For the first time in the history of humankind, more people live in cities than in the country. Yet, at the same time, more and more city dwellers are yearning for rural farms, mountain cabins, or seaside homes. These kinds of refuges offer modern men and women a promise of what urban centers usually cannot provide: quiet, relaxation, being out of reach, getting back to basics, feeling human again. Rock the Shack is a survey of such contemporary refuges from around the world--from basic to luxury. The book features a compelling range of sparingly to intricately furnished cabins, cottages, second homes, tree houses, transformations, shelters, and cocoons. The look of the included structures from the outside is just as important as the view from inside. What these diverse projects have in common is an exceptional spirit that melds the uniqueness of a geographic location with the individual character of the building's owner and architect.

    How do skeletons say goodnight? What about werewolves, mummies, or vampire bats? In this silly Halloween romp, young children can take a trip through spooky castles and haunted graveyards to find out!

    That’s what they call Jonathan Barnes, Boston’s most successful architect. They say he’s arrogant.Demanding.Impossible.Cruel.They say his gorgeous exterior conceals a wicked core. Like the rambling Victorians he restores, Jonathan Barnes is a complicated, beautiful, mysterious man.He also famously fired three assistants in one day.But he’s the best at what he does, which is why I’m determined to make a good first impression. Sure, I’m starting out as his secretary, and I’m wearing my sister’s hand-me-downs because I can’t afford new clothes.But I can hide my working class roots. If I can tame the monster, I might just get to use my architecture degree.It doesn’t matter that it’s Halloween on a Friday and my grad school friends are out celebrating. I’ve got one chance to show Jonathan Barnes I’m not afraid of him.Of course, I didn’t count on being stuck with him all night in a building rumored to be haunted.I’ve never worried about things that go bump in the night. Bump and grind is a whole other story...

    Its supreme leader, The One Who Is The One, has banned everything they hold dear: books, music, art, and imagination. But the growing strength of the siblings' magic hasn't been enough to stop the One's evil rampage, and now he's executed the only family they had left.Wisty knows that the time has finally come for her to face The One. But her fight and her fire only channel more power to this already invincible being. How can she and Whit possibly prepare for their imminent showdown with the ruthless villain that devastated their world-before he can truly become all-powerful?In this stunning third installment of the epic Witch & Wizard series, the stakes have never been higher--and the consequences will change everything.

    When Jennifer's father dies in a horrific accident, she finds herself drawn to his small cabin in the swampy woods of Boggy Creek, Texas. Her vacation with a few friends soon becomes a fight for survival when they discover the terrifying truth behind the legend of Boggy Creek.

    A failing family manor. And a plan to save it all…Moving to Oakleaf Manor was the last thing Brynn Townsend had planned after losing her job in the city, but even more unexpected was the headstrong son of the owner stealing her heart. Her only hope of building a new life in the quaint town of Sugar Maple rests on saving his family farm. But when he threatens to derail not only her plans to save Oakleaf Manor, but also her newfound home, Brynn knows she must risk their budding romance in order to save it all.Preserving his family's legacy and restoring his home to its former glory means everything to Jack. Generations of the Oakley family have owned and run the historic estate of Oakleaf Manor, but Jack's past mistakes have left his family in danger of losing their home. With the fate of Oakleaf Manor resting solidly on his shoulders, he can't risk failing again, even if it means putting his growing relationship with Brynn in jeopardy.When Brynn crafts a daring plan to save Oakleaf Manor, Jack's deeply rooted fears resurface. He's tried this plan before with disastrous consequences. Can Brynn find a way to convince Jack to trust both her and their love? Will Jack realize where his heart truly belongs before it's too late? Or will the happiness they had found and Oakleaf Manor end up in ruins?If you love winding country roads, quaint cozy shops, and quirky, but caring neighbors who love like family, you'll adore Love at the Fall Festival.

