Best of
Horror

2009

The Stand: Captain Trips


Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa - 2009
    It all begins here: the epic apocalyptic battle between good and evil. On a secret army base in the Californian desert, something has gone horribly, terribly wrong. Something will send Charlie Campion, his wife and daughter fleeing in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for the Campion family, and the rest of America, they are unaware that all three of them are carrying a deadly cargo: a virus that will spread from person to person like wildfire, triggering a massive wave of disease and death, prefacing humanity's last stand.

The Walking Dead Compendium One


Robert Kirkman - 2009
    With The Walking Dead #1-48, this compendium features more than one thousand pages chronicling the start of Robert Kirkman's Eisner Award-winning story of zombie horror, from Rick Grimes waking up alone in a hospital, his band of survivors seeking refuge on an isolated farm and the controversial introduction of Woodbury despot, The Governor.

The Talisman (Volume 1): The Road of Trials


Robin Furth - 2009
    Here’s a bold new look at the classic tale of treachery and betrayal that could only have sprung from the imaginations of master storytellers Stephen King and Peter Straub. In a run-down amusement park on a desolate beach in New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Jack Sawyer is about to learn some hard truths—about his father’s death, about why he and his mother are on the run from his sinister uncle Morgan, and about the real nature of the mysterious realm Jack once called the Daydreams. Now, with help from his newfound friend Speedy Parker, this young man will reclaim his identity as Travellin Jack and make his first foray back into the Territories to retrieve the magical Talisman, an object of immense cosmic significance. Yet even more important to Jack, the Talisman holds the key to saving his mother’s life. In the Terrorities, where monsters lurk, evil watches, and an unbelievably precious prize awaits, Jack embarks upon a desperate quest to fulfill a destiny he never sought but cannot escape.The Talisman: The Road of Trials comprises Issues 0 through 5 of the thrilling comic book series and features original, never-before-seen material, including interviews and early sketches. Be warned: Once you’ve seen the Talisman, nothing will ever be the same.

Stephen King Illustrated Companion Manuscripts, Correspondence, Drawings, and Memorabilia from the Master of Modern Horror


Bev Vincent - 2009
    Unseen family photographs and 16 pieces of previously unpublished ephemera - such as handwritten manuscript notes, typed early drafts, lengthy journal entries, and doodles for King's college newspaper - complete this tangible tour. Packed with fascinating biographical details, literary interpretations, and personal memorabilia, The Stephen King Illustrated Companion is a must-have addition to any true fan's library.About the author: Bev Vincent is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of The Road to the Dark Tower, an authorized companion to King's Dark Tower series. Vincent has published more than fifty of his own short stories. He lives in Texas.

Lovecraft Unbound


Ellen DatlowWilliam Browning Spencer - 2009
    Howard Phillips Lovecraft may have been a writer for only a short time, but the creations he left behind after his death in 1937 have shaped modern horror more than any other author in the last two centuries: the shambling god Cthulhu, and the other deities of the Elder Things, the Outer Gods, and the Great Old Ones, and Herbert West, Reanimator, a doctor who unlocked the secrets of life and death at a terrible cost. In Lovecraft Unbound, more than twenty of today's most prominent writers of literature and dark fantasy tell stories set in or inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft. 9 • Introduction (Lovecraft Unbound) • essay by Ellen Datlow 11 • The Crevasse • short story by Dale Bailey and Nathan Ballingrud 31 • The Office of Doom • [Dust Devil] • short story by Richard Bowes 43 • Sincerely, Petrified • short fiction by Anna Tambour 73 • The Din of Celestial Birds • (1997) • short story by Brian Evenson 85 • The Tenderness of Jackals • short fiction by Amanda Downum 99 • Sight Unseen • short fiction by Joel Lane 113 • Cold Water Survival • short story by Holly Phillips 139 • Come Lurk With Me and Be My Love • short fiction by William Browning Spencer 161 • Houses Under the Sea • (2006) • novelette by Caitlín R. Kiernan 195 • Machines of Concrete Light and Dark • short story by Michael Cisco 213 • Leng • short fiction by Marc Laidlaw 239 • In the Black Mill • (1997) • short story by Michael Chabon 267 • One Day, Soon • short fiction by Lavie Tidhar 277 • Commencement • (2001) • novelette by Joyce Carol Oates 305 • Vernon, Driving • short fiction by Simon Kurt Unsworth 315 • The Recruiter • short fiction by Michael Shea 331 • Marya Nox • short fiction by Gemma Files 347 • Mongoose • [Boojum] • novelette by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette 375 • Catch Hell • short fiction by Laird Barron 413 • That of Which We Speak When We Speak of the Unspeakable • short fiction by Nick Mamatas

Indian Hill


Mark Tufo - 2009
    Growing up in suburban Boston he enjoys the trials and tribulations that all adolescents go through. From the seemingly tyrannical mother, to girl problems to run-ins with the law. From there he escapes to college out in Colorado with his best friend, Paul, where they begin to forge new relationships with those around them. It is one girl in particular that has caught the eye of Michael and he alternately pines for her and then laments ever meeting her. It is on their true 'first' date that things go strangely askew. This is where the story truly takes a paranormal twist. Mike soon finds himself captive aboard an alien vessel, fighting for his very survival. The aliens have devised gladiator type games. The games are of two-fold importance for the aliens. One reason, being for the entertainment value, the other reason being that they want to see how combative humans are, what our weaknesses and strengths are. They want to better learn how to attack and defeat us. The battles are to the death on varying terrains that are computer generated. Follow Mike as he battles for his life and Paul has he battles to keep main stream US safe.

The Walking Dead Omnibus, Volume 2


Robert Kirkman - 2009
    Perfect for long-time fans, new readers, and anyone needing a heavy object with which to fend off the walking dead! Collects The Walking Dead #24-48.

Lockdown


Alexander Gordon Smith - 2009
    Convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, sentenced to life without parole, “new fish” Alex Sawyer knows he has two choices: find a way out, or resign himself to a death behind bars, in the darkness at the bottom of the world. Except in Furnace, death is the least of his worries. Soon Alex discovers that the prison is a place of pure evil, where inhuman creatures in gas masks stalk the corridors at night, where giants in black suits drag screaming inmates into the shadows, where deformed beasts can be heard howling from the blood-drenched tunnels below. And behind everything is the mysterious, all-powerful warden, a man as cruel and dangerous as the devil himself, whose unthinkable acts have consequences that stretch far beyond the walls of the prison. Together with a bunch of inmates—some innocent kids who have been framed, others cold-blooded killers—Alex plans an escape. But as he starts to uncover the truth about Furnace’s deeper, darker purpose, Alex’s actions grow ever more dangerous, and he must risk everything to expose this nightmare that’s hidden from the eyes of the world.

The Definitive H.P. Lovecraft


H.P. Lovecraft - 2009
    Lovecraft's best works central to his 'Cthulhu mythos.' Although Lovecraft's (1890-1937) readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades, and he is now regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th century. This book is DRM free and includes at active table of contents for easy navigation.• The Nameless City• The Festival• The Colour out of Space• The Call of Cthulhu• The Dunwich Horror• The Whisperer in Darkness• Dreams in the Witch-house• The Haunter of the Dark• The Shadow over Innsmouth• The Shadow out of Time• At the Mountain of Madness• The Case of Charles Dexter Ward• Azathoth• Beyond the Wall of Sleep• Celephais• Cool Air• Dagon• Dream House• Ex Oblivione• Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family• From Beyond• He• Herbert West: Reanimator• Hypnos• Imprisoned with the Pharaohs• In the Vault• Medusa's Coil• Memory• Nyarlathotep• Pickman's Model• Poetry of the Gods• The Alchemist• The Beast in the Cave• The Book• The Cats of Ulthar• The Crawling Chaos• The Descendant• The Doom That Came to Sarnath• The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath• The Evil Clergyman• The Horror at Martin's Beach• The Horror at Red Hook• The Hound• The Lurking Fear• The Moon Bog• The Music of Erich Zann• The Other Gods• The Outsider• The Picture in the House• The Quest of Iranon• The Rats in the Walls• The Shunned House• The Silver Key• The Statement of Randolph Carter• The Strange High House in the Mist• The Street• The Temple• The Terrible Old Man• The Thing on the Doorstep• The Tomb• The Transition of Juan Romero• The Tree• The Unnamable• The White Ship• Through the Gates of the Silver Key• What the Moon Brings• Polaris• The Very Old Folk• DarknessThis unexpurgated edition contains the complete text with errors and omissions corrected.

