Book picks similar to
Lab Rat by Matt Shaw


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What Adam Wants: (a short story)


Michael Hebler - 2016
     Days after losing her child while giving birth, Rachel, and her husband, David, are haunted by the incessant cries of a baby. It is their stillborn, Adam, and he wants something from Rachel... something deadly.

Wrath Child


Erik Henry Vick - 2020
    DO NOT RESEARCH THESE EVENTS! Think of it as fiction, and nothing more.The Smith has returned, leaving a new trail of gruesome serial murders across Manhattan--all blonde, beautiful, beaten to death with a blacksmith's hammer. Gavin Gregory, an FBI agent who profiles serial killers for the Behavioral Analysis Unit, couldn't capture The Smith the first time around and wants a second stab at catching the killer. The case takes a bizarre turn when Debra Esteves, a psychiatrist from a New York mental hospital, says she knows The Smith's identity.Esteves spins a tale of disturbing horror from her past, claiming The Smith controlled one of her patients through his psychic influence. But Gavin considers himself a rational man. He believes in science over superstition and rejects her version of events.When his wife is kidnapped, Gavin has no choice but to turn to Esteves for help. Can she keep him safe from the devil hunting him long enough to free his wife from the clutches of the killer or will The Smith make him a pawn in future murders?

The Doll


J.C. Martin - 2011
    On a trip to the island, Joyce Parker's daughter falls in love with a beautiful but sinister doll. Soon after, she starts developing strange mannerisms that concerns Joyce. Her research into the doll's past reveals a dark history, and the curse of a lonely child spirit.

The Aging: A Novel


Jack Hunt - 2021
    . .One touch and a person begins aging rapidly. Years in a single day. Before anyone can react or stop it, entire cities are crippled.As survivors flee to their homes, Elizabeth and her children watch with an increasing sense of dread as the death toll climbs. Then, when a terrifying way to slow the aging is witnessed online, the enormity of the event becomes clear. Now, waiting it out is no longer an option, finding safety is. But venturing outside is deadly. Come in contact with the wrong person and their days are numbered. Ignore the warnings and it’s over.Three weeks later as the event escalates, Elizabeth must trust the survival of her children to the one person who others trust the least. As they embark on a frightening journey through a hostile country with more questions than answers, they’ll soon discover that reaching safety will be more difficult than imagined. In a desperate world where age isn’t a number but a death sentence, can anyone be trusted?With tension and suspense, unlike any other, The Aging is a high-octane, post-apocalyptic thriller, that weaves the chaotic world of the past and present together to keep you on the edge-of-your-seat until the last page.

Flesh Worn Stone


John A. Burks Jr. - 2011
    With a good job, a loving wife, and happy and healthy sons, he has little to complain about. In a flash that life is ripped away and he is thrust into a world of violence and slavery beginning with a brutal home invasion. His sons are murdered in front of him and he and his wife Rebecca are then kidnapped, drugged, and taken to an uncharted tropical island where they awake on a pristine beach in the company of five strangers. The island is a playground of horror and the kidnapped are forced to participate in the Game, a modern-day rendition of the Coliseum of ancient Rome, where they must compete in acts of murder, rape, and self-mutilation for the amusement of an unseen wealthy elite. Contestants must survive the Game five times to earn their freedom from the island. Losers become the evening meal. Steven struggles to survive in a world where violence is not only accepted but cheered. He fights to hold on to his wife in a community where cannibalism is survival, brutality is affection, and living another day is at the expense of his own soul. Survival comes with a price, however, and he soon learns that not all of the players are there unwillingly and they’ve paid a steep price for the opportunity.

The Revenge of Kaivalya


Sumana Khan - 2010
    Kencha, an unwitting witness to Its birth, is soon found dead – his body branded with a strange message written in HaLegannada, an ancient version of modern Kannada. Even as Dhruv Kaveriappa, Chief Conservator of Forests - Hassan division investigates Kencha’s death, he senses an unseen danger in the forests of Kukke, Bisle and Sakleshpura. Animals drop dead; plants wither away and just as he feared, the forest claims its first victim. Shivaranjini, on vacation in Sakleshpura, suffers a devastating tonic-clonic seizure moments after she returns from a visit to the forest. Soon, she begins to exhibit a bizarre personality disorder. Perhaps there is an outbreak of an unknown rabies-like disease? Or, as ridiculous as it seems, could it be a case of tantric witchcraft? The truth unfolds in a dizzying maelstrom of events - a truth far too terrifying to comprehend...

The Netherwell Horror


Lee Mountford - 2019
    But none like Netherwell Bay… ‘Sis, I’m in trouble. Real trouble. And I need help.’ After receiving a worrying message from her estranged brother, Beth Davis sets out to find and help him, ending up in the strange, coastal town of Netherwell Bay. There, she begins to witness terrifying and unexplainable things, and reports of ritualistic murders have the town panicked. A sinister cult soon makes its presence known, and the dark history of Netherwell Bay is unveiled. Beth then finds herself in a race against time to stop a doorway to Hell from opening… permanently. The Netherwell Horror is a Lovecraftian mystery that quickly descends into madness, sickening violence, and chaos. Fans of Silent Hill will love this nightmarish tale, but those of a squeamish disposition need not apply…

As Death Stared Back


Ajinkya Bhasme - 2019
    She rushes to his room and finds out that he has had the exact same nightmare. Ten years later, the dead husband shows up at their door. Sanjana sees that he looks like Punit, behaves like him, and knows everything he knew, but she is convinced that he is not her husband. As the evidences, of Punit's death start disappearing, will Sanjana be able to save her son from this imposter and prove her husband's death before her sanity collapses?When your eyes are the sole proof of reality, would you dare to believe that there are times when they lie?"A Masterful Psychological Horror"- Gauri salvekar, Saket Publication"Will make you question your reality"- Sidharth Jain, The Story Ink"Will take you inside the depths of a deranged mind" - Jaya Misra, Author- 'Kama'"A horror that will shred you to pieces" - Sushant Divgikar, Psychologist, DNA ex-columnist

