Showcasing this cutting-edge talent, Poe’s Children now brings the best of the genre’s stories to a wider audience. Featuring tales from such writers as Neil Gaiman and Jonathan Carroll, Poe’s Children is Peter Straub’s tribute to the imaginative power of storytelling. Each previously published story has been selected by Straub to represent what he thinks is the most interesting development in our literature during the last two decades.Selections range from the early Stephen King psychological thriller “The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet,” in which an editor confronts an author’s belief that his typewriter is inhabited by supernatural creatures, to “The Man on the Ceiling,” Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem’s award-winning surreal tale of night terrors, woven with daylight fears that haunt a family. Other selections include National Book Award finalist Dan Chaon’s “The Bees”; Peter Straub’s “Little Red’s Tango,” the legend of a music aficionado whose past is as mysterious as the ghostly visitors to his Manhattan apartment; Elizabeth Hand’s visionary and shocking “Cleopatra Brimstone”; Thomas Ligotti’s brilliant, mind-stretching “Notes on the Writing of Horror: A Story”; and “Body,” Brian Evenson’s disturbing twist on correctional facilities.Crossing boundaries and packed with imaginative chills, Poe’s Children bears all the telltale signs of fearless, addictive fiction.

    Half these stories never published before in U.S.

    G. Wells, and Jules Verne to Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, and William Gibson. In The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy award-winning editor John Joseph Adams delivers a diverse and vibrant collection of stories published in the previous year. Featuring writers with deep science fiction and fantasy backgrounds, along with those who are infusing traditional fiction with speculative elements, these stories uphold a longstanding tradition in both genres—looking at the world and asking, What if . . . ?  The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 includes  Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Karen Russell T. C. Boyle, Sofia Samatar, Jo Walton, Cat Rambo Daniel H. Wilson, Seanan McGuire, Jess Rowand others  JOE HILL, guest editor, is the New York Times best-selling author of the novels Heart-Shaped Box, Horns, and NOS4A2 and the short story collection 20th Century Ghosts. He is also the writer of the comic book series Locke & Key.   JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS, series editor, is the best-selling editor of more than two dozen anthologies, including Brave New Worlds, Wastelands, and The Living Dead. He is also the editor and publisher of the digital magazines Lightspeed and Nightmare and is a producer of Wired’s podcast The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy.

    Bawdy, funny, touching, and downright outrageous, there's simply no one else like Roald Dahl.This volume is a diabolical collection of 28 of Dahl's best stories. Shiver to classics like The Man From the South, Taste, Royal Jelly and The Great Switcheroo and hard-to-find gems like Poison, The Wish and Neck. It's the perfect remedy for a sleepless night. From Someone Like YouTasteLamb to the SlaughterMan from the SouthThe SoldierDip in the PoolGalloping FoxleySkinPoisonWishNeckSound MachineNunc DimittisGreat Automatic GrammatizatorClaud's DogRatcatcherRumminsMr HoddyMr FeaseyFrom Kiss KissLandladyWilliam and MaryThe Way Up to HeavenRoyal JellyGeorgy PorgyGenesis and CatastropheEdward the ConquerorPigChampion of the WorldFrom Switch BitchGreat SwitcherooLast ActBitch

