One summer night, a falling star crosses the sky, describing a line of flame high in the atmosphere and leaving a glowing greenish streak in its wake. Early next morning, a huge cylinder is found half-buried on Horsell Common, hot from its journey through space. Under the eyes of a curious crowd, the cylinder's end begins to unscrew itself - and the tentacular creature within emerges... Earth is being invaded by Mars. Against the human tide of panic...

The Willows is a novella by English author Algernon Blackwood, originally published as part of his 1907 collection The Listener and Other Stories. It is one of Blackwood's best known works and has been influential on a number of later writers. Horror author H.P. Lovecraft considered it to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature. "The Willows" is an example of early modern horror and is connected within the literary tradition of weird...