But nothing prepared him for Milkwood: a fat, ugly bastard who could take a beating like a government mule, but never, ever won. So when Malcolm risks his life to discover Milkwood's secret, he convinces the fighter to stop being a punching bag and to go for broke in the local tournament. Only problem? A beautiful woman called Lash who needs Milkwood for her own purposes, and a fouler creature on her heels known only as Dizzy Colt. But for Malcolm and Milkwood? Hell, it’s just another day of Blood and SawdustPRAISE FOR BLOOD AND SAWDUST!"With wicked, playful prose that blends the best of pulp with the supernatural, Jason Ridler’s Blood and Sawdust creates an unholy, hell-raising hybrid, the kind of tale Christopher Moore and Jim Thompson might swap after a long night of drinking, trying to one-up one another with acerbic absurdity." Joe Clifford, Author of CHOICE CUTS and JUNKIE LOVEPRAISE FOR THE WORK OF JASON RIDLER!"An exciting new writer." Lucius Shepard, multiple-award-winning author of HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN PRAYER. “Jason Ridler is kind of like a bull rider who’s tossed a saddle on a Tiger tank, and he’s riding that bucking sucker for all he’s worth, because, hey, no one told him that he couldn’t do it, did they? So here he is, the Man in the Barbed-Wire Straitjacket." Norman Partridge, Award Winning Author of DARK HARVEST. "Jason Ridler’s work is intense and taut, with incredible characters and plots that keep your mind buzzing long after you’ve reached the final page." Trent Zelazny, author of TOO LATE TO CALL TEXAS, and FRACTAL DESPONDENCY. ABOUT THE AUTHORJason S. Ridler is the author of BLOOD AND SAWDUST, the Spar Battersea thrillers (DEATH MATCH, CON JOB and DICE ROLL), the short story collection KNOCKOUTS, and has published over fifty stories in such magazines and anthologies as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Brain Harvest, Chilling Tales, and more. His popular non-fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Dark Scribe, and the Internet Review of Science Fiction. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, Mr. Ridler holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada. Visit him at twitter at http://twitter.com/JayRidler, Facebook ,http://www.facebook.com/Ridlerville, or his writing blog, Ridlerville, atwww.jsridler.com

    One night. So many deaths. When radio journalist Pete Bailey betrays his wife Meg on his fortieth birthday, he has no idea of the terrible consequences that will follow his infidelity. His passionate relationship with Meg is on the rocks and they're having no luck starting a family. It's only when he meets TV reporter Ellie Turner on a working weekend away from home that Pete succumbs to her charms in a moment of weakness. His treacherous actions set off a chain of events fueled by jealousy, revenge, violence and hatred. Five people will lose their lives as a result of Pete's deception and he will be compelled to confront the ugly truth about his wife and his best friend, Jem. He thought that nobody would ever discover what he'd done with Ellie ... but he didn't know who was listening in the room next door. Don't Tell Meg is the first part of trilogy of thrillers. Book 2, The Murder Place and Book 3, The Forgotten Children are also available. Paul J. Teague has also written the standalone thriller Dead of Night (Released May 2017) Please note that this book contains mild violence, bad language and sexual references.

    Her religious parents try to fix her disturbing fantasies with prayers and scriptures. But Lili isn't suffering from fantasies, and her family isn't going to be able to save her as she fights for her sanity and for her life. The whispers are real, the nightmares are more than what they seem, and The Being waiting in the shadows wants to pull her into the darkness forever.But reality is much more sinister than any of her nightmares. Lili isn't the only one who hears whispers in the dark. Her parents pray to a god who has abandoned them. The demons do not live in the bible, nor do they hide in the shadows any longer. They are in minds of men. Whispering in their ears, a part of their very souls.The whispers become louder, the nightmares bleed into reality, and this presence refuses to be ignored.A twisted and disturbing journey through the dark side of humanity, The Eighth Day (Vol.1) is an epic tale of extreme horror that will terrorize your waking thoughts and haunt your dreams long after you've turned your last page.

    I envy those of you making your first acquaintance with this author.” – From the introduction by Matthew Carpenter Respected as one of today’s leading figures of weird fiction for his striking imagination, versatility, and deeply emotional stories, Jeffrey Thomas here offers up fourteen searing tales. Included are the haunting and surreal "Ghosts in Amber," in which a man is compelled to visit a mysterious derelict factory that harbors chilling secrets; "Jar of Mist," which focuses on a father who, in seeking to understand his daughter’s suicide, encounters a dream-like other realm; "Those Above," which imagines an alternate Victorian society controlled by vast monstrous entities from beyond; and the title novelette "The Endless Fall," which concerns an astronaut who crash-lands on an unknown forested world where time seems to work in an alien way, and where he finds he is unfortunately not alone. “With brutal elegance and chilling subtlety, Thomas pulls his readers into his dark visions immediately from every opening line.” – Paul Di Filippo, in ASIMOV’S “Jeffrey Thomas’ imagination is as twisted as it is relentless.” – F. Paul Wilson “In time he will, in this reviewer’s opinion, be listed alongside King, Barker, Koontz, and McCammon.” – Brian Keene