Another


Yukito Ayatsuji - 2009
    In class, he develops a sense of unease as he notices that the people around him act like they're walking on eggshells, and students and teachers alike seem frightened. As a chain of horrific deaths begin to unfold around him, he comes to discover that he has been placed in the cursed Class 3 in which the student body head count is always one more than expected. Class 3 is haunted by a vengeful spirit responsible for gruesome deaths in an effort to satisfy its spite. To stop the vicious cycle gripping his new school, Kouichi decides to get to the bottom of the curse, but is he prepared for the horror that lies ahead...?

The Enemy


Charlie Higson - 2009
    Everyone over the age of fourteen has succumbed to a deadly zombie virus and now the kids must keep themselves alive.When the sickness came, every parent, police officer, politician - every adult fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting to survive.Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait.But can they make it there - alive?This edition contains the first chapter of the second book The Dead.

Hellboy: The Ice Wolves


Mark Chadbourn - 2009
    In Dublin, Ireland, the clientele of a backstreet pub are found dead. In Kyoto, Japan, the bullet train pulls into the station with blood-spattered windows. It is the time of the Black Sun. Across the world, the wolves are calling to each other. Locked in bodies that had no idea they were there, they rise from the depths of the unconscious and turn towards America! For Hellboy, it's a race against time to prevent a devastating wave of primal savagery washing across the land. And so he is drawn to Boston's Beacon Hill and the Grant Mansion, believed to be the most haunted house in New England, where the truth may lie buried.

Malice


Chris Wooding - 2009
    Call Tall Jake and he'll take you to Malice, a world that exists inside a horrifying comic book. A place most kids never leave. Seth and Kady think it's all a silly myth. But then their friend disappears, and suddenly the rumours don't seem so silly.

The Child Thief


Brom - 2009
    His eyes are sparkling gold, and when he graces you with his smile you are his friend for life, but his promised land is not Neverland. Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose?There is always more to lose.Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the "Devils," Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children.There, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land.

Tales of Death and Dementia


Edgar Allan Poe - 2009
    . . and lost minds. Gris Grimly's mysterious, morbid, and macabre illustrations capture four Poe classics with an unmatchable ghoulish charm. This second installment of illustrated Poe tales, a companion to Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Madness, includes the perennial favorite The Tell Tale Heart, as well as The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether, The Oblong Box, and The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. With little trimming and lots of gory visuals, these stories have never looked better or more frightening.

Hellbound Hearts


Paul KaneRichard Christian Matheson - 2009
    Now, enter this visionary world - the merciless realm of the demonic Cenobites - in this collection of stories inspired by The Hellbound Heart.Featured here is the graphic work "Wordsworth," from bestselling author Neil Gaiman and artist Dave McKean, who unlock an explicit way to violate innocence - one torturous puzzle at a time.... New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong logs on to a disturbing website for gamers, where the challenge is agonizing, and the solution beyond painful. When his father disappears, an Oxford student returns to his family's mansion, where a strange mechanism in the cellar holds a curious power, in a haunting illustrated work by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola.

Under the Dome: Part 1


Stephen King - 2009
    Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when -- or if -- it will go away. Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens -- town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician's assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing -- even murder -- to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn't just short. It's running out.

The Stone Child


Dan Poblocki - 2009
    That’s why moving to the small town of Gatesweed becomes a dream come true when Eddie discovers that Olmstead lived there before mysteriously disappearing thirteen years ago. Even better, Eddie finds a handwritten, never-before-seen Nathaniel Olmstead book printed in code and befriends Harris, who’s as much an Olmsteady as he is. But then the frightening creatures of Olmstead’s books begin to show up in real life, and Eddie’s dream turns into a nightmare. Eddie, Harris, and their new friend, Maggie, must break Olmstead’s code, banish all gremlins and monster lake-dogs from the town of Gatesweed, and solve the mystery of the missing author, all before Eddie’s mom finisheswriting her own tale of terror and brings to life the scariest creature of all.

Hack/Slash Omnibus Volume 2


Tim Seeley - 2009
    All this and the first-ever Hack/Slash Annual in one mega-volumeCollects: Hack/Slash 1-11, Annual 1 featuring the Suicide Girls, portions of 12 and 13, and 14-17.TPB Equivalent: A portion of Friday the 31st (volume 3) and all of Revenge of the Return Part 4 (volume 4) and Reanimation Games (volume 5).Extras: Cover and pinup gallery, sketchbook, and Psychofiles featuring The Lunch Lady, Dr. Gross, Father Wrath 2, Six Sixx, Emily Cristy, The Children, Tin Woodsman, Diaboliq and Dr. Herbert West.

Bad Girls Don't Die


Katie Alender - 2009
    Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

Patient Zero


Jonathan Maberry - 2009
    and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills. And that's both a good, and a bad thing. It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance...

The Tale Of The Vampire Bride


Rhiannon Frater - 2009
    But my fate was far more terrible than an arranged marriage when my family became prisoners to one of the most fearsome and powerful vampires of all time, Count Vlad Dracula. Imprisoned in the decrepit castle in the Carpathian Mountains, my new life as a Bride of Dracula was filled with bloody feasts, cruel beatings, and sexual depravity. There was no hope of escape It was only when he took me to the picturesque city of Buda on the Danube River and I met a handsome, mysterious vampire in the darkened city streets, did I dare hope to find love and freedom.

Tuning in to Terror


Deborah McClatchey - 2009
    Bennett's dream home from his childhoodyears. The house was creepy and ominous and Bobby Bennett found he didn't like it much.When Bobby explores the attic and discovers an old radio that was 'cool' enough to put in his bedroom, things begin to happen.Strange and evil things!First, the whispers in the night, then the ghostly image...it wantsBobby to do unspeakable deeds. And most importantly, it wants him to 'replace'! Bobby is terrified to find out what that means!But is Bobby only dreaming or is this nightmare real? He wasn't sure until tragedy struck his new friend. Evil can hide in the strangestand most innocent of places. Can Bobby resist the demands of the ghost who is driven by the 'Demon from Hell' before it is too late for his family...and himself?

Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror


Michael Mallory - 2009
    Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror explores all of these enduring characters, chronicling both the mythology behind the films and offering behind-the-scenes insights into how the films were created. Universal Studios Monsters is the most complete record of the horror films of this legendary studio, with biographies of major personalities who were responsible for the most notable monster melodramas in film history. The stories of these films and their creators are told through interviews with surviving actors and studio employees. A lavish photographic record, including many behind-the-scenes shots, completes the story of how these classics were made. This is a volume no fan of imaginative cinema will want to be without.

Corpse Party: Blood Covered, Vol. 1


Makoto Kedouin - 2009
    A harmless ghost story. A silly pact intended to symbolize their friendship.But before the students of class 2-9 at Kisaragi Academy even know what's happening, they've been swept up in a living nightmare that threatens to consume them all.When the spirits emerge, will even their friends be left to hear them scream...?

The Spook's Tale and Other Horrors


Joseph Delaney - 2009
    But Tom's is only one story. There are others. . . .The Spook himself was once an apprentice. How did he begin his training?And what of Alice, the young witch who is Tom's closest ally? How did she overcome her dark past?What did the witch assassin Grimalkin do to become the most deadly and feared witch in the county?And, collected in a gallery of horrors, discover the rest of the county's menacing villains and relive the vicious battles waged against them.Enter a land where creatures of the dark creep out of the shadows. Do you dare?

Benjamin's Parasite


Jeff Strand - 2009
    Corpse, Gleefully Macabre Tales, and Pressure, delivers his most outrageous adventure yet--an over-the-top mix of gruesome body horror and a wacky road-trip comedy.

The Stand: Soul Survivors #1


Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa - 2009
    Nick Andros has hit the road and teamed up with the child-like Tom Cullen. After the horrors of Captain Trips, a bike trip through Oklahoma and Nebraska sounds like fun, right? Except it's tornado season, True Believers, and not everyone Nick and Tom meet is on the side of the angels. Hell hath no fury like Julie Lawry, another survivor of the plague...

Watchers / Midnight


Dean Koontz - 2009
    One is a magnificent dog of astonishing intelligence. The other, a hybrid monster of a brutally violent nature. And both are on the loose.… Bestselling author Dean Koontz presents his most terrifying, dramatic and moving novel: The explosive story of a man and a woman, caught in a relentless storm of mankind’s darkest creation.… Midnight In picturesque Moonlight Cove, California, inexplicable deaths occur and spine-tingling terror descends to this "edge of paradise." Growing numbers of residents harbor a secret so dark it is sure to cost even more lives. Tessa Lockland comes to town to probe her sister's seemingly unprompted suicide. Independent and clever, she meets up with Sam Booker, an undercover FBI agent sent to Moonlight Cove to discover the truth behind the mysterious deaths. They meet Harry Talbot, a wheelchair-bound veteran, who has seen things from his window that he was not meant to see. Together they begin to understand the depth of evil in Moonlight Cove. Chrissie Foster, a resourceful eleven-year-old, running from her parents who have suddenly changed and in whom darkness dwells, joins them. Together they make a stand against darkness and terror.

