It brings to vibrant life the true story of Eliza Gilbert, the daughter of an obscure Ensign in the British Army and his cold Irish wife. When she grew up, Eliza changed her name to Lola Montez. She was a dancer, a courtesan, a bigamist, the mistress of a king and the nineteenth-century’s most notorious adventuress. Blazing like a female firecracker across the stages and courts of Europe and beyond, she was, for a while, second only to Queen Victoria in fame.

    West, Calvin Winslow is an unhappily married man who takes a late night exit and finds a hellish back road. This story is just one of the dark tales featured in West's critically-acclaimed collection, WHAT PRICE GORY. Midnight Snack is part of the Single Shot Short Story series which adds exclusive story notes and bonus content that you can only find in the Single Shot Story Series. What people have said about the collection, WHAT PRICE GORY?: "A Horror Library MUST HAVE... Deliciously Good Story Telling!"-Heather Omen, DIGITAL MACABRE "Terry M. West understands horror. He understands gory. And he handles them with the delicate touch of a master of the genre and a true wordsmith..."-Author, Charie D. LaMarr "5 STARS! Fear and extreme twists and an examination of human capacity rest within these tales, just waiting to be devoured..."-Vitina Molgaard, Horror Novel Reviews "5 STARS! One Hell of a collection!"-Dale Herring, Geekdom of Gore “What Price Gory is one of the damned finest collections of short stories I have ever had the privilege to read..."-Michael Donner, aka Captain Creeper of Creepercast.com

    Never hesitate. Never get emotionally involved.Words I've lived by. Until her.I'm a fixer.I fix bad, embarrassing, illegal problems, for the right price.My clients are rich, famous, powerful, and very dangerous.Now I’ve got a problem of my very own: Eva Martin. She just happens to be both my best friend’s little sister, and at the center of the most explosive problem I’ve ever faced. As the body count rises around us, I’m falling for the one woman that’s totally out of bounds. Her wide innocent eyes, perfect curves, and sexy, smoky voice—she’s a liability and a weakness, but I'm unable to resist.Eva’s a risky distraction for a man like me. I'm going to make her mine, and I'll use everything in my arsenal to keep her safe.Even if it means everyone else—including me—becomes collateral damage.

    #2: Don't pick up hitchhikers, because the traveler you pick up could be raving nutcase.So what if, on some dark, isolated road, Crazy #1 offered a ride to Crazy #2...

    A hard-boiled tale of gritty dystopian noir. "The Sun Never Rises in the Big City" received an honorable mention in Best Horror of the Year, Volume Three."The Sun Never Rises in the Big City" is a short story of 5100 words.Jeremy C. Shipp is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of books such as CURSED, SHEEP AND WOLVES, VACATION, and FUNGUS OF THE HEART. ----------------------Praise for Jeremy C. Shipp:"This is intriguing, challenging, literate, provocative....I recommend it to those who find reality boring; it may make them see it in new ways."—Piers Anthony, the Xanth Series"Jeremy Shipp is a very good drug. I hope this book gets banned in high schools soon!"—John Skipp "This is an unforgettable work—a must read you’ll savor long after the final page."—Lisa Mannetti, Bram Stoker Award winner"A diverse, unpredictable, and intelligent read. Two thumbs up!”—Midwest Book Review

    After all, she has no clue what she wants from life post-graduation. So when her Uncle Charlie, Oakland’s Chief of Police, suggests Julie fulfill her twenty hours of required job shadowing at the local police department, she’s thrilled at his solution. Thinking she’ll spend her days filing paperwork behind a desk, she finds herself quickly agreeing to his proposition. But Julie’s expectations are quickly turned upside down when she meets Luke, the young and handsome (albeit somewhat stubborn) officer she’s assigned to shadow on patrol. With every hour she logs with Luke at the wheel, her feelings stir deeper, and Julie can’t help but wonder if what she’s feeling has developed into more than just a little crush.

    Casey, author of Stygian Doorways

     It starts when Stella, an archaeologist specializing in Anasazi culture, finds David, a young Navajo boy who stumbles onto their dig site in a remote corner of the Navajo Reservation. David's coat is smeared with blood and he's in shock from something he's seen, revealing nothing but his name. Soon Stella and the other archaeologists will discover that something is chasing David, an unimaginable ancient evil that will stop at nothing to get him. After Stella escapes the dig site with David, driving north into Colorado, right into a blizzard, she's carjacked by a gang of criminals fleeing a botched bank robbery. All of them take refuge from the snowstorm in what they believe is an abandoned cabin. But after they find the owner's mutilated body stuffed into a freezer, they realize that something is out there in the blizzard waiting for them. The Ancient Enemy wants things . . . you have to give it what it wants or bad things will happen. Very bad things.

