Book picks similar to
Burn the Plans by Tyler Jones


horror
short-stories
tbr-horror
fantasy

The Dark Hour


K.J. Young - 2021
    His charges, former stage magicians Roy and Alma Walgrave, give off an eerie vibe, but they are also wealthy and careless with their money. Seizing the opportunity, Mark soon makes himself indispensable to the old folks, losing himself in fantasies of inheriting the Walgrave fortune upon their deaths. When another employee, a young woman named Lisa, shares her dark premonitions and insists that evil lurks in the house, Mark thinks she’s paranoid and unstable.Until he begins to notice odd, unsettling things himself.When nightmares begin to plague him and the house gradually reveals a web of lies and twisted secrets, he can no longer deny the possibility that Alden Manor is pervaded by some sinister force. He’s terrified of losing his mind—or worse, his life. But he’s so close to landing a big financial windfall that walking away is not an option.

Hitchers


Will McIntosh - 2012
    Against his grandfather’s dying wish, Finn has resurrected Toy Shop, adding new characters, and the strip is more popular than ever, bringing in fan letters, merchandising deals, and talk of TV specials. Finn has even started dating again.When a terrorist attack decimates Atlanta, killing half a million souls, Finn begins blurting things in a strange voice beyond his control. The voice says things only his grandfather could know. Countless other residents of Atlanta are suffering a similar bizarre affliction. Is it mass hysteria, or have the dead returned to possess the living? Finn soon realizes he has a hitcher within his skin... his grandfather. And Grandpa isn’t terribly happy about the changes Finn has been making to Toy Shop. Together with a pair of possessed friends, an aging rock star, and a waitress, Finn races against time to find a way to send the dead back to Deadland... or die trying!Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone


Stefan Kiesbye - 2012
    This is where four young friends come of age—in an atmosphere thick with fear and suspicion. Their innocent games soon bring them face-to-face with the village's darkest secrets in this eerily dispassionate, astonishingly assured novel, evocative of Stephen King's classic short story "Children of the Corn" and infused with the spirit of the Brothers Grimm.

Devil's Bargain


R.L. King - 2019
    A suburban mom with two young children, her life revolves around her family, her job, and the comforts of home. So when her estranged, wild-child sister comes to her, begging for help and claiming a witch murdered her husband and wants to steal her baby daughter in payment for a long-ago oath, Tamara thinks she’s gone crazy. Until she turns up dead, and the baby vanishes without a trace. If Tamara’s going to get her niece back, she’ll have to expand her worldview fast. She’ll also need some expert help. But where can a normal, practical woman find help dealing with an evil witch? Fortunately for her, aid is closer than she thinks. Who better to give button-down Tamara a crash course in things that go bump in the night than Stanford occult studies professor Dr. Alastair Stone? At least he can offer some tips, even if she’s sure he can’t help her any other way. Because magic isn’t real…right? Welcome to the spooky side of the street, Tamara. Hope you survive the experience. Devil's Bargain is a short, standalone novel in the world of the Alastair Stone Chronicles urban fantasy series. Don't miss the rest of the series: Stone and a Hard Place The Forgotten The Threshold The Source Core of Stone Blood and Stone Heart of Stone Flesh and Stone The Infernal Heart The Other Side Path of Stone Necessary Sacrifices Game of Stone Steel and Stone Stone and Claw The Seventh Stone and two standalone novellas: Turn to Stone Shadows and Stone

13 Nightmares


Dennis McDonald - 2009
     Thirteen tales of original terror penned in the dead of the night with only the glow of a computer for light. The collection of short stories runs the gamut of horror. Within its bloody pages you will find a slasher clown, a blood red church, a little girl locked in a closet, a haunted sex doll, etc. 13 Nightmares is a fine collection of terror for the short story lover, but be warned. Some of these stores are not for the faint of heart. Do you dare enter a world where the supernatural, the macabre, and the horrific collide?

Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories


Ellen Datlow - 2019
    The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories is her definitive collection of ghost stories.These thirty stories, including all new works from New York Times bestselling authors Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Hoffman, Seanan McGuire, and Paul Tremblay, span from the traditional to the eclectic, from the mainstream to the literary, from pure fantasy to the bizarrely supernatural. Whether you’re reading alone under the covers with a flashlight, or around a campfire with a circle of friends, there’s something here to please—and spook—everyone.Contributors include: Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Hoffman, Vincent J. Masterson, A.C. Wise, M. Rickert, Seanan McGuire, Lee Thomas, Alison Littlewood, M.L. Siemienowicz, Richard Kadrey, Indrapramit Das, Richard Bowes, Nick Mamatas, Terry Dowling, Aliette de Bodard, Carole Johnstone, Dale Bailey, Stephen Graham Jones, Bracken MacLeod, Garth Nix, Brian Evenson, Jeffrey Ford, Gemma Files, Paul Tremblay, Nathan Ballingrud, Pat Cadigan, John Langan, Ford Madox Ford, F. Marion Crawford, Siobhan Carroll.

Tuning in to Terror


Deborah McClatchey - 2009
    Bennett's dream home from his childhoodyears. The house was creepy and ominous and Bobby Bennett found he didn't like it much.When Bobby explores the attic and discovers an old radio that was 'cool' enough to put in his bedroom, things begin to happen.Strange and evil things!First, the whispers in the night, then the ghostly image...it wantsBobby to do unspeakable deeds. And most importantly, it wants him to 'replace'! Bobby is terrified to find out what that means!But is Bobby only dreaming or is this nightmare real? He wasn't sure until tragedy struck his new friend. Evil can hide in the strangestand most innocent of places. Can Bobby resist the demands of the ghost who is driven by the 'Demon from Hell' before it is too late for his family...and himself?

Beware The Boogerman


D. Glenn Casey - 2018
    Hopefully.They have to look after the peace and quiet in a small town that has the unfortunate nickname “Monster Town.” Why in the world would the town be called that? Well, let’s just say that the residents of this little burg are a bit unusual and leave it at that.Anyway, what would happen if a terror came drifting into town that could scare the bejeezus out of any law abiding monster? Find out when the sheriff and his deputies go on the hunt for the Boogerman.

His Hideous Heart


Dahlia AdlerMarieke Nijkamp - 2019
    Whether the stories are familiar to readers or discovered for the first time, readers will revel in Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tales, and how they’ve been brought to life in 13 unique and unforgettable ways.Contributors include Kendare Blake (reimagining “Metzengerstein”), Rin Chupeco (“The Murders in the Rue Morge”), Lamar Giles (“The Oval Portrait”), Tessa Gratton (“Annabel Lee”), Tiffany D. Jackson (“The Cask of Amontillado”), Stephanie Kuehn (“The Tell-Tale Heart”), Emily Lloyd-Jones (“The Purloined Letter”), Hillary Monahan (“The Masque of the Red Death”), Marieke Nijkamp (“Hop-Frog”), Caleb Roehrig (“The Pit and the Pendulum”), and Fran Wilde (“The Fall of the House of Usher”).

What We Harvest


Ann Fraistat - 2022
    Tourists travel miles to marvel at its miracle crops, including the shimmering, iridescent wheat of Wren’s family farm. Until five months ago.That’s when the quicksilver mercury blight first surfaced, poisoning the farms of Hollow’s End one by one. It began by consuming the crops--thick, silver sludge bleeding from the earth. Next were the animals. Infected livestock and wild creatures alike staggered off into the woods by day—only to return at night, their eyes, fogged white, leering from the trees.Then, the blight came for the neighbors.Wren is among the last locals standing. And the blight has finally come for her, too. Now, the only one she can turn to is the last person she wants to call: her ex, Derek. They haven’t spoken in months, but Wren and Derek still have one thing in common—Hollow’s End means everything to them. Only there’s much they don’t know about their hometown and its renowned miracle crops. And they’re about to discover that miracles aren’t free.Their ancestors have an awful lot to pay for, and Wren and Derek are the only ones left to settle old debts.

