A collection of Ramsey campbell's horror stories, including The Church in the High Street, The Room in the Castle, The Horrors from the Bridge, The Insects from Shaggai, The Render of the Veils, The Inhabitant of the Lake, The Will of Stanley Brooke, The Moon-Lens, Before the Storm, Cold Print, Among These Pictures Are, The Tugging, The Faces at Pine Dunes, Blacked Out, and The Voice of the Beach.

    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…

    Now, the Grim Reaper’s turned up at her book club and he’s not there for the gossip and the cheese plate.

    This edition brings together some of the best horror writers from the last few decades. Featuring stories from Ray Garton, Kelley Armstrong, Simon Clark, Gord Rollo, Chad Lutzke, Mike Duke, Christina Bergling, David Owain Hughes, P. Mattern & Kevin J. Kennedy.

    Your hosts are the Hugo Award-winning editors John Klima (Electric Velocipede) and Lynne M. Thomas (Apex Magazine), and the Hugo-nominated editor Michael Damian Thomas (Apex Magazine).Join glittery authors Christopher Barzak (One for Sorrow) and Daryl Gregory (Pandemonium) on the dance floor, drink cocktails with Maria Dahvana Headley (Queen of Kings: A Novel of Cleopatra, the Vampire) and Tim Pratt (Marla Mason series), and skate with Seanan McGuire (InCryptid series), Diana Rowland (Kara Gillian series), and Maurice Broaddus (The Knights of Breton Court series). The fantastic Amber Benson gets the party started with her floor-rattling introduction (Calliope Reaper-Jones series).We’re waiting.Table of ContentsIntroduction by Amber BensonSister Twelve: Confessions of a Party Monster by Christopher BarzakApex Jump by David J. SchwartzWith Her Hundred Miles to Hell by Kat HowardStar Dancer by Jennifer PellandOf Selkies, Disco Balls, and Anna Plane by Cat RamboSooner Than Gold by Cory SkerrySubterraneans by William Shunn & Laura ChavoenThe Minotaur Girls by Tansy Rayner RobertsUnable to Reach You by Alan DeNiroSuch & Such Said to So & So by Maria Dahvana HeadleyRevels in the Land of Ice by Tim PrattBess, the Landlord’s Daughter, Goes for Drinks with the Green Girl by Sofia SamatarBlood and Sequins by Diana RowlandTwo-Minute Warning by Vylar KaftanInside Hides the Monster by Damien Walters GrintalisBad Dream Girl by Seanan McGuireA Hollow Play by Amal El-MohtarJust Another Future Song by Daryl GregoryThe Electric Spanking of the War Babies by Maurice Broaddus & Kyle S. JohnsonAll That Fairy Tale Crap by Rachel Swirsky

    All hope seems lost…until one afternoon fate steps in and Sarah learns that sometimes, with a little magic, winter wishes can come true.A Rake in WinterNo one is more shocked than Lady Emma herself when she drinks a bit too much wine…and wakes up in bed beside Lord William Prescott, England’s most notorious rake! Emma wants to forget the entire night ever happened, but Will isn’t about to let her go that easily...Risqué ResolutionDue to a clause in her father’s will, Lily has until Christmas to find a husband. Having yet to find a single man she would ever consider marrying after six failed seasons, she fears all hope is lost… until she meets the mysterious, insufferable, and oh so handsome Captain James Rigby.Natalie’s Christmas RogueLord Benjamin Hawthorne has never met a woman he couldn’t charm…until Natalie Rigby. The sad-eyed beauty wants nothing to do with him, or any man for that matter. But at the Christmas Eve Ball, anything is possible. Even falling in love…Marquess Under the MistletoeEvery single Appleton sister has met her husband at their parent’s annual Christmas ball. Every sister except for Honora, that is. When sparks unexpectedly begin to fly with a devilishly charming marquess, will she be the first in her family to break tradition…or follow in her sister’s footsteps and run towards the nearest mistletoe?The Christmas WidowKnown as “Mad Lady Bea” by the townspeople of Blooming Glen, Lady Beatrice Tumbley has not left her estate since the tragic death of her husband on Christmas Eve. Terrified of the outside world, she lives in complete seclusion, determined never to fall in love again. Until one cold, snowy night, when a handsome stranger comes knocking at her door…The Winter DuchessAs cold winds howl outside the manor, inside of it a duke’s frozen heart is finally starting to melt as he finds himself falling for the one woman he was never supposed to love…his wife. But can she love him in return? Publisher’s Note: These novellas range from sweet to spicy and have been previously published individually. This is the first time they’re being offered in one must-read collection!

