Now James has to work at the Edington Best Buy to help pay the mortgage they're underwater on. He can't wait until he turns eighteen and can leave Edington behind forever. But when a local boy challenges him to an ATV race near a tree farm most people avoid, things get much worse. James' rival is slaughtered by a tentacled horror emerging from a nearby pond.The monstrosity has been worshiped by a secretive coven since before the Civil War, and its devotees don't take kindly to their secrets being threatened.Now with the aid of Amber Webb, a local girl he doesn't like liking, and a renegade cult member, James must fight to avoid ending up bound to a picnic table and offered up to a monster. He must do battle with both the local cultists and their predatory master, THE THING IN THE WOODS.★★★★★ Quinn writes effectively and convincingly in recreating a new take on H.P. Lovecraft and the genre. I am not much of a fan of horror, but this work kept the right mix of tempo, detail, suspense, interesting characters, and plot development to keep me engaged. The creepiest horror stories are the ones that take place in setting just like where you live... - John Allred★★★★★ This is Not Mayberry - This tale of a Lovecraftian cult in the backwoods of a rural Georgia town is both suspenseful and frightening. The creature being worshiped by the cult is an ancient, multi-tentacled monster that lives in a lake in the middle of an isolated tree farm. When high school student James Daly stumbles upon the cult and watches the monster devour a rival classmate, things go downhill fast. Matthew W. Quinn blends together small-town politics, Civil War legends, and more profanity than Lovecraft himself would be comfortable with. This is not Mayberry. Highly recommended for fans of eldritch horror in a realistic, modern-day setting. - Darrell Grizzle★★★★★ Good Read - A fast-paced horror novel with a likeable hero, a monster with a backstory, and a hidden commentary on social issues in southern small towns. - Alex S.Grab your copy today! Free with Kindle Unlimited.Thank you for your interest in our book. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we have enjoyed presenting it. - Digital FictionWebsite: DigitalFictionPub.comFacebook: Facebook.com/digitalfictionpubTwitter: @DigitalFicPubBookfinder Tags:cosmicmonsterLovecraftCthulhucoming of agecultsmall townSouthernthrillerguns

    Ghostly visitations, hauntings, unquiet souls seeking the living, vengeful wraiths, the possibility of life beyond the grave that can somehow reach out and touch us…these are some of literature’s most enduring icons. Now, in the twenty-first century, we are no less fascinated with phantoms than our cave-dwelling ancestors or our Victorian-age forebears. Thirty modern masters of fright and fantasy fill this anthology with shivers, chills, and spooky explorations of both sides of the veil. Be prepared to keep a light on all night!Peter Atkins: “Between the Cold Moon and the Earth”Rick Bowes: “There’s a Hole in the City”Laird Barron: “The Lagerstatte”Steve Duffy: “The Rag-and-Bone Men”Jeffrey Ford: “The Trentino Kid”Karen Joy Fowler: “Booth’s Ghost”Neil Gaiman: “October in the Chair”Stephen Gallagher: “The Box”Elizabeth Hand: “Wonderwall”Glen Hirshberg: “The Muldoon”Alaya Dawn Johnson: “The Score”Stephen Graham Jones: “Uncle” (original)Caitlin R. Kiernan: “Apokatastasis”Marc Laidlaw: “Cell Call”Margo Lanagan: “The Proving of Smollett Standforth”John Langan: “The Third Always Beside You”Joe R. Lansdale: “The Case of the Lighthouse Shambler”Maureen F. McHugh: “Ancestor Money”Sarah Monette: “The Watcher in the Corners”Reggie Oliver: “Mrs Midnight”Richard Parks: “The Plum Blossom Lantern”James van Pelt: “Savannah is Six”Tim Powers: “A Soul in a Bottle”Barbara Roden: “The Palace”Ekaterina Sedia: “Tin Cans”Nisi Shawl: “Cruel Sistah”John Shirley: “Faces in Walls”Peter Straub: “Mr Aikman’s Air Rifle”Melanie Tem: “Dhost”Steve Rasnic Tem: “The Ex”

