Book picks similar to
Kingdom of Shadows by Greg F. Gifune


horror
short-stories
greg-f-gifune
novellas

Leave the Living


Joe Hart - 2015
    Amidst caring for his disabled son and coming to terms with a failed marriage, he receives a call that his father has been killed in a logging accident in northern Minnesota. Upon his arrival in his hometown, he begins to experience terrifying and unexplainable occurrences that push the boundaries of his sanity. Soon he must face the reality that his father may not have been the man he thought he was. And there are other, darker forces waiting for him as a powerful snowstorm bears down, trapping him with secrets that are far from dead.

Subject 11


Jeffrey Thomas - 2011
    We are currently seeking 10 individuals to participate in a research study. Participants shall receive a sum to be discussed during initial telephone interview. Interested parties should email us via our contact page, subject11.webs.com, providing their telephone number and a brief biography of approximately 100 words, describing themselves in terms of gender, age, race, and occupation if any. The study will take place in a series of abandoned buildings rented for this purpose. Note: subjects involved in this test may find themselves experiencing certain psychological distortions. They may experience lapses in memory regarding others and themselves. Subjects may even forget how long this test is supposed to go on for. And please disregard any additional people you may feel you've sighted in the complex, beyond those in the test group. We thank you for your interest in our research. “Cutting right to the chase, SUBJECT 11 is one of the best novellas I've read all year. Jeffrey Thomas is at his best in this eerie story following a group of ten people (five women and five men) taking part in a mysterious experiment...The mysteries are enticing, and Thomas brings them together for an ending that is sure to linger long in the minds of readers.” - Justin Steele, THE ARKHAM DIGEST

Clockwork Dolls


William Meikle - 2013
    something that might answer?Dave Burns has asked.Now he, and his friends, might not live long enough to understand the reply.

Gloop!


David Brian - 2015
    It has lain in the cold and dark of the bog, waiting patiently for a host to set it free. Now, for John Cluer and his family, nothing will ever be the same again.A novelette of approximately 10,000 words.

The Mourning House


Ronald Malfi - 2012
    Sam Hatch is a shadow of his former self. He travels the byroads of America, running away from a past he cannot escape. There is no salvation for him.And then he sees the house. Like a siren, it calls to him. Yet the house is not what it appears to be. Is it a blessing, a gift...or a curse?

Nightsiders


Gary McMahon - 2013
    Robert Mitchell thought he lived there with his wife and children, but he doesn’t. Not anymore. A new family—the Corbeaus—has taken up residence, and they are on a deadly mission for mischief.Soon Robert will understand the true nature of ownership, and he will discover that real life is nothing more than a story…a horror story.We're playing games now. We're just beginning.

Still Born: A Short Horror Story


The Behrg - 2014
    They can hear their deceased daughter through a baby monitor. But is it really their daughter they are listening to? And if so, who are the other voices coming through on the monitor? As this couple is about to discover, not all second chances are meant to be taken. A psychological horror short story in the vein of Blake Crouch or Stephen King, StillBorn will leave you wondering what is real and what is not. Grief, despair, and tragedy are brought together into a short tale poetically horrific.

Loss


Glen R. Krisch - 2012
    Though her soul mate is gone, her memories of Paul linger as she tries to recover at their secluded wooded estate. Ostracized from Paul's family--the only family she has really known--Angie's life spirals down a dark path of alcohol and pills. In the blur of constant self-medication, Angie is in no position to know what is happening to her. Is Paul haunting her? Has she gone mad? Or is there another possibility, something far worse?

Puppet Graveyard


Tim Curran - 2012
    No return address. Just a cryptic message that brings Kitty to the Bamboo Lounge and into the twisted realm of ventriloquist Ronny McBane and his dummy, Piggy. Kitty descends into a haunted place where reality is frayed, where the puppetmaster and puppet seem to have reversed roles—-a nightmare place where a dummy moves and speaks when his master is nowhere near him. Kitty suspects not only is there something wrong with McBane and his dummy, but a greater evil is at work as those named by the dummy are dying horrible deaths. And now she has been named by the same soul-eater that destroyed her sister.

Mr. Goodnight


Kealan Patrick Burke - 2011
    GOODNIGHT - A short story by the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE TURTLE BOY.

Arboreatum


Evans Light - 2013
    Horror on the lonesome plains!When a band of westward pioneers - lost, starving, and desperate - stumbles upon an unlikely oasis in the middle of a barren prairie, Micah wonders if his family has finally caught a lucky break...or does this new Garden of Eden hide a forgotten terror behind a veil of earthly delights?

Pay The Ghost


Tim Lebbon - 2015
     A girl goes missing ... the father gives up hope ... but the mother never stops searching. Now, a year later and close to Hallowe'en, they have a chance to rescue their child. But to do so they must face something terrible.

The Witching House: A Horror Novella


Brian Moreland - 2013
    In 1972, twenty-five people were brutally murdered in one of the bloodiest massacres in Texas history. The mystery of who committed the killings remains unsolved.Over forty years later, Sarah Donovan is dating an exciting man, Dean Stratton. Sarah's scared of just about everything--heights, tight places, the dark--but today she must confront all her fears, as she joins Dean and another couple on an exploring adventure. The old abandoned Blevins House, the scene of the gruesome massacre, is rumored to be haunted.The two couples are about to discover the mysterious house has been waiting all these years, craving fresh prey. And down in the cellar they will encounter a monstrous creature that hungers for more than just human flesh.

Failure


John Everson - 2008
    Cindy just plain doesn't care; she'll get on her knees for anyone beneath the football field bleachers to score a nickel bag hit. And Sal is a frustrated goon with a hook nose and an attitude so sour he can't nail a girl even with the lure of free dope and a getaway car.When these three desperate teens meet Aaron, a failed practitioner of the dark arts who offers them the best high they've ever smoked in exchange for some kinky sex play inside his pentagram, things can only go from bad to worse. Aaron hopes to ensnare and re-birth the spirit of a late witch, to capture her power from beyond the grave for his own.Soon, they'll all learn the darkest, bloodiest, most terrifying definition of Failure.Originally released as a limited edition hardcover chapbook from Delirium Books in 2006, this updated 2013 Dark Arts Books e-book edition of John Everson's novelette Failure features new cover art and an Afterword by the author.

Nightmare Man


Alan Ryker - 2013
    He spends his days working a job he hates. He spends his nights tormented by night terrors.He once had goals and dreams. Now he's just trying to get by.Unfortunately for Jessie and his family, while he's given up on his dreams, his nightmares haven't given up on him. And right now one is crossing over into the waking world.