Book picks similar to
The Festering Ones by S.H. Cooper


horror
fiction
ladies-of-horror-fiction
novella

The Last Deep Breath


Tom Piccirilli - 2010
    The Last Deep Breath is the latest evidence, a tough yet tender noir that cuts to the heart of what sibling bonds are all about. It ricochets around like a bullet in a cinderblock room - you can never be sure where it's going to go, but you know it's probably going to hurt before it's done." --Brian Hodge, author - WILD HORSES, MAD DOGS."The Last Deep Breath is an absolute gem of a crime novel, with prose so dead-on and moving, you'll be laughing and gasping, often in the same sentence. Tom Piccirilli is already one of the big guns in crime fiction, and proves here that he may be the heir to Elmore Leonard." --Jason Starr, author - PANIC ATTACK, THE CHILL.

Resisting Madness


Wesley Southard - 2019
    You’ll discover how far a prisoner will go to be with his dying wife, and what lurks between the walls of that Louisiana jailhouse to keep him there. You’ll find out how deep a man can cut himself to dig out the past. You’ll meet a college professor whose fear of flying might be the least of his worries. And you’ll learn how a sister’s love for sweet treats can reunite a broken family…whether they want it or not. Aliens and lot lizards…disembodied lips…the voice of God Himself… Thirteen stories and a brand new novella from horror author Wesley Southard. Within these pages, we all go a little mad…

Murder House


C.V. Hunt - 2020
    The publisher has given Brent a tight deadline and the opportunity to stay in the house where the massacre took place. But the basement creeps Laura out and she’s left questioning her sanity after she sees things that may or may not be there. When Brent begins to act strange, Laura writes it off to the pressure of his deadline. Is Laura really losing her mind or is there something in the house that’s changing the couple?

The Worm and His Kings


Hailey Piper - 2020
    Monique learns that the hard way after her girlfriend Donna vanishes without a trace. Only after the disappearances of several other impoverished women does Monique hear the rumors. A taloned monster stalks the city’s underground and snatches victims into the dark.Donna isn’t missing. She was taken.To save the woman she loves, Monique must descend deeper than the known underground, into a subterranean world of enigmatic cultists and shadowy creatures. But what she finds looms beyond her wildest fears—a darkness that stretches from the dawn of time and across the stars.

Dreams the Ragman


Greg F. Gifune - 2011
    But as an alcoholic ravaged with senility, his grandfather’s stories were dismissed as delusions.When years later, murder comes to Derrick’s small hometown, he and his best friend Caleb—both teenage outcasts—discover that the killer is a hobo dressed in rags who rides the rails in and out of town when committing his crimes. They dub him “The Ragman” unaware of just how accurate that nickname may be, but the murders are never solved.As time passes, Derrick weds and settles into a troubled marriage while Caleb moves to New York City and spirals into drug addiction and madness. Thirty years later, in a dying seaside resort town, the killings have begun again. Has The Ragman returned, or is something even more sinister taking place?As Derrick and Caleb meet at the scene of the latest grisly murders, they soon find themselves confronted with an unsolved mystery that has haunted them for decades and an eternal evil they may never be able to escape. The rain falls, darkness descends, a train’s whistle blows, and the Ragman begins to dream…

Scratches


Joshua Marsella - 2020
    When the son moves his bedroom into the basement he starts to experience an unexplainable and terrifying phenomena. After he uncovers a secret concealed in the house, they quickly learn that some truths are better left a mystery. Can they overcome their differences in order to survive or will the darkness consume them both?

True Crime


Samantha Kolesnik - 2020
    Once the abuse becomes too much to handle, the two siblings embark on a sordid cross-country murder spree beginning with their mom. As the murder tally rises, Suzy’s mental state spirals into irredeemable madness.

When Darkness Loves Us


Elizabeth Engstrom - 1985
    When a careless exploration leaves her trapped underground, she learns to live again in the absence of everything she once knew. Even driven by love and light, Sally Ann finds the deepest darkness within herself in When Darkness Loves Us.Beauty Is... - Old Martha Mannes has been a part of Morgan, Illinois since her birth. The whole town knows her as the dim-witted woman who was born without a nose, but Martha's mind wasn't always a blank slate. Unlocking the monster buried deep in her memories may bring back the sparkling child she once was... or it may send those around her crashing down into the nightmares of a little girl gone wrong.

