Best of
Weird-Fiction
2013
Quicksand House
Carlton Mellick III - 2013
"You must never leave the nursery. If you leave, you will certainly die."Tick and Polly have never met their parents before. They live in the same house with them, they dream about them every night, they share the same flesh and blood, yet for some reason their parents have never found the time to visit them even once since they were born. Living in a dark corner of their parents' vast crumbling mansion, the children long for the day when they will finally be held in their mother's loving arms for the first time... But that day seems to never come. They worry their parents have long since forgotten about them.When the machines that provide them with food and water stop functioning, the children are forced to venture out of the nursery to find their parents on their own. But the rest of the house is much larger and stranger than they ever could have imagined. The maze-like hallways are dark and seem to go on forever, deranged creatures lurk in every shadow, and the bodies of long-dead children litter the abandoned storerooms. Every minute out of the nursery is a constant battle for survival. And the deeper into the house they go, the more they must unravel the mysteries surrounding their past and the world they've grown up in, if they ever hope to meet the parents they've always longed to see.Like a survival horror rendition of "Flowers in the Attic," Carlton Mellick III's "Quicksand House" is his most gripping and sincere work to date.
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies
John Langan - 2013
Gifted with a supple and mellifluous prose style, an imagination that can conjure up clutching terrors with seeming effortlessness, and a thorough knowledge of the rich heritage of weird fiction, Langan has already garnered his share of accolades. This new collection of nine substantial stories includes such masterworks as “Technicolor,” an ingenious riff on Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death”; “How the Day Runs Down,” a gripping tale of the undead; and “The Shallows,” a powerful tale of the Cthulhu Mythos. The capstone to the collection is a previously unpublished novella of supernatural terror, “Mother of Stone.” With an introduction by Jeffrey Ford and an afterword by Laird Barron.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Reading Langan, by Jeffrey FordKidsHow the Day Runs DownTechnicolor The Wide, Carnivorous SkyCity of the DogThe ShallowsThe Revel June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris. Mother of Stone Story Notes Afterword: Note Found in a Glenfiddich Bottle, by Laird BarronAcknowledgments
North American Lake Monsters
Nathan Ballingrud - 2013
Monsters, real and imagined, external and internal, are the subject. They are us and we are them and Ballingrud's intense focus makes these stories incredibly intense and irresistible.These are love stories. And also monster stories. Sometimes these are monsters in their traditional guises, sometimes they wear the faces of parents, lovers, or ourselves. The often working-class people in these stories are driven to extremes by love. Sometimes, they are ruined; sometimes redeemed. All are faced with the loneliest corners of themselves and strive to find an escape.Nathan Ballingrud was born in Massachusetts but has spent most of his life in the South. He worked as a bartender in New Orleans and New York City and a cook on offshore oil rigs. His story "The Monsters of Heaven" won the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his daughter.
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All
Laird Barron - 2013
Melding supernatural horror with hardboiled noir, espionage, and a scientific backbone, Barron’s stories have garnered critical acclaim and have been reprinted in numerous year’s best anthologies and nominated for multiple awards, including the Crawford, International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson, Theodore Sturgeon, and World Fantasy awards.Barron returns with his third collection, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All. Collecting interlinking tales of sublime cosmic horror, including “Blackwood’s Baby”, “The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven”, and “The Men from Porlock”, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All delivers enough spine-chilling horror to satisfy even the most jaded reader.
Complete Works of Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard - 2013
Howard” Contains: • An aesthetic cover page. • A beginning click-able Table of Contents for all titles. • Inner click-able Tables of Contents for all individual books with multiple chapters. • Nicely organized chapters and text. Author’s works include: • SKULLS IN THE STARS • THE FOOTFALLS WITHIN • THE MOON OF SKULLS • THE HILLS OF THE DEAD • WINGS IN THE NIGHT • RATTLE OF BONES • RED SHADOWS • THE DAUGHTER OF ERLIK KHAN • HAWK OF THE HILLS • BLOOD OF THE GODS • SON OF THE WHITE WOLF • THE COUNTRY OF THE KNIFE • THE PHOENIX ON THE SWORD • THE SCARLET CITADEL • THE TOWER OF THE ELEPHANT • BLACK COLOSSUS • THE SLITHERING SHADOW • THE POOL OF THE BLACK ONE • GODS OF THE NORTH • ROGUES IN THE HOUSE • SHADOWS IN THE MOONLIGHT • QUEEN OF THE BACK COAST • THE DEVIL IN IRON • THE PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE • A WITCH SHALL BE BORN • JEWELS OF GWAHLUR • BEYOND THE BLACK RIVER • SHADOWS IN ZAMBOULA • RED NAILS • THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON • THE HYBORIAN AGE • THE VALLEY OF THE WORM • THE GARDEN OF FEAR • APPARITION IN THE PRIZE RING • ALLEYS OF DARKNESS • ALLEYS OF PERIL • ALMURIC • WORMS OF THE EARTH • THE LOST RACE • EVIL DEEDS AT RED COUGAR • A GENT FROM BEAR CREEK (NOVELLA) • A GENT FROM BEAR CREEK (SHORT STORY) • CUPID FROM BEAR CREEK • GUNS OF THE MOUNTAINS • HIGH HORSE RAMPAGE • MOUNTAIN MAN • NO COWHERDERS WANTED • PILGRIMS TO THE PECOS • TEXAS JOHN ALDEN • WHILE SMOKE ROLLED • PISTOL POLITICS • SHARP’S GUN SERENADE • THE APACHE MOUNTAIN WAR • THE CONQUERIN’ HERO