Weird Women, edited by award-winning anthologists Lisa Morton and Leslie S. Klinger, collects some of the finest tales of terror by authors as legendary as Louisa May Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Charlotte Gilman-Perkins, alongside works of writers who were the bestsellers and critical favorites of their time—Marie Corelli, Ellen Glasgow, Charlotte Riddell—and lesser known authors who are deserving of contemporary recognition.As railroads, industry, cities, and technology flourished in the mid-nineteenth century, so did stories exploring the horrors they unleashed. This anthology includes ghost stories and tales of haunted houses, as well as mad scientists, werewolves, ancient curses, mummies, psychological terrors, demonic dimensions, and even weird westerns. Curated by Klinger and Morton with an aim to presenting work that has languished in the shadows, all of these exceptional supernatural stories are sure to surprise, delight, and frighten today’s readers.

    As one reader put it, Healed reads "as if it were written by both Steven King and M. Night Shyamalan." It is the third short story written by Dean Skinner whose first short story, Broken, climbed as high as #134 in Amazon's "90-Minute Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Short Reads." Dean Skinner is an artist who has his work displayed throughout the US, UK and Australia. Dean is also an author of supernatural thrillers who combines his faith with his love of horror.

    Three hundred years later, the locals remain superstitious: aside from a handful of wealthy newcomers, modern society has passed by largely unnoticed….until the unexpected arrival of two mysterious strangers to nearby Fellside Hall; a derelict mansion that has stood empty for eighty years. One by one, a series of harrowing events descends on the village, prompting Sergeant Brian Jennings and PC Cara Jones to investigate; a task made almost impossible by the relentless onslaught of winter. When prolonged snowfall isolates Shepherd’s Cross from the outside world, the superstitions of the old-timers clash with the rational minds of the newcomers; challenging the community’s strength and testing its resolve to rally together against an ancient horror unfolding around them...a horror that is intent on returning forever. Fast-paced and utterly compelling, Shepherd’s Cross is a supernatural thriller that will appeal to readers who enjoy the work of authors such as Stephen King, James Herbert and Graham Masterton.

    There's Luke Williams, a young American who's been left in a wheelchair by a drunk driver. Then there's Brian Tully, a wise-cracking bully with connections in Vegas, together with his sheepish family. And finally there's Dan Borowski, an Australian security analyst. Trouble is, Dan isn't there to relax, and though they don't yet know it, nor are any of the others... This short story first appeared in "Storyglossia" in May 2008. Dan Borowski first appeared as a character in "For the Dogs", and this is one of two short stories (the other is "Retrospective") to feature him.

    It’s their turn. First off, it at long last solves the enigma of Abigail’s first husband Joel Sutton’s disappearance, and death, a decade before…the tragic event that sent Abigail to Spookie in the first place to begin a new life. The new life that would grow so big as to include a new love, a new family, quirky, but well-meaning friends, and the strange murder mysteries her new friends would drag her into over the years. As an unsolicited, and unwanted, envelope arrives from Abigail’s now dead detective she’d hired a decade before to find her missing first husband, its contents sends Frank searching for the truth. The envelope’s files are full of disturbing facts concerning the unsolved crime and it piques Frank’s interest. Soon, against Abby’s wishes, he’s on the cold trail of what actually happened to Joel Sutton–had he been a victim of just an accident, as some have always believed, or did someone murder him? In his search for the truth, Frank ends up in lethal danger when the investigation comes to a violent conclusion. This story is also about an infamous haunted house at 707 Suncrest, in the woods; about the cold blooded murders of a whole family that occurred there forty years before. Is the house on Suncrest truly haunted by the ghosts of the dead family? Is it dangerous? When Abby decides to paint a series of canvases of the spooky old house, she’ll find out. Then along with those two new mysteries to unravel, of course, all of Spookie’s quirky town characters have returned to irritate, amuse and sleuth with Abby and Frank. Will they get out of these new mysteries alive, too? Perhaps.

    He fakes his death to escape, but when he's seen climbing out of a coffin everyone assumes he's a vampire; when he shows none of the traditional vampire weaknesses, they decide he must be the Great One, the most powerful vampire in the history of the world.Half horror and half farce, Frederick's tale is an ever-growing avalanche of bankers, constables, graverobbers, poets, ghouls, morticians, vampires, vampire hunters, not to mention some very unfortunate rabbits. With a string of allies even more unlikely than his enemies, can Frederick stay alive long enough to claim his (well, somebody's) money? And if he can't, which of his innumerable enemies will get to him first?

    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.

