With 12 terrifically spine chilling short stories, this anthology contains contributions from some of the best young horror writing talent out there, and was curated by the editors of the PlayWithDeath.com, the premier destination for online horror entertainment. If you're searching for stories that will frighten you to your very core, look no further. List of Short Story Authors Tom Wortman M. B. Vujačić Manen Lyset Jenny Ashford Kyle Yadlosky G. T. Montgomery Ari Drew Patrick Winters Trevor James Zaple John Teel Dexter Findley Kyle Rader

    Who is this apparent stalker? The answer is more frightening than Claire ever imagined. The Octopus Nest, Sophie Hannah’s prizewinning short story from her collection of ‘glittering darkness’ The Fantastic Book of Everybody’s Secrets is the first to be published as an exclusive eBook short. About Sophie Hannah: Sophie Hannah is an internationally bestselling writer of psychological crime fiction. Her Culver Valley Series featuring Simon Waterhouse and Charlie Zailer have been published in 27 countries and adapted for television in 2011 and 2012. In 2004, she won first prize in the Daphne Du Maurier Festival Short Story Competition for her suspense story The Octopus Nest, published in her first collection of short stories, The Fantastic Book of Everybody’s Secrets. Sophie has also published five collections of poetry. Her fifth, Pessimism for Beginners, was shortlisted for the 2007 T S Eliot Award. In 2014 she published The Monogram Murders, a new challenge for the little grey cells of Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s famous detective. Sophie lives with her husband and children in Cambridge. Reviews: Voted one of the Top Ten Books to Talk About for World Book Day. Sophie Hannah's (short story) debut will leave you feeling genuinely tickled and wanting more. The award-winning "The Octopus Nest” is menacing enough to keep the pages turning, and astute enough about rocky relationships to make even the narrator wince. Emma Hagestadt, The Independent Hannah has an uncanny knack for letting you feel you could find your way blindfold amongst the Formica and office furniture, get comfy – only to find yourself tripping over the psychopath lurking by the kitchen sink…superbly unsettling. Sarah Hilary, The Short Review

    Returning to Britain, he jumps at the chance to lead a small team in Devon. The task sounds more like a holiday; exactly what Knowles and his men need.The mission: watch Jack Stadler. Jack has always led a quiet life, but now he is suffering blackouts and has violent fantasies. When the first dismembered body is found, Knowles begins to realise he has made a terrible mistake…

    What was thought to be a new beginning for Julia soon devolves into an endless nightmare of hidden secrets and a troubled past best left unturned.The Haunting of Abram MansionA riveting new haunted house mystery that will keep you guessing until the end!When Peyton and Benjamin Fletcher inherit a dilapidated house in the quiet town of Falconwood, Connecticut from Peyton’s grandfather, all they want to do is get rid of it. Unfortunately, the will stipulates that the couple must live in the house for a minimum of six months before they sell it. As Peyton and Ben try to make the best of the situation, Peyton discovers the house is inhabited by ghosts, and they aren’t happy with the mansion’s new occupants.

    What should have been an idyllic vacation - a week of snowboarding at one of Canada's most beautiful ski resorts - becomes toxic when his wife tearfully confesses her infidelity. Overcome with grief, all Shane wants is to get away, but a freak storm has closed the roads, and it seems there will be no escape from his torment until the weather clears. Yet when Shane snaps and tries to leave the resort against all advice, he soon discovers that there is more on the mountain than just snow and trees.And things can always get worse...

    

    Will Madeleine Hart discover the horrors hidden below, before it's too late?Bestselling writer Madeleine Hart has run away from her life in London and abusive ex Connor. Crumbling Lakeview Hall in the Armboth Valley, abandoned decades earlier, is the perfect Lakeland hideaway for Maddy to make a fresh start, finish her book and disappear from the world.But strange things start to happen. The house is too big and the fear that Connor has tracked her down soon becomes a terrifying reality. Enlisting the help of Seth, who runs the village pub to help solve the mystery of what's happening in the unloved mansion, she doesn't realise that the past and the present are about to collide in a fight to survive.