    Through its doors came the weak and the weary, the disabled and the discarded, the frail and the forgotten. But an open door is an invitation, and some visitors, once invited, are loath to leave. The hospital abruptly closed in 1958 under a cloud of mystery. It has remained empty and silent, save for the memories trapped both within its walls and far below the surface of the nearby lake that bears its name. At the bottom of Asylum Lake, the unremembered are growing restless. Brady Tanner is trying to outrun memories of his own. After the sudden death of his wife, Brady retreats to the small town where he spent the summers of his youth. But he soon learns small towns can be stained by memories... and secrets, too. As Brady is drawn into unearthing these secrets, as he discovers a new love in an old friend, he is also drawn into the mystery of Asylum Lake and the evil that lies submerged beneath its sparkling surface. What is the source of this evil - and what does it want with Brady Tanner?

    Four years later, Jack is free and he wants out of the game, but his boss won't let him go. Forced to take on one last job to make amends for what landed him in prison, he travels to the small town of Rockland Cove, Maine. There, he not only discovers that the target and money have disappeared; he finds himself falling for a damaged woman, and befriending an unruly son left behind. Under mounting pressure from his boss and local police--as well as the ghosts of his past--he must unravel the mystery and decide where his loyalties lie...before it's too late.

    Ghosts in the windows. Something climbing the stairs. Ron lands the home of his dreams, isolated on a rural mountain, away from the noise and crowds of the city. With the house in need of repairs, he works on fixing it up before his wife and son join him. Unfortunately, the more he repairs, the more problems he uncovers. During the day, he works on the mundane: septic system, plumbing, electrical wiring. But when the night comes and a deep darkness settles on the lonely property, a whole new set of troubles develop: scratching at the windows, the sound of footsteps on the stairs, shadowy figures in the yard. Threats. Attacks. Ron comes to realize the house is unsafe — not because of the physical problems, but because of the unseen. He needs to rid the building of whatever evil has taken hold, but there’s one huge obstacle: he doesn’t believe in ghosts. He’s a total skeptic. His friend Jake helps with the repairs. Jake is more willing to accept that the nightmarish apparitions in the house are real, and his girlfriend Freedom attempts to cleanse the house. Her methods backfire, so she leaves, frightened, refusing to return to the house. She demands Jake leave too, but Ron convinces Jake not to abandon him. Desperate to solve the haunting, Jake ropes in others who claim to have “the gift,” but they all fail, unable to confront and outwit the evil inside the house. While Ron and Jake try to uncover the mystery, they go on a frightening journey, eventually coming to terms with the mountain’s troubled history. An ugly, brutal war waged between two families still consumes the area, and Ron’s house is caught in the middle of it. The Coldwater Haunting is a ghost novel of over 100,000 words. It contains chilling scenes some may find disturbing. Advance readers report the book interfering with their dreams… “Extremely creepy!” “Kept me on edge…no way to escape it.” “Goose flesh on my arms!” “The warning was merited…dreamt about it ALL night.” “The best book you’ve written.”

    * New Edition. * Includes a new translation of 'Fotikchand'.

    Crammed with stories new and old by the masters of the macabre, including Clive Barker, Robert Bloch, Graham Masterston, Ramsey Campbell, Hugh B. Cave, and others.INTRODUCTION: THE DEAD THAT WALK Stephen Jones SEX, DEATH AND STARSHINE Clive Barker RISING GENERATION Ramsey Campbell THE SONG OF THE SLAVES Manly Wade Wellman THE GHOULS R. Chetwynd-Hayes THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR Edgar Allan Poe STICKS Karl Edward Wagner QUIETLY NOW Charles L. Grant THE GREY HOUSE Basil Copper A WARNING TO THE CURIOUS M.R. James THE CRUCIAN PIT Nicholas Royle THE DISAPPROVAL OF JEREMY CLEAVE Brian Lumley HERBERT WEST—REANIMATOR H.P. Lovecraft TREADING THE MAZE Lisa Tuttle OUT OF CORRUPTION David Riley THE TAKING OF MR. BILL Graham Masterton SCHALKEN THE PAINTER J. Sheridan Le Fanu CLINICALLY DEAD David Sutton THEY'RE COMING FOR YOU Les Daniels MISSION TO MARGAL Hugh B. Cave LATER Michael Marshall Smith MARBH BHEO Peter Tremayne THE BLOOD KISS Dennis Etchison NIGHT AFTER NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD Christopher Fowler THE DEAD DON'T DIE! Robert Bloch PATRICIA'S PROFESSION Kim Newman ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE CADILLAC DESERT WITH DEAD FOLKS Joe R. Lansdale