OF THE HUMBOLTS • THE FEUD BUSTER • THE HAUNTED MOUNTAIN • THE RIOT AT COUGAR PAW • THE ROAD TO BEAR CREEK • THE SCALP HUNTER • WAR ON BEAR CREEK • THE TOMB’S SECRET • CHAMP OF THE FORECASTLE • CIRCUS FISTS • THE CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT • THE HAUNTER OF THE RING • HAWKS OF OUTREMER • THE BLOOD OF BELSHAZZAR • THE BLACK STONE • THE FIRE OF ASSHURBANIPAL • THE THING ON THE ROOF • CUPID VS POLLUX • IN THE FOREST OF VILLEFÉRE • WOLFSHEAD • BLACK CANAAN • THE HOUSE OF ARABU • PEOPLE OF THE DARK • THE VOICE OF EL-LIL • SPEAR AND FANG • SEA CURSE • FIST AND FANG • GENERAL IRONFIST • GATES OF EMPIRE • LORD OF SAMARCAND • THE LION OF TIBERIAS • THE SOWERS OF THE THUNDER • THE CAIRN ON THE HEADLAND • THE DREAM SNAKE • THE FEARSOME TOUCH OF DEATH • THE HYENA • THE TREASURES OF TARTARY • THE SHADOW KINGDOM • THE MIRRORS OF TUZUN THUNE • KINGS OF THE NIGHT • NIGHT OF BATTLE • OLD GARFIELD’S HEART • T
Phantom Bigfoot Strikes Again
Simon Okill - 2013
The tall blond aliens known as The Elders must protect their pets - Bigfoot - in so doing they have chosen The Guardian to take on this massive task. But becoming The Phantom Bigfoot has its perks for this notorious prankster, scallywag, and local celebrity. Duane lets off steam by inflicting ludicrous pranks on the local Beaverites. To his dismay, a teenager with the same prankish ways disappears. Can Duane keep the Tribe of Bigfoot a secret and protect the forest as the authorities search for the missing teenager? Or will the alien Elders come to regret their choice of Protector and banish Duane from the forest forever?
Flowers of the Sea
Reggie Oliver - 2013
Oliver’s variety of subject matter, wit, characterisation and stylistic elegance are on display, as is his gift for telling a good story. The rivalry between two former MI5 members in a seaside town escalates into something deeply sinister and mysterious. . . . The one-time assistant to a musical genius is dying in early nineteenth-century Vienna and cannot escape his obsession with their last collaboration. . . . In Weimar Germany a mass murderer is awaiting his execution with perplexing eagerness. . . . There are two novellas in this collec-tion. ‘Lord of the Fleas’ is a study of a sinister eighteenth-century architect, told through various documents, including an unpublished fragment of Boswell’s Life of Dr Johnson, and a series of increasingly desperate letters from a young woman to her cousin in the style of the epistolary novels of Fanny Burney. The other novella, ‘A Child’s Problem’, inspired by a painting in the Tate Gallery by Richard Dadd, was nominated for ‘best novella’ in the Shirley Jackson Awards of 2012.Reggie Oliver is an English playwright, biographer and writer of ghost stories. His work has appeared in a number of anthologies, including the Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror.Flowers of the Sea contains: ‘Introduction’ by Michael Dirda, ‘A Child’s Problem’, ‘Striding Edge’, ‘Hand to Mouth’, ‘Singing Blood’, ‘Flowers of the Sea’, ‘Lord of the Fleas’, ‘Didman’s Corner’, ‘The Posthumous Messiah’, ‘Charm’, ‘Between Four Yews’, ‘The Spooks of Shellborough’, ‘Süssmayr’s Requiem’, ‘Come Into My Parlour’, ‘Lightning’, ‘Waving to the Boats’, ‘Author’s Note’.Flowers of the Sea is a sewn hardback book of 388 + x pages with decorated boards, silk ribbon marker, head and tailbands, and d/w. Also available as an ebook.
The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler and Other Strange Stories
Reggie Oliver - 2013
'The Complete Symphonies Of Adolf Hitler' 'Lapland Nights' 'The Garden Of Strangers' 'Among The Tombs' 'The Skins' 'The Sermons Of Dr Hodnet' 'Magus Zoroaster' 'The Time Of Blood' 'Parma Violets' 'Difficult People' 'The Constant Rake' 'The Blue Room' 'A Nightmare Sang' 'The Babe Of The Abyss' 'Bloody Bill' 'A Christmas Card'
The Stars Were Right
K.M. Alexander - 2013
He just wanted a relaxing month off between jobs so he could explore the city of Lovat, enjoy a soft bed and a few decent meals. Instead, he’s arrested—accused of killing old friends and hacking off body parts.Escaping custody and on the run, Wal becomes a citywide fugitive fighting to clear his name. As the body count rises, a shadowy assassin emerges as the true killer, and the trail begins to grow more and more bizarre.The Stars Were Right combines mysteries and monsters, chases and cults, and an ancient evil in a world that is similar but not quite like our own.
The Novellas
Kealan Patrick Burke - 2013
The inn will soon be renovated in preparation for a new lease on life. So tonight, from midnight till six, Peter Haskins will watch over the machinery.And he will soon discover that there is something else in the hotel with him, something that needs no new lease on life, for it has never died.And never will.SELDOM SEEN IN AUGUSTWade Crawford is not a good guy. He’s a bank robber and a ruthless killer, and now three people are dead and Wade is on the run. With the cops hot on his heels, he breaks into a seemingly ordinary house in a seemingly ordinary neighborhood to hide and wait on word from his partner.But this neighborhood is far from ordinary. Indeed it has a very specific purpose, and soon Wade will discover that life in prison would be preferable to the hellish torment Seldom Seen has in store for him.MIDLISTERSMeet Jason Tennant, a writer of violent horror novels whose career is mired firmly in a maddening swamp of frustration somewhere north of nowhere and south of success. He is a midlister, those thankless souls who labor in the shadows of sometimes better, sometimes luckier writers, and it's starting to take its toll.Meet Kent Gray, wildly popular author of a string of so-called "sex-fi" novels. He's wealthy, handsome, and the object of Jason Tennant's professional jealousy.Welcome to Baltimore, Maryland, and the Aurora Science Fiction Horror Convention, where these two men, midlister and bestseller, will meet for the first time, and the midlister motto "Better Read Than Dead" will be put to the ultimate test.