Chucky Volume 2


Jason M. Burns - 2009
    Who will be his next victim!?

The Sea of Ash


Scott Thomas - 2009
     A Victorian Englishman summons a strange puppet-like being to an old Colonial Inn. A doctor returns from the Great War and discovers a mysterious naked woman at the edge of the Atlantic. A contemporary collector of arcane books retraces the steps of these other men -- adventurers who sought out the mysteries of neighboring dimensions. In THE SEA OF ASH, Scott Thomas takes us along as three men from three different centuries experience the wonders and horrors of an unknown New England. "Never had the universe felt so vast, and I so small within it. I had, through circumstance, been made aware of something, but of what? Something either too horrible or too beautiful for humans to know." —From The Sea of Ash

First Project Gutenberg Collection of Edgar Allan Poe


Edgar Allan Poe - 2009
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Road Rage


Richard Matheson - 2009
    "Duel," an unforgettable tale about a driver menaced by a semi truck, was the source for Stephen Spielberg's acclaimed first film of the same name. "Throttle," by Stephen King and Joe Hill, is a duel of a different kind, pitting a faceless trucker against a tribe of motorcycle outlaws, in the simmering Nevada desert. Their battle is fought out on twenty miles of the most lonely road in the country, a place where the only thing worse than not knowing what you're up against, is slowing down . . .2 Audio CDs / 2 Hours 30 mins~

Bloodletting


Michael McBride - 2009
    The FBI is still searching for the missing parts of the previous three. Hundreds of miles away in Arizona, eleven corpses are exhumed from the Sonoran Desert. They’ve been mummified and bundled in traditional Inca style. But the Inca lived in South America, and these bodies aren’t centuries old. Seemingly unrelated victims that share a common cause of death: exsanguination. Special Agent Paxton Carver follows the trail of blood, which leads him to the continuation of genetic experimentation that began during World War II and a designer retrovirus capable of altering human chromosomes. Can he track down the virus and prevent further exposure before the real bloodletting begins?

The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls


Emilie Autumn - 2009
    their doctors."It was the dog who found me."Such is the stark confession launching the harrowing scene that begins The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls as Emilie Autumn, a young musician on the verge of a bright career, attempts suicide by overdosing on the antipsychotics prescribed to treat her bipolar disorder. Upon being discovered, Emilie is revived and immediately incarcerated in a maximum-security psych ward, despite her protestations that she is not crazy, and can provide valid reasons for her actions if someone would only listen.Treated as a criminal, heavily medicated, and stripped of all freedoms, Emilie is denied communication with the outside world, and falls prey to the unwelcome attentions of Dr. Sharp, head of the hospital's psychiatry department. As Dr. Sharp grows more predatory by the day, Emilie begins a secret diary to document her terrifying experience, and to maintain her sanity in this environment that could surely drive anyone mad. But when Emilie opens her notebook to find a desperate letter from a young woman imprisoned within an insane asylum in Victorian England, and bearing her own name and description, a portal to another world is blasted wide open.As these letters from the past continue to appear, Emilie escapes further into this mysterious alternate reality where sisterhoods are formed, romance between female inmates blossoms, striped wallpaper writhes with ghosts, and highly intellectual rats speak the Queen's English.But is it real? Or is Emilie truly as mad as she is constantly told she is?The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls blurs harsh reality and magical historical fantasy whilst issuing a scathing critique of society's treatment of women and the mental health care industry's treatment of its patients, showing in the process that little has changed throughout the ages.Welcome to the Asylum. Are you committed?

Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland


Carlton Mellick III - 2009
    They call themselves the Warriors, their enemies call them the Bitches. They are a gang of man-eating, motorcycle-riding, war-hungry werewolf women, and they are the rulers of the wasteland. A century after the fall of civilization, only one city remains standing. It is a self-contained utopian society protected by a three-hundred-foot-high steel wall. The citizens of this city live safe, peaceful lives, completely ignorant to the savagery that takes place beyond the walls. They are content and happy, blindly following the rules of the fascist fast food corporation that acts as their government. But when Daniel Togg, a four-armed bootlegger from the dark side of town, is cast out of the walled city, he soon learns why the state of the outside world has been kept secret. The wasteland is a chaotic battleground filled with giant wolves, mutant men, and an army of furry biker women who are slowly transforming into animals. Trapped on the wrong side of a war zone, Daniel Togg makes new friends and new enemies, while uncovering the mysteries of the people living in the wasteland and how they came to be there. Including 45 illustrations by the author, Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland is an epic bizarro tale of dehumanization, gender separation, consumption, and violent sexual awakenings. A fast-paced post-apocalyptic adventure in the vein of The Road Warrior, featuring a very unique werewolf mythology.

The Jackal Man


Russell C. Connor - 2009
    A beast rarely seen but greatly feared, the Jackal Man has haunted the minds of this sleepy hamlet for ages from the woods to the south. Now a land developer has purchased the area with the intent to build houses, and Frank Stanford has moved into the strange town with his family to oversee the project. He and his punk son Willie will be forced to deal with the truth behind the myth, along with an obsessed cop, a quirky zookeeper, and a sadistic hunter that may be more dangerous than the beast...

High Planes Drifter


Edward M. Erdelac - 2009
     In this acclaimed first volume, four sequential novellas and one bonus short story chronicle the weird adventures of THE MERKABAH RIDER. In THE BLOOD LIBEL, The Rider fights to save the last survivors of a frontier Jewish settlement not only from a maddened lynch mob, but from a cult of Molech worshippers hiding in their midst. In THE DUST DEVILS, a border town is held hostage by a band of outlaws in league with a powerful Vodoun sorcerer. In HELL'S HIRED GUN, The Rider faces an ex-Confederate sharpshooter who has pledged his allegiance to Hell itself. In THE NIGHTJAR WOMEN, The Rider drifts into a town where children cannot be born. Here an antediluvian being holds the secret to his fugitive master's insidious plan; a plot that threatens all of Creation. Finally, never before collected, THE SHOMER EXPRESS. On a midnight train crossing the desert, a corpse turns up desecrated. Someone stalking the cars has assumed its shape, and only The Rider can stop it.

Truck Stop


Jack Kilborn - 2009
    Konrath's critically acclaimed thrillers FUZZY NAVEL and CHERRY BOMB...Before the events of Jack Kilborn's and Blake Crouch's #1 Amazon Kindle bestseller SERIAL...Three hunters of humans meet for the ultimate showdown at the TRUCK STOP.Taylor is a recreational killer, with dozens of grisly murders under his belt. He pulls into a busy Wisconsin truck stop at midnight, trolling for the next to die.Chicago Homicide cop Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels is a long way from home, driving to meet her boyfriend for a well-earned vacation. She pulls into the truck stop for a quick cup of coffee and stumbles into her worst nightmare.Jack's no stranger to dealing with psychos, but she's got her hands full trying to stop Taylor. Especially since he's getting help from someone just as deadly; a portly serial maniac named Donaldson...TRUCK STOP is a 15,000 word thriller novella that ties together Konrath's and Kilborn's works, with terrifying results.A prequel to SERIAL, which has been downloaded more than 70,000 times, TRUCK STOP is an eighteen-wheeled ride straight into hell. Not for the faint of heart. Let the reader beware.This ebook also includes an exclusive interview: JA Konrath talks with Jack Kilborn, plus excerpts from their latest books, CHERRY BOMB and AFRAID.Praise for JA Konrath's thriller FUZZY NAVEL:"Fuzzy Navel is Konrath at his best – a hilariously heartstopping thriller." — Linda Fairstein, author of Lethal Legacy"This gripping novel is an adrenalin rush." — Library Journal"This book moves so fast it was like having the words fired into my head by a machine gun." — CrimespreePraise for AFRAID by Jack Kilborn:"AFRAID is a masterpiece of unrelenting horror. And I'm not exaggerating. Masterpiece. It's the best piece of fiction I've read in several years. It simply NEVER lets up." — James Rollins, author of The Doomsday Key"A bloody, terrifying, hurtling assault across a landscape of non-stop mayhem. A guilty, guilty pleasure." — F. Paul Wilson, creator of Repairman Jack“AFRAID is a true page turner, a novel that offers a million mile a minute action and suspense. Definitely, a must have with constant thrills and chills." — Heather Graham, author of Deadly Gift"Never have I read a novel so gruesome and simultaneously relentless. This book throbs with unmitigated, inexorable. sheer friggin’ TERROR. You’ll probably need a shrink when you’re done.” — Edward Lee, author of The Golem"Fast and ferocious, this is a dangerous thriller that will take a bite out of you. An absolute must read for anyone who loves the adrenaline rush of a shocking story told with style, speed and savage grace." — Jonathan Maberry, author of Patient Zero

Aftershock & Others: 19 Oddities


F. Paul Wilson - 2009
    Paul Wilson, hailed by the Rocky Mountain News as "among the finest storytellers of our times."