Turn Her Face to the Wall


William Hussey - 2013
    In this creepy tale, the twist comes with the very last word…

Haunted Nights


Ellen DatlowPat Cadigan - 2017
    In addition to stories about scheming jack-o'-lanterns, vengeful ghosts, otherworldly changelings, disturbingly realistic haunted attractions, masks that cover terrifying faces, murderous urban legends, parties gone bad, cult Halloween movies, and trick or treating in the future, Haunted Nights also offers terrifying and mind-bending explorations of related holidays like All Souls' Day, Dia de los Muertos, and Devil's Night. -With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfbane Seeds- by Seanan McGuire -Dirtmouth- by Stephen Graham Jones--A Small Taste of the Old Countr- by Jonathan Maberry-Wick's End- by Joanna Parypinski -The Seventeen Year Itch- by Garth Nix-A Flicker of Light on Devil's Night- by Kate Jonez-Witch-Hazel- by Jeffrey Ford-Nos Galen Gaeaf- by Kelley Armstrong -We're Never Inviting Amber Again- by S. P. Miskowski-Sisters- by Brian Evenson-All Through the Night- by Elise Forier Edie -A Kingdom of Sugar Skulls and Marigolds- by Eric J. Guignard-The Turn- by Paul Kane-Jack- by Pat Cadigan-Lost in the Dark- by John Langan-The First Lunar Halloween- by John R. Little

The Punished


Peter Meredith - 2011
    The house takes them, flies in the web, and won't let them go. The house is beautiful and silent as a tomb. There are children at play, pretending to live as their souls are sucked out of them. There is no way out. The doors are locked and the windows hammered shut. Some have been there for years, their minds warped into insanity by the fear and pain. Curt is new and can't understand why no one speaks and why the only sounds come from the night. He wonders what it is that comes out of the basement when the sun goes down. There is no way out until you are cold and stiff. What the readers say about The Punished: "I did not expect the chilling supernatural story that is The Punished." "...and I will never forget this one. Five stars, 100%, I give it the highest praise I have to offer." "...and it left me spinning in my chair. There’s more to it than horror; there’s mystery and nail-biting suspense."

A Sincere Warning About the Entity in Your Home


Jason Arnopp - 2012
    I did not even post it myself. The postmark on the envelope will not help you, should you ever attempt to locate me.When this letter is complete, I shall entrust a friend in another country with repackaging and sending it on my behalf. This letter also may or may not have been translated from its original language.You do not know me. You must never know me.Neither do I know you, beyond your name, address and appearance. I have seen you in person but you have not seen me.Think back to the day that you moved into your home. I contrived to casually pass by as you stood outside. I saw your face, but you did not so much as glance my way. I did not stop walking. I simply committed your face to memory and moved on before you became aware of my presence.Why did I want to see you?I suppose my conscience drove me to it. Just as it compels me to finally write this letter.I wanted to see exactly who I was passing the entity on to."A NEW CONCEPT IN FEAR...Imagine a supernatural horror story in which the paranormal activity happens within YOUR home. A SINCERE WARNING ABOUT THE ENTITY IN YOUR HOME takes the form of an anonymous letter sent to YOUR address. It details the terrifying events which happened in your home and which continue to this day.You have inherited a curse and are being preyed upon by a bone-chilling apparition. This 10,000-word letter from the previous resident advises you how to cope, while detailing the unthinkable ordeal they suffered before you.A SINCERE WARNING ABOUT THE ENTITY IN YOUR HOME is the ultimate way to scare yourself in your own home, because it's the only ghost story which takes place IN your home. Dare you read it?

Collision


J.S. Breukelaar - 2019
    Breukelaar's darkest, finest stories with four new works, including the uncanny new novella "Ripples on a Blank Shore." Introduction by award-winning author, Angela Slatter. Relish the gothic strangeness of "Union Falls," the alien horror of "Rogues Bay 3013," the heartbreaking dystopia of "Glow," the weird mythos of "Ava Rune," and others. This collection from the author of American Monster and the internationally acclaimed and Aurealis Award finalist, Aletheia, announces a new and powerful voice in fantastical fiction.