These stories are today.Following up on her first collection, Story Prize finalist Maureen F. McHugh explores the catastrophes, small and large, of twenty-first century life—and what follows after. What happens after the bird flu pandemic? Are our computers smarter than we are? What does the global economy mean for two young girls in China? Are we really who we say we are? And how will we survive the coming zombie apocalypse?

    Included here are some of del Toro's favorites, from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Ray Russell's short story 'Sardonicus', considered by Stephen King to be 'perhaps the finest example of the modern Gothic ever written', to Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and stories by Ray Bradbury, Joyce Carol Oates, Ted Klein, and Robert E. Howard. These stunningly creepy deluxe hardcovers will be perfect additions to the shelves of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal aficionados everywhere.Haunted CastlesHaunted Castles is the definitive, complete collection of Ray Russell's masterful Gothic horror stories, including the famously terrifying novella trio of 'Sardonicus', 'Sanguinarius', and 'Sagittarius'. The characters that sprawl through Haunted Castles are frightful to the core: the heartless monster holding two lovers in limbo; the beautiful dame journeying down a damned road toward depravity (with the help of an evil gypsy); the man who must wear his fatal crimes on his face in the form of an awful smile. Engrossing, grotesque, perverted, and completely entrancing, Russell's Gothic tales are the best kind of dreadful.RAY RUSSELL was born in 1924 in Chicago, Illinois, and served in the United States Air Force during World War II in the South Pacific. After the war, he attended the Chicago Conservatory of Music and eventually joined the editorial staff at Playboy, where he published such writers as Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Matheson, Jack Finney, Robert Bloch, and Charles Beaumont. His best-known work, 'Sardonicus', was called by Stephen King 'perhaps the finest example of the modern Gothic ever written'. He died in Los Angeles in 1999.GUILLERMO DEL TORO is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, and designer, most famous for his Academy Award-winning film,Pan's Labyrinth, and the Hellboy film franchise. He has received the Nebula, Hugo, and Bram Stoker awards and is an avid collector and student of arcane memorabilia and weird fiction.

    . . .There is a life lived beneath the water—among rotted buildings and bloated corpses—by those so overburdened by the world's demands that they simply give up and go under. . . .In this mesmerizing blend of the familiar and the fantastic, multiple award-winning New York Times notable author Jeffrey Ford creates true wonders and infuses the mundane with magic. In tales marked by his distinctive, dark imagery and fluid, exhilarating prose, he conjures up an annual gale that transforms the real into the impossible, invents a strange scribble that secretly unites a significant portion of society, and spins the myriad dreams of a restless astronaut and his alien lover. Bizarre, beautiful, unsettling, and sublime, The Drowned Life showcases the exceptional talents of one of contemporary fiction's most original artists.

    In her long-awaited debut story collection, dark, lush, and spellbinding short fiction you will find unexpected detours, dangerous magic, and even more dangerous women.Briar, bodyguard for a body-stealing sorceress, discovers her love for Rose, whose true soul emerges only once a week. An apprentice witch seeks her freedom through betrayal, the bones of the innocent, and a meticulously-plotted spell. In a world powered by crystal skulls, a warrior returns to save China from invasion by her jealous ex. A princess runs away from an arranged marriage, finding family in a strange troupe of traveling actors at the border of the kingdom’s deep, dark woods.Concluding with a gorgeous full-length novella, Marjorie Liu’s first short fiction collection is an unflinching sojourn into her thorny tales of love, revenge, and new beginnings.Sympathy for the bones --The briar and the rose --The light and the fury --The last dignity of man --Where the heart lives --After the blood --Tangleroot palace

    Showcasing this cutting-edge talent, Poe’s Children now brings the best of the genre’s stories to a wider audience. Featuring tales from such writers as Neil Gaiman and Jonathan Carroll, Poe’s Children is Peter Straub’s tribute to the imaginative power of storytelling. Each previously published story has been selected by Straub to represent what he thinks is the most interesting development in our literature during the last two decades.Selections range from the early Stephen King psychological thriller “The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet,” in which an editor confronts an author’s belief that his typewriter is inhabited by supernatural creatures, to “The Man on the Ceiling,” Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem’s award-winning surreal tale of night terrors, woven with daylight fears that haunt a family. Other selections include National Book Award finalist Dan Chaon’s “The Bees”; Peter Straub’s “Little Red’s Tango,” the legend of a music aficionado whose past is as mysterious as the ghostly visitors to his Manhattan apartment; Elizabeth Hand’s visionary and shocking “Cleopatra Brimstone”; Thomas Ligotti’s brilliant, mind-stretching “Notes on the Writing of Horror: A Story”; and “Body,” Brian Evenson’s disturbing twist on correctional facilities.Crossing boundaries and packed with imaginative chills, Poe’s Children bears all the telltale signs of fearless, addictive fiction.

    Hamantaschen returns with another collection of his inimitable brand of weird, dark fiction. At turns despairing, resonant, macabre and insightful, these nine stories intend to stay with you.