Writers Workshop of Horror


Michael Knost - 2009
    It includes solid advice, from professionals of every publishing level, on how to improve one's writing skills. The volume edited by Michael Knost includes contributions by a dream-team of nationally known authors and storytellers, many Bram Stoker Award winners. Contributors to this work include#58; Clive Barker, Joe R. Lansdale, F. Paul Wilson, Ramsey Campbell, Thomas F. Monteleone, Deborah LeBlanc, Gary A. Braunbeck, Brian Keene, Elizabeth Massie, Tom Piccirilli, Jonathan Maberry, Tim Waggoner, Mort Castle, G. Cameron Fuller, Rick Hautala, Scott Nicholson, Michael A. Arnzen, J.F. Gonzalez, Michael Laimo, Lucy A. Snyder, Jeff Strand, Lisa Morton, Jack Haringa, Gary Frank, Jason Sizemore, Robert N. Lee, Tim Deal, Brian Yount, Brian J. Hatcher, and others. Here is what certain industry publications have already said about this exceptional project#58; "A veritable treasure trove of information for aspiring writers--straight from the mouths of today's top horror scribes!" --Rue Morgue Magazine. "Packing more knowledge and sound advice than four years' worth of college courses . . . It's focused on the root of your evil, the writing itself." --Fangoria Magazine.

Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams


Robert Englund - 2009
    The sadistic killer with the flame-charred face. The knife-blade claws. The razor-sharp wit. Freddy...But you've never seen him like this. Unflinching. Uncensored. Unmasked.Meet Robert Englund, the award-winning actor best known for his role as Freddy Krueger -- the legendary horror icon featured on the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest Heroes and Villains" roster -- a character as unforgettable and enduring as Bela Lugosi's Dracula and Boris Karloff's Frankenstein. Now, for the first time, the man behind the latex mask tells his story in this captivating new memoir, published to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first A Nightmare on Elm Street film.You see, Robert Englund is no monster at all, but a deeply funny, charming Hollywood veteran. Packed with Robert's hilarious stories, playful self-deprecation, and a generous helping of never-before-revealed A Nightmare on Elm Street trivia, Hollywood Monster offers an unparalleled look at the beloved film icon. With insider savvy and gallows humor, Robert recounts his audition for Wes Craven, the inspiration for Freddy's character, the grueling makeup sessions, his soon-to-be-famous costars, the often disastrous on-set blunders, and the wave of popularity that propelled this humble California surfer kid all the way to the top.Of course, fame and fortune as Freddy came years after the young actor shared a trailer with screen legend Henry Fonda, was punched in the face by Richard Gere, took down Burt Reynolds, and muscled his way between Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sally Field, and Jeff Bridges.But soon after his high-profile stint in the groundbreaking TV miniseries V, Robert Englund took on the most celebrated role of his career -- the macabre and wisecracking killer who quickly became a household name. From the moment Freddy Krueger dragged his claws across a rusty pipe in the opening dream sequence, a legend had been unleashed -- and a star was born. This is his story.

Dark Albion


David Brian - 2009
    Now though, Mary is on the verge of breaking a story which could change the world forever. She has uncovered evidence of something that cannot possibly exist. But Mary knows the threat is real. Should she run with the story, or just bury it and get on with her career? And can she stay alive long enough to make a decision either way? Dark Albion is a novelette length slice of Horror, supported in this highly entertaining and innovative collection by seven other tales of Paranormal Mystery, Suspense and Dread. Traci Thornberry has been persuaded into covering the late shift at the Halfway House Hotel. She has never much enjoyed working nights, and after tonight she'll never want to cover a late shift again.Vlad has hunted his prey across the major cities of the world for many years, and after arriving amid the bright lights of London, he is excited at the prospect of this new hunting ground... Sometimes though, things don't go quite as planned. A wonderfully twisted collection of horror short stories, featuring weird and disturbing tales, which make up the strange world of Dark Albion.

Kelland


Paul G. Bens Jr. - 2009
    Or perhaps it begins later, with a devoutly Catholic child with the voice of an angel who is troubled by visions both sacred and profane. Or perhaps later still, with a couple drifting apart following a tragedy. Kelland appears to them all in the guise of a small boy, a lover, a priest...Kelland is an enigma, a puzzle, and an almost imperceptible presence. Kelland is violence, sorrow, and joy. Kelland is the common thread tying five disparate strangers together.

The Darkly Splendid Realm


Richard Gavin - 2009
    If crooked branches have rapped upon your window at night, it has summoned you... If your dreams are plagued by half-glimpsed terrors, it has claimed you... From one of the most gruesomely original voices in contemporary horror comes this book of thirteen nightmares. Richard Gavin will plunge you into underworlds of Hellish beauty; give you flight on Dread-Moths' wings; tend for you a thicket that blooms with feral children. More than a volume of horror tales, this collection offers visions of a realm whose splendours are as illuminating as they are dark.

Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars


Jeremy Robert Johnson - 2009
    To survive it, you will have to make alliances with the sleeping demons in your blood; learn to wear new names and faces, and shed your soul; feed your inner child to the machine, before it eats you alive; build and defend your own heaven; and become one of the sacred, secret tools with which nature reinvents itself. To win this game, you will have to change into everything that you are not. To play you need only open this book and arm yourself with... Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars

Unhappy Endings (Digital Edition)


Brian Keene - 2009
    Brian Keene's UNHAPPY ENDINGS features an exciting mix of never-before-published stories and hard-to-find fan favorites, ranging from violent, post-apocalyptic novella to quiet, supernatural human-dramas.

Yaccub's Curse


Wrath James White - 2009
    But when he is ordered to kill a local crack whore and her newborn child he has a revalation that leads him into a desperate battle with a man who might be Satan himself. Caught in a struggle between good and evil, sanity and madness, redemption and damnation, the violence of the streets and the power of the occult, Malik must risk his life to save a newborn crack baby that he believes to be Jesus Christ. But is Malik a force good or were he and his employer both created millenniums ago by an evil geneticist for the same purpose, to ensure strife between the races. "Deeply disturbing in a way that only the most honest stories are, YACCUB is a fiercely written, daring journey through America's urban wilderness and into the souls of our forgotten brothers. But Wrath James White hasn't forgotten about them--and after reading this book, neither will you." --Brandon Massey, author of THE OTHER BROTHER "Wrath James White is the premiere author of hard-core horror. Period." --Edward Lee author of GOLEMESQUE, CITY INFERNAL and INFERNAL ANGEL "If Wrath doesn't make you cringe, then you must be riding in the wrong end of a hearse." --Jack Ketchum, author of THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, RED, and OFF SEASON "Wrath is a warrior. He comes at you on the written page with the intent to overpower you, yet he rarely overwhelms. This carnage has purpose. There's lit tle over-indulgence. His over-the-top cathartic bloodbaths are seldom pointless. Put bluntly, he isn't just going for the gross-out. Wrath is a philosopher, and he loves to flaunt his technique and sense of limitless ethics in each of his tales. He has wit and intelligence and utter ruthlessness..." --CEMETERY DANCE review "Without apologies, White tears through your emotions from sympathy to hate, humor to shock, blending everyday language and poetic imagery as his words wrap around your mind and cause you to pause and appreciate them..." --HorrorWeb

The Sticks


Andy Deane - 2009
    And Brian was already having one hell of a night. After a disastrous outing at a party full of snobs on the rich side of town, his girlfriend Alicia dumps him then promptly vanishes under suspicious circumstances. Searching for her in the dark of night while working his way through a backwoods maze and the outlandish characters that inhabit it, Brian instead finds an enigmatic dark-haired beauty named Jessica and a monster he hadn't believed existed outside his beloved horror films. But before the night is through, everyone and everything Brian cares about will be threatened by a creature that is all too real, a bloodthirsty beast lurking in the woods of Jefferson. Fighting for his life, Brian tries to uncover the truth about the evil stalking him and the mystery surrounding Alicia's disappearance, but time is running out. Welcome to a night in THE STICKS.

Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider


Ellen C. Maze - 2009
    Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider is Book One of an eventual Six in the saga/series. Enjoy your trip down the rabbit hole!"MAZE'S STORYTELLING IS FAST AND FUN, overflowing with ideas and spiritual insight." Eric Wilson, Fireproof & Facing the GiantsVampires are fiction, but the Rakum are real.Author Beth Rider must die.When the young author's novel series hits number one, her fictitious plot puts her in the crosshairs of an ancient race of vampiric beings known as the Rakum.Spreading evil among mankind for thousands of years, the leadership of this bloodthirsty race now has a singular focus: catch Beth Rider. With her life in mortal jeopardy, she goes on the run, a rabbit desperate to escape the worst of predators. In the climactic melee, it is a race to the death, or if Beth has her way, a race to the life, of every Rakum who makes the choice.Rabbit: Chasing Beth Rider is Book One of Six in the Rabbit Saga.Rabbit Legacy /Book TwoRabbit Redemption / Book ThreeAnomaly: Beyond the Rabbit / Book FourConundrum: The Lost Rabbit / Book FiveThe Vestige: The Final Chapter / Book SixThis novel contains PG-13-level Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations, and is written from a Biblical Worldview.Author's BioRaised on Bram Stoker and Stephen King, Ellen read Frank Peretti's "This Present Darkness" in 2000 and has never been the same. Now she takes the horror / paranormal / vampire genre directly into the heart of spiritual matters, pitting good against evil within the confines of biblical truth. With writing as her passion and her main hobby, Ellen lives in Alabama with her family and does NOT have holes in her neck.

The Stand: American Nightmares #1


Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa - 2009
    Larry Underwood seeks escape from New York City. Lloyd contemplates an extremely unsavory dinner option in jail, and Stu Redman makes a desperate bid for freedom from his interrogators. Most ominous of all, the stranger being called Randall Flagg continues his dread journey across the devastated landscape of America.

Horns


Joe Hill - 2009
    He woke up the next morning with a thunderous hangover, a raging headache . . . and a pair of horns growing from his temples.At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.Once the righteous Ig had enjoyed the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned musician and younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, he had security, wealth, and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more—he had Merrin and a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic.But Merrin's death damned all that. The only suspect in the crime, Ig was never charged or tried. And he was never cleared. In the court of public opinion in Gideon, New Hampshire, Ig is and always will be guilty because his rich and connected parents pulled strings to make the investigation go away. Nothing Ig can do, nothing he can say, matters. Everyone, it seems, including God, has abandoned him. Everyone, that is, but the devil inside. . . .

American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps


Peter StraubRobert Bloch - 2009
    Ghostly narratives of the Edwardian era, lurid classics from the pulp heyday, and modern-day masterpieces are included in these collections.

Welcome to HorrorLand: A Survival Guide


R.L. Stine - 2009
    It was a risk, but they had to find out the TRUTH about HorrorLand, otherwise the kids who were lured there would never make it out alive. Between the pages of this cool survival guide, readers will get closer to discovering whether or not there are werewolves in Wolfsbane Forest, why kids are disappearing, and why there aren't any mirrors at HorrorLand. One thing is for certain: something very wrong is happening in HorrorLand, and this guide is the only thing that will help you figure out what.

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed: Stories


Mariana Enríquez - 2009
     Mariana Enriquez has been critically lauded for her unconventional and sociopolitical stories of the macabre: populated by unruly teenagers, crooked witches, homeless ghosts, and hungry women, they walk the uneasy line between urban realism and horror. The stories in her next collection are as terrifying as they are socially conscious, and press into being the unspoken -- fetish, illness, the female body, the darkness of human history -- with unsettling urgency. A woman is sexually obsessed with the human heart; a lost, rotting baby crawls out of a backyard and into a bedroom; a pair of teenage girls can't let go of their idol; an entire neighborhood is cursed to death by a question of morality they fail to answer correctly.Written against the backdrop of contemporary Argentina, and with resounding tenderness towards those in pain, in fear, and in limbo, this new collection from one of Argentina's most exciting writers finds Enriquez at her most sophisticated, and most chilling.

Dead Mech


Jake Bible - 2009
    Their secret weapon: the Mechs. But what happens when a mech pilot dies in his mech and becomes a zombie? Hell on earth is unleashed...

Undead Advantage, A Zombie Chronicles Novel


Mark Clodi - 2009
    Securing a job as an auto mechanic was the first hurdle, soon he was accepted by the local crew and even moved into their well-kept lower class neighborhood, he even became the focus of a local conspiracy which felt that a single man of his standing should not be single at all. Things were looking up for him until the zombies came.Now he, and his best friend Juan find themselves leading a rag tag group of survivors, but where is there to go? Everywhere they look more zeds are creeping out of the woodwork and the worst part of it all is that they are not all the mindless, shambling undead seen so often in the movies. These undead are cunning, some can even speak...or use guns.

Tattoo


Paul Elard Cooley - 2009
    They remind us who we are, what we are and where we have been.But when a scar takes away your identity, what would you do to get it back?Jackson, a journalist in Houston, discovers links between several murders that have taken place in his city. His investigation draws him into the world of body art where he discovers an obsession worth killing for.Written and performed by Paul Elard Cooley with the voice talents of Andrew Richardson.

Lori's Song: The True Story of an American Woman Held Captive in Iran


Lori Foroozandeh - 2009
    was going to be attacked. That was on September 9, 2001. She tried and failed to call home and give warning.The news that all those rumors were horribly true came on September 11th 2001. That was when her husband suddenly announced that they had to go back to the States in case there were repercussions.On September 12, 2001, Lori and her husband were at the Shiraz bus terminal intending to catch a bus to Istanbul and from there to Heathrow and home to the U.S.A. They were totally unprepared for the convoy of troop carriers that suddenly drove up and the armed men who came pouring out to take the hapless couple prisoner.There was no explanation offered. The men took Lori's husband one direction and she another, pushing them blindfolded into the back of the troop carriers with other prisoners, mostly Iranian.Who the armed men were was anybody's guess but they took their prisoners to POW camp in unfamiliar territory and there, Lori was held, tortured, raped, and starved with them for over a month. Her husband was not to be seen again.Lori was rescued with one of her fellow inmates by the girl's family and, after riding a llama for 1-2 days over mountainous terrain; she arrived at the Iran Immigration center. By then, she weighed in at only 70 pounds, was still suffering from the many injuries she'd received at the hands of her torturers, and wanted badly to get home to her family in the USA. Even then, she had to fight Iranian Islamic bureaucracy to have permission to go, as the husband was unavailable to grant it. In any Islamic country, unknown to many western women, the husband or guardian's permission is always required for a woman to travel anywhere.Lori had been married to Mohammad for 9 years and thought she could trust him but, since their arrival in Iran in 1998, his personality and behavior had changed so radically as to make this most recent nightmare highly suspicious.The events told here are true. It was no coincidence that this American citizen had been placed into a concentration camp. In fact, it raises many questions and should be a caution to many!

About a Woman, A Zombie Chronicles Novel


Mark Clodi - 2009
    Smashing her car, she finds herself stranded on a day when all hell is breaking loose in Kansas City. Going on is not an option, walking two miles, in this heat? This is not something she does, not ever. Where are those overpaid cops when you need a hand? They always seemed to be there when Dora was driving forty-five in a twenty mile an hour school zone, but now when the flesh eating undead are after her, they are nowhere to be found.Walking back to the last intersection she finds a fast food place still open for business as usual, going in she meets her new best friends; Paige and Mike. When the bullets start flying the three scuttle back to take cover in the manager's office, turning on an old television set they begin to realize how bad their situation actually is. They need to get out of the restaurant, but with the chaos starting all around them, where can they go?This book is set in the "The Zombie Chronicles Universe" and is a stand alone novel.Revised August, 2011

Harvey


Phil Rossi - 2009
    Swagger. The voice. The star quality. He stole America's heart and walked away with the crown of Idol Search. Before the door could hit him on the ass, Calvin was dethroned--all because of a little extracurricular activity involving a female judge and a set of handcuffs. Now, he needs to record an album to avoid a lawsuit. His credibility as a musician is on the line. Leaving the media frenzy behind, he heads to a fly-speck town called Harvey, Virginia to write his opus. Something sinister hides in the woods outside of Harvey-—an evil older than the trees themselves. It's hungry and it's tired of waiting.

Ichor Falls: A Visitor's Guide: Short stories from a quiet community


Kris Straub - 2009
    

Fugue State


Brian Evenson - 2009
    From sadistic bosses with secret fears to a woman trapped in a mime’s imaginary box, and from a post-apocalyptic misidentified Messiah to unwitting portraitists of the dead, the mind-bending world of this modern-day Edgar Allan Poe exposes the horror contained within our daily lives.

