"The Shadow Builder" is a short story by Bram Stoker, first published in Stoker's first collection of short stories "Under the Sunset" in 1881. Abraham "Bram" Stoker (1847 - 1912) was an Irish author most famous for his 1897 Gothic novel "Dracula," a seminal book that continues to influence the vampire genre in print and film to this day. This short story is perfect for lovers of the dark fantasy, and it is not to be missed by fans and collectors of Bram Stoker's other works, including: "Miss Betty" (1898), "The Mystery of the Sea" (1902), and "The Jewel of Seven Stars" (1903). Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

ブラム・ストーカーが描く本作は、内なる「影」が実体化する過程を、冷徹な寓話性とゴシック的詩情で綴った初期の傑作です。自らの業や孤独が形を成す恐怖を突きつける文学的磁力は、後の「ドラキュラ」に通じる凄絶な美しさを湛え、読者の深層心理を静かに揺さぶります。 映像版は視覚的な驚異に満ちていますが、原作の真髄は「言葉が構築する静謐な闇」にあります。脳内に立ち上がる影の造形は、映像以上に生々しく読者の想像力を侵食するでしょう。活字ならではの思索的な深みと映像の躍動感を重ね合わせることで、ストーカーが仕掛けた根源的な恐怖の本質をより重層的に味わい尽くせるはずです。