The Haunted Hotel

A magnificent Venetian palace has been turned into a fashionable hotel, and something in it will not let the guests rest. The story circles the mysterious Countess Narona, the sudden death of Lord Montbarry within those same walls, and the questions his relatives cannot stop asking. Wilkie Collins blends detective mystery with genuine dread, letting a single haunted room draw suspicion, confession, and horror together as the facts of a death refuse to add up. Shorter and sharper than his great sensation novels, it moves with the pace of a modern thriller while keeping a chill of the supernatural. The result is a tight, unnerving puzzle of murder and guilt set in a decaying city. Read it free in PDF and EPUB.