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer


Jonathan L. Howard - 2009
    Johannes Cabal, a brilliant scientist and notorious snob, is single-mindedly obsessed in heart and soul with raising the dead. Well, perhaps not "soul" . . . He hastily sold his years ago in order to learn the laws of necromancy. But now, tormented by a dark secret, he travels to the fiery pits of Hell to retrieve it. Satan, who is incredibly bored these days, proposes a little wager: Johannes has one year to persuade one hundred people to sign over their souls or he will be damned forever. To make the bet even more interesting, Satan throws in that diabolical engine of deceit, seduction, and corruption known as a "traveling circus" to aid in the evil bidding. What better place exists to rob poor sad saps of their souls than the traveling carnivals historically run by hucksters and legendary con men? With little time to lose, Johannes raises a motley crew from the dead and enlists his brother, Horst, a charismatic vampire (an unfortunate side effect of Johannes's early experiments with necromancy), to be the carnival's barker. On the road through the pastoral English countryside, this team of reprobates wields their black magic with masterful ease, resulting in mayhem at every turn. Johannes may have the moral conscience of anthrax, but are his tricks sinful enough to beat the Devil at his own game? You'll never guess, and that's a promise! Brilliantly written and wickedly funny, "Johannes Cabal the Necromancer" combines the chills and thrills of old-fashioned gothic tales like "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the mischievous humor of "Wicked," and the sophisticated charms of" Jonathan Strange &Mr. Norrell "and spins the Faustian legend into a fresh, irreverent, and irresistible new adventure.

Mama Fish


Rio Youers - 2009
    When Patrick's curiosity about Kelvin leads him into a bizarre and tragic series of events, Patrick gets much more than he bargained for.

The Marquis, Volume 1: Inferno


Guy Davis - 2009
    It is to this stronghold of the Inquisition that the souls of Hell have escaped to possess the living, spreading sin, murder, and chaos. Amid the carnage, one man is blessed with the clarity to recognize the demons that prey on his countrymen--and the means to return them to the fires of Hell. But as the stakes rise, the lines separating good and evil begin to blur, and the Marquis--the dark avenger whom even demons fear to cross--finds himself torn between the blind faith that has defined his life and the bitter truths exposed under his new sight.

How To Haunt Your House


Shawn Mitchell - 2009
    From simple to advanced there is something here to make your next Halloween party or home haunt even spookier. Halloween is for grown-ups too-- the projects in this book are not intended for children, but for the creative, adults who want to handcraft their own Halloween home haunt and graveyard fun.

Cold to the Touch


Simon Strantzas - 2009
    300 copies. (Out of print).Reality is a thin translucent membrane that separates this world from the one beyond, and that membrane bends and buckles as we thrust ourselves against it. Through the barrier we see distorted visions, the merest glimpse of which is enough to infect our minds. . . . Thirteen tales of strangeness and surrealism await the reader of this book; stories of loss, despair, and what happens when those without hope meet that which they cannot understand. Two women vacationing far away encounter the mysteries of island life. . . . A trip north of the city to woods and a lake and a sky hungry for more. . . . Snow is falling, reminding the dying of all they've lost, or the young of all they have yet to lose. . . . The other world, it awaits you in the dark, cold to the touch. Contents: 'Under the Overpass', 'The Other Village', 'The Uninvited Guest', 'A Seed on Barren Ground', 'Writing on the Wall', 'A Chorus of Yesterdays', 'The Sweetest Song', 'Pinholes in Black Muslin', 'Fading Light', 'Poor Stephanie', 'Like Falling Snow', 'Here’s to the Good Life', 'Cold to the Touch, and 'Afterword'.

Infernally Yours: A Descent Into Edward Lee's Vison of Hell


GAKBryan Smith - 2009
    Anthology Based on Edward Lee's Vision of Hell with an all new short novel, THE SENARY, by Edward LeeAnd featuring all original short fiction from:• John Shirley• John Everson• Brian Keene• Charlee Jacob• Maynard and Sims• Gerard Houarner• Bryan SmithSigned by 10 contributors.

Chimeric Machines


Lucy A. Snyder - 2009
    Snyder offers three dozen poems to delight readers who enjoy sly wordplay and subtle allusion, high intelligence and fierce heart. "Snyder's work is complex yet grounded. You can read it on several levels and it'll work on each and every one. It's lyrical but rooted in authenticity and validity. There's truth here, and tackling the truth is the highest calling of any poet. "She's been through the trenches; she knows the way the world comes down. You can feel it in the work. You're not just looking at words in a book, you're regarding a life that's been opened up and splashed down on the page. This lady is not only courageous, she's fearless. We need more like her to give us that grand plucking of the guts." - Tom Piccirilli, author of The Midnight Road and Waiting My Turn to Go Under the Knife, from his introduction "There is nothing illusory or mechanical about these poems. They take us on a marvelously eclectic journey, with a cast that includes a black hole voicing its thoughts and a dead man coming 'Home For the Holidays.' Read and be dazzled." - Christopher Conlon, author of Mary Falls: Requiem for Mrs. Surratt and Midnight on Mourn Street Winner of the 2009 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Poetry.

Malpractice: an Anthology of Bedside Terror


Nathaniel LambertDaniel I. Russell - 2009
    Sadly, within the sterile, white walls of Bloom Memorial, evil burns through every room. Every lab. Every corridor. The so-called doctors are impersonators. Lab-coated viruses infecting all they touch, they labor towards their own purpose.Death.Be warned. With 18 short stories and 13 100-word Bites from some of the best horror writers, this collection of medical terror will cut you to the bone.

Children of Chaos


Greg F. Gifune - 2009
    When their encounter mistakenly leads to murder, they realize this eerie stranger may not have been a man at all, but something much more... Thirty years later the boys-now men-lead tormented lives filled with horrifying memories of the scarred man and what they did all those years ago in the rain. Phil is a struggling writer, divorced, with a daughter and a mounting drinking problem. Jamie is a defrocked priest with depraved secrets and horrible addictions, and Martin, a madman who thinks himself a god, has vanished into a desolate desert region of Mexico and established a feared and violent blood cult. When Martin's dying mother hires Phil to find her son and bring him home, Phil embarks on a perilous journey that will take him from the seedy streets of Tijuana, to a dangerous and allegedly haunted stretch of Mexican desert road known as The Corridor of Demons. At the end of the road, in an old and previously abandoned church, Martin and his followers wait in the Hell-on-Earth they've created deep in the desert. There will be only one chance for redemption, one chance for salvation, and one chance to stop the rise of an antichrist's bloody quest for demonic power. From the void, came chaos. These are its children.

The Sound of Building Coffins


Louis Maistros - 2009
    Meticulously-drawn in lyrical prose, this tale of death and rebirth, devastation and redemption, will draw you into a world of beauty and pain, as alluring as it is dangerous.

Doug Bradley's Spinechillers, Vol. 1


Doug Bradley - 2009
    Lovecraft 29:41 The Open Window (1914) - Saki 9:13 The Beast With Five Fingers (1919) - William Harvey 59:30

ভূত-শিকারি মেজকর্তা এবং...


Premendra Mitra - 2009
    Features all nine stories of ghost-hunter Mejokarta, and ten other stories written in the same vein.The following stories are included:Mejokarta Stories:'Tenara'Bhoot-shikari MejokartaMejokartar Kheror KhataMathay ChandrabinduBhoot Jadi Bhulo Hoy'Bhootera Baro Mithyuk''Bhoot Jadi Bhakto Hoy''Bhoot jadi Boka Hoy''Bhoot jadi Rasik Hoy'Other Ghost Stories:Kolkatar GaliteyHatir Dnater kajMahuhi-kuthite Ek RatGalper SesheRajputanar MaruteMajhrater 'Call'Jongol-barir Bou-raniNishutipurBrohhmodaityer MathKaral KarkatWith an introduction by Surajit Dasgupta

The Severed Nose


Jeff Strand - 2009
    I do not kill people for a living, and so I freaked.”So begins the tale of Josh White, a middle-aged introvert who comes home one evening to find a severed nose on a plate on his dining room table. Who put it there? Why would they do such a thing? Is his own nose in danger? As Josh delves into this perplexing mystery, he finds himself in a dark, twisted world of...well, there won’t be any spoilers here. Don’t you hate it when the back cover description gives away too much? This book is called The Severed Nose, and it starts with a guy finding a severed nose, and if that’s not enticing enough for you then blabbing all of the other plot developments isn’t going to help.

Overtime


Charles Stross - 2009
    Now, in "Overtime," the Laundry is on a skeleton staff for Christmas—leaving one bureaucrat to be all that stands between the world and annihilation by the Thing That Comes Down Chimneys. Written especially for Tor.com's holiday season, Charles Stross's novelette is a finalist for the 2010 Hugo Award. Charles Stross is the Hugo-winning author of some of the most acclaimed novels and stories of the last ten years, including Singularity Sky, Accelerando, Halting State, the "Merchant Princes" series beginning with The Family Trade, and the story collections Toast and Wireless.

