Drive that route from east to west, and you’ll cross six bridges. Take it from west to east, and you might find seven.But you’d better hope not.Titus and Melanie Bell leave their hotel in Fargo for a second honeymoon canoeing the Okefenokee Swamp. But shortly before they reach their destination, they draw up to a halt at the edge of a rickety bridge with old stone pilings, with room for only one car . . .When, much later, a tow-truck arrives, the driver finds Titus lying in the middle of the road, but Melanie is nowhere to be found.

    Sylvia would take long walks in the country; Pam would have tea ready by the fire for when she returned. Nice fantasies...The house had that kind of effect on people. It felt cosy, lived-in, though it had been empty for many years. Oddly, there was rubbish everywhere, but there was no other sign of a squatter's brief inhabitation.And though the windows were unbroken. the doors securely locked, Pam could never entirely rid herself of the thought that she and her sister might not be alone in the house...One of 13 terrifying tales of terror...

    Featuring seven reprints, a brand new story "The Toll", an introduction, and rounded out by the author's recommended reading and viewing lists, DEAD LEAVES makes for the perfect autumnal read.

    From the battlefields of a Vietnam veteran's memory to an old-time movie hero's search for a serial killer, from Halloween in a special town--where the rules of trick-or-treat are written in blood--to a Texas road where a wrong turn leads to a nest of evil, horror master McCammon is at his terrifying best in this collection of stories.

    But with the master storyteller Josh Malerman as your tour guide, you'll discover the secrets that hide behind its closed doors. These six novellas tell the story of a place where the rain is always falling, nighttime is always near, and your darkest fears and desires await. Welcome to Goblin. . . .A Man in Slices: A man proves his "legendary love" to his girlfriend with a sacrifice even more daring than Vincent van Gogh's--and sends her more than his heart.Kamp: Walter Kamp is afraid of everything, but most afraid of being scared to death. As he sets traps around his home to catch the ghosts that haunt him, he learns that nothing is more terrifying than fear itself.Happy Birthday, Hunter!: A famed big-game hunter is determined to capture--and kill--the ultimate prey: the mythic Great Owl who lives in Goblin's dark forests. But this mysterious creature is not the only secret the woods are keeping.Presto: All Peter wants is to be like his hero, Roman Emperor, the greatest magician in the world. When the famous magician comes to Goblin, Peter discovers that not all magic is just an illusion.A Mix-Up at the Zoo: The new zookeeper feels a mysterious kinship with the animals in his care . . . and finds that his work is freeing dark forces inside him.The Hedges: When his wife dies, a man builds a hedge maze so elaborate no one ever solves it--until a little girl resolves to be the first to find the mysteries that wait at its heart.

    She's not put off by his pedantic corrections of her writing, despite the slow reveal that he is less than perfect himself.'The Unsuspecting Gold-digger' -- a woman gradually poisons her husband so that she doesn't have to break his heart.

    But the gallery you are about to visit specializes in the most irresistibly riveting art of all--the art of horror, as practiced to perfection by the greatest modern masters of that ghoulish trade. With twenty gripping, hair-raising selections, Gallery of Horror is one of the very best anthologies ever assembled. But beware--these are writers for whom no leap into the unknown evil is too bold or frightening. Are you ready for it?Contents Aim for the Heart • (1983) • shortstory by Craig Shaw GardnerCanavan's Back Yard • [Canavan] • (1958) • shortstory by Joseph Payne BrennanDeath to the Easter Bunny! • (1983) • shortstory by Alan RyanDerelicts • (1983) • shortstory by Steve Rasnic TemDown Among the Dead Men • (1982) • novelette by Gardner Dozois and Jack DannGravid Babies: A Novel of Horrific Menace in Considerable Synopsis • (1983) • shortstory by Michael BishopIn Darkness, Angels • (1983) • novelette by Eric Van LustbaderIntroduction (Gallery of Horror) • (1983) • essay by Charles L. Grant (aka Introduction (The Dodd, Mead Gallery of Horror))Nona • (1978) • novelette by Stephen KingNunc Dimittis • (1983) • novelette by Tanith LeeOut of Sorts • (1983) • shortstory by Bernard TaylorPetey • (1979) • novella by T. E. D. KleinSomething Nasty • (1983) • shortstory by William F. NolanTalent • (1953) • shortstory by Theodore SturgeonThe Arrows • (1983) • shortstory by Chelsea Quinn YarbroThe Chair • (1983) • novelette by Dennis EtchisonThe Conqueror Worm • (1983) • shortstory by Stephen R. DonaldsonThe Crazy Chinaman • (1983) • shortstory by John CoyneThe Rubber Room • (1980) • shortstory by Robert BlochThe Sunshine Club • (1983) • shortstory by Ramsey CampbellThe Typewriter • (1983) • novelette by David Morrell

    The stories include:Anything can be Dangerous ~ the simple things in life can kill.Through the Valley of Death ~ a dark vampire story that will make you remember fear. The Finger ~ zombie literature has never been so extraordinary.Feeding Frenzy ~ lunchtime in a place called Hell. Husk ~ this is what people are saying about Husk:“Matt Hults delivers a crackling, creepy tale. A fast-paced read with a generous body count, ‘Husk’ will make your skin crawl.”—Scott Nicholson, Bestselling author of They Hunger“Remember the first time you read Joe Lansdale’s The Drive-In, or Freezer Burn? Remember how exhilarated you felt as you tore through the pages as Lansdale kept knocking your jaw to the floor with his endless inventiveness, unexpected belly-laughs, and those even more unexpected moments of terror and pathos? Miss that feeling of being completely at the mercy of a writer’s imagination and boundless energy for his subject? Fret no more, friends—you now have Matt Hults’s Husk. This sucker is the real thing, an in-your-face, rollicking, scary, funny, and unexpectedly poignant potpourri of a horror story, an unabashed and unapologetic throwback to the early pulps infused with a vindictive modern-day sensibility that will have your head spinning and your mouth hanging open. It doesn’t get any more fun than this.”—Gary A. Braunbeck, winner of the Bram Stoker Award and International Horror Guild Award, author of Coffin County and Destinations Unknown“Suspenseful and gruesome, with just the right leavening of hopefulness and nod-wink humor.”—Dr. Kim Paffenroth, Bram Stoker Award Winner for Dying to Live.“Husk is wild, bloody, scary, action-packed, and entertaining as hell. Matt Hults seems to be having a blast telling his tale, and I had a blast going along for the ride. Great fun!”—Jeff Strand, Bram Stoker Nominated Author of PRESSURE"'Husk' is a chilling and relentless tale that will make you want to check your closets, lock your windows and keep an eye in your review mirror...but don't think that'll save you!"––Fran Friel, Bram Stoker Nominated Author of Mama's Boy“Husk is violent, intense and terrifying. The characters are as real as you and I, and every triumph is rapturous while every death is harrowing. Matt Hults proves himself as a master of the genre with his striking debut novel. It will leave you feeling skinned alive and dying for more.”—Joel A. Sutherland, Bram Stoker Nominated Author of Frozen Blood“I have come across some pretty mind-blowing demons on paper, on the big screen, and especially in my mind. But the ‘Husk’ Matt Hults created in this his first novel breaks all my thresholds for fear, and believe me I have built some pretty sound barriers in my time.”—Giovanna Lagana, author of With Black & White Comes the Grey

    Included are two original stories, several rarities and out of print tales, as well as a few "best of the year" inclusions. Stephen Graham Jones is a master storyteller. What does happen after the people lights have gone off? Crack the spine and find out. With an introduction by Joe R. Lansdale.Stephen Graham Jones is the author of fifteen novels and five collections, and has some two hundred stories published. Stephen's been an NEA Fellow and has won the Texas Institute of Letters Award for Fiction and the Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural fiction. He's forty-two, married with a couple of kids, and lives in Boulder, Colorado.WINNER, Short Story Collection, THIS IS HORRORNOMINATED, Short Story Collection, BRAM STOKER AWARDSNOMINATED, Short Story Collection, SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARDS

    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.

    This is Koontz's spellbinding collection of takes interconnected by the strange highways of human experience: adventures, terrors, failures and triumphs.

    The side effects were anything but hopeful. Mara and Sebastian are young, in love and newlyweds. Far too soon, they will face tests to their love that most others won’t survive. Their bond strengthens with each loss, destruction and unbearable race against time. In each other, they find the will and hope to endure. Hand in hand, they will face the darkening of humanity with strength and integrity and an undeniable spirit to survive; together.

    Includes all new stories by Piers Anthony, Jeff Strand, Joe McKinney, Lisa Morton, Jeremy C. Shipp, Gary McMahon, Aric Sundquist, and many more! You don’t want to miss this staggering collection of horror and dark fantasy! Complete TOC: INSIDE THE BOXES by Jeff Strand DOWN IN THE WOODS TODAY by Emily C. Skaftun DOLLHOUSE by Craig Wallwork POOR ME AND TED by Kate Jonez A LITTLE CRIMSON STAIN by Joe McKinney I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE by S.S. Michaels DREAMS OF A RAGGED DOLL by Cate Gardner ATTIC DOG by David Raffin WHEN HARRY KILLED SALLY by Lisa Morton LIVING DOLL by Piers Anthony THE WHITE KNIGHT by Aric Sundquist THE DOLL TREE by Amelia Mangan A LITTLE TERROR by Phil Hickes GIVE IT A NAME by Gary McMahon DISCARDED by Nancy Rosenberg England GOOGLY by Jeremy C. Shipp RUBIK'S CUBE by Melanie Mascio A BRIGHTLY-COLORED BOX FILLED WITH STARS by Dorian Dawes THE TEA-SERVING DOLL by Mae Empson

    Wild ravings from an insane man turn to prophecy when the Truth is revealed.Cover illustration: Michael WhelanContents:"Introduction" (Lin Carter) "The Other Gods" (1921) "The Tree" (1920) "The Doom That Came to Sarnath" (1919) "The Tomb" (1917) "Polaris" (1918) "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" (1919) "Memory" (1919) "What the Moon Brings" (1923) "Nyarlathotep" (1920) "Ex Oblivione" (1921) "The Cats of Ulthar" (1920) "Hypnos" (1922) "Nathicana" (1927) "From Beyond" (1920) "The Festival" (1923) "The Nameless City" (1921) "The Quest of Iranon" (1921) "The Crawling Chaos" (1920) "In the Walls of Eryx" (1935) "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" (1924)

    The afterword explains where the ideas for the stories came from.