There need be no monsters for us to be terrified in the dark, but if there are, they are just as often human and supernatural. Join us in this outstanding annual exploration of the year's best dark fiction that includes stories of quiet fear, the utterly fantastic, the weirdly surreal, atmospheric noir, mysterious hauntings, seductive nightmares, and frighteningly plausible futures. Featuring thirty-five tales from masterful authors and talented new writers sure to make you reconsider walking in the shadows alone...Instructions for Use • Paula GuranNo Ghosts in London • Helen MarshallFake Plastic Trees • Caitlín R KiernanThe Natural History of Autumn • Jeffrey FordGreat-Grandmother in the Cellar • Peter S. BeagleRenfrew’s Course • John LanganEnd of White • Ekaterina SediaWho is Arvid Pekon? • Karin TidbeckIphigenia in Aulis • Mike CareySlaughterhouse Blues • Tim LebbonEngland Under the White Witch • Theodora GossThe Sea of Trees • Rachel SwirskyThe Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury • Neil GaimanThe Education of a Witch • Ellen KlagesWelcome to the Reptile House • Stephen Graham JonesGlamour of Madness • Peter BellBigfoot on Campus • Jim ButcherEverything Must Go • Brooke WondersNightside Eye • Terry DowlingEscena de un Asesinato • Robert HoodGood Hunting • Ken LiuGo Home Again • Simon StrantzasThe Bird Country • K. M. FerebeeSinking Among Lilies • Cory SkerryDown in the Valley • Joseph BruchacArmless Maidens of the American West • Genevieve ValentineBlue Lace Agate • Sarah MonetteThe Eyes of Water • Alison LittlewoodThe Tall Grass • Joe R. LansdaleGame • Maria Dahvana HeadleyPearls • Priya SharmaForget You • Marc LaidlawWhen Death Wakes Me to Myself • John ShirleyDahlias • Melanie TemBedtime Stories for Yasmin • Robert ShearmanHand of Glory • Laird Barron

    The critically acclaimed and award-winning tradition continues with another stunning collection, including stories by M. T. Anderson, Laird Barron, Simon Bestwick, Simon Brown, Stepan Chapman, Douglas Clegg, D. Ellis Dickerson, Terry Dowling, Andy Duncan, Jean Esteve, John Farris, Mélanie Fazi, Jeffrey Ford, Christopher Fowler, Stephen Gallagher, Theodora Goss, Elizabeth Hand, Alice Hoffman, Shelley Jackson, John Kessel, Margo Lanagan, Tanith Lee, Bentley Little, Elizabeth A. Lynn, Gregory Maguire, China Miéville, Richard Mueller, Joyce Carol Oates, Frances Oliver, Chuck Palahniuk, Tina Rath, Philip Raines and Harvey Welles, M. Rickert, Anna Ross, Alison Smith, R.T. Smith, Peter Straub, Lucy Sussex, Catherynne M. Valente, Greg Van Eekhout, and Conrad Williams. Rounding out the volume are the editors’ invaluable overviews of the year in fantasy and horror, and sections on comics, by Charles Vess, on anime and manga, by Joan D. Vinge, on media, by Ed Bryant, and on music, by Charles de Lint. With a long list of Honorable Mentions, this is an indispensable reference as well as the best reading available in fantasy and horror.