    And his eyes! They look at you intently, they pierce you! I am scared of his eyes. It all started that day, actually it was night. I was sleeping near my daddy. All of a sudden, a noise woke me up. Whole house was shaking violently with the noise. It was a drum beating loudly, rhythmically. The beat was moving everything in the surrounding. Suddenly, the noise stopped. Then it was the sound of a honey fly, goo, goo, again the drum beats started. I was so scared, I tried to wake up daddy, it was then I realized that daddy was not in his bed. I was alone; there was no one else on the bed. Daddy was nowhere, I felt lonely! The darkness surrounded me and that drum beat was getting on my nerves. I screamed at the top of my voice." When you start reading these stories something familiar, something unfamiliar will create fear in your minds. It will freeze you; it will be so very realistic that you will forget that it is unreal. The fear never experienced before, but somewhere within you, deep inside, it will start beating drums in your mind. Listen to it carefully, surely it will clear your mind of all the hidden consciousness you had till today. This great author introduces us to our own fears buried deep inside.

    Hospital orderly Matthew Harris is every bit as smart as the junior doctors he works alongside. He's also trapped, bored, ambitious and ruthless. When a medical intern dies, Matthew assumes his identity and takes the dead man's next job, on the far side of the country, as a junior Emergency Room physician. As the deception starts to unravel, the young nurse who falls for him is the one person standing between the newly-minted bogus doctor and the exposure of his lethal charade.

    But when a terrified woman falls through his bathroom ceiling, he's forced back into a life of gunfights, double agents and paranormal research. The secret he's been keeping for nearly four decades might reunite him with his lost love, or kill millions.This new short story by John August falls into the genre of paranoid "spy-fi" popularized by writers like Jorge Luis Borges and shows like The Prisoner and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.== What Others Say =="I really dug the story. Gave it a glance just to see, got totally hooked, and blazed on through to the end."-- Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen's Union) "The Variant" is both a good, fun, smart story and an interesting experiment in indie self-publishing for fiction."-- John Gruber, daringfireball.net== About the Author ==An excerpt of The Variant is available at johnaugust.com/variant About the AuthorJohn August is the screenwriter of eight feature films, including Go, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride. He wrote and directed the 2007 movie The Nines.He can be found on Twitter, @johnaugust

    Hidden amongst his cargo is a legendary treasure – its very existence known only to those deemed worthy.500 years later, esteemed history professor William Anson is found murdered in La Rochelle. Around his neck, an ancient medallion, one that has not been seen since 1307. He is the grandmaster of the Knights of Arcadia: a society of men deemed worthy. His killers, a ruthless brotherhood, whose existence is equally legendary. And they will not rest until they have reclaimed what was once theirs.For Anson’s son, navy outcast Matt Anson, his father’s death is just the start of a series of events that turn his life upside down. Meanwhile, in London, journalist Nicole Stocker is sent to look into a string of deaths, including the mysterious demise of Anson. But as progress starts to be made, she is dragged off the case, attacked, and soon running for her life.As the futures of Anson and Stocker become intertwined, it becomes clear there is more at stake than mere history. An explosive secret remains buried, one that threatens to bring half the world to its knees. And some want it exposed…

    . .  A boy literally disappears from Main Street.  A security camera captures the moment of his instant, inexplicable vanishing. An audacious bank robbery goes seriously wrong: four cops are gunned down; a TV news helicopter is shot and spins crazily out of the sky, triggering a disastrous cascade of events that ricochet across twenty different lives over the course of just thirty-six hours.Nick Kavanaugh, a cop with a dark side, investigates. Soon he and his wife, Kate, a distinguished lawyer from an old Niceville family, find themselves struggling to make sense not only of the disappearance and the robbery but also of a shadow world, where time has a different rhythm and where justice is elusive.  . . .Something is wrong in Niceville, where evil lives far longer than men do.Compulsively readable, and populated with characters who leap off the page, Niceville will draw you in, excite you, amaze you, horrify you, and, when it finally lets you go, make you sorry you have to leave.Read the first thirty-five pages.  Find out why Harlan Coben calls Carsten Stroud the master of “the nerve-jangling thrill ride.”

    You will never escape me.” She’s the most dangerous inmate in the hospital for the criminally insane...and she just broke out. When Trey Campbell takes his family to Catalina Island, his escaped patient leaves a trail of bodies behind as she hunts for her one true love – from a previous life.