As a schoolboy, Charles Dickens took a copy of The Terrific Register every week, and he later recalled how it 'frightened my very wits out of my head, for the small charge of a penny weekly; which considering that there was an illustration to every number, in which there was always a pool of blood, and at least one body, was cheap.' This selection contains the most gruesome tales from this 185-year-old publication. Including 'the horrible murder of a child by starvation', dreadful executions, foul tortures and one of the earliest mentions of a now notorious killer who turned his victims into pies, it will chill all but the sturdiest of hearts. Many of these tales have not appeared in print since Charles Dickens himself read them. Richly illustrated with original woodcuts, it will fascinate anyone with an interest in true crime.