    Visit places where one might expect to find the dark — in a house where love was shared and lost, a milky-white pool in an Australian cave, the trenches of World War I, the deep woods. You would not be surprised to find the dark in a cheap apartment on the wrong side of town, down mean streets, under a gallows-tree, along dank passageways, trapped underground, in the near future, or among the mysteries of old New Orleans. Dunes, lakes, isolated cabins, old books, and Old West saloons — well, the darkness might easily be there. But we've also found locales you thought were safe from shadows — a rib joint with good blues playing, inside an old wardrobe, on a baseball diamond, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel...Travel into the best dark fantasy and horror from 2011 with more than five-hundred pages of tales from some of today's best-known writers of the fantastique as well as new talents — stories that will take you to a diverse assortment of dark placesContents Hair • (2011) • shortstory by Joan AikenRakshasi • (2011) • shortfiction by Kelley ArmstrongWalls of Paper, Soft as Skin • (2011) • shortstory by Adam CallawayThe Lake • (2011) • shortfiction by Tananarive DueTell Me I'll See You Again • (2011) • shortstory by Dennis EtchisonKing Death • (2011) • shortfiction by Paul FinchThe Last Triangle • (2011) • shortfiction by Jeffrey FordNear Zennor • (2011) • novella by Elizabeth HandCrossroads • (2011) • shortstory by Laura Anne GilmanAfter-Words • (2011) • novelette by Glen HirshbergRocket Man • (2011) • shortfiction by Stephen Graham JonesThe Maltese Unicorn • (2011) • shortfiction by Caitlín R. KiernanThe Dune • (2011) • shortfiction by Stephen KingCatastrophic Disruption of the Head • (2011) • shortfiction by Margo LanaganThe Bleeding Shadow • (2011) • shortfiction by Joe R. LansdaleWhy Light? • (2011) • novelette by Tanith LeeConservation of Shadows • (2011) • shortstory by Yoon Ha LeeA Tangle of Green Men • [Chronicles of the Borderlands] • (2011) • novella by Charles de LintAfter the Apocalypse • (2012) • shortfiction by Maureen F. McHugh [as by Maureen McHugh ]Why Do You Linger? • (2011) • shortfiction by Sarah MonetteLord Dunsany's Teapot • (2011) • shortstory by Naomi NovikMysteries of the Old Quarter • (2011) • novelette by Paul ParkVampire Lake • (2011) • shortfiction by Norman PartridgeA Journey of Only Two Paces • (2011) • shortstory by Tim PowersFour Legs in the Morning • (2011) • shortfiction by Norman PrentissThe Fox Maiden • (2011) • shortfiction by Priya SharmaTime and Tide • (2011) • shortstory by Alan Ryan [as by Alan Peter Ryan ]Sun Falls • (2011) • shortstory by Angela SlatterStill • (2011) • shortfiction by Tia V. TravisObjects in Dreams May Be Closer Than They Appear • (2011) • shortstory by Lisa TuttleThe Bread We Eat in Dreams • (2011) • shortstory by Catherynne M. ValenteAll You Can Do Is Breathe • (2011) • shortstory by Kaaron WarrenJosh • (2011) • shortfiction by Gene Wolfe