    Moms and dads making long commutes. Teenagers headed to the beach. Bands on their way to the next gig. Truckers pulling long hauls. Families driving cross country to visit their kin.But there are others, too. The desperate and the lost. The cruel and the criminal.Theirs is a world of roadside honky-tonks, truck stops, motels, and the empty miles between destinations. The unseen spaces.And there are even stranger things. Places that aren’t on any map. Wayfaring terrors and haunted legends about which seasoned and road-weary travelers only whisper.But those are just stories. Aren’t they?Find out for yourself as you get behind the wheel with some of today’s finest authors of the dark and horrific as they bring you these harrowing tales from the road.Tales that could only be spawned by the endless miles of America’s lost highways.So go ahead and hop in. Let’s take a ride.Line-up: Introduction by Brian Keene doungjai gam & Ed Kurtz — “Crossroads of Opportunity” Matt Hayward — “Where the Wild Winds Blow” Joe R. Lansdale — “Not from Detroit” Kristi DeMeester — “A Life That is Not Mine” Robert Ford — “Mr. Hugsy” Lisa Kröger — “Swamp Dog” Orrin Grey — “No Exit” Michael Bailey — “The Long White Line” Kelli Owen — “Jim’s Meats” Bracken MacLeod — “Back Seat” Jess Landry — “The Heart Stops at the End of Laurel Lane” Jonathan Janz — “Titan, Tyger” Nick Kolakowski — “Your Pound of Flesh” Richard Thomas — “Requital” Damien Angelica Walters — “That Pilgrims’ Hands Do Touch” Cullen Bunn — “Outrunning the End” Christopher Buehlman — “Motel Nine” Rachel Autumn Deering — “Dew Upon the Wing” Josh Malerman — “Room 4 at the Haymaker” Rio Youers — “The Widow” Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths. Interview with the editor:So what makes Lost Highways: Dark Fictions From the Road so special?Lost Highways comes at the theme of road stories with the desire to push the boundaries of what that theme means. Because of that, it collects authors of diverse levels of experience and notoriety in the worlds of horror and dark fiction. This brings together voices like Joe R. Lansdale, Cullen Bunn, Josh Malerman, Damien Angelica Walters, Rio Youers, Bracken MacLeod, Rachel Autumn Deering, Matt Hayward, doungjai gam with Ed Kurtz, and Kristi DeMeester. All of these unique voices bring a fresh and often unexpected take on the theme.What made you think of this theme for the anthology?Road trips can be fun but they can also be long and boring.

    It has lain in the cold and dark of the bog, waiting patiently for a host to set it free. Now, for John Cluer and his family, nothing will ever be the same again.A novelette of approximately 10,000 words.

    Sylvia would take long walks in the country; Pam would have tea ready by the fire for when she returned. Nice fantasies...The house had that kind of effect on people. It felt cosy, lived-in, though it had been empty for many years. Oddly, there was rubbish everywhere, but there was no other sign of a squatter's brief inhabitation.And though the windows were unbroken. the doors securely locked, Pam could never entirely rid herself of the thought that she and her sister might not be alone in the house...One of 13 terrifying tales of terror...

    From the Book of Revelation to The Road Warrior, from A Canticle for Leibowitz to The Road, storytellers have long imagined the end of the world, weaving eschatological tales of catastrophe, chaos, and calamity. In doing so, these visionary authors have addressed one of the most challenging and enduring themes of imaginative fiction: The nature of life in the aftermath of total societal collapse. Gathering together the best post-apocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today's most renowned authors of speculative fiction - including George R. R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King - Wastelands explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon. Whether the end of the world comes through nuclear war, ecological disaster, or cosmological cataclysm, these are tales of survivors, in some cases struggling to rebuild the society that was, in others, merely surviving, scrounging for food in depopulated ruins and defending themselves against monsters, mutants, and marauders. Wastelands delves into this bleak landscape, uncovering the raw human emotion and heart-pounding thrills at the genre's core. --back coverContains the following stories:Introduction by John Joseph AdamsThe End of the Whole Mess by Stephen KingSalvage by Orson Scott CardThe People of Sand and Slag by Paolo BacigalupiBread and Bombs by M. RickertHow We Got In Town and Out Again by Jonathan LethemDark, Dark Were the Tunnels by George R. R. MartinWaiting for the Zephyr by Tobias S. BuckellNever Despair by Jack McDevittWhen Sysadmins Ruled the Earth by Cory DoctorowThe Last of the O-Forms by James Van PeltStill Life With Apocalypse by Richard KadreyArtie’s Angels by Catherine WellsJudgment Passed by Jerry OltionMute by Gene WolfeInertia by Nancy KressAnd the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth BearSpeech Sounds by Octavia E. ButlerKillers by Carol EmshwillerGinny Sweethips’ Flying Circus by Neal Barrett, Jr.The End of the World as We Know It by Dale BaileyA Song Before Sunset by David GriggEpisode Seven... by John LanganAppendix: For Further Reading