    Editor Alan Ryan includes a wide range of talents here, from Bram Stoker to Robert Bloch to Tanith Lee.Contents:"Fragment of a Novel" by George Gordon, Lord Byron "The Vampyre" by John Polidori "Varney the Vampyre, or, the Feast of Blood" [excerpt] by James Malcolm Rymer "The Mysterious Stranger" by Anonymous"Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu"Good Lady Ducayne" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon "Dracula's Guest" by Bram Stoker "Luella Miller" by Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman "For the Blood is The Life" by F. Marion Crawford "The Transfer" by Algernon Blackwood "The Room in the Tower" by E.F. Benson "An Episode of Cathedral History" by M.R. James "A Rendevous in Averoigne" by Clark Ashton Smith "Shambleau" by C.L. Moore "Revelations in Black" by Carl Jacobi "School for the Unspeakable" by Manly Wade Wellman "Drifting Snow" by August Derleth "Over the River" by P. Schuyler Miller "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" by Fritz Leiber "The Mindworm" by C.M. Kornbluth "Drink My Blood" by Richard Matheson "Place of Meeting" by Charles Beaumont "The Living Dead" by Robert Bloch "Pages from a Young Girl's Journal" by Robert Aikman "The Werewolf and the Vampire" by R. Chetwynd-Hayes "Love-Starved" by Charles L. Grant "Cabin 33" by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro "Unicorn Tapestry" by Suzy McKee Charnas "Following the Way" by Alan Ryan "The Sunshine Club" by Ramsey Campbell "The Men & Women of Rivendale" by Steve Rasnic Tem "Bite-Me-Not, or, Fleur de Feu" by Tanith Lee Also includes short appendices of vampire novels and movies.

    Henry James was arguably the greatest practitioner of what has been called the psychological ghost story. His stories explore the region which lies between the supernatural or straightforwardly marvellous and the darker areas of the human psyche. This edition includes all ten of his ghost stories, and as such is the fullest collection currently available. The stories range widely in tone and type. They include 'The Jolly Corner', a compelling story of psychological doubling; 'Owen Wingrave', which is also a subtle parable of military tradition; 'The Friends of the Friends', a strange story of uncanny love; and 'The Private Life', which finds a shrewd, high comedy in its ghostly theme. The volume also includes James's great novella The Turn of the Screw , perhaps the most ambiguous and disturbing ghost story ever written.

    That is abundantly clear in the stories he spins. No matter where he draws inspiration from, whether the weird tales of Lovecraft, Machen, and Poe or the films of Murnau, Corman, and Argento, the end result is inevitably fresh and new. And wonderfully monstrous.If you love monsters—the macabre, the murderous, the misunderstood; the strange, the sinister, the sympathetic; the cinematic and the literary—you will find plenty to love in Orrin Grey’s Painted Monsters & Other Strange Beasts.

    Collects nine stories including "Crouch End" by Stephen King, and stories by A.A. Attanasio, Basil Cooper, David Drake, T.E.D. Klein, Frank Belknap Long, Brian Lumley, H.P. Lovecraft and Martin S. Warnes.Contents (view Concise Listing)ix • Introduction (New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos) • essay by Ramsey Campbell3 • Crouch End • [Cthulhu Mythos] • novelette by Stephen King33 • The Star Pools • [Cthulhu Mythos] • novelette by A. A. Attanasio73 • The Second Wish • [Cthulhu Mythos] • novelette by Brian Lumley101 • Dark Awakening • [Cthulhu Mythos] • short story by Frank Belknap Long115 • Shaft Number 247 • [Cthulhu Mythos] • novelette by Basil Copper145 • Black Man with a Horn • [Cthulhu Mythos] • novelette by T. E. D. Klein187 • The Black Tome of Alsophocus • [Cthulhu Mythos] • short story by H. P. Lovecraft and Martin S. Warnes197 • Than Curse the Darkness • [Cthulhu Mythos] • novelette by David Drake223 • The Faces at Pine Dunes • [Severn Valley] • novelette by Ramsey Campbell255 • Notes on Contributors (New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos) • essay by uncredited

    ‘Rashōmon’ and ‘In a Bamboo Grove’ inspired Kurosawa’s magnificent film and depict a past in which morality is turned upside down, while tales such as ‘The Nose’, ‘O-Gin’ and ‘Loyalty’ paint a rich and imaginative picture of a medieval Japan peopled by Shoguns and priests, vagrants and peasants. And in later works such as ‘Death Register’, ‘The Life of a Stupid Man’ and ‘Spinning Gears’, Akutagawa drew from his own life to devastating effect, revealing his intense melancholy and terror of madness in exquisitely moving impressionistic stories.A WORLD IN DECAY- Rashōmon- In a Bamboo Grove- The Nose- Dragon: The Old Potter's Tale- The Spider Thread- Hell ScreenUNDER THE SWORD- Dr. Ogata Ryōsai: Memorandum- O-Gin- LoyaltyMODERN TRAGICOMEDY- The Story of a Head That Fell Off- Green Onions- Horse LegsAKUTAGAWA'S OWN STORY- Daidōji Shinsuke: The Early Years- The Writer's Craft- The Baby's Sickness- Death Register- The Life of a Stupid Man- Spinning Gears

    It's the kind of place where the wrong people get hurt; hazard is everywhere and it doesn't play favorites. The complacent won't find refuge here on the threshold of the void. Nobody is safe and nothing is sacred. Enjoy the ride."– from the introduction by Laird Barron***BEHOLD THE VOID is nine stories of terror that huddle in the dark space between cosmic horror and the modern weird, between old-school hard-edged horror of the 1980's and the stylistic prose of today's literary giants.*** Praise for Behold the Void: SHORT STORY COLLECTION OF THE YEAR – This Is Horror “Fracassi…builds his horrific tales slowly and carefully…his powers of description are formidable; and he’s especially skillful at creating, and sustaining, suspense.” – The New York Times“…think vintage King at his best.” – Rue Morgue Magazine (“Dante’s Pick”) “…recalls the work of writers such as McCammon, King, and Bradbury.” – John Langan, LOCUS Magazine“With carefully drawn characters, vividly constructed situations, and deft description, Behold the Void offers the perfect blend of honest-to-goodness human nastiness and true supernatural creepiness. This is horror fiction at its best.” – Brian Evenson, author of A Collapse of Horses“Everything here is damned near perfect… a first-rate collection.” Black Static“Philip Fracassi is the next big horror writer to blow your mind. If you’re a fan of the horror genre at all, then this guy is a must-read.” – Lit Reactor“These stories are scary, yes, but more than that, they’re haunting– they get inside you and they don’t go away.” – Ben Loory, author of Tales of Falling and Flying“Fracassi’s Behold the Void is the perfect read for horror fans who expect authors to raise the bar and redefine what horror fiction means.” – Ronald Malfi, author of Bone White“Fracassi is quickly building a reputation as a superior storyteller of incredible talent…. an author we must surely now hail as a leading light in the dark field of horror fiction.” – This Is Horror

    Twenty astonishing stories from acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin that carry us to worlds of wonder and horror, desire and destiny, enchantment and doom.

    In "Bird Superior," for example, a plane-crash survivor trades his memory of the crash for the ability to fly. "Angels in Love" is the story of Lurleen, a washed-out woman trapped in a meaningless cycle of dead-end work, singles bars, and solitude. She lives vicariously by eavesdropping on Anne, a neighbor who seems to have found the passion and sexual satisfaction that eludes Lurleen. Upon meeting Anne, however, she discovers an even more meaningless life: Anne has made the ultimate trade, exchanging her soul for physical fulfillment. In "The Ballad of the Spanish Civil Guard," an imprisoned poet who writes on behalf of the dispossessed shares the last moments of his life with the reader. Although the location of the prison is unclear, the scene recalls the Franco regime. The poet chooses to die rather than face a life without his writing, but, in his final seconds, he takes solace that his remains may one day form the body of a new poet. Contents:Angels in Love (1991)Arrangement for Invisible Voices (1993)Ballad of the Spanish Civil Guard (1993)Bird Superior (1991)Bondage (1998)Illusions in Relief (1990)Jubilee (1995)Lady Lazarus (1996)Pas de Deux (1995)Queen of Angels (1994)Reckoning (1990)Teratisms (1991)The Company of Storms (1992)The Disquieting Muse (1994)The Neglected Garden (1991)Waking the Prince (1995)

    Here are tales of suspense and the supernatural that will chill, amuse, and exhilarate.

    IT IS THEIR RESIDENTS WHO ARE SCREAMING... "No-one could be that unhappy and be alive..." A chambermaid's seemingly innocent request is granted, an act of kindness that has dire consequences for the guest at THE ELMS, MORECAMBE. Human despair has a power of its own after death, and it is contagious... "I wish I had been right; I wish that it had been a man, or death alone, that had found her..." An unearthly light in an abandoned bungalow resolves the mystery of a missing child, but no human force has taken her. An entity that fishes for children is in THE MERRY HOUSE, SCALE HALL. But will it remain there? "Go beyond the graves, and they will come to you." An invitation to a clifftop graveyard leads to a harrowing chase by burrowing things that remain unseen, their hunger unknown and never satisfied, BEYOND ST PATRICK'S CHAPEL. "The great delight in being part of the Save Our Shit crew was that sometimes they could persuade those designers of the present and the future to save or incorporate the past into their designs." There is no need in THE OCEAN GRAND, NW COAST, because the original artists created a living work of art for the hotel. Art that celebrates the triumph of the natural world over the man-made. A life force that transcends - and brings death... "Something white came out. Something white, screaming and screaming..." Homes fit for heroes, they were promised after the Great War. They were given something else in THE TEMPLE OF RELIEF AND EASE. There is a hidden agenda to paranormal researcher Richard Nakata's investigations into these houses. A commission that witnesses cattle lowing in the cowsheds of STACK'S FARM long after they've been slaughtered, and a reckoning in the showhouse of 24 GLASSHOUSE, as he and his colleagues pay the price for creating their own ghost... Simon Kurt Unsworth reinvents the classic English ghost story with a portmanteau collection that takes the haunted house genre and makes it scream...quietly. Because the most terrifying screams are the silent ones. "A major new talent in the horror genre." - Pete Tennant

    Revisions from the author's notes are included, allowing a deeper view into her world and a better understanding of her work. The Nebula Award–winning short story Love Is the Plan, the Plan Is Death, the Hugo Award–winning novella The Girl Who Was Plugged In, and the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning novella Houston, Houston, Do You Read? are included.The stories of Alice Sheldon, who wrote as James Tiptree Jr. ( Up the Walls of the World ) until her death in 1987, have been heretofore available mostly in out-of-print collections. Thus the 18 accomplished stories here will be welcomed by new readers and old fans. ''The Screwfly Solution'' describes a chilling, elegant answer to the population problem. In ''Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death,'' the title tells the tale--species survival insured by imprinted drives--but the story's force is in its exquisite, lyrical prose and its suggestion that personal uniqueness is possible even within biological imperatives. ''The Girl Who Was Plugged In'' is a future boy-meets-girl story with a twist unexpected by the players. ''The Women Men Don't See '' displays Tiptree's keen insight and ability to depict singularity within the ordinary. In Hugo and Nebula award-winning ''Houston, Houston, Do You Read?'' astronauts flying by the sun slip forward 500 years and encounter a culture that successfully questions gender roles in ours.ContentsIntroduction by Michael SwanwickThe Last Flight of Doctor Ain (1969)The Screwfly Solution (1977)And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill’s Side (1972)The Girl Who Was Plugged In (1973)The Man Who Walked Home (1972)And I Have Come Upon This Place by Lost Ways (1972)The Women Men Don’t See (1973)Your Faces, O My Sisters! Your Faces Filled of Light! (1976)Houston, Houston, Do You Read? (1976)With Delicate Mad Hands (1981)A Momentary Taste of Being (1975)We Who Stole the Dream (1978)Her Smoke Rose Up Forever (1974)Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death (1973)On the Last Afternoon (1972)She Waits for All Men Born (1976)Slow Music (1980)And So On, and So On (1971)