The Cthulhu Child
David Brian - 2013
Nevertheless, it is often whispered by those who claim knowledge of such things, that a number of these Elder Gods - the lower rank and file, if you will - decided to hold this ground, so enamored were they by the cults who spilled blood in their names.Those times are all but forgotten, obscured by the shifting mists of history.Fast forward to today, and a wrong turn on a country lane is about to expose Jennifer Bueller, and her daughter Megan, to an unpleasant truth: Yes, times have changed, but ancient deities will adapt in order to thrive.Abandoned space gods, an unfaithful husband, a sociopath rapist, and a broken society with a social welfare system that presents horrors of its own; lastly, though by no means least in this eclectic collection of stories, a flash fiction homage to James Herbert, featuring his most infamous creation.
BigBoobenstein
Jeff O'Brien - 2013
If you agree, this is the book for you. If you disagree, it's still the book for you. But enter with caution. On your quest you will encounter anthropomorphic shit-drooling hernias, porn obsessed bridge trolls, chronic masturbators, fundamentalist Christians, voodoo pimps, politicians, hipsters, prostitutes, and also some so-called regular people. Much like the reader, Adelaide DeCarlo must endure the culmination of all these characters to decipher who the true monsters are, and to achieve her dream of self-acceptance.
The Dulwich Horror and Others
David Hambling - 2013
P. Lovecraft, this stylish new collection of adventure stories fizzes with wit and invention. They can be enjoyed separately, but read them in one sitting and the pieces fit horribly together into a larger and more terrible nightmare. †These tales constitute David Hambling’s initial foray into the realm of Lovecraftian fiction. The fertility of imagination, the crisp character delineations, and the smooth-flowing prose that we find in these seven tales leave us wishing for more of the same, and Hambling will no doubt oblige in the coming years. For now, we can sit back and relish a brace of stories that not only evoke the shade of the dreamer from Providence, but which that dreamer himself would have enjoyed to the full. —S. T. Joshi(from his foreword)
Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love
Mercedes M. Yardley - 2013
His daddy called him a demon. But even monsters can fall in love.Montessa Tovar is walking home alone when she is abducted by Lu, a serial killer with unusual talents and a grudge against the world. But in time, the victim becomes the executioner as 'Apocalyptic' Montessa and her doomed lover, 'Nuclear' Lulu, crisscross the country in a bloody firestorm of revenge.
I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft, Volume 1
S.T. Joshi - 2013
As a child, he revealed remarkable precocity in his early interests in literature and science. Ill-health dogged him in youth, rendering his school attendance sporadic; and in 1908 he experienced a nervous breakdown that rendered him a virtual recluse for several years. In 1914 he discovered the world of amateur journalism and began slowly emerging from his hermitry. He wrote tremendous amounts of essays, poetry, and other work; in 1917, under the encouragement from W. Paul Cook and others, he resumed the writing of horror fiction, and his career as a dream-weaver began anew. In 1921 Lovecraft met his future wife, Sonia H. Greene, at an amateur journalism convention. It was at this time that he began expanding his horizons, both geographical and intellectual: he traveled widely, from New England to New York to Cleveland; and he absorbed such literary and intellectual influences as Lord Dunsany, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Arthur Machen. In 1924 he and Sonia decided to marry, and Lovecraft moved to New York to pursue his literary fortune. But, as the first volume of this biography concludes, his metropolitan adventure would be bittersweet at best. S. T. Joshi's award-winning biography H. P. Lovecraft: A Life (1996) provided the most detailed portrait of the life, work, and thought of the dreamer from Providence ever published. But that edition was in fact abridged from Joshi's original manuscript, and this expanded and updated two-volume edition restores the 150,000 words that Joshi omitted and, in addition, updates the texts with new findings.
Littlest Lovecraft: The Call of Cthulhu
Tro Rex - 2013
P. Lovecraft's classic tale of cosmic horror The Call of Cthulhu in this fully illustrated adaptation.When Thurston receives a mysterious box from his late grand-uncle, it leads to a terrible obsession. Follow his quest to learn the truth about strange statues, crazed cultists, and the great and monstrous Cthulhu.Recommended for ages 9+ due to scary/monster imagery and vocabulary.
Basal Ganglia
Matthew Revert - 2013
What else can you say?" - SCOTT MCCLANAHAN, author of Hill William and CrapalachiaAs teenagers, two lovers, Rollo and Ingrid, escape the world as it is known to live underground in a sprawling pillow fort that mirrors the structure of the human brain. Construction of the fort takes 25 years and once complete, their life exists to honor the fort in all it requires. Basal Ganglia begins countless years after they have become enslaved to the fort process. Rollo and Ingrid have lost any connection to their pasts and each other. Nothing exists beyond the patterns required by the fort. In an effort to become more than stasis, Ingrid expresses her desire to have a baby. Not wanting to subject another human to their strange world, she decides she will knit the baby using materials Rollo gathers from the fort. The emergence of this baby leads to paranoia between Rollo and Ingrid with both believing the other means the child harm. Within the confines of their cloistered world, the two engage in psychological warfare, desperately searching for a conclusion they don't understand. As a result, they will find connection with their past, each other and the true nature of their identities.