    The very sharpest edge of any military throughout history. Now, they face their greatest challenge yet. Undead, mutations, monsters, all the things no-one ever believed could happen are here in the pages of SNAFU: Black Ops. Read tales from existing bestselling series by Jonathan Maberry, Nicholas Sansbury Smith, Hank Schwaeble, John O'Brien, and James Lovegrove, along with some of your SNAFU favourites in this collection of the very best stories by the very best writers of military horror. Full list of contributors: Jonathan Mayberry & Bryan Thomas Schmidt (A Joe Ledger/Rot & Ruin crossover novella) RPL Johnson Richard Lee Byers James A Moore & Charles R Rutledge Alan Baxter Christine Morgan John O'Brien (A New World novella) Tim Marquitz & J M Martin Kirsten Cross Hank Schwaeble (A Jake Hatcher novella) Seth Skorkowsky Lovegrove & Sharps (A Pantheon series novella) Nicholas Sansbury Smith (An Extinction Cycle novella)

    Truly, Madly, UndeadlyThis irresistible collection features stories of love amid vampires by five of today's hottest authors—Kristin Cast (Tempted), Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy), Alyson Noël (Evermore), Kelley Armstrong (The Summoning), and Francesca Lia Block (Pretty Dead).From a fugitive vampire forced to trust a boy who might work for the group bent on destroying her to the legendary romance of two immortals whose love compels them to risk everything, this heart-pounding collection brings new meaning to the words "love you forever." Whether you're into romances that are dark and moody or light and fun, these stories will quench that insatiable thirst for enchanting tales of the beautiful undead.Part of the Kisses from Hell Anthology

    They’ve been known to burrow themselves into a reader’s imagination and are capable of warping dreams into twisted, unspeakable nightmares.Just a little…Unique – These aren’t your standard horror stories. Don’t think this collection will include tales of haunted mansions, or blood sucking vampires. Expect one-of-a-kind takes on every gothic ghoul and hideous monster you read about in this book.Just a little…Frightening – Prepare yourself for some of the most chilling flash fiction ever penned. The mad genius, Vincent V. Cava, has done it again with the latest entry in his creepy catalogue. Do yourself a favor and leave the lights on when you read it.Just A Little…Terrible

    And that's a scary place to be.

    Her Lover's World. After two weeks of erotic dreams about wild nights spent with a darkly handsome lover, Anna meets him -- in the flesh -- in her apartment. Onyx tantalizes and teases her senses, leaving her clamoring for more. But Onyx has no time for love -- as the immortal king of a vanished world, he is fated to wander worlds and centuries in search of a new home for his people. But when he's with Anna, it's as if no one else exists -- and that passion is all he needs to survive. While swimming in a treacherous storm, Gilly, a seal who can shed her skin to become a beautiful woman, finds the lifeless body of David Fraser. Intrigued by this incredibly attractive man, she brings him to land and revives him with her passionate kisses and warm embrace. Soon they are spending their days blissfully in each others' arms. But as a creature of the sea, Gilly cannot give herself to any man -- unless David can find a way to keep her with him forever.To fulfill his wife Ashlyn's fantasies, Kye invites another man into their bed. A brawny Irish stallion, Connor is Kye's best friend -- and that night he secretly falls hard for Ashlyn. Three years later, Kye is killed in a car accident and Connor is at Ashlyn's side for comfort. Soon, with Kye watching from above -- willing for Ashlyn's pain to ease -- Connor and Ashlyn recreate that hot, arousing night they spent together -- leading to much more than they ever imagined.

    These brave men and women stand up to the darkness, stare it right in the eye, and give it the finger. These are the stories of those who rage against the night, stories of triumph, sacrifice, and bravery in the face of overwhelming evil. Rage Against the Night features the megastars of dark fantasy and horror—including Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Maberry, Scott Nicholson, Nancy Holder, Sarah Langan, and many, many more.

    From dark fantasy and pure suspense to classic horror tales of vampires and zombies, 999 showcases the extraordinary scope of fantastical fright fiction. The stories in this anthology are a relentless tour de force of fear, which will haunt you, terrify you, and keep the adrenaline rushing all through the night.Amerikanski dead at the Moscow morgue / Kim Newman --The ruins of contracoeur / Joyce Carol Oates --The owl and the pussycat / Thomas M. Disch --The road virus heads north / Stephen King --Keepsakes and treasures: a love story / Neil Gaiman --Growing things / T.E.D. Klein --Good Friday / F. Paul Wilson --Excerpts from the records of the New Zodiac and the diaries of Henry Watson Fairfax / Chet Williamson --An exaltation of termagants / Eric Von Lustbader --Itinerary / Tim Powers --Catfish gal blues / Nancy A. Collins --The entertainment / Ramsey Campell --ICU / Edward Lee --The shadow, the darkness / Thomas Ligotti --Rio Grande Gothic / David Morrell --Des Saucisses, Sans doute / Peter Schneider --Angie / Ed Gorman --The ropy thing / Al Sarrantonio --The tree is my hat / Gene Wolfe --Styx and bones / Edward Bryant --Hemophage / Steven Spurill --The book of irrational numbers / Michael Marshall Smith --Mad dog summer / Joe R. Lansdale --The Theater / Bentley Little --Rehearsals / Thomas F. Monteleone --Darkness / Dennis L. McKiernan --Elsewhere / William Peter Blatty