    Hapless mortals have invoked monstrous entities from beyond through foul magicks, incantations and rituals. When will they learn that here can be no profit nor joy to be gained through relations with the insidious old ones? These sixteen tales of depravity, sorcery and madness may offer some illumination, but ultimately there can be no salvation for those who dabble in The Dark Rites of Cthulhu.

    Standouts include "Kirinyaga" and "For I Have Touched the Sky," two installments from Resnick's well-regarded Kirinyaga series, set on an orbital space habitat modeled on a pre-colonial African culture. Contentsxi • Foreword: The Man Who Hated Short Stories • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick1 • Introduction: Will the Last Person to Leave the Planet Please Shut off the Sun? • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick3 • Will the Last Person to Leave the Planet Please Shut off the Sun? • (1992) • shortstory by Mike Resnick7 • Introduction: Kirinyaga • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick8 • Kirinyaga • [Kirinyaga • 2] • (1988) • novelette by Mike Resnick31 • Introduction: Me and My Shadow • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick32 • Me and My Shadow • (1984) • shortstory by Mike Resnick51 • Introduction: Mrs. Hood Unloads • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick52 • Mrs. Hood Unloads • (1991) • shortfiction by Mike Resnick57 • Introduction: Over There • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick58 • Over There • [Teddy Roosevelt] • (1991) • novelette by Mike Resnick85 • Introduction: The Last Dog • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick86 • The Last Dog • (1977) • shortstory by Mike Resnick95 • Introduction: King of the Blue Planet • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick96 • King of the Blue Planet • (1988) • shortstory by Mike Resnick111 • Introduction: Watching Marcia • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick112 • Watching Marcia • (1981) • shortstory by Mike Resnick125 • Introduction: Death Is an Acquired Trait • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick126 • Death Is an Acquired Trait • (1988) • shortstory by Mike Resnick133 • Introduction: The Crack in the Cosmic Egg • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick134 • The Crack in the Cosmic Egg • (1988) • shortstory by Mike Resnick137 • Introduction: Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick138 • Revolt of the Sugar Plum Fairies • (1992) • shortstory by Mike Resnick151 • Introduction: For I Have Touched the Sky • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick152 • For I Have Touched the Sky • [Kirinyaga • 3] • (1989) • novelette by Mike Resnick183 • Introduction: Frankie the Spook • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick184 • Frankie the Spook • (1990) • shortstory by Mike Resnick203 • Introduction: Beibermann's Soul • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick204 • Beibermann's Soul • (1988) • shortstory by Mike Resnick209 • Introduction: Balance • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick210 • Balance • [Susan Calvin (Robot)] • (1989) • shortstory by Mike Resnick217 • Introduction: Posttime in Pink • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick218 • Posttime in Pink • (1991) • novelette by Mike Resnick249 • Introduction: Beachcomber • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick250 • Beachcomber • (1980) • shortstory by Mike Resnick255 • Introduction: Blue • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick256 • Blue • (1979) • shortstory by Mike Resnick261 • Introduction: Stalking the Unicorn with Gun and Camera • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick262 • Stalking the Unicorn with Gun and Camera • (1986) • shortstory by Mike Resnick271 • Introduction: Monsters of the Midway • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick272 • Monsters of the Midway • (1991) • shortstory by Mike Resnick279 • Introduction: Malish • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick280 • Malish • (1991) • shortstory by Mike Resnick285 • Introduction: The Light that Blinds, the Claws that Catch • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick286 • The Light that Blinds, the Claws that Catch • [Teddy Roosevelt] • (1992) • shortstory by Mike Resnick295 • Introduction: His Award-Winning Science Fiction Story • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick296 • His Award-Winning Science Fiction Story • (1988) • shortstory by Mike Resnick309 • Introduction: Was It Good For You, Too? • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick310 • Was It Good For You, Too? • (1989) • shortstory by Mike Resnick317 • Introduction: God and Mr. Slatterman • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick318 • God and Mr. Slatterman • (1984) • shortstory by Mike Resnick327 • Introduction: The Fallen Angel • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick328 • The Fallen Angel • (1984) • shortfiction by Mike Resnick331 • Introduction: How I Wrote the New Testament, Ushered in the Renaissance, and Birdied the 17th Hole at Pebble Beach • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick332 • How I Wrote the New Testament, Ushered in the Renaissance, and Birdied the 17th Hole at Pebble Beach • (1990) • shortstory by Mike Resnick339 • Introduction: Winter Solstice • (1992) • essay by Mike Resnick340 • Winter Solstice • (1991) • shortstory by Mike Resnick

    The Grunder, a thing of horror which, if defeated, restores love... The Noise-Eater, created by a child out of his fevered imagination, gobbles up anything--or anyone--that makes a sound... The Coveti, residents of an alien world poisoned by the intrusion of the stranger from Earth... The Beast Hill, an ordinary mound of earth, except that its grass resembles fur, and--doesn't it move?