To Be Devoured


Sara Tantlinger - 2019
    The vultures circling outside her home taunt and invite her to come understand the secrets hiding in their banquet of decay. Fascination morphs into an obsessive need to know what the vultures know. Andi turns to Dr. Fawning, but even the therapist cannot help her comprehend the secrets she’s buried beneath anger-induced blackouts.Her girlfriend, Luna, tries to help Andi battle her inner darkness and infatuation with the vultures. However, the desire to taste dead flesh, to stitch together wings of her own and become one with the flock sends Andi down a twisted, unforgivable path. Once she understands the secrets the vultures conceal, she must decide between abandoning the birds of prey or risk turning her loved ones into nothing more than meals to be devoured.

In the Tall Grass


Stephen King - 2012
    in this e-book collaboration between Stephen King and Joe Hill.In the Tall Grass begins with a sister and brother who pull off to the side of the road after hearing a young boy crying for help from beyond the tall grass. Within minutes they are disoriented, in deeper than seems possible, and they’ve lost one another. The boy’s cries are more and more desperate. What follows is a terrifying, entertaining, and masterfully told tale, as only Stephen King and Joe Hill can deliver.In the Tall Grass was originally published in two parts in the June/July and August 2012 issues of Esquire magazine. This is their second collaboration since the novella Throttle, published in 2009.

To Offer Her Pleasure


Ali Seay - 2021
    One that calls forth a shadowy horned figure.She comes with unexpected gifts and the comfort of a dependable presence.She asks for very little in return, really. The more Ben offers her, the easier it gets.Sometimes, family requires more than a little sacrifice...

Woom


Duncan Ralston - 2016
     "I believe pain lingers," Angel said. "Do I believe in spirits? In the supernatural? Probably not."The Lonely Motel holds many dark secrets... and Room 6 just might possess the worst of them all.Angel knows all about pain. His mother died in this room. He's researched its history. Today he's come back to end it, no matter the cost, once and for all.Shyla, a plus-sized prostitute, thinks the stories Angel tells her can't be true. Secrets so vile, you won't want to let them inside you.But the Lonely Motel doesn't forget. It doesn't forgive. And it always claims its victim.

Armageddon House


Michael Griffin - 2020
    Four people living together deep underground in a subterranean facility. All their needs provided for. Food, water, medicine. A swimming pool; a gym; a bar. Except none of them can recall exactly how they came to be there, or what they are supposed to do. Dystopia. Where are the others? There must have been others. It's a huge facility, after all. It must be some sort of experiment. They're test subjects. How long have they been there? When will they get out? How come there has been no outside contact? Utopia or dystopia. As the questions mount, so does the tension. Who will escape Armageddon House?Michael Griffin's riveting new novella ARMAGEDDON HOUSE grabs you and doesn't let go. It will stay with you long after you've turned the last page. This is a haunted house of a different sort.

Petrified Women


Jeremy Ray - 2021
    This one could be deadly.Harley has the perfect boyfriend. Why can’t her best friend see that? He’s nothing like the others, especially the one who still haunts her memories. She’s finally picked a “keeper” with Aiden.Sure, he’s a bit eccentric. His wood carving hobby is a little odd. His need for isolation while he carves his life-size female figurines is strange. And maybe his obsession with pranks, or "scares" on Harley goes a little too far. But what do you expect? Aiden’s an artist.Harley has finally picked the perfect boyfriend. That’s why this year, Harley ignores all her best friend’s warnings. She has the ultimate surprise planned for Aiden’s birthday, one that’s going to help her get even in their battle to out-prank each other.She hides in his apartment, excitedly waiting to pull off the scare of a lifetime…But then he comes home, and Harley witnesses a different side of her boyfriend. The side that exists behind closed doors when he doesn’t know anyone’s watching.Is this just one of his scares? Or is there something more sinister lurking behind his playful nature? Harley’s about to find out.CONTENT WARNING:Sexual AssaultViolenceBody HorrorStrong LanguageReader discretion advised

The Clearing of Travis Coble


Jonathan Janz - 2013
    At least that’s what a jury decided twenty years ago. But like Lizzie Borden, Travis Coble was branded guilty by an angry public and consigned to a life of suspicious whispers and sidelong stares. Now, Professor Dick Myers wants to clear Travis’s name once and for all. An interview with the reclusive mountain man would not only bring Myers fame—it could save his job.But Myers will find more than a good story in Coble’s isolated shack in the Smoky Mountains. He will find the truth about what happened twenty years ago...and the true meaning of horror.A new work of terror from the author of the worldwide bestseller Old Order.