    Forester, Bram Stoker, Angus Wilson, Noel Langley, Jack Finney and L.P. Hartley.Stories of the uncanny jostle with tales of the macabre. Stories of subtle beastliness - like Raspberry Jam; of sickening horror - like The Fly or His Beautiful Hands; and of utter chilling terror - like The Horror in the Museum!The perfect bedside book - for those with nerves of steel.

    Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original stories, by an all-star list of contributors, will delight and astonish you in equal measure with their cunning twists and dazzling reversals. And George R.R. Martin himself offers a brand-new A Game of Thrones tale chronicling one of the biggest rogues in the entire history of Ice and Fire.Follow along with the likes of Gillian Flynn, Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Cherie Priest, Garth Nix, and Connie Willis, as well as other masters of literary sleight-of-hand, in this rogues gallery of stories that will plunder your heart — and yet leave you all the richer for it.Contents:- Tough Times All Over by Joe Abercrombie (a Red Country story)- What Do You Do? (aka The Grownup) by Gillian Flynn- The Inn of the Seven Blessings by Matthew Hughes- Bent Twig by Joe R. Lansdale (a Hap and Leonard story)- Tawny Petticoats by Michael Swanwick- Provenance by David Ball- The Roaring Twenties by Carrie Vaughn- A Year and a Day in Old Theradane by Scott Lynch- Bad Brass by Bradley Denton- Heavy Metal by Cherie Priest- The Meaning of Love by Daniel Abraham- A Better Way to Die by Paul Cornell (a Jonathan Hamilton story)- Ill Seen in Tyre by Steven Saylor- A Cargo of Ivories by Garth Nix (a Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz story)- Diamonds From Tequila by Walter Jon Williams (a Dagmar story)- The Caravan to Nowhere by Phyllis Eisenstein (a Tales of Alaric the Minstrel story)- The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives by Lisa Tuttle- How the Marquis Got His Coat Back by Neil Gaiman (a Neverwhere story)- Now Showing by Connie Willis- The Lightning Tree by Patrick Rothfuss (a Kingkiller Chronicle story)- The Rogue Prince, or, A King’s Brother by George R.R. Martin (a Song of Ice and Fire story)

    Cotntains Blood Beast, Demon Apocalypse, Wolf Island, Death's Shadow, Dark Calling, Lord Loss, Demon Thief, Slawter, Bec

    Jones Dues Dale Peck Speckle Trout Ron Rash Sphinxes Timothy Crouse Grace Paula Fox Snowbound Liza Ward Tea Nancy Reisman Christie Caitlin Macy Refuge in London Ruth Prawer Jhabvala The Drowned Woman Frances De Pontes Peebles The Card Trick Tessa Hadley What You Pawn I Will Redeem Sherman Alexie

    Some of the stories are inspired by true events and some are inspired by ideas of my dear readers! Find out which ones inside this scary collection."BABYSITTER"Rachel was just a regular teenager living a normal life, when the new, rich family moved into town. They had 2 children and were looking for a babysitter. She thought it would be a nice way to get some money. What was in store for her, however, was a bloody and shocking night to remember."DARK SIDE"Selene and Damien seemed like a normal couple, but Damien started to act weirdly and spent a lot of time in his price room where he did his job. Damien was an artist and needed his private area. What was Damien actually doing in his private room was more terrifying than Selene could ever have imagined."THE CURSE OF HERNANDEZ"A newly married couple found the perfect home to call their own. While cleaning out the upstairs attic the husband discovers an old suitcase. Upon opening, they find the remains of documents and papers with their last name on them- Hernandez. Strange, but they decided to ignore it and throw the suitcase away. They should have never done this because that is when strange things started to happen.