    Cross-genre blowtorches with bad guys and worse guys. Love stories both dark and bittersweet. A brand new novella and extensive story notes. You’ll find this and more in the fifth collection from three-time Bram Stoker award-winner Norman Partridge, an author Locus calls “one of the most dependable, exciting, and entertaining practitioners of dark suspense and dark fantasy… emphasis on the dark.”In Lesser Demons, Partridge explores the kind of fiction that made him both a horror fan and a writer. Using the shotgun prose of a crime novel, the title story draws a deadly bead on H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. “The Iron Dead” introduces Chaney, a monster-hunting pulp hero with a mechanical hand built in hell. “Carrion” cuts a mean swath through Robert E. Howard territory, while “The Big Man” explores dark shadows of American life never imagined in the atom-age horror movies of the fifties.Part celebration, part reinvention, Lesser Demons only serves to underscore RevolutionSF’s verdict: “Norman Partridge is the finest writer of short horror fiction going.” Table of Contents Second Chance The Big Man Lesser Demons Carrion The Fourth Stair up from the Second Landing And What Did You See in the World? Road Dogs The House Inside Durston The Iron Dead A Few Words AfterDust jacket by Vincent Chong

    V. Larson! This 60,000 word book is an Anthology of short stories. Most are Science Fiction mixed with Horror. Others might be called Dark Fantasy... Many have been published previously in various magazines.The Barrier – What does it take to go faster than light?Symptoms of Godhood – How far can you modify a body and still call the results human?Discharged – A long war and an even longer stay in an automated hospital.Teeth at Bedtime – Technology follows us everywhere.The Insect Requirement – Great sacrifices are required for Earth’s early colonists.Blind Eyes – If we can design our own children, how far will we go?TA96 – Do our genes belong to us?Zundra’s Movies – A future where video is created with the mind, and insanity is fun to watch.Pinball – A young man builds his own watchdog.Love Aboard the Kamadeva – A love triangle between two desperate souls and a digital mirage.Starplay – A window into the universe becomes a door.The One-Way Gang – Leaving Earth is easy, but you can never come back.Rusted Metal – What has spent the last century in the basement?Lunar Lotto – Death comes instantly to outlaws in vacuum.The Rollers – Crime has been mostly eliminated by removing all forms of cash... Mostly.

    R. James is widely regarded as the father of the modern ghost story, and his tales have influenced horror writers from H. P. Lovecraft to Stephen King. First published in the early 1900s, they have never been out of print, and are recognized as classics of the genre. This collection contains some of his most chilling tales, including A View from a Hill, Rats, A School Story, The Ash Tree, and The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance. Read by BAFTA and Emmy-award winning actor Derek Jacobi, and with haunting and evocative music, these tales cannot fail to send a shiver down your spine.

    Think of what you’ve just read.” Lovecraftian stories are the bread and butter of the true horror fan. During his lifetime, Lovecraft himself encouraged other writers to develop stories in the vein we now call Lovecraftian: horror, based around the idea that Earth had been colonized by malign aliens in the remote past, long before mankind arose and became civilized, who eventually became worshipped and feared as evil Gods by their human servitors. Eventually these aliens had been “banished” to another dimensional limbo by a benign Elder Race, but might one day return to reclaim the Earth “when the stars are right.” That deep seated unease threads through this collection of Richard. A Lupoff's short stories that seem to share a common universe. Praise for Richard A. Lupoff: "Lupoff writes with intelligence, humour, wisdom, and a zest for life." - Joe Gorges, author of Hammett. Richard A. Lupoff began his writing career as a print and broadcast journalist while attending university. After earning his degree he served twice in the United States Army, first as an enlisted man, then as an officer. Following military service he worked for twelve years in the computer industry, while also serving as a guest lecturer at universities including the University of California (Berkeley) and Stanford University. As author and editor he has written more than fifty volumes, ranging from science fiction, mystery, fantasy, horror, and mainstream fiction to the evolution of cartooning and comics. He is a past winner of the Hugo Award, and a finalist for the Nebula and Oscar Awards. He has achieved the rare distinction of being represented in “Best of the Year” anthologies in three fields: science fiction, mystery, and horror.

    When the stars are right, the Old Ones will return to claim utter dominion of this world. Lovecraft Mythos stories often climax at the moment of the fateful return of the Elder Gods and the audience is left to ponder what might happen next. This anthology features stories about humanity under the reign of the Elder Gods and ancient terrors. Featuring stories from A.C. Wise, Glynn Owen Barrass, Steve Berman, Gustavo Bondoni, Jeff C. Carter, J. Childs-Biddle, Evan Dicken, Jeffrey Fowler, Cody Goodfellow, Andrew Peregrine, Peter Rawlik, Joshua Reynolds, Adrian Simmons, Jason Vanhee, June Violette, L. K. Whyte, and Jonathan Woodrow.

    They represent the whole evolving trajectory of such notions as Hastur, the King in Yellow, Carcosa, the Yellow Sign, the Black Stone, Yuggoth, and the Lake of Hali. A succession of writers from Ambrose Bierce to Ramsey Campbell and Karl Edward Wagner have explored and embellished these concepts so that the sum of the tales has become an evocative tapestry of hypnotic dread and terror, a mythology distinct from yet overlapping the Cthulhu Mythos. Here for the first time is a comprehensive collection of all the relevant tales.