    Over 40 tales of visitation by the undead--from vengeful and violent spirits, set on causing harm to innocent people tucked up in their homes, to rarer and more kindly ghosts, returning from the grave to reach out across the other side. Yet others entertain desires of a more sinister bent, including the erotic. This new edition includes a selection of favorite haunted house tales chosen by famous screen stars such as Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. In addition, a top ranking list of contributors includes Stephen King, Bram Stoker, Ruth Rendell, and James Herbert--all brought together by an anthologist who himself lives in a haunted house.Contents1 • The Haunted House • (2000) • short fiction by Elizabeth Albright and Ray Bradbury3 • Foreword: I Live In A Haunted House • (2000) • essay by Peter Haining9 • The Haunted and the Haunters • (1919) • novelette by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (variant of The Haunted and the Haunters; or, The House and the Brain 1859)39 • Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House • (2000) • short story by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (variant of An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House 1862)53 • A Case of Eavesdropping • [Jim Shorthouse] • (1900) • short story by Algernon Blackwood69 • A Haunted House • (1921) • short story by Virginia Woolf73 • Ghost Hunt • (1948) • short story by H. Russell Wakefield81 • Dark Winner • (1976) • short story by William F. Nolan89 • The Old House in Vauxhall Walk • (1882) • novelette by Mrs. J. H. Riddell [as by Charlotte Riddell]109 • No. 252 Rue M. Le Prince • (1895) • short story by Ralph Adams Cram125 • The Southwest Chamber • (1903) • novelette by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman [as by Mary Eleanor Freeman]145 • The Toll-House • (1907) • short story by W. W. Jacobs157 • Feet Foremost • (1932) • novelette by L. P. Hartley191 • Happy Hour • (1990) • novelette by Ian Watson217 • The Ankardyne Pew • (1979) • short story by William Fryer Harvey [as by W. F. Harvey]231 • The Real and the Counterfeit • (1988) • short story by Mrs. Alfred Baldwin [as by Louisa Baldwin]249 • A Night at a Cottage ... • (1926) • short story by Richard Hughes253 • The Considerate Hosts • (1939) • short story by Thorp McClusky265 • The Grey House • (1967) • short story by Basil Copper309 • Watching Me, Watching You • (1981) • short story by Fay Weldon329 • A Spirit Elopement • (1915) • short story by Richard Dehan339 • The House of Dust • (1920) • short story by Herbert de Hamel357 • The Kisstruck Bogie • (1946) • short story by A. E. Coppard367 • Mr Edward • (2000) • short story by Norah Lofts (variant of Mr. Edward 1947)385 • House of the Hatchet • (1941) • short story by Robert Bloch403 • Napier Court • (1971) • short story by Ramsey Campbell423 • Lost Hearts • (1895) • short story by M. R. James435 • The Shadowy Third • (1916) • novelette by Ellen Glasgow461 • A Little Ghost • (1922) • short story by Hugh Walpole477 • The Patter of Tiny Feet • (1950) • short story by Nigel Kneale489 • Uninvited Ghosts • (1981) • short story by Penelope Lively497 • Playing with Fire • (1900) • short story by Arthur Conan Doyle [as by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]513 • The Whistling Room • [Carnacki (Hodgson)] • (1910) • short story by William Hope Hodgson533 • Bagnell Terrace • (1925) • short story by E. F. Benson547 • The Companion • (1978) • short story by Joan Aiken557 • The Ghost Hunter • (2000) • short fiction by James Herbert563 • Computer Séance • (1997) • short story by Ruth Rendell573 • In Letters of Fire • [L'homme qui a vu le diable] • (1908) • novelette by Gaston Leroux (trans. of L'homme qui a vu le diable)593 • The Judge's House • (1891) • short story by Bram Stoker613 • The Storm • (1944) • short story by McKnight Malmar627 • The Waxwork • (1931) • short story by A. M. Burrage [as by Ex-Private X]641 • The Inexperienced Ghost • (1902) • short story by H. G. Wells655 • Sophy Mason Comes Back • (1930) • short story by E. M. Delafield669 • The Boogeyman • (1973) • short story by Stephen King683 • Appendix: Haunted House Novels: A Listing • (2000) • essay by Peter Haining

    On this anniversary, the editors have increased the size of the collection to 300,000 words of fiction and poetry, including works by Billy Collins, Ted Chiang, Karen Joy Fowler, Elizabeth Hand, Glen Hirshberg, Joyce Carol Oates, and new World Fantasy Award winner M. Rickert. With impeccably researched summations of the field by the editors, Honorable Mentions, and articles by Edward Bryant, Charles de Lint and Jeff VanderMeer on media, music and graphic novels, this is a heady brew topped off by an unparalleled list of sources of fabulous works both light and dark.