Encounters with Enoch Coffin
Jeffrey Thomas - 2013
Coffin is an artist with a singular quest: to capture in paint, or ink, or clay -- however he might -- sights that no mortal has ever portrayed in art before...and lived to exhibit. His quest will take him throughout actual New England locations, and that other New England of H. P. Lovecraft, where his models will be doomed souls, ravening ghouls, and entities from beyond the veil.Individually acclaimed for their weird fiction, in this collection of short stories authors W. H. Pugmire and Jeffrey Thomas collaborate to paint the portrait of a character every bit as fascinating and unique as the subjects of his artistic encounters.With haunting illustrations on the front and back cover by renowned illustrator Santiago Caruso and interior illustrations accompanying every story by illustrator Clint Leduc, Encounters with Enoch Coffin is anticipated to be one of the best-selling Dark Regions Press titles of 2013.For more information please visit the dedicated product page for this book at: http://www.darkregions.com/books/encounters-with-enoch-coffin-by-w-h-pugmire-and-jeffrey-thomasPraise for W.H. Pugmire"The prose-poet of the horror/fantasy field; he may be the best prose-poet we have...perhaps the leading Lovecraftian author writing today." - S. T. Joshi"An important figure in the fields of modern horror and the weird." - Laird Barron"Stylistically he owes as much to Oscar Wilde and Henry James as to HPL and Poe, creating a truly unholy fusion that defies academic boundaries between ‘mainstream’ and ‘genre’ fiction." - Editor and scholar Scott ConnorsPraise for Jeffrey Thomas"In time he will, in this reviewer’s opinion, be listed alongside King, Barker, Koontz, and McCammon." - Brian Keene"Jeffrey Thomas’ imagination is as twisted as it is relentless." - F. Paul Wilson"With brutal elegance and chilling subtlety, Thomas pulls his readers into his dark visions immediately from every opening line." - Paul Di FilippoTable of ContentsYe Unkempt ThingMatter of Truth and DeathBeneath ArkhamSpectral EvidenceThey Smell of ThunderMystic ArticulationEvery Exquisite ThingImpossible ColorEcstasy in AberrationShadow PuppetsFearless SymmetryUnto the Child of Woman
The Grimscribe's Puppets
Joseph S. Pulver Sr.Nicole Cushing - 2013
In The Grimscribe’s Puppets, Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., has commissioned both new and established talents in the world of weird fiction and horror to contribute all new tales that pay hoame to Ligotti and celebrate his eerie and essential nightmares. Poppy Z. Brite once asked, “Are you out here, Thomas Ligotti?” This anthology proves not only is he alive and well, but his extraordinary illuminations have proven to be visionary and fertile source of inspiration for some of today’s most accomplished authors.List of tales: Livia Llewellyn “Furnace” [5,800]Daniel Mills “The Lord Came at Twilight” [3,950]Michael Cisco “The Secrets of the Universe” [3,360]Kaaron Warren “The Human Moth” [2,700]Joel Lane “Basement Angels” [2,697]Darrell Schweitzer “No Signal” [1,735]Robin Spriggs “THE XENAMBULIST: A Fable in Four Acts” [3,369]Nicole Cushing “The Company Town” [1,700]Cody Goodfellow “The Man Who Escaped This Story” [8,490]Michael Kelly “Pieces of Blackness” [3,750]Eddie M. Angerhuber “The Blue Star” [2,970]Jon Padgett “20 SIMPLE STEPS TO VENTRILOQUISM” [4,490]Mike Griffin “Diamond Dust” [4,900]Richard Gavin “After the Final” [3,100]Scott Nicolay “Eyes Exchange Bank” [9,050]Simon Strantzas “BY INVISIBLE HANDS” [6,200]Paul Tremblay “Where We Will All Be” [4,900]Ally Bird “Gailestis” [4,019]Jeff Thomas “The Prosthesis” [4,835]John Langan “Into the Darkness, Fearlessly” [10,499]Gemma Files “OUBLIETTE” [8,424]
The Laughter of Strangers
Michael J. Seidlinger - 2013
I wasn't the first to systematically climb the ranks, beating the sugar out of everyone I had known to be inferior, leaving only the sour taste of defeat, my claim forever being:"I am the greatest!"I can still hear it now. In the silence of this locker room, blood drying on my face, I can still hear those words.And I was. I was the greatest.JABLEFT HOOKJABLEFT HOOKRIGHT HOOKJABSTRAIGHTTO THE BODY:JABJABPOWER SHOT STRAIGHTPOWER SHOT STRAIGHTUPPERCUTAnd then a voice says, "'Sugar'... you are no longer sweet with the science."
The Moon Will Look Strange
Lynda E. Rucker - 2013
A mysterious stranger makes increasingly disquieting visits to a lonely English instructor in Central Europe... A woman experiences her own literal disintegration as someone - or something - from her past takes over her life...but who is the possessed and who is possessing? In return for the ability to touch the miraculous, the residents of an isolated mountain community are busily manufacturing items they don't understand in preparation for a future they cannot imagine... With eight reprints from the pages of such publications as Black Static, The Third Alternative, and Supernatural Tales and three original tales, this chilling debut collection by Lynda E. Rucker will fill you with unease and unsettle your dreams. "Lynda Rucker's great talent is that she is able to carefully build a perceptive portrayal of the real world and in the process of that exploration find that edge where the everyday dissolves and the numinous begins. Her compelling execution of this transition strongly echoes the work of Robert Aickman." - Steve Rasnic Tem
American Reader May/June 2013
Uzoamaka MadukaCarmen Maria Machado - 2013
+ New literature from South Korea: poetry by Hwang Byeong-seung and Moon Tae-jun, and fiction by Park Min-gyu and Kim Aeran, with an introduction by Jenny Wang Medina.+ Book Reviews: on Francesco Pacifico’s The Story of My Purity, Anne Carson’s Red Doc>, A. G. Porta’s The No World Concerto, Ray Amorisi’s Lazarus, Charles Bernstein’s Recalculating, and Nicolas Hundley’s The Revolver in the Hive.