    . . ." The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal. Stories is a groundbreaking anthology that reinvigorates, expands, and redefines the limits of imaginative fiction and affords some of the best writers in the world—from Peter Straub and Chuck Palahniuk to Roddy Doyle and Diana Wynne Jones, Stewart O'Nan and Joyce Carol Oates to Walter Mosley and Jodi Picoult—the opportunity to work together, defend their craft, and realign misconceptions. Gaiman, a literary magician whose acclaimed work defies easy categorization and transcends all boundaries, and "master anthologist" (Booklist) Sarrantonio personally invited, read, and selected all the stories in this collection, and their standard for this "new literature of the imagination" is high. "We wanted to read stories that used a lightning-flash of magic as a way of showing us something we have already seen a thousand times as if we have never seen it at all." Joe Hill boldly aligns theme and form in his disturbing tale of a man's descent into evil in "Devil on the Staircase." In "Catch and Release," Lawrence Block tells of a seasoned fisherman with a talent for catching a bite of another sort. Carolyn Parkhurst adds a dark twist to sibling rivalry in "Unwell." Joanne Harris weaves a tale of ancient gods in modern New York in "Wildfire in Manhattan." Vengeance is the heart of Richard Adams's "The Knife." Jeffery Deaver introduces a dedicated psychologist whose mission in life is to save people in "The Therapist." A chilling punishment befitting an unspeakable crime is at the dark heart of Neil Gaiman's novelette "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains." As it transforms your view of the world, this brilliant and visionary volume—sure to become a classic—will ignite a new appreciation for the limitless realm of exceptional fiction.

    Or how about when you got stood up on that tinder date and go home disappointed, only to realize it was all a trick so he'd know where you live? Then there's those letters your dead wife keeps writing you... There can be no light without darkness, pleasure without pain, or love without loss. 17 authors have teamed up to collect all our favorite supernatural and psychological horror stories about love.Jealous murders, monstrous doppelgangers, heart-rending romances, devils and angels, cannibals and virtual worlds - over 350 pages of your most desperate longings and worst nightmares all rolled into one. Shocking twists and absolute mind-fuckery will thrill and terrify you to the last page!

    He's in dire straits.From Bestselling authors Isobella Crowley and Michael Anderle.Last Ditch Effort:While his rapidly dwindling checking account is a problem, Remy finds out the last company he owns is run by something that goes bump in the night.And she is willing to bump him off if he fails to live up to her expectations.Trying to get sober, Remy needs to work the day shift for Moonlight Detective Agency. Can he learn the ropes before the faeries, werewolves or his supposed employee kills him off?There is only one way to find out. Accomplish what Taylor sets out for him to do, or die trying.Diamond in The Rough:The secret world is being hidden by a vampire hundreds of years old - and her human frat-boy apprentice. He might shape up to be an asset. If she doesn't kill him first.Between setting up the office and hiring new preternatural staff, with some surprising...talents, Taylor tasks Remy with a new case.She assumes he will stick to her instructions.But this is Remy.Reformed frat boy. Low compliance. With a desperate need to prove himself...Of course, he won’t stick to the plan.So when things heat up with the dwarven cartel - and the preternatural world order hangs in the balance - it'll take everything Taylor has to prevent the city of NY being exposed to all she's managed to kept secret for centuries.Will Taylor decide that Remy needs to take the final nap for the benefit of everyone? Will everything go up in a Frat-Boy blaze of glory? What happens when Remy starts to get a clue?A GIrl's Best Friend:Taylor sets Remy on the trail of a dwarven drug cartel responsible for supplying humans with preternatural drugs. Is this just another way to test if Remy can stay alive?Drugs that are deadly to humans. In order to prevent countless human deaths and keep the preternatural world hidden, Remy has to stop the deal from happening AND take out the supply chain.This would be just a regular Tuesday except Moswen is closing in and her attacks are getting more targeted.To save both worlds, the team have to survive – and that is going to take all their wits and resources - and wits are in short supply.Under Pressure:With Moswen still on the loose and the whole preternatural world in mortal danger, Taylor realizes that drastic times call for drastic measures.Meanwhile, Remy and the team - oblivious to the dire situation Taylor is getting into - work to track down Moswen and her goons.A clear plan of what they're going to do if they find her, eludes them...How do they take on the world's oldest, most powerful vampire?Of course, Moswen is tracking their every move and intends to pick them off one by one before they can get close.Their only course of action is to go balls out to take her out first, in the most cunning way they know how...Will what they know be enough? Or will Moswen accomplish killing Taylor and completing her plans?