    Imagine mephitic gardens where the sarcophage, selenotrope, and necrophilium bloom. Then throw in star-crossed lovers, crazed zealots, stalwart heroes, bloodthirsty renegade armies, hideous monsters, and likeable misfits. You've got just a hint of the wondrous and original visions in the dark fantasy world of Brian McNaughton. Horror scholar S. T. Joshi, in the afterword to this collection of stories, notes the strong influence of Clark Ashton Smith, Lord Dunsany, H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Greco-Roman decadent works such as Petronius's Satyricon. "McNaughton seems to have mastered one of the most difficult of literary arts: to draw upon the classics of the field without losing his own voice.... The world that McNaughton has created in this book is the world of the ghoul; and who knows but that The Throne of Bones will become the standard textbook for the care and feeding of ghouls just as Dracula has become that for vampires?"Contents:Ringard and Dendra (1996)The Throne of Bones (1997)The Vendren Worm (1990)Meryphillia (1990)Reunion in Cephalune (1997)The Art of Tiphytsorn Glocque (1997)A Scholar from Sythiphore (1995)Vendriel and Vendreela (1988)The Retrograde Necromancer (1993)The Return of Liron Wolfbaiter (1997)

     Oliver accidentally kills a man, meets a red-eyed witch, and then is whisked off to a magical place where he is supposed to learn how to be a wizard. Naturally, everything goes wrong. He ends up killing a whole bunch of… things. Ends up actually owning a whole bunch of girls… and then, really discovers who he is, and why the dead are haunting his dreams, and why the living are trying to kill him.

    Nobody knew what the F it was, but they loved it.Renowned editors John Joseph Adams and Doug Cohen then asked some of the best writers in the fantasy, horror, and thriller genres including Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Christopher Golden, and Scott Sigler to create a monster story that included the line “WTF is that?”This anthology is a feast for the imagination for anyone who loves monsters.

    Together these stories form The Weird, and its practitioners include some of the greatest names in twentieth and twenty-first century literature.Exotic and esoteric, The Weird plunges you into dark domains and brings you face to face with surreal monstrosities. You won't find any elves or wizards here... but you will find the biggest, boldest, and downright most peculiar stories from the last hundred years bound together in the biggest Weird collection ever assembled. The Weird features 110 stories by an all-star cast, from literary legends to international bestsellers to Booker Prize winners: including William Gibson, George R. R. Martin, Stephen King, Angela Carter, Kelly Link, Franz Kafka, China Miéville, Clive Barker, Haruki Murakami, M. R. James, Neil Gaiman, Mervyn Peake, and Michael Chabon.

    In its pages you will find all kinds of horror fiction, from zombie stories and haunted house tales to visceral psychological horror.For our debut issue we will be bringing you four all-new, never before published horror stories: “Property Condemned” by Jonathan Maberry, “Frontier Death Song” by Laird Barron, “Good Fences” by Genevieve Valentine, and “Afterlife” by Sarah Langan.We'll also have author spotlights with each of our authors, a showcase on our cover artist Jeff Simpson, as well as an in-depth feature interview with horror legend Peter Straub. And finally we'll have the first installment of “The H Word,” a monthly column which will focus on exploring the many facets of the field of horror.

    The WHISPERS FROM THE ABYSS ANTHOLOGY is the first ever H.P. Lovecraft inspired collection created specifically for readers on the go. All 33 spine-chilling tales are concentrated bites of terror which include works by Greg Stolze (Delta Green), Nick Mamatas (Shotguns v. Cthulhu), Tim Pratt (Marla Mason), Dennis Detwiller (Delta Green), Greg Van Eekhout (The Boy at the End of the World), A.C. Wise (Future Lovecraft), David Tallerman (Giant Thief), Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Future Lovecraft), John R. Fultz (Seven Prices), Chad Fifer (The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast).“All about that moment I love, the moment where something approaches. The moment where you close your eyes and hope it goes away. It will. But there’ll be another story right behind it. And another. And another.” -Alasdair Stuart, host of the PSEUDOPOD podcast.