Carnacki: The New Adventures
Sam GaffordCharles R. Rutledge - 2013
Since his first appearance in 1912, William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki has continued to thrill and amaze. Armed with his scientific apparatus of cameras and the ever-present 'electric pentacle', Carnacki has investigated cases of hauntings and terror both contrived and real! Collected here are 11 new stories, and one play, featuring Carnacki and his 'new adventures'! In these tales, he comes face to face with forces from the 'Outer Monstrosities' as well as numerous specters and evil curses. Danger and death are Carnacki's companions and there are things that even the legendary SaaaMaaa Ritual cannot dispel. Thrill to these new stories of a character who has entranced readers for a century and, hopefully, a century yet to come!
Elegies and Requiems
Colin Insole - 2013
Insole's work explores the mysterious world where a confluence of objects and circumstance awake atavisms which draw the protagonists of his tales into mysteries infinitely greater than themselves. In 'The Golden Birds of Mariston', an artifact weaves its magic over the population of a once mighty but now moribund city, while in 'Ancestral Rooms' a doll given to a child begins a process of familiarial transformation for its giver. The make-believe world of childish imagination becomes something else in 'Blackthorn Cottage', whilst in 'The Bellman' the intrusions are infinitely more malignant. Lovers of authors such as Bruno Schulz, Georges Rodenbach, Arthur Machen and Mark Valentine will find much to admire in Insole's delicately wrought symbolist prose style, whilst lovers of the supernatural will admire the imagination and imagery of a writer who is regarded by many as one of the most interesting authors to emerge in recent years.
Clown Tear Junkies
Douglas Hackle - 2013
A deadbeat dad gains employment as a lady-in-waiting in a fairytale bromance where every character looks exactly like someone else from John Carpenter’s The Thing. The unknowing victim of a cruel prank, a simpleton spends his entire life waiting on a park bench for the hottest girl in school. Using only his twenty-sided die and good old-fashioned D&D magic, a man must continually resurrect the neighborhood kid regularly murdered on his own front lawn. An aging slaughterhouse worker and the iconic figure from Edvard Munch’s The Scream hit the clubs every weekend in a vain attempt to get laid.These and many more absurdities await in Clown Tear Junkies, the debut collection from Douglas Hackle.
Complete Works of M. R. James
M.R. James - 2013
R. James entirely redefined the ghost story for the modern reader. Abandoning many of the formal Gothic clichés of his predecessors, he chose instead realistic contemporary settings, whilst blending his esoteric interest in antiquarian subjects to fashion his own inimitable tales of horror. For the first time in publishing history, Delphi Classics presents the complete fictional works of M. R. James, as well offering every published work that James produced for the general reader. This comprehensive eBook offers numerous illustrations, informative introductions, rare texts and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to James’ life and works* Concise introductions to the short story collections and other texts* ALL the story collections, with individual contents tables* Includes rare uncollected ghost stories often missed out of collections* Images of how the books were first printed, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts* Excellent formatting of the texts* Famous works such as GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY are fully illustrated with their original artwork* Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the ghost stories* Easily locate the short stories you want to read* All of James’ translations of Hans Christian Andersen’s stories* Many rare non fiction works appear here for the first time in digital publishing history* Even includes the two rare guide books written by James – first time in digital print* Includes James’ rare memoir - explore the author’s personal experiences* Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genresPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titlesCONTENTS:The Short Story CollectionsGHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARYMORE GHOST STORIESA THIN GHOST AND OTHERSA WARNING TO THE CURIOUS AND OTHER GHOST STORIESTHE COLLECTED GHOST STORIES OF M. R. JAMESUNCOLLECTED STORIESThe Short StoriesLIST OF SHORT STORIES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDERLIST OF SHORT STORIES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDERThe Children’s BooksTHE FIVE JARSFORTY-TWO STORIES BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENThe Non-FictionHENRY THE SIXTH: A REPRINT OF JOHN BLACMAN’S MEMOIRTHE WANDERINGS AND HOMES OF MANUSCRIPTS HELPS FOR STUDENTS OF HISTORYOLD TESTAMENT LEGENDSPROLOGUE TO LE FANU’S MADAM CROWL’S GHOST AND OTHER TALES OF MYSTERYTHE APOCRYPHAL NEW TESTAMENTINTRODUCTION TO ‘GHOSTS AND MARVELS’ (1924)SOME REMARKS ON GHOST STORIESGHOSTS — TREAT THEM GENTLY!The GuidebooksABBEYSSUFFOLK AND NORFOLKThe MemoirETON AND KING’S: RECOLLECTIONS, MOSTLY TRIVIAL, 1875-1925Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles
Forever, in Pieces
Kurt Fawver - 2013
. . FROM A MIND ADROITLY TWISTEDIn this debut collection of short fiction from Kurt Fawver, one of the horror world’s rising stars, you will find a melange of lost souls, cosmic terrors, wondrous abysses, and even some good old-fashioned murder.You will be taken to the end of humanity, to dystopian futures and personal hells. You’ll meet conquering gods and unholy messiahs, invisible babies and talking chairs, interdimensional monsters and the monsters we sometimes see all too clearly in the mirrors before our own faces.The stories in Forever, in Pieces will immerse you in loneliness and loss, life and death, love and obsession, and, above all, the shadowed—and often terrible—veil of eternity.