Sandman


Sean Costello - 2000
    People put their lives in doctors' hands every day--but in no other situation is this so literally true as the moment the anesthesiologist looks casually down at you and says, "You'll be going off to sleep now..."What if the eyes that gaze down at you in that moment of trust and surrender belong to a madman? What if, as you feel yourself slipping away, you see something in those eyes so rank, so terrifying you want to leap off the table and scream?But by then, of course, it's too late.A novel of terror and medical suspense from the author of THE CARTOONIST and HERE AFTERPray you never meet the Sandman...

Remains


Michael McBride - 2009
    Armed with only their faith and the scriptures, they rented a small cluster of cabins on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. None of them were ever heard from again. On October 29th, 2013, a disarticulated femur is discovered in a mountain lion's den. Forensics confirms the bone belongs to one of the missing seven, triggering a massive search of the surrounding wilderness. No other evidence is found. On November 13th, the families of the missing students rent the same cabins and attempt to recreate the final days of their loved ones in hopes of divining their fate. Only this time, thanks to an unusual bacterium isolated from the femur, they know where to look. Nothing can prepare them for the truth. This is their story. The story of what they found, what they lost…and what remains. PRAISE FOR REMAINS "Pitch-perfect pacing...gripping." - Cemetery Dance Magazine "McBride does a wicked job here of building (not only) some serious suspense, but an expectation that kept me flipping the pages as quick as I could." - The Horror Fiction Review "Remains is ambitious, and intelligent. The tone reminded me of something by Richard Matheson, in its matter-of-fact approach to the investigations. The story works as a piece of suspense fiction, a techno-thriller, a horror yarn, and it's also a science fiction story at heart." - Horror Drive-In Reviews ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael McBride is the best-selling author of Burial Ground, Snowblind, The Coyote, Vector Borne, and F9, as well as Bloodletting, Innocents Lost, Predatory Instinct, and Category V. He lives in Avalanche Country with his wife and children.

Poe: Stories and Poems: A Graphic Novel Adaptation


Gareth Hinds - 2017
    It is true that I am nervous. But why will you say that I am mad? In "The Cask of Amontillado," a man exacts revenge on a disloyal friend at carnival, luring him into catacombs below the city. In "The Masque of the Red Death," a prince shielding himself from plague hosts a doomed party inside his abbey stronghold. A prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, faced with a swinging blade and swarming rats, can t see his tormentors in "The Pit and the Pendulum," and in "The Tell-Tale Heart," a milky eye and a deafening heartbeat reveal the effects of conscience and creeping madness. Alongside these tales are visual interpretations of three poems "The Raven," "The Bells," and Poe s poignant elegy to lost love, "Annabel Lee." The seven concise graphic narratives, keyed to thematic icons, amplify and honor the timeless legacy of a master of gothic horror."

Goth


Otsuichi - 2003
    a pit of dead dogs... an accidental suicide... a boy buried alive - and where two teenagers linked by an obsession with murder and torture explore the recesses of humanity's dark side.

I Will Make You Pay


Teresa Driscoll - 2019
    A mysterious caller with a chilling threat. Journalist Alice Henderson hangs up, ready to dismiss it as a hoax against the newspaper. But the next Wednesday, the stalker makes another move—and it becomes clear that this is all about Alice.Someone wants her to suffer, but for what? Her articles have made her a popular local champion—could it be her past rather than her work that’s put her life in danger? Alice is determined not to give in to fear, but with the police investigation at a dead end, her boyfriend insists on hiring private investigator Matthew Hill.With every passing Wednesday the warnings escalate, until it’s not only Alice but also her family in the stalker’s sights. As her tormentor closes in, can Alice uncover what she’s being punished for before the terrifying threats become an unthinkable reality?

Stuck On You


Jasper Bark - 2014
    A bolt of lightning sees him fused to his fellow cheater on a detour into the backwoods. Now he’s fighting wild beasts and raw nature just to stay alive in this dark comedy romance that blends erotic horror with black humour and extreme splatter.And now... A warning!Do not buy this book, gentle reader.No really, we mean it. Move along, click away from this page and go look at some Dino porn instead. We’re not kidding. The only reason we published it is because award winning author Jasper Bark has got some serious dirt on us. Honestly, there’s no other reason to put out something this depraved.This is the sickest, filthiest and most horny novella you’re likely to read this year. It will turn you on even as it turns your stomach. Think you’ve seen everything there is to see in horror and erotica? Think again! Just when you think this story can’t get any lower it finds new depths to plumb. Why are you still reading this?! Oh God you’re going to buy it aren’t you? You can’t help yourself. You’re going to click on that purchase button and download this little bad boy.Well don’t say we didn’t warn you...But, if you do enjoy Stuck On You, be sure to pick up Jasper’s Stuck On You, and Other Prime Cuts collection, as well.

The House of Strange Stories


Ruskin Bond - 2018
    It was behind me, then it was before me. Then it was over me. I was in the arms of the corpse!’With The House of Strange Stories, celebrated writer Ruskin Bond brings forth a collection of some of the most blood-curdling tales ever written. Featuring Stacy Marie Belloc Lowndes’ ‘The Lodger’, Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Red-Headed League’, Wilkie Collins’ ‘The Duel’, Bram Stoker’s ‘The Sqaw’, Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, and several of Bond’s own, these tales of macabre, suspense, vampires, and haunted houses will leave even horror fans terrified.