    Since then, the recurring nightmares, creepy hallucinations and overpowering fear are gone. That's good, right? I mean, no one in their right minds wants to feel like that. I am starting to wonder if I'm in my right mind anymore...When a lady in my neighborhood died, I couldn't help but stick my nose in, to see what happened. I should just get on with things–I've got some new friends, and a cool boy named Chris has taken an interest in me. Everyone is telling me to just leave this weird murder alone.But I can't stop myself. The more I find out about her death, the more twisted everything is.I think there’s a predator in Narrowdale. And now it’s hunting me…What have I gotten myself into?

    They supplement their income by selling pics of themselves as stock photos online.The abandoned Red Water Hotel is the perfect location for a shoot. But when they enter the decrepit building, Dursha begins to feel a strange presence. Jackie dismisses her concerns and they head further in.Strange moths have clustered, and the light filtering through has an eerie shimmer. The young women see a telephone number scrawled on the wall.By now Dursha is totally creeped out. But Jackie is already calling it...THE WIDOWDan decides to go to a party held by an old friend. It’s a no-good group, but it might help him put his worries aside. His life is spiralling and he has a serious toothache to add to his woes.At the party he strikes up a conversation with an enigmatic man who has excellent whiskey, and promises him a quick way to make money.In all honesty, Dan just wants enough cash to pay for a dentist, but he journeys with his new friend to a house deep in the country. The hazy plan is to rob it of a known stash of money.It sounded good in theory, but now his friend is nowhere to be seen and Dan is stuck inside the house, face to face with the widow who lives there...

    Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King - A 30-minute Summary of the Novel Inside this Instaread Summary: Overview of the entire bookIntroduction to the Important people in the bookSummary and analysis of all the chapters in the bookKey Takeaways of the bookA Reader's Perspective Preview of this summary: Part1Chapter 1Down-on-his-luck, Augie Odenkirk helps homeless Janice Cray care for her baby as they wait in the early morning fog for a job fair. A gray Mercedes plows into the crowd. Augie, Janice and the baby are among the victims.Part 2Chapters 1-3About a year after the Mercedes crash, Retired Detective K. William Hodges watches more grubby reality shows, fails to enjoy his beer, and thinks, again, of shooting himself. The arrival of the mail distracts him. A letter, allegedly from the driver of the killer Mercedes, stuns him. The writer brags about killing eight and wounding many. He says that he got off sexually at he drove into the crowd. He wore a condom and used bleach to get rid of any DNA. He wore a hair net under a clown mask for the same reason. He knows Hodges is miserable and hopes the letter cheers him up. He gives Hodges a website where they can talk, including a username: kermitfrog19.Chapters 4-6Hodges wonders if he should turn the letter over to his former partner, Pete Huntley. He believes the writer is the killer because he knows inside information about the condom and the bleach. The idea of using this letter, and chats on line, to catch the killer gives Hodges a reason to live.Chapter 7-9Hodges analyzes the letter and sees that the writer has several identifying traits, including misusing perk for perp and peppering his words with an image of a smiley face. The same smiley face was glued onto the steering wheel of the Mercedes. Hodges calls Pete and makes a lunch date....

    And when a face in the mirror confronts her with a dire warning, she realizes her life is at risk. Has she awakened a curse—or been struck by madness? “Queen Joanna” presents a haunting twist on the legend of Bloody Mary. This short story originally appeared in the From the Indie Side anthology.

    From exploring an empty house with dreadful secrets to the account of an eccentric children’s ayah and from vengeful animals carrying a spirit to a bunch of anxious children in a stark landscape—these are some of the most interesting stories about the supernatural. Selected and compiled by Ruskin Bond, this collection includes stories by authors like Rudyard Kipling, Algernon Blackwood, R.L. Stevenson and Alice Perrin, among others.

    

    

     Featuring stories by Richard Chizmar, Mark Lukens, Michael A. Arnzen, Eric J. Guignard, Veronica Smith, Lee McGeorge, James Matthew Byers & Kevin J. Kennedy