The Library
of Alexandria
6 h 3 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
StandardLarge printLarge print · bigger, clearer type
Carnacki, der Geisterjäger, paperbackPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soon
Carnacki, der Geisterjäger, hardcoverHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soon
About this book

A room whistles, a house seems haunted, and Thomas Carnacki wants proof before he calls anything a ghost.

In William Hope Hodgson’s linked tales, Thomas Carnacki investigates houses, rooms and families troubled by apparent hauntings. He weighs evidence, tests his guesses and brings strange instruments into places thick with fear. Old books of ritual also have their place. The question is never simple: does something unseen threaten the living, or is someone arranging a trick?

Each account begins with an invitation to dinner at Carnacki’s home in Chelsea, London. His friends gather, and Dodgson records the case as Carnacki tells it. Tales including The Whistling Room, The Horse of the Invisible and The Thing Invisible draw you from that familiar circle into cold rooms, troubling sounds and the uneasy feeling of being watched.

What you’ll discover

  • Evidence against the uncanny Follow an investigator who tests strange events rather than accepting the first frightening explanation.
  • Instruments beside old rituals Discover cases where practical tests share space with old occult knowledge.
  • Fear at the lamplight’s edge Feel how a shadow or an unexplained sound can make an ordinary room unsettling.
  • A place at dinner Join Carnacki’s friends as he turns an evening gathering into an account of dread.
  • Ghost or human trick Weigh each clue while the boundary between deception and supernatural danger remains uncertain.

Is it for you?

This book suits readers who like ghost stories, Victorian and Edwardian atmosphere, and puzzles with a chill. It may be less suited to those who want fast modern pacing, since each tale is a short account told by one man.

What’s inside

The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary

  1. Dinner first, then the ghost story
  2. A detective who tests the unseen
  3. Not every haunting is what it seems
  4. Dread built from sound, shadow and sea

Who’s who

  • Thomas CarnackiThe investigator of hauntings who tells each tale and tests strange events with both modern instruments and old occult knowledge.
  • DodgsonOne of Carnacki's friends, who sets down each story as he hears it after dinner.
  • JessopA dinner guest and friend of Carnacki, who listens to each case in the circle of friends.
  • ArkrightAnother of Carnacki's friends at the table, who hears the accounts of his cases.

Read the first chapter free

Formats and delivery
eBook
On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
Large-print eBook
The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
Audiobook
6 h 3 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
15-minute summary
The key ideas in about 4 minutes, to read or to hear.
Paperback
6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Hardcover
6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Large print paperback
8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Large print hardcover
8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.

eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.

How it works · 60-day guarantee
  1. Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
  2. Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
  3. We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.

60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.

Start the yearly plan free · Start the monthly plan free

25 languages, side by side

Horror & Gothic

Carnacki, der Geisterjäger

by William Hope Hodgson· 1913

An investigator tests whether suspected hauntings are ghosts or tricks.

Excellent

  • Read or listen
  • 25 languages, side by side
  • Print and large print at cost
  • The whole household
Format: eBook
Type size: Standard

Starts right away, on any device

Read free60-day money-back guarantee

Renews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works

We accept Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay.
Carnacki, der Geisterjäger by William Hope Hodgson, the cover

From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4

Dinner first, then the ghost story

Each tale begins in the same way. Carnacki sends a short card to a handful of friends, asking them to come to dinner at his home in Chelsea, London. The tale is told by one of those guests, Dodgson, who sits with the others and listens.

Read all 4 key ideas free

Renews every year · Cancel anytime

The author

William Hope Hodgson

1877–1918 · English horror and fantasy writer

William Hope Hodgson (1877–1918) was a British writer born in Essex, England. He worked as a sailor before becoming a writer. His novels include The House on the Borderland (1908) and The Night Land (1912). He served in the British Army and was killed in France during the First World War.

Free gifts

580 USD in free gifts when you start

Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.

Start freeRenews every year · Cancel anytime
  • 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side170 USDFREE
  • Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device120 USDFREE
  • 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages60 USDFREE
  • Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print60 USDFREE
  • The whole householdUp to 5 readers170 USDFREE
  • A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for allFREE

Our mission

The library burned once. We are building it back.

Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.

Read our story
  • Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
  • No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
  • For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing

Questions about Carnacki, der Geisterjäger

Can I read it free?

Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.

Can I buy the printed book?

Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.

Can my family read too?

Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.

What if it is not for me?

Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.

What is Carnacki the Ghost Finder about?

It is a set of linked tales about Thomas Carnacki, an investigator of hauntings who tells his friends about his cases over dinner. He uses instruments and old ritual to find the truth behind each haunting.

Who is Carnacki?

Carnacki is a London occult detective created by William Hope Hodgson. He studies strange events like a scientist, yet he also protects himself with old rituals and a device called the electric pentacle.

What is the electric pentacle?

It is Carnacki's protective device, a modern, electrical form of the magic circle of old occult lore. He sits inside it when he expects danger, and it joins his love of science with the occult.

Carnacki, der GeisterjägerThis book + free gifts · FREE
Read free