Northern Haunts: 100 Terrifying New England Tales


Timothy DealB.V. Lawson - 2009
    It is an indispensable guidebook for your journey through the shadowy New England otherworld. 100 original tales of ghosts, creatures, mad men, and other horrifying mysteries. Each story is told in the first person so that you can employ NORTHERN HAUNTS as a fireside ghost story reference book. It is designed for you to customize these treacherous tales in order to tantalize your friends and terrify your family.

Skull Full of Kisses


Michael West - 2009
    Turn the page and enter a world of shadow, as Michael West brings together his most disturbing short stories–twisted tales of forbidden desires and ghoulish deeds, where nightmares manifest in the most mundane and unlikely of places…The basement of a Japanese restaurant, where a seductive creature promises comfort to a lonely hitman, if only he will set her free…A ruined city, where survivors of a natural disaster have become prey to something unnatural…An Indiana farmhouse, where a frightened child attempts to fool the Angel of Death…And the darkest regions of space, where a man fights to protect the woman he loves from invaders only he can see…Ten reasons to lock your doors.Ten reasons to keep the lights on.Ten reasons why you may never sleep again.

Dracula & Dracula's Guest


Bram Stoker - 2009
    Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst the swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood; he lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion.'Thus Bram Stoker, one of the greatest exponents of the supernatural narrative, describes the demonic subject of his chilling masterpiece Dracula, a truly iconic and unsettling tale of vampirism.Dracula's Guest & Other Stories: Edited and Introduced by David Stuart Davies.The above is followed with a rich collection of Stoker's macabre tales including Dracula's Guest (which was omitted from the final version of Dracula); a devilishly dangerous haunted room in The Judge's House; a fatalistic tragedy in The Burial of the Rats; a terror of revenge from beyond the grave in The Secret of Growing Gold, and a surprising twist in the tail in The Gypsy's Prophecy. Other strange and frightening episodes provide a feast of terror for those readers who like to be unnerved as well as entertained.

Old Man Scratch


Rio Youers - 2009
    The first is the roadkill. His neighbour—Hill "Scratch" Clayton—is the second. Scratch is a hard-edged old man and a creature of habit. He mows his lawn at first light every morning, and the sound of the John Deere's engine always wakes Johnny and his wife from their brittle sleep. Come winter the ride-on mower is replaced by Scratch's snowblower. Johnny tries to reason with him, but Scratch is set in his ways. There is no compassion in his soul.After Johnny's world is turned upside down, he is compelled to take drastic action. He thinks he knows a way to silence Scratch forever. For six years he has been scraping dead animals from his driveway and tossing them to the side of the road, and for six years they have disappeared within a day or two. He often asks himself, what happens to the roadkill? Just where does it go? Old Man Scratch is a revenge story that is often touching, often humorous, but always bound by the unknown … the inexplicable fear of what man is capable of, and the darkness of his heart.

The Nobody


Tom Piccirilli - 2009
    After months of catatonia Cryer awakens in a mental facility to find that his former life is almost completely forgotten. He knows his wife and daughter have been murdered - he saw them die moments before his own assault - but his shattered mind is incapable of retaining their names. Or even his own.Now Cryer is free again and trying to track down an elusive killer through his own unknown past. But how do you investigate the murders of your loved ones when you can't remember them? When you have no idea who your friends or enemies were? Where you lived and worked? And what secrets you might have once had and failed to keep?And how is he supposed to deal with the little man who keeps crawling in and out of his skull?Cryer is a nobody now, but that won't stop him from finding a vicious murderer and making him pay.Praise for The NobodyTHE NOBODY is a dangerous exploration into the mind and soul of man. Piccirilli’s beautiful prose allows us to take a peek into the abyss of our consciousness and shine a light into those places that warmth has long ago forgot. You cannot read this book and not be changed. --Larry Roberts - Bloodletting PressClichés: can't live with 'em but, as I discovered when I read this remarkable novella, you can't live without 'em. Part vigilante procedural part hard-boiled PI yarn and part examination-of-post-loss-survival weepie, THE NOBODY is Tom Piccirilli at his uncompromising best. The dialogue is so crisp it's like Leonard on speed, and the second and third pages are the literary equivalent of being hit in the face with a shovel. A roller-coaster ride? You bet. A page-turner, even? Yep, no question. A palpable atmosphere, larger-than-life characterisation and impeccable plotting? They're all there. Like I said - clichés: can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. --Peter Crowther - PS PublishingA revenge tale almost Mythic in its simplicity. Shocking, tragic, beautifully written, insightful and nuanced, mournful and uplifting - everything we've come to expect from Tom Piccirilli, done to perfection. From its brutal opening scene to its heartfelt final pages, The Nobody is Pic at his finest. --RJ Sevin - Creeping Hemlock Press

Dreams in Black and White


John R. Little - 2009
    And now, he’s even better. Each night he dreams, and his dreams tell him where to go to find the best possible photo opportunity. His dreams predict the future, showing him tragedy and death. And his fame grows with every snapshot.Somehow, the dream predictions are close to reality, but not perfect. That’s a good thing, when one night Charlie dreams that he’s going to kill his beloved wife.A new short novel by the Stoker nominated author of MIRANDA.

The World Is Dead


Kim PaffenrothKyle S. Johnson - 2009
    The dead have risen, and they've won. No more rallying of the troops. No miracle cure or weapon. Just lots of dead people walking around. If the living dead won, what would the world be like? This collection of eighteen tales-including entries from David Wellington, Jack Ketchum, and Gary A. Braunbeck-take up the call to answer that question. People go to work. Have sex. Get drunk. Fall in love. Take revenge. Raise families. Watch TV. Laugh. Mourn. Murder. Pray. The world is dead, but life goes on.

The Kult


Shaun Jeffrey - 2009
    That’s what makes them easy to kill.Detective Chief Inspector Prosper Snow is in charge of an investigation into a serial killer called The Oracle who turns his victims into macabre works of art. But Prosper harbours a dark secret of his own. He and his old school friends were members of a group called The Kult who made a pact to dish out their own form of vengeance on bullies. Now a member of the group puts their friendship to the test when he makes a far darker request: that they murder someone that raped his wife.To get away with murder, the friends decide to blame it on The Oracle, but events take a chilling turn when the instigator turns up dead, his body fashioned into a disturbing work of art. Now, one by one, the members of The Kult are being hunted down. Just when Prosper thinks things can’t get any worse, his wife is kidnapped and he knows that if he goes to his colleagues for help, he risks his dark deeds being unearthed. If he doesn't, he risks losing all that he holds dear.

The Zombie Cookbook


Kim RichardsBecca Butcher - 2009
    FabianIt’s war and love when zombies invade a Korean restaurant.Secret Ingredient by Lisa HaseltonThere’s a zombie in the kitchen! That may be the case, but when spaghetti-eating zombie Clete takes a job as the assistant chef at the L-Double-J ranch, he’s not the one you need to work out for. It’s a tale of catering and culinary revenge. Would you have added the secret ingredient?A Zombie Named Clete By Lisa HaseltonA little poem in honor of the twice-deceased Clete. Was this on his tombstone, or did he carry a copy in his pocket?Beer-Battered Zombie with Butternut Squash By Becca ButcherWhat’s a cookbook without a recipe? Not for the faint of stomach, though with a few substitutions, it might actually make a good meal. (Not everyone’s a fan of squash, after all.)The Right Recipe By Lin NeiswenderZombie culinary aficionados had better watch out! The zombies are not pleased to be eaten, as the editor of the Zombie Cookbookery Publications discovers in this tale of turnabout-is-fair-play.Quick & Easy Zombie Pastie by Kate SenderA no frills, 4-ingredient full course meal will satisfy both your Zombie’s cravings and nutritional needs.Express Cuisine by Dawn MarshallsayZombie attack on a speeding train--is there really any escape? Fight, hide, jump--none of it can stop you from becoming...Express Cuisine.Brain Food By Carla GirtmanAh, domestic zombie bliss! It’s the Undead Cleavers mixed in with a little Arsenic and Old Lace. Can’t tell you much about this story except that the ending will surprise you as much as it did Thelma!Brain Salad for Dummies by Scott VirtesThe practical guide for that zombie invasion. Your own little zombie poison recipe, combined with practical advice. As Scott says--Follow his advice and you might get enough sleep at night to stay two steps ahead.A Zombie’s APB By Cinsearae SantiagoA zombie decides to give a ‘Hear ye, hear ye!’ to the human race after getting fed up with the lack of ‘good food’ these days.My Big Fat Zombie Wedding by Karina Fabian So what if he’s undead? That won’t not keep Vida from marrying her true love--and neither will challenges from prejudice to unusual dietary needs stop the wedding of the decade!

To Inherit a Murderer


E.J. Ruek - 2009
    09, 2009 : A woman reluctantly takes on the creepy son of her dead friend. Why would Deborah not just turn the kid over to the state to deal with? First, she has promised her friend to take care of him. Second, she sees in the boy something of herself, a part of her that she has learned to control. Nobody else can help this child, but will everyone around him come out unscathed? I don't want to give any more details because the answers will surprise you and make your skin crawl at the same time.Contact the author at the website for a free review copy.

Lenore #3


Roman Dirge - 2009
    It's the first appearance of Ragamuffin, the vampiric monster trapped in the body of a cute lil' doll! The boy with his heart in a box! Little Miss Muffet! Roman Dirge's Tattooed Autopsy! It's all in another jam-packed, chaotic issue starring everyone's favorite little dead girl.

Love Life


Matt Shaw - 2009
    As she walked towards the city's Red Light District, she knew that it would all be over in just a few more hours.

Dolan's Cadillac, and Other Stories


Stephen King - 2009
    An all-star cast of readers bring to life these timeless stories from the darkest places, including the tale Dolan's Cadillac: soon to be a feature film starring Christian Slater, Wes Bentley, and Emmanuelle Vaugier. A widowed husband spends seven years plotting revenge for his wife's murder in Dolan's Cadillac. A school teacher discovers her students are not what they seem in Suffer the Little Children. In Crouch End, a woman fears that supernatural events may have led to her husband's disappearance. And in Rainy Season, a young couple is forced into the ultimate battle of Man vs. Nature when torrential rain turns deadly. Rob Lowe, Whoopi Goldberg, Tim Curry, and Yeardley Smith lend their voices to this haunting collection of classic stories that no Stephen King fan should be without.

Horror Recognition Guide


Matt McFarland - 2009
    Connects with the Hunter: The Vigil corebook and its supplements by reintroducing and revisiting ideas, locations and characters

Peckinpah: An Ultraviolent Romance


D. Harlan Wilson - 2009
    The decidedly estranged yet complacent occupants of this proverbial smalltown go about their business like geriatrics in a casino … until their business is interrupted by a sinister gang of outsiders. Angry, slick-talking, and ultraviolent to the core, Samson Thataway and the Fuming Garcias commit art-for-art’s-sake in the form of hideous, unmotivated serial killings. When an unsuspecting everyman’s wife is murdered by the throng, it is up to Felix Soandso to avenge her death and return Dreamfield to its natural state of absurdity.

Kaiki: Uncanny Tales From Japan, Vol. 1 Tales Of Old Edo


Masao HigashiKidō Okamoto - 2009
    The first volume of a 3-volume anthology covering over two centuries of kaiki literature, including both short stories and manga, from Ueda Akinari's Ugetsu Monogatari of 1776 to Kyogoku Natsuhiko's modern interpretations of popular tales. Selected and with commentary by Higashi Masao, a recognized researcher and author in the field, the series systemizes and introduces the scope of the field and helps establish it as a genre of its own. This first volume presents a variety of work focusing on pre-modern Japan, and includes one manga.

The Dunwich Horror / The Thing on the Doorstep


H.P. Lovecraft - 2009
    

Tales of the Talisman, Volume 5, Issue 2


David Lee SummersAudrey Hollis - 2009
    Join Lawrence R. Dagstine as he shows us the lengths a werewolf must go to adopt a child. Danielle Ackley-McPhail gives us a glimpse into the life of a lonely man and the solace he receives from a humble visitor. J Alan Erwine will show you a dark future where a soldier who has seen too much is treated as a criminal. This issue includes eleven stories and eleven poems guaranteed to sweep you away on wings of the imagination. Don't miss the autumn 2009 issue of Tales of the Talisman!

The Gray Zone


John R. Little - 2009
    Little, only 250 copies. In 1984, Henry Davidson took the holiday of a lifetime, spending his summer in Aswan, Egypt. The trip changed his life in many ways, but when he swallowed a secret powder handed down from generation to generation, the biggest change was yet to come. Now Henry could remember his future as well as his past. And he could live his life out of sequence, choosing the age he wanted to live, from when he was a small child to when he turned 52. Beyond that is a hazy Gray Zone where he has no memories. What happens when Henry is finally able to break through and live in the Gray Zone is horrifying and deadly, and Henry has to face the consequences of the decisions he has made through his life. From the Bram Stoker award winning author of Miranda comes this new novella of love and terror and the mysteries of time.

Possum Kingdom


Lorelei Shannon - 2009
    She finds herself in Possum Kingdom, Tennessee, a tiny little town with secrets as dark as the woods that surround it. Here she meets Robbie Jo, her new best friend. The girl is dirt-poor, brilliant, funny...and bloodthirsty. Robbie Jo is a young psychopath. A budding serial killer. She hides her true nature from the people of Possum Kingdom-most of them, anyway. The lucky ones. Rose settles into small-town life with quiet joy. For the first time in her life, she feels safe. For the first time, she falls in love. And she confides it all to her new-found "sister." As Robbie Jo plays the townspeople like game pieces, as she digs into past atrocity that is better off forgotten, she draws Rose closer and closer. The battle for Rose's soul has begun. But the stakes are higher than anyone could imagine. "Possum Kingdom" is an intimate portrait of love and madness, and an epic story of magic, murder, and outrageous ambition. This is supernatural Southern Gothic taken to a whole new level.

Weird Inhabitants of Sesqua Valley


W.H. Pugmire - 2009
    Sesqua Valley, modeled on North Bend and the Snoqualmie Valley in the Pacific Northwest, is home to Wilum Pugmire's created world of supernatural forces and eldritch beings, attracting mere mortals who feel its call. While inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft, Pugmire uses Lovecraftian elements for his own ends, expressing a unique creative and poetic vision that sings of the liberating, if at times terrifying, power of transformation that lies within all of us.

The Watchers Trilogy: Omnibus Edition


William Meikle - 2009
    It is 1745, and the BloodKing calls his army to battle and will bring them South to claim his birthright; the throne of Britain. Only the Watchers on the old wall stand in his way. This omnibus collection includes the complete Watchers trilogy!The Coming of the KingThe Bloodking comes!The old wall is a border: England and Scotland, South and North, light and darkness. It is 1745, and the long-awaited night as come. The Bloodking calls his army to battle, and armed with the powers of the undead and the damned, he will bring them South to claim his birthright: The throne of Britain. Only the old Watchers on the wall stand in his way. They, their swords, and their faith. But too much time has passed and the Watch has grown slack and ill-prepared for the coming war. Only Martin and Sean have seen the horrors that lie ahead for humankind. Only they have the power to stop it. Now, two young officers of the Watch have a duty to perform: Stop the Bloodking. Or die trying.The Battle for the ThroneBattle is joined...It is 1745. The forces of the Boy-King have decimated Milecastle. The Thane is dead, another chosen, and Mary Campbell has been taken by the Boy-King as his unholy bride.The town is a scene of carnage and the Watchers have failed...but they may yet have a chance at redemption. Can Martin be a leader to his people in their time of need?And can Sean fulfill his oath without losing his soul?Neither have much time to consider, for the Boy King is on the rampage...and his heir is waiting to be born in the Blood Chapel of Ross-Lynn.CullodenA great victory has been won, but the war is far from over. The Boy-King now needs his bride…and his heir.Only the young officers of the Watch can stop him. But they have their own battles to face and their own demons to fight. And those inner demons are not proving so easy to control as they are lured to the blood-soaked moors of Culloden for the final confrontation.The dead are rising. A new darkness is fast approaching. Victory is close…but will the hands of Martin and Sean be too bloodied for them to grasp it?The conclusion of the critically-acclaimed Watchers series!Praise for the Watchers Trilogy!"...horrifying Highland vampires from the bloodline of the diabolical Stuarts. This first novel...offers excitement that never slackens." -- Margaret L. Carter, author of the Eppie Award-winning vampire novel DARK CHANGELING"...superb story. Thoroughly enjoyable from the first word to the last. William Meikle has a wonderfully unique style..." -- The Eternal Night Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror"Breathtaking, Scary and Original. A must read. An impressive blend of horror, history and imagination." -- Dave Dreher, Horror News Network"I was captivated from the very first scene...Very well written." -- Patricia Altner, author of Vampire Readings: An Annotated Bibliography"I'm always impressed when anyone can add a new twist to the venerable vampire canon. Hugely enjoyable fun to read." -- Joe Gordon, The Alien Online"It is refreshing to read a story where the triumph of good over evil is far from definite..." -- The Eternal Night Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror"Meikle blends reality and fantasy so well that the reader believes that it could have happened." -- Kelly Rothenberg, author of Hitler in Progress"Meikle...can grace the page with words of beauty whilst twisting a nightmare into grotesque shapes before your eyes.

Damnation


Robin Renee Ray - 2009
    Her parents know why and take steps to stop them. Still, blood is shed...lots of it.