    Standing in the control room, there to take over the running of it from his father, Mark quickly realises this is more than a handover. He's about to find out that Eden has secrets. Dark secrets. Secrets that reveal the truth about the apocalypse. Secrets that change the way he looks at his father forever. Secrets that change the way he looks at everything forever. What the reviewers say about Eden: “Eden is deep, dark, and thought provoking.” “The plot and pacing are wonderfully constructed, and the characters’ emotions come through incredibly clearly.” “… stop wasting time reading the awesome reviews, grab this book, and see for yourself. You won’t be disappointed!” “It ran the gamut of emotions; anger, surprise, shock and heartbreak. I was in tears at the end of the story.” “Two thumbs up!” “You need to read this, like, now.” “I could not have asked for a better glimpse into this under-utilised facet of the zombie apocalypse.”

    It's not a nice place to visit, and an even worse place to live. Evil dwells in the mountains and lakes surrounding the town. Creatures more ancient than the Appalachian Mountains themselves lurk in the shadows and prey on the unsuspecting.Consisting of three short stories and a novella, The Grass Monkey and Other Dark Tales takes the reader on a terrifying tour of Shallow Springs:A family moves to the Springs from the city, only to discover that their new, peaceful surroundings are nothing but a deception...A telephone lineman, out in a bitter winter storm, must fight demons--both his own, and the ones stalking him in the snowy woods...A group of loggers set out to harass a tree-hugging environmentalist and instead find an ancient horror...A paranormal "handler" returns home to Shallow Springs to help a woman who is being stalked by a creature as intelligent as it is evil...Welcome to Shallow Springs. Sit back. Stay a while. But you might want to be on your way before the sun sets.

    Can two friends, a white colonial New Yorker and an Onondowaga warrior, protect their families and each other? Everyone respects John Calvin Black—he believes in rational explanations, and he treats everyone with respect. Donehogawa is a brave man, a respected warrior, and a leader of the Onondowaga tribe living in proximity. The two men grew up together, sharing the teachings of both cultures between them. When the two friends examine the scene of a brutal murder, Donehogawa claims an evil spirit committed the crime. John trusts his friend, so belief comes easy. The other colonists… Some colonists can’t accept the “native superstitions,” and blame the murder on one of the Onondowaga or one of the other tribes in the area. Even John believes Donehogawa is holding something back. The evil stalking the forests emerges, casting stealth aside, and makes demands of both John and Donehogawa—demands that neither man can accept. Faced with an impossible choice, each man makes his own decision and must live with the results.Wendigo is the first novella set in the award-winning Blood of the Isir genre-blending dark, fantasy series. If you like supernatural mystery, heroes facing insurmountable evil with bravery and iron will, then you will love Erik Henry Vick’s tale of terror and savage mayhem. Buy Wendigo to step back in time and into the terrifying forest today!

    About a man who meets an alcoholic who asks for his help in completing the fifth step in AA.Read it here: https://harpers.org/archive/2020/03/t...

    We dare you to venture into these pages of spine chilling tales and stories of ghosts and goblins. Freely donated by the authors themselves, these dark passages are a great example of their various, unique styles and imaginations. This is the first of a series of free topical collections brought to you by The Indie Collaboration.

    Awe meets ache. Terror becomes transcendence. Regret gives way to rebirth. Fifteen short stories and one poem span nearly every twisted corner of the horror and dark fiction genres:A woman experiences an emotional reckoning inside a haunted house. A father sees his daughter rescued after a cold case is solved, only to learn the tragic limits of his love. A man awakens a vengeful spirit and learns the terrible price of settling scores. A boy comes of age into awareness of a secret universe of Lovecraftian scale. A young woman confronts the deathly price of existence inside a German concentration camp during the Holocaust. And much, much more…Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories features the most celebrated voices in dark fiction, as well as a number of exciting, new talents, including: Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Paul Tremblay, John F.D. Taff, Lisa Mannetti, Damien Angelica Walters, Josh Malerman, Christopher Coake, Mercedes M. Yardley, Brian Kirk, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Amanda Gowin, Richard Thomas, Maria Alexander and Kevin Lucia. With a foreword from Cemetery Dance magazine founder Richard Chizmar.

     A girl goes missing ... the father gives up hope ... but the mother never stops searching. Now, a year later and close to Hallowe'en, they have a chance to rescue their child. But to do so they must face something terrible.