    We can find darkness anywhere: in a strange green stone etched with mysterious symbols; at a small town's annual picnic; in a ghostly house that is easy to enter but not so easy to leave; behind the dumpster in the alley where a harpy lives; in The Nowhere, a place where car keys, toys, people disappear to; among Polar explorers; and, most definitely, within ourselves. Darkness flies from mysterious crates; surrounds children whose nightlights have vanished; and flickers between us at the movie theater. Darkness crawls from the past and is waiting in our future; and there's always a chance that Halloween really is a door opening directly into endless shadow. Welcome to the dark. You may never want to leave. This inaugural volume of the year's best dark fantasy and horror features more than 500 pages of dark tales from some of today's finest writers of the fantastique. Chosen from a variety of sources, these stories are as eclectic and varied as the genre itself.Contents 9 • What the Hell Do You Mean By "Dark Fantasy and Horror?" • essay by Paula Guran13 • The Horrid Glory of Its Wings • (2009) • shortstory by Elizabeth Bear23 • Lowland Sea • (2009) • novelette by Suzy McKee Charnas41 • Copping Squid • (2009) • novelette by Michael Shea56 • Monsters • (2009) • novelette by Stewart O'Nan73 • The Brink of Eternity • (2009) • shortstory by Barbara Roden85 • Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre • (2009) • shortstory by Seth Fried95 • Sea-Hearts • (2009) • novella by Margo Lanagan138 • A Haunted House of Her Own • (2009) • shortfiction by Kelley Armstrong153 • Headstone in Your Pocket • (2009) • shortstory by Paul G. Tremblay [as by Paul Tremblay ]166 • The Coldest Girl in Coldtown • (2009) • novelette by Holly Black182 • Strange Scenes from an Unfinished Film • (2009) • shortstory by Gary McMahon190 • A Delicate Architecture • (2009) • shortstory by Catherynne M. Valente196 • The Mystery • (2009) • shortfiction by Peter Atkins205 • Variations on a Theme from Seinfeld • (2009) • shortstory by Peter Straub211 • The Wide, Carnivorous Sky • (2009) • shortfiction by John Langan251 • Certain Death for a Known Person • (2009) • novelette by Steve Duffy267 • The Ones Who Got Away • (2009) • shortfiction by Stephen Graham Jones274 • Leng • (2009) • shortfiction by Marc Laidlaw292 • Torn Away • (2009) • shortfiction by Joe R. Lansdale301 • The Nowhere Man • (2009) • shortfiction by Sarah Pinborough314 • The Bone's Prayer • (2009) • shortstory by Caitlín R. Kiernan327 • The Water Tower • (2009) • shortstory by John Mantooth337 • In the Porches of My Ears • (2009) • shortstory by Norman Prentiss348 • The Cinderella Game • (2009) • shortstory by Kelly Link355 • The Jacaranda Smile • (2009) • shortstory by Gemma Files366 • The Other Box • (2009) • shortfiction by Gerard Houarner388 • White Charles • [Kyle Murchison Booth] • (2009) • novelette by Sarah Monette406 • Everything Dies, Baby • (2009) • shortstory by Nadia Bulkin414 • Bruise for Bruise • (2009) • shortstory by Robert Davies422 • Respects • (2009) • shortstory by Ramsey Campbell433 • Diamond Shell • (2009) • shortstory by Deborah Biancotti446 • Nub Hut • (2009) • shortstory by Kurt Dinan452 • The Cabinet Child • (2009) • shortfiction by Steve Rasnic Tem458 • Cherrystone & Shards of Ice • (2009) • shortstory by Ekaterina Sedia469 • The Crevasse • (2009) • shortstory by Nathan Ballingrud and Dale Bailey482 • Vic • (2009) • shortfiction by Maura McHugh490 • Halloween Town • (2009) • novella by Lucius Shepard543 • The Long, Cold Goodbye • (2009) • novelette by Holly Phillips562 • What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night • (2009) • shortstory by Michael Marshall Smith

    Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling continue their critically acclaimed and award-winning tradition with another stunning collection of stories. The fiction and poetry here is culled from an exhaustive survey of the field, nearly four dozen stories ranging from fairy tales to gothic horror, from magical realism to dark tales in the Grand Guignol style. Rounding out the volume are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantasy and horror, new Year's Best sections on comics, by Charles Vess, and on anime and manga, by Joan D. Vinge, and a long list of Honorable Mentions, making this an indispensable reference as well as the best reading available in fantasy and horror.The critically acclaimed and award-winning tradition continues with another stunning collection, including stories by Kelly Link, Kim Newman, Corey Marks, Eric Schaller, M. Shayne Bell, Helga M. Novak, Terry Dowling, Michael Libling, Zoran Zivkovic, Bentley Little, Carlton Mellick III, Brian Hodge, Conrad Williams, Tom Disch, Melissa Hardy, Joel Lane, Nicholas Royle, Tracina Jackson-Adams, Karen Joy Fowler, Jackie Bartley, Peter Dickerman, Ramsey Campbell, Adam Roberts, Robert Phillips, Jay Russell, Luis Alberto Urrea, Margaret Lloyd, Stephen Gallagher, Robin McKinley, Haruki Murakami, Theodora Goss, Kathy Koja, Lucy Taylor, Elizabeth Hand, Kevin Brickmeier, Sharon McCartney, Susan Power, Don Tumasonis, Nan Fry.Rounding out the volume are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantasy and horror, Year's Best sections on comics, by Charles Vess, and on anime and manga, by Joan D. Vinge, and a long list of Honorable Mentions, making this an indispensable reference as well as the best reading available in fantasy and horror.