Defeated Dogs
Quentin S. Crisp - 2013
A fairy tale as dark as they come amid a shattering clash of two opposing and poisoned personalities. A Meyrink-tinged dream of atavism and Italy that awakens the dreamer to philosophy and fate. A quiet and perfectly observed journey through the far reaches of Japan. Myth-working fantasy haunted by the motley ghosts of Lord Dunsany and Matsuo Bashô, and by the imps of postmodernism. A vision of the afterlife where heaven and hell are entwined in torturous symbiosis. The sinister Black Dog folklore re-imagined as a cosmology of thanatophobia. For all the diversity of styles in evidence, they are united by the author’s distinctive voice – a window into a crepuscular human world torn between magic and reality, earth and infinity.“To call Crisp’s stories simple would be to malign them; to say that they are complex would be to slander, for the highest art is that which, in its directness, its naturalness, says what it has to say without pretence.”--Brendan ConnellContents:- Introduction by Brendan Connell- The Fairy Killer- Dreamspace- Tzimtzum- Sado-ga-shima- The Gay Wolf- The Temple- Lilo- Non-Attachment- The Broadsands Eyrie- The Gwyllgi of the Lost Lanes
Falling Over
James Everington - 2013
And sometimes, you get up to find everything has changed: An ordinary man who sees his face in a tabloid newspaper. A soldier haunted by the images of those he has killed from afar. Two petty criminals on the run from a punishment more implacable than either of them can imagine. Doppelgangers both real and imaginary. A tranquil English village where those who don't fit in really aren't welcome, and a strange hotel where second chances are allowed... at a price.Ten stories of unease, fear and the weird from James Everington.
The Gate Theory
Kaaron Warren - 2013
We try to keep the gates closed by falling in love, travelling, avoiding responsibility, getting drunk, taking drugs… anything to lose ourselves. But the dull ache remains in each of us.These stories are about the gates opening.’~ Kaaron WarrenThe Gate Theory holds five tales by award-winning Australian author Kaaron Warren, introduced by award-winning Australian author Amanda J Spedding.Each story resonates with the pain of living.
The Sea Change & Other Stories
Helen Grant - 2013
Ten fathoms down, where the light filtering through the salt water turns everything grey-green, something awaits unwary divers. A self-aggrandising art critic travelling in rural Slovakia finds love with a beauty half his age—and pays the price. In a small German town, a nocturnal visitor preys upon children; there is a way to keep it off—but the ritual must be perfect. A rock climber dares to scale a local crag with a diabolical reputation, and makes a shocking discovery at the top. In each of these seven tales, unpleasantries and grotesqueries abound—and Grant reminds us with each one that there can be fates even worse than death.
Sherlock Holmes: The Quality of Mercy and Other Stories
William Meikle - 2013
Holmes has a public face as a man of strict rationality, a stickler for method and observation. But Holmes himself has always been open to more extreme possibilities." In these pages you'll find, among other things, a jade pendant that bestows great power, a fiddle that holds the key to an ancient secret, a lost overcoat that wants to return to its owner, and an encounter with an old foe that imperils the whole of Great Britain. All of them are cases that Holmes and Watson must solve, even if they have to open themselves to extreme possibilities to do so.
The Natural Dissolution of Fleeting-Improvised Men
Gabriel Blackwell - 2013
P. Lovecraft is famed mostly for the influential body of short fiction he left behind, he was also one of the most prolific correspondents of his time, the author of more than 100,000 letters. Undiscovered and unpublished until now, The Natural Dissolution of Fleeting-Improvised-Men is the last letter that Lovecraft wrote, finishing it just days before his death on March 15, 1937. This edition features extensive notes from the editor, Gabriel Blackwell."It's difficult to know if Blackwell is a sharp editor, a stone-faced ventriloquist, someone possessed by the ghost of Lovecraft, or all three. The Natural Dissolution of Fleeting-Improvised-Men is a startling investigation of the evanescence of the self. It's not so much that it will leave you changed as that it will leave you nameless and wandering."-Brian Evenson, author of Immobility
Samurai and Other Stories
William Meikle - 2013
This collection by William Meikle brings together stories from the past decade in an exploration of the perils of exploring dark places, both external and internal. "There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Meikle is one of the premier storytellers of our time." - Famous Monsters of Filmland "Meikle is a writer that can grace the page with words of beauty whilst twisting a nightmare into grotesque shapes before your eyes." - Len Maynard and Mick Sims "William Meikle's short stories and novels are shining examples of what is missing in horror fiction today: atmospheric in style, old-school in character, with an intriguing story to be told." - David Wynn, Mythos Books
A Look Behind the Derleth Mythos: Origins of the Cthulhu Mythos
John D. Haefele - 2013
This book contains new, comprehensive scholarship, and with sharp arguments and solid evidence John D. Haefele dismisses the criticism and demonstrates why it is time to re-establish Derleth's reputation. Ground-zero of the controversy are Derleth's "posthumous collaborations" with H. P. Lovecraft, involving his pastiches and the debate concerning the Cthulhu Mythos vs. the Derleth Mythos. All this, and much more, John D. Haefele looks at and engagingly analyzes. With surprising, yet convincing, results. It is time to set the record straight. This book belongs on the shelf between Carter's A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos and Joshi's The Rise and Fall of the Cthulhu Mythos. A must for anyone interested in Lovecraft, Derleth, Arkham House and the history of the modern weird tale.This is a completely revised, trade paperback edition.