    After a night out with his girlfriend in one of the country's remote provinces, he wakes to find himself in a pitch-black coffin—and quickly running out of oxygen. With only his cell phone and his own wits to rely on, it's a race against time to escape the claustrophobic death trap. SIX BULLETS The end of civilization arrived in the form of a giant asteroid thirteen months ago. For Burt James, a survivalist, it was not a complete surprise. He'd spent much of his adult life prepping for such a catastrophe. Consequently, while the majority of the population scoured the post-apocalyptic landscape for water and food, regressing into primitive killers, he bunkered down in his fortified hilltop home in a small town in the middle of the Australian Outback. But now he's out of food and down to his last six bullets, and he will have to make the most difficult choice of his life. THE MAILMAN Los Angeles, 1985. Never was the motto sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll more apt than the scene on the legendary Sunset Strip with the arrival of the underground Hollywood glam bands. While Mick Freeman, a record executive with a major label, works tirelessly to sign five toxic rockers whom he believes might flip the entire music world on its head, his wife, Jade, spends her days bored and alone at home, struggling with a midlife crisis that threatens to topple their twenty-year marriage. And then she meets the new mailman. Young and handsome, he sweeps her off her feet—straight into a nightmare the likes of which she could never have imagined. RE-ROLL In the near future, breathtakingly humanoid robots called Mechs are for sale, and they're designed to fulfill whatever role you want: husband, wife, best friend, slave. Manufacturers allow new owners one free "roll" to randomly determine their Mech's three leading characteristics. But as everybody knows, scoring your ideal traits is a crapshoot, though you can always re-roll—at a price.

    

    Is Mark going mad or was his girlfriend Called from Beyond? Mark’s girlfriend dies in a car accident before he can tell her how much he loves her. He never believed in ghosts, but a well-meaning friend and guilt push him into new and dangerous territory. All he wants is the chance to say he is sorry. To speak to her one more time. During a desperate, alcohol-fueled binge, he buys an Ouija board and calls Alissa. Is his drinking problem or survivor’s guilt making him doubt his sanity? Or are the footsteps in the night and inexplicable messages real—has Alissa returned? Gail and Jesse have their own guilt to bear, both tormented by a secret they have no choice but to keep. Is it their fault Alissa died? All they want is to help Mark through his grief, but his true plight soon becomes apparent. Evil is waiting and it’s worse than they can imagine. Will Mark be sucked into the darkness or will he send away his love to save his own life? Scroll up now to find out in this thrilling, fast-paced ghost story that will have you reading well into the night. Just remember to keep the lights on. This is the second book in the exciting Spirit Guide Series. Each book is a complete story and they can be read in any order. They follow Gail and Jesse as they search for ways to put spirits to rest and to save those who are tormented by them. The first book in the series is The Haunting of Seafield House It is permanently 0.99 and FREE on Kindle Unlimited or get an introduction to the series for free - Get The Black-Eyed Children at http://eepurl.com/cGdNvX

    The present volume selects thirteen other tales of mystery and the macabre, including the works of James Hogg, J.S. LeFanu, Letitia Landon, Edward Bulwer, and William Carelton. The introduction surveys the genesis and influence of The Vampyre and its central themes and techniques, while the Appendices contain material closely associated with its composition and publication, including Lord Byron's prose fragment Augustus Darvell.JOHN POLIDORI - The VampyreHORACE SMITH - Sir Guy Eveling's DreamWILLIAM CARLETON - Confessions of a Reformed RibbonmanEDWARD BULWER - Monos and DaimonosALLAN CUNNINGHAM - The Master of LoganANONYMOUS - The VictimJAMES HOGG - Some Terrible Letters from ScotlandANONYMOUS - The CurseANONYMOUS - Life in DeathN. P. WILLIS - My Hobby,--RatherCATHERINE GORE - The Red ManCHARLES LEVER - Post-Mortem Recollections of a Medical LecturerLETITIA E. LANDON - The Bride of LindorfJOSEPH SHERIDAN LE FANU - Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Contess

    Center stage was an enormous mansion, the Fordham Mansion, where the elite family of Reginald and Amanda Fordham lived with their two children, Charles and Emily. The one Achilles heel of Bishops Fordham was an aged and slowly weakening dam that provided the residents with their livelihood. When it was rumored that the dam was in imminent danger of collapsing, a major relocation effort was launched. How many people perished in the floods? Was the Fordham family victimized by the flooding, or did they manage to survive? In 2017, the Bishops Fordham Nature Conservancy hired a young woman named Clarissa Evans to oversee the facility. She had a laser-focus on making the area a prime attraction for tourists from around the world, and for a while, she did well. But as climatic changes came along, the summers in the region got hotter and drier, and to Clarissa's shock and dismay, she came to the lake one day to discover that the old Fordham Mansion, was now visible above the waterline. That situation was now becoming the draw for visitors versus the wildlife that gave Clarissa purpose and meaning in life. To add insult to injury, an up and coming young journalist, Edward Milton, with a penchant for highlighting oddities such as this got permission to come and do an investigation of the mansion for his very popular blog. What is Clarissa willing to do to keep wildlife instead of the mansion as the primary reason for visiting? Join Clarissa and Edward as they dig deeper and deeper into the exposed mansion and old village. Seemingly otherworldly phenomena come about that appeal to Edward's sense of wonder and adventure, while Clarissa remains skeptical due to her scientific background. Is Clarissa correct, and Edward is just creating more buzz for his blog, or is he onto something that just has no logical or rational basis for belief? Will they grow to trust and perhaps even love one another, or will they discover and experience every horrific meaning of the word "lost" in existence? Read "The Haunting of the Lost Mansion" now to find out...