    There are children—those who victimize, and those who are victims. There are supernatural horrors, psychological terrors, nourish dark fantasies, and downright weird fictions.   Featuring Nathan Ballingrud, Laird Barron, Pat Cadigan, Siobhan Carroll, Terry Dowling, Brian Evenson, Gemma Files, Jeffrey Ford, Carole Johnstone, Stephen Graham Jones, Caitlín R Kiernan, John Langan, Catherine MacLeod, Helen Marshall, Bruce McAllister, Gary McMahon, Garth Nix, Robert Shearman, Michael Marshall Smith, and Kaaron Warren.   Come on in, and make yourself a cozy little nook in the dark, and enjoy.

    Morlan, Robert Silverberg, Michael Swanwick, Jane Yolen, and many others. Supplementing the stories are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantastic fiction, Edward Bryant's witty roundup of the year's fantasy films, and a long list of Honorable Mentions-all of which adds up to an invaluable reference source, and a font of fabulous reading.

    Morlan, Robert Silverberg, Michael Swanwick, Jane Yolen and many others. Supplementing the stories are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantastic fiction, Edward Bryant's witty roundup of the year's fantasy films, and a long list of Honorable Mentions —all of which adds up to an invaluable reference source, and a font of fabulous reading.

    Now, from some of the biggest names in horror and dark fiction, comes this stellar collection of short stories that make vampires frightening once again. Edited by New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden and featuring all-new stories from such contributors as Charlaine Harris, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Scott Smith, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Michael Kortya, Kelley Armstrong, Brian Keene, David Wellington, Seanan McGuire, and Tim Lebbon, Seize the Night is old-school vampire fiction at its finest.

    Satisfy your curiosity. Surrender to wonder. Witness as the finest talents of our time bring you tales of the strangeness at the edges of existence.Featuring: Clive Barker, John Langan, Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Morton, Brian Kirk, Hal Bodner, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Erinn Kemper, John F.D. Taff, Patrick Freivald, Lucy Snyder, Brian Hodge, Kristi DeMeester, Christopher Coake, Sarah Read, and Richard Thomas. With a foreword by Josh Malerman.

    The critically acclaimed and award-winning tradition continues with another stunning collection, including stories by Jack Cady, Ramsey Campbell, Susanna Clarke, Jack Dann, Terry Dowling, Dennis Etchison, Greer Gilman, Nalo Hopkinson, Kelly Link, Kathe Koja, Paul J. McAuley, Delia Sherman. Rounding out the volume are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantasy and horror, and a long list of Honorable Mentions, making this an indispensable reference as well as the best reading available in fantasy and horror.

    For more than four decades, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror readers crave. Now, with the thirteenth volume of the series, Datlow is back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night. Encompassed in the pages of The Best Horror of the Year have been such illustrious writers as: Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Stephen Graham Jones, Joyce Carol Oates, Laird Barron, Mira Grant, and many others. With each passing year, science, technology, and the march of time shine light into the craggy corners of the universe, making the fears of an earlier generation seem quaint. But this light creates its own shadows. The Best Horror of the Year chronicles these shifting shadows. It is a catalog of terror, fear, and unpleasantness as articulated by today’s most challenging and exciting writers.

    These 17 stories portray predators who feed not only on the blood of their victims but on their emotions, youth and souls as well!