Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy rarely wrote prose—in fact, his entire non-poetic artistic legacy consists of the novel 'Prince Silver' and several short stories. However, these stories occupy a truly outstanding place in Gothic literature and demonstrate a remarkable combination of the author's familiarity with the best European examples of the genre and a national originality of perception.

In Tolstoy's stories, cruel ghouls rise from the grave and bloodthirsty vampires hunt the living, ghosts and faces in portraits come to life, dangerous and strange miracles occur, and an atmosphere of dark mystery and frightening doom reigns, not inferior to the best examples of European Gothic. The second part of the collection consists of ballads, also dedicated to mystical themes—werewolves and monsters, transitions from body to body, and ancient Russian knights entering into mortal combat with mysterious spawns of Darkness.