    A slim, sinister text called The King in Yellow drove those who read it to madness. Despite suppression by anxious authorities, it spread through global culture, and history itself, like a virus. Now the contagion bears hideous fruit.New Tales of the Yellow Sign expands the classic horror mythos of weird tales pioneer and Lovecraft precursor Robert W. Chambers into new vistas of unease and imagination. Over the course of eight troubling stories, writer and visionary game designer Robin D. Laws lures you into diseased timelines, impossible pasts, and the all-too-terrifying present.Sterilize your suicide chamber, harken to the remorseless clicking of your black box, and whistle for the monstrous creature that lives in your basement. The pallid mask awaits.

    Kid Stuff! Master painter Donald Duck thinks he's a new Rembrandt - but with a little help from his nephews, he's about to meet his match in a haunted house!

    Each story is designed to be intrinsically and intimately about Halloween-its traditions, its myths, and its effects-and they run the gamut from horrifying to heartbreaking. Halloween night is the tapestry through which a haunted house, a monstrous child, a late-night drive to a mysterious destination, and other tales are weaved. Demons are faced, death is defied, and love is tested. And not everyone makes it out alive. The End of Summer has arrived.

    It’s an equinox place, my mother once said, where dark and light things are equally in power.I want to tell you, dear strangers, why I was there and what I found.The three-winged pigeon. My cynical doppelgänger. The loneliness and marvels and confusions of the house. And most of all the ghost living in my bedroom.We learned how to talk without using sound. She was secretive and scared and difficult to know. But she was also warm and playful, as willing to share the room in silence as to trace vulgar symbols on my hand to get a rise.She helped me with the hundred-pound centipede, the hostile little man living in my basement, and the emptiness I’d felt since my mother lost her mind.I tried to help her out of limbo with experiments and spells until I realized if they worked—if we succeeded—I would lose her."

    Mysterious photographs, ghostly old houses, and all things supernatural await readers in these three frightful tales.

    Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, they are actually a lot of fun? Perhaps they really dig hanging out at the park with great pals and taking bubble baths just like you and me. It’s about time we see just how absolutely UNspooky skeletons are in this entertaining tale for every body.

    If nothing else, maybe it will distract me from what I have planned for after it.A seance. I'm making an ultra-long distance call to my mom. She has something I want, dang it. Something she didn't pass on to me before she left this world.The others are trying to guess what it is I want to ask her. They'll never get it in a million years.Of course, there's no reason not to tell them. But where's the fun in that?A Very Opal Halloween is an 8,000 word short story taking place in the Accidental Familiar Series starring the Gemstone Coven Witches and their familiars. This story takes place after book three, Un-Familiar Magic, but can be read as a stand-alone story.No murder, no crime, just family and a good tale. Just why did Opal want to contact her mom, anyway?

    It can be read alone although the story concentrates on characters that are present throughout the entire series so would probably be better read between book two, (Sharm and Edith's Story) and book three (Storm and Charlie's Story). A Daddy that can fly! Lars and Claire met because Kammy, Claire's adopted daughter wanted her own daddy that can fly and her new awakening instincts as a Tiger cub lead her to Lars. Lars Axton, Prime to the Dragon Lord, decides to visit the vibrant town of Dragon's Gap and finds, not only a good cup of coffee but a hesitant shadow and a tiger cub who informs him he is her new daddy. What is a dragon to do? three day old baby bear that no one wants. Claire Nash Kammy's mama, a half cougar, mostly street wise liaison for Dragon's Gap who trusts no one least of all wealthy males who seem to have rich tastes, finds herself not only mated to a dragon but adopting a lonely three day old baby bear that no one wants.

    And it will also appeal to the folks who respect the culinary adventurousness of Hannibal Lecter and the Donner party, but aren’t willing to fully commit to the requisite lifestyle change to jump in whole hog (or long pig in this case.)Read on to find the perfect treat for your Halloween gathering.Instructables is the most popular project-sharing community on the Internet. Since August 2005, Instructables has provided easy publishing tools to enable passionate, creative people to share their most innovative projects, recipes, skills, and ideas. Instructables has over 40,000 projects covering all subjects, including crafts, art, electronics, kids, home improvement, pets, outdoors, reuse, bikes, cars, robotics, food, decorating, woodworking, costuming, games, and life in general.