a stylized retelling of ancient legends, foreshadows Hearn's later fascination with Asian themes. The exquisitely crafted novels Chita (1889), about the devastation wrought by a Louisiana hurricane, and Youma (1890), about a slave rebellion in Martinique, epitomize his writing at its most luxuriantly romantic, alert to the interactions of diverse cultures and suffused with imagistic splendor. His extraordinary travel book Two Years in the French West Indies (1890), presented here with the many illustrations from its first edition, provides a richly impressionistic account of his long stay on Martinique and other Caribbean islands. Also included are personal letters as well as more than a dozen examples of Hearn's journalism from the 1870s and 1880s, depicting vividly: a raucous African-American nightclub on the Cincinnati waterfront; an execution; scenes of Mardi Gras and the New Orleans French Quarter; an uncharted village of Filipino fishermen in a remote Louisiana bayou.

LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

Gothic Fantasy: Terrifying Ghosts Short Stories

by Ambrose Bierce, Amelia B. Edwards, Lafcadio Hearn, E.f. Benson, A.C. Benson

Ghastly castles, haunted mansions, shadowy forests and long, dark corridors... This new addition to the Gothic Fantasy series is packed with tales of terror, bringing together the new and the familiar, the unusual and the unexpected. Featuring many stories from open submissions by new writers, Terrifying Ghosts Short Stories delivers a satisfying read for the anyone fascinated by glimpses of the beyond: master storytellers featured include A.C. Benson, E.F. Benson, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, Marjorie Bowen, Francis Marion Crawford, Charles Dickens, Sheridan Le Fanu, William Hope Hodgson, Henry James, M.R. James, Bram Stoker and Edith Wharton.

The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation

by Lafcadio Hearn

Vivid descriptions of how the Japanese live, work, and think.

Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan: Terrifying Japanese Tales of Yokai, Ghosts, and Demons

by Lafcadio Hearn

"Even as she screamed, her voice became thin, like a crying of wind; then she melted into a bright white mist that spired to the roof beams. Never again was she seen."

Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan (which means "ghost story" in Japanese) is the first and most famous collection of Japanese yokai stories ever published. This unforgettable collection of 17 eerie tales and 3 original cultural studies by Hearn are based on traditional oral tales passed down for generations. They are fresh reminders of the dark and mysterious corners of the Japanese psyche, from popular representations in anime, manga and video games to Masaki Kobayashi's Oscar-nominated horror film Kwaidan.

This new edition includes over 20 full-color woodblock prints that showcase the rich visual tradition of Japanese Yokai. A new foreword by Michael Dylan Foster, the leading Western expert on Yokai literature, places the stories in context and explains the lasting importance of Hearn's pioneering look at Japan's bewitching spirit world.

The stories in this volume include: "Yuki-onna" — A ghostly woman saves a man during a fierce snowstorm then gives him a deadly warning… "The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi" — A musician is unwittingly called upon by a Samurai to perform for the dead, with bloody consequences. "Diplomacy" — A Samurai warrior avoids the ghostly revenge of a man he intends to kill by outsmarting him before striking he strikes the death blow. Hearn is the best-known early Western interpreter of Japanese culture and was particularly interested in tales of the supernatural. He eagerly gathered "delicate, transparent, ghostly sketches" in his adopted land and translated them with gusto. His English versions were translated back into Japanese and are considered classics of Japanese literature to this day—eagerly devoured by Japanese school children.

Lafcadio Hearn's Japan: An Anthology of his Writings on the Country and it's People

by Lafcadio Hearn

This collection of writings from Lafcadio Hearn paints a rare and fascinating picture of pre-modern Japan.

Over a century after his death, author, translator, and educator Lafcadio Hearn remains one of the best-known Westerners ever to make Japan his home. His prolific writings on things Japanese were instrumental in introducing Japanese culture to the West.

In this masterful anthology, Donald Richie shows that Hearn was a reliable and enthusiastic observer who faithfully recorded detailed accounts of the people, customs, and culture of late 19th-century Japan. Opening and closing with excerpts from Hearn's final books, Richie's astute selection from among "over 4,000 printed pages" also reveals Hearn's later, more sober and reflective attitudes to the things that he observed and wrote about.

Part One, "The Land," chronicles Hearn's early years when he wrote primarily about the appearance of his adopted home. Part Two, "The People," records the author's later years when he came to terms with the Japanese people themselves.

The 18 writings include:

The Chief City of the Province of the Gods
Three Popular Ballads
In the Cave of the Children's Ghosts
Bits of Life and Death
A Street Singer
Kimiko
On A Bridge

Through Lafcadio Hearn's Japan, discover turn-of-the-century Japan through the eyes of a talented and eloquent observer.

The Boy Who Drew Cats and Other Japanese Fairy Tales

by Yuko Green, Lafcadio Hearn

A talking tea kettle, a monstrous goblin-spider that lives in a haunted temple, miniature soldiers that plague a lazy young bride, and other fanciful creatures abound in this captivating collection of eleven Japanese fairy tales. Youngsters are transported to an exotic, faraway world of samurai warriors, rice fields, humble cottages, and a magical spring in five tales excellently translated and adapted by noted writer and linguist Lafcadio Hearn- 'The Fountain of Youth'; 'Chin-Chin Kobakama'; 'The Goblin-Spider'; 'The Old Woman Who Lost Her Dumplings'; and the title story. Six additional stories- in versions by Grace James, Basil Hall Chamberlain, and other authorities on Japanese folklore- include 'The Tea-Kettle'; 'The Wooden Bowl'; 'My Lord Bag-o'-Rice', 'The Hare of Inaba'; 'The Silly Jelly-Fish', and 'The Matsuyama Mirror'.

In Ghostly Japan Japanese Legends of Ghosts, Yokai, Yurei and Other Oddities

by Lafcadio Hearn

"Think not that dreams appear to the dreamer only at night, the dream of this world of pain appears to us even by day."

In this book, famed author Lafcadio Hearn presents 14 fascinating stories--including deathless ghosts and yokai, local folklore and haunted places, as well as Buddhist traditions. This edition includes a new foreword by Michael Dylan Foster which explains the book's importance as a Japanese cultural and literary classic.

The Japanese have two kinds of ghosts in their folklore--the spirits of the dead and the spirits of the living. In Ghostly Japan examines both and, in the process, offers a fascinating window into Japan's supernatural and spiritual world.

The 14 stories include:

• "Fragment"--A young pilgrim encounters a mountain of skulls and is shown a terrible truth
• "Ingwa-banashi"--On her deathbed, a dying wife bequeaths to her young rival a sinister and horrific gift
• "A Passional Karma"--A spectral beauty transcends death to return for her handsome samurai lover
• "Story of a Tengu"--A priest saves the life of a Yokai monk and is granted a wish, but the outcome is not as expected

While some stories contain spine-tingling imagery, others offer looks into Japan's rich culture and folklore. "Bits of Poetry" offers an engaging study on the nation's fascination with verse, "Japanese Buddhist Proverbs" explains the meaning of several traditional Zen Buddhist sayings and "Incense" examines its use in rituals to summon and banish spirits.

Whether you're interested in classic ghost stories, or simply want to enjoy the prose of a legendary writer, In Ghostly Japan affords countless delights.

Supernatural Tales from Japan Ghosts, Goblins, Demons and Magic

by Lafcadio Hearn, Yei Theodora Ozaki

日本の怪奇物語集