The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack: 40 Modern and Classic Lovecraftian Stories


John Gregory BetancourtMichael R. Collings - 2012
    Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Ranging from Lovecraft's own tales (including classics such as the novel At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and The Colour Out of Space) to works by his friends and contemporaries (Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Frank Belknap Long, and Robert Bloch), to later followers (Henry Kuttner, Lin Carter, Brian McNaughton), and contemporary afficianados (Brian Stableford, Mark McLaughlin, Adrian Cole) -- and many more. This is one collection no Lovecraft fan can afford to miss! Included are: At the Mountains of Madness, by H. P. Lovecraft The Events at Poroth Farm, by T.E.D. Klein The Return of the Sorcerer, by Clark Ashton Smith Worms of the Earth, by Robert E. Howard Envy, the Gardens of Ynath, and the Sin of Cain, by Darrell Schweitzer Drawn from Life, by John Glasby In the Haunted Darkness, by Michael R. Collings The Innsmouth Heritage, by Brian Stableford The Doom That Came to Innsmouth, by Brian McNaughton The Shadow Over Innsmouth, by H. P. Lovecraft The Nameless Offspring, by Clark Ashton Smith The Hounds of Tindalos, by Frank Belknap Long The Faceless God, by Robert Bloch The Children of Burma, by Stephen Mark Rainey The Call of Cthulhu, by H.P. Lovecraft The Old One, by John Glasby The Holiness of Azedarac, by Clark Ashton Smith Those of the Air, by Darrell Schweitzer and Jason Van Hollander The Graveyard Rats, by Henry Kuttner Toadface, by Mark McLaughlin The Whisperer in Darkness, by H. P. Lovecraft The Eater of Hours, by Darrell Schweitzer Ubbo-Sathla, by Clark Ashton Smith The Space-Eaters, by Frank Belknap Long The Fire of Asshurbanipal, by Robert E. Howard Beyond the Wall of Sleep, by H.P. Lovecraft Something in the Moonlight, by Lin Carter The Salem Horror, by Henry Kuttner Down in Limbo, by Robert M. Price The Dweller in the Gulf, by Clark Ashton Smith Azathoth, by H.P. Lovecraft Pickmans Modem, by Lawrence Watt-Evans The Hunters from Beyond, by Clark Ashton Smith Ghoulmaster, by Brian McNaughton The Spawn of Dagon, by Henry Kuttner Dark Destroyer, by Adrian Cole The Dunwich Horror, by H. P. Lovecraft The Dark Boatman, by John Glasby Dagon and Jill, by John P. McCannAnd don't forget to search this ebook store for more entries in the Megapack series -- collections covering Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Mystery, Adventure ... and many more!"

The Cthulhu Child


David Brian - 2013
    Nevertheless, it is often whispered by those who claim knowledge of such things, that a number of these Elder Gods - the lower rank and file, if you will - decided to hold this ground, so enamored were they by the cults who spilled blood in their names.Those times are all but forgotten, obscured by the shifting mists of history.Fast forward to today, and a wrong turn on a country lane is about to expose Jennifer Bueller, and her daughter Megan, to an unpleasant truth: Yes, times have changed, but ancient deities will adapt in order to thrive.Abandoned space gods, an unfaithful husband, a sociopath rapist, and a broken society with a social welfare system that presents horrors of its own; lastly, though by no means least in this eclectic collection of stories, a flash fiction homage to James Herbert, featuring his most infamous creation.

Errantry: Strange Stories


Elizabeth Hand - 2012
    From the summer isles to the mysterious people next door all the way to the odd guy one cubicle over, Hand teases apart the dark strangenesses of everyday life to show us the impossibilities, broken dreams, and improbable dreams that surely can never come true.“Ten evocative novellas and stories whisper of hidden mysteries carved on the bruised consciousness of victims and victimizers. Memories and love are as dangerous as the supernatural, and Hand often denies readers neat conclusions, preferring disturbing ambiguity. The Hugo-nominated “The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerophon” marries science fiction and magical realism as three men recreate a legendary aircraft’s doomed flight for a dying woman. A grieving widower in “Near Zennor” unearths a secret of spectral kidnapping in an ancient countryside. “Hungerford Bridge,” a lesser piece, shares a secret that can only be enjoyed twice in one’s life. Celtic myth and human frailty entangle in the darkly romantic “The Far Shore.” The vicious nature of romantic love is dissected with expressionistic abandon in the dreamlike “Summerteeth.” Hand’s outsiders haunt themselves, the forces of darkness answering to the calls of their battered souls. Yet strange hope clings to these surreal elegies, insisting on the power of human emotion even in the shadow of despair. Elegant nightmares, sensuously told.”—Publishers WeeklyTable of ContentsThe Maiden Flight of McCauley’s BellerophonNear Zennor (a Shirley Jackson Award winner)Hungerford BridgeThe Far ShoreWinter’s WifeCruel Up NorthSummerteethThe Return of the Fire WitchUncle LouErrantryElizabeth Hand's novels include Shirley Jackson Award–winner Generation Loss, Mortal Love, and Available Dark.

Midnight in a Perfect World


Ambrose Ibsen - 2018
    Horrific specters walking the streets. A drug that promises to change the world. An apocalyptic cult. Something is stirring in the city of Duluth, Minnesota. Ever since a celebrated researcher announced the creation of a new experimental drug—a drug with the potential to cure the mind of countless ills—people have been disappearing. When a grad student involved with the drug's development unexpectedly commits suicide, a private detective is tasked with unearthing the details of her tumultuous final days. This miracle drug may not be what it seems. Others touched by the drug begin to see things—horrible things—and find themselves transported into a nightmarish world where an ancient evil stirs. Those who taste the drug are left spiraling into horror. Dark figures tail them on the street, and the scenery of their nightmares begins to encroach upon waking life, blurring the lines between dreams and reality. Their terrifying experiences make up the individual fragments of a dire mosaic. As the pieces fall into place, they come to realize the unspeakable horrors that await all of mankind. Midnight is looming, and the sun may never rise again over the city of Duluth.

Secret Lives


Jeff VanderMeer - 2008
    Ordered by profession, these short-short stories range from the hilarious to the somber, the absurd to the revelatory. Using real people as the springboard, VanderMeer has created a rich blend of the factual and the imaginary in which everyone gets the secret life they deserve. A luminous little book meant for dipping into one secret life at a time.

Lost Films


Max Booth IIIDustin Katz - 2018
    Nineteen authors, both respected and new to the genre, team up to deliver a collection of terrifying, eclectic stories guaranteed to unsettle its readers. In Lost Films, a deranged group of lunatics hold an annual film festival, the lost series finale of The Simpsons corrupts a young boy’s sanity, and a VCR threatens to destroy reality. All of that and much more, with fiction from Brian Evenson, Gemma Files, Kelby Losack, Bob Pastorella, Brian Asman, Leigh Harlen, Dustin Katz, Andrew Novak, Betty Rocksteady, John C. Foster, Ashlee Scheuerman, Eugenia M. Triantafyllou, Kev Harrison, Thomas Joyce, Jessica McHugh, Kristi DeMeester, Izