With twelve grisly stories of coming-of-age terror, carnival cruelty and fairground frights, this collection brings together the best and most exciting talents in the horror community. Roll up! with the following stories:"Mirrors" by Robin Grieve"Candy Apple Smiles" by Christopher Robertson"The Cyclone Sisters' Travelling Circus" by Angela Sylvaine"Anna and Abby" by L. Pine"The Prop" by Nikki R. Leigh"The Viperess of Las Cruces" by C.W. Blackwell"The Golden Tickets" by Roxie Voorhees"Dance With Us" by Kelly Brocklehurst"No Strings" by Jamie Stewart"Family Outing" by Briana Morgan"Mirrored" by Dave Musson"Smile at All the Good Times We Had" by Spencer HamiltonWith a foreword from the editors.

    Morbid, cynical, eerie, they take you to a twilight region of flesh and spirit — and into the darkest recesses of the human mind. These are unusual constructions of terror and grim irony, reminiscent of Poe, the Gothic novel, and the Romantic short story, but having the unmistakable individual stamp of a man who knew first-hand something of the fears and specters which haunt men.In this volume you will come across a number of old favorites: "An Inhabitant of Carcosa," "The Eyes of the Panther," "The Death of Halpin Frayser," "An Adventure at Brownville," and such classics as "The Middle Toe of the Right Foot," "The Damned Thing," and "Moonlit Road," a minor masterpiece in which events of the story are told from three different points of view, including that of the victim as spoken through a medium. You will also find some less familiar, but equally fascinating stories and pieces not available elsewhere, including "Visions of the Night," in which Bierce gives us a rationale for his "reverse holiness" and the surrealistic morality that permeates these writings. Bierce's characters — possessed poets, shabby aristocrats, grimy professional men, revived corpses, haunted malefactors — live in a spare, perverse world. Patricide, the revenge of the dead, inexplicable disappearances, dreadful ironies, hypnotism and second sight, and the like, form much of the substance of these unsettling tales.

    You’ll meet sinister landladies, weird sweetshops, evil statuettes, deadly coffins, poisonous hats, awful slitherings, murderous monks, and real lions in the nursery.But watch out for the ending—it could be nasty.

    Those who are found the next day, if they are still alive, will have gone mad.”  Chills and thrills to make your flesh crawl with fear! Turn the lights down low and grab your favorite reading chair. But first, you’d better check behind you. . . .   Ghosts, monsters, murders, and madmen! These thirty stories have been collected for your reading displeasure from all over the globe, and represent the world’s best scary stories and frightening folktales, featuring famous authors such as Washington Irving and the Brothers Grimm. Welcome to a chilling world of hair-raising tales!

    Kevin Brockmeier's fiction has always explored the space between the fantastical and the everyday with profundity and poignancy. As in his previous books, The Ghost Variations discovers new ways of looking at who we are and what matters to us, exploring how mysterious, sad, strange, and comical it is to be alive--or, as it happens, not to be.

    Lansdale, Caitlin Kiernan, Catherynne M. Valente, Kit Reed, Ekaterina Sedia, and thirteen other fine writers to create stories unlike any they've written before. Tales to make readers shiver with fear, jump at noises in the night, keep the lights on. These twenty nightmares, brought together by two renowned editors of the dark fantastic, are delightful visions sure to send shivers down the spines of horror readers.

    Stine, Holly Black, Brett Helquist, and many more. You’ll never look at your closest door, your cat, your sock drawer, or even yourself in the mirror the same way again.

    In the tradition of Defoe, Stevenson, Hawthorne, Coleridge, Poe, and other master writers, these frightful stories conjure the creaks and shadows of the very places where they came to life: haunted St. Andrews, the Isle of Eigg, Kellie Castle, Balcarres House, Durie House ("which has the most persistent of all country-house spectres"), and Kirk's own ancestral spooky house in Mecosta, Michigan.

    ClubA Washington Post Notable BookAn NPR Great Read of 2013From the author of the novel Swamplandia!—a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize—comes a magical and uniquely daring collection of stories that showcases the author’s gifts at their inimitable best. Within these pages, a community of girls held captive in a Japanese silk factory slowly transmute into human silkworms and plot revolution; a group of boys stumble upon a mutilated scarecrow that bears an uncanny resemblance to a missing classmate that they used to torment; a family’s disastrous quest for land in the American West has grave consequences; and in the marvelous title story, two vampires in a sun-drenched lemon grove try to slake their thirst for blood and come to terms with their immortal relationship.Vampires in the lemon grove --Reeling for the Empire --Seagull army descends on Strong Beach, 1979 --Proving up --Barn at the end of our term --Dougbert Shackleton's rules for Antarctic tailgating --New veterans --Graveless doll of Eric Mutis

    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.

    The Dark takes a look at the tormented and unquiet dead; the darkness in us, the living; and the sometimes tenuous boundary between the two.

    It's even more savage inside the twisted minds of murderers who conceal their malevolence behind smiling masks and strike out without pity. This spine-tingling collection contains 23 new stories of suspense from some of the bestselling authors in the genre. Authors include Clive Barker, Lawrence Block, David Morrell, Ray Bradbury, and many more.CONTENTSThe dripping / David Morrell --The wringer / F. Paul Wilson --A season of change / Richard T. Chizmar --Good vibrations / Richard Laymon --The Tulsa experience / Lawrence Block --Trolls / Christopher Fahy --Small deaths / Charles de Lint --White lightning / Al Sarrantonio --Hitman / Rick Hautala --Vympyre / William F. Nolan --And eight rabid pigs / David Gerrold.Bringing it along / A.R. Morlan --Redemption / Jack Ketchum --The graveyard ghoul / Edward D. Hoch --The rings of Cocytus / Katherine Ramsland --Late last night / John Maclay --Beasts in buildings, turning 'round / J.N. Williamson --Dark side of the moon / Babara Collins --Honor bound / J.M. Morgan --The instrumentalist / William Relling Jr. --Corpse carnival / Ray Bradbury --The book of blood / Clive Barker.

    Braunbeck109 • The Pig Man • (1993) • short story by Augustine Funnell125 • Mobius • (1987) • short story by Richard Christian Matheson129 • The Rendering Man • (1994) • short story by Douglas Clegg147 • Weight • (1994) • short story by Dominick Cancilla159 • Layover • (1991) • short story by Ed Gorman169 • Johnny Halloween • (1992) • short story by Norman Partridge181 • Hope • (1993) • short story by Steve Bevan187 • The Mailman • (1988) • short story by Bentley Little197 • Silhouette • (1996) • short story by Stephen Mark Rainey215 • Roadkill • (1991) • short story by Tom Elliott221 • The Rifle • (1995) • short story by Jack Ketchum233 • Pieces • (1992) • short story by Ray Garton237 • Rustle • (1993) • short story by Peter Crowther255 • When the Silence Gets Too Loud • (1995) • short story by Brian Hodge269 • The Rabbit • (1990) • short story by Jack Pavey281 • The Flood • (1986) • short story by John Maclay287 • The Right Thing • (1994) • short story by Gary L. Raisor [as by Gary Raisor]305 • Pig's Dinner • (1991) • short story by Graham Masterton317 • Crash Cart • (1993) • short story by Nancy Holder329 • Wall of Words • (1994) • short story by Lucy Taylor337 • Metastasis • (1990) • short story by David B. Silva349 • Wrapped Up • (1981) • short story by Ramsey Campbell357 • Depth of Reflection • (1990) • short story by David L. Duggins369 • The Mole • (1990) • short story by David Niall Wilson375 • Saviour • (1991) • short story by Gary A. Braunbeck391 • Great Expectations • (1990) • short story by Kim Antieau397 • Shell • (1992) • short story by Adam Corbin Fusco

    But here's a warning--the scream you hear may be your own!

    All are sure to provide thrills and chills but are best read with the lights on.