Errata
Hal Duncan - 2013
Here, fans of VELLUM & INK can delve deeper into the mythos of The Book of All Hours, while new readers will find a stand-alone story, a wild ride into the world of a work described as "the Guernica of genre fiction."
The Last Revelation Of Gla'aki
Ramsey Campbell - 2013
It is possible that no copy of The Revelation of Gla’aki still exists anywhere in the world. The most evil book, or a lost contribution to the literature of occultism? Like the contents of the Library of Alexandria, it may have passed into legend…”So wrote Leonard Fairman, the Brichester University archivist, but he couldn’t have dreamed of the response. His essay has hardly appeared online before he’s offered a copy of the book. All he has to do is stay overnight in the Northern coastal town of Gulshaw – at least, that’s his plan. What else is there to keep him in the town, even if its slogan is So Much More to See? Why are there so many people on the beach at night, and in the sea? Why does he have to use such a circuitous route to find his prize, and why do the people he encounters seem to share a secret? What keeps giving him dreams of a stone cocoon voyaging through space and falling to earth? Each of the volumes he reads brings him closer to a revelation, but perhaps it will be on him before he sees it coming...Ramsey Campbell first saw print more than fifty years ago, with tales that reflected his love of H. P. Lovecraft’s work. His first book The Inhabitant of The Lake was rooted in Lovecraft, and the definitive edition is published by PS Publishing. Now Campbell returns to his own Lovecraftian territory and reshapes it in terms of Lovecraft’s vision in this new novella.
Agony in Violet
Rick Wayne - 2013
Afflicted at random, all of the victims suffer an apparent overdose of chemotherapy, yet none of them have cancer.When the thirteenth case — a small boy very near death — hits the news, the authorities are desperate and turn to an unlikely consultant. Part shaman, part chef, he unlocks for them a bizarre world of bioluminescence, sin-eating, and killer cuisine.But what — or who — is on the menu?"Agony in Violet" is a short occult mystery about man's primal urge to consume and is the first course of Feast of Shadows.
The Arthur Machen MEGAPACK ®: 25 Classic Works
Arthur Machen - 2013
In 2008, Stephen King called Machen's "The Great God Pan" (included here) "Maybe the best [horror story] in the English language" in an interview. And H.P. Lovecraft wrote: "Of living creators of cosmic fear raised to its most artistic pitch, few if any can hope to equal the versatile Arthur Machen, author of some dozen tales long and short, in which the elements of hidden horror and brooding fright attain an almost incomparable substance and realistic acuteness.""The Arthur Machen Megapack" presents 25 Classic Works by Arthur Machen, ranging from supernatural to war stories, including 3 poems and a critical essay by Vincent Starrett. Almost 1,200 pages!Included are:ARTHUR MACHEN: A NOVELIST OF ECSTASY AND SIN, by Vincent StarrettTHE REMEMBRANCE OF THE BARDTHE PRAISE OF MYFANWYA FRAGMENT OF LIFETHE WHITE PEOPLETHE GREAT GOD PANTHE SHINING PYRAMIDTHE INMOST LIGHTTHE HILL OF DREAMSTHE THREE IMPOSTORSTHE RED HANDTHE SECRET GLORYTHE HAPPY CHILDRENMUNITIONS OF WARTHE BOWMENTHE SOLDIERS' RESTTHE MONSTRANCETHE ROSE GARDENTHE CEREMONYA DOUBLE RETURNTHE TERRORFAR OFF THINGSTHE GREAT RETURNHIEROGLYPHICSA NEW CHRISTMAS CAROLELEUSINIAAnd don't forget to search this ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see the 200+ entries in this series, covering classic authors and subjects like mysteries, science fiction, westerns, ghost stories -- and much, much more!
13
Julie Elizabeth Powell - 2013
What is found within the depths of the human soul? Does wickedness linger, as if the Devil’s thumb is ready to pluck the strings of certain choices? And with the strumming, just how far will Evil spread?13 is the story of random souls pitted against the tragedy of the modern world.Will they decipher the unknown and make it out alive?Warning: strong language and scenes of violence /horror
The Crimson Thread of Abandon: Stories
Shuji Terayama - 2013
Told in the manner of fantasy and magic realism, the stories are populated with characters who face the vagaries of fortune, happiness always just out of their reach. Terayama is a realist speaking through the medium of fantasy. The stories are “tales for adults,” and indeed they are written in such a way as to mimic and sometimes parody classic fairy tale style. Yet, these tales are far from traditional in content; rather, they turn our conventional thinking and expectations upside down. This topsy-turvy world of Terayama is unsettling and disconcerting at times, but his world is, without a doubt, thought provoking.
Moosejaw Frontier
Chris Kelso - 2013
As he battles for the right to live he begins experiencing vivid nightmares of a symbiotic dream-twin who seems determined to take over complete control of Juan's existence. 'Moosejaw Frontier' is a terrifying journey through the various plateaus of reality, fiction, and one man's intrinsic desire to become more than just a minor character...
The Works of Arthur Machen
Arthur Machen - 2013
Famous tales such as ‘The Great God Pan’ and ‘The Hill of Dreams’ have intrigued readers for over a hundred years, retaining the same raw power that first shocked Victorian readers. This comprehensive collection offers the most complete edition of Arthur Machen possible in the US, with all the fiction except for one obscure short story collection. The compressive eBook provides numerous illustrations, informative introductions, many rare non-fiction works and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Machen's life and works* Concise introductions to the novels and other texts* ALL four novels, with individual contents tables* Rare novels like THE GREEN ROUND appear here for the first time in digital print* Images of how the books were first printed, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts* Excellent formatting of the texts* Rare short story collections like THE CHRONICLE OF CLEMENDY, appearing in print for the first time in many years* Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the short stories* Rare uncollected tales – 105 grisly Machen stories for you to explore* Easily locate the short stories you want to read* Special criticism section, with Starrett’s seminal essay evaluating Machen’s contribution to literature* Features Machen’s first autobiography - discover the author’s early life and first inspirations* Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genresPlease note: ‘The House of the Hidden Light’ cannot appear in this collection due to being published for the first time in 2003 and therefore not being in the public domain. Once new texts enter the public domain, they will be added to the eBook as a free update.CONTENTS:The NovelsTHE HILL OF DREAMSTHE TERRORTHE SECRET GLORYTHE GREEN ROUNDThe Shorter FictionTHE CHRONICLE OF CLEMENDY: OR THE HISTORY OF THE IX JOYOUS JOURNEYS. CARBONNEKTHE GREAT GOD PAN, AND THE INMOST LIGHTTHE THREE IMPOSTORS: OR THE TRANSMUTATIONSTHE HOUSE OF SOULSTHE ANGELS OF MONSTHE GREAT RETURNTHE SHINING PYRAMID, 1923THE SHINING PYRAMID, 1924THE GLORIOUS MYSTERYTHE COSY ROOM AND OTHER STORIESTHE CHILDREN OF THE POOL, AND OTHER STORIESUNCOLLECTED TALESThe Short StoriesLIST OF SHORT STORIES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDERLIST OF SHORT STORIES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDERThe PoemsLIST OF POEMSThe Non-FictionTHE MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA DE SEINGALT, 1725-1798THE ANATOMY OF TOBACCOHIEROGLYPHICSDR STIGGINS: HIS VIEWS AND PRINCIPLESMISCELLANEOUS ESSAYSThe CriticismARTHUR MACHEN: A NOVELIST OF ECSTASY AND SIN by Vincent StarrettThe AutobiographyFAR OFF THINGS
Dark Fusions: Where Monsters Lurk!
Lois H. GreshChristopher Fulbright - 2013
Within these pages you’ll find stories that fuse all the elements of dark fiction.Sometimes, darkness is internal, generated by our minds or bodies. Sometimes, it’s due to external devices, such as monsters, shadows, or lurking dangers. A dark fantasy story requires an otherworld, an imaginary realm, a supernatural story requires a creature or event that exists beyond our natural universe, and a dark science fiction story revolves around science gone bad.Weird fiction lies on the boundaries of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. It creates a mood. At its best, it features dark, bizarre, and unexplained phenomena. Here, the monsters aren’t vampires, werewolves, or splatterpunk killers. Instead, something has violated the natural laws of reality, and the strange events of the story could happen. Darkness driven by the weird is particularly potent.Within these pages are tales of horror, twisted science and fantasy, and the weird: something for every dark appetite. Included in Dark Fusions: Where Monsters Lurk! are intensely weird stories, as well as traditional weird tales, dark science fiction, dark fantasy, and pure horror. Some of these stories will blow your mind. Others will just scare the hell out of you.
Transmatic
Chris Kelso - 2013
In the process of trying to earn enough cash to make his dream come true he gets sucked into the rough world of Visitacion Valley, SF. When the tenants in his apartment complex reveal their various extracurricular activities this take an even more bizarre twist and Ellis soon becomes acquainted with the nightmarish Slave State dimension..."
Written by Daylight
John Howard - 2013
. . The vivid and diverse settings of these stories are façades obscuring reality for the exiles and outcasts who find their way into them. Seemingly born out of time and place, they seek the right routes to bring them to where they want to be, but there are many diversions on the way. In these stories of haunted landscapes and intimidating cities many possibilities confront the unwary, but there is usually only one choice to be made.Contents"Where Once I Did My Love Beguile"WestenstrandSilver on GreenWinter's TracesOut to SeaTime and the CityThe Way of the SunThe High PlacesWandering PathsA Gift for the EmperorInto an EmpireAcknowledgmentsJohn Howard was born in London. His stories have been published in several anthologies and the books The Silver Voices, The Defeat of Grief, and Numbered as Sand or the Stars. With Mark Valentine he contributed to their joint collection Secret Europe, and collaborated with him on several stories in The Collected Connoisseur. Howard has also published articles on many aspects of fantastic fiction, especially the work of Fritz Leiber, Arthur Machen, and August Derleth.
Member
Michael Cisco - 2013
The bag carried by the unknown Lazarus passes into his possession. Investigating, he discovers that it contains a dimensional hole to another world. By accident or design, as bearer of the bag, he is now a courier, carrying messages in a cosmos-wide game he does not understand. Arriving at "the Artifact" (a vast and never-finished machine in the form of a world-dividing wall that manufactures time), Thanks attempts to decipher his own role in the game, to determine whether he can ever become, or already is, or never will be, a member.
Rust: Season One
Christopher Ruz - 2013
She woke in Rustwood.After being pushed in front of the subway C-Line, Kimberly Archer finds herself in an impossible town with a husband she's never seen before and a life she can't remember. The rain never stops, the phones don't work and the doctors think she's delusional.Kimberly only wants to get back to her fiance in New York. But for that, she needs the help of Fitch, a madman who believes something dark lives at the heart of Rustwood. He'll help her, so long as she joins him on his mission to burn the town to the ground.Kimberly might be crazy. Then again, she might be the only sane person left. People are disappearing from the streets, and something black and foul is stalking her in the night. Rustwood has plans for Kimberly, and if she doesn't find a way out soon she'll be lucky to survive...RUST is a serial small-town horror story in the style of Cronenberg, Lynch and King. The SEASON ONE OMNIBUS collects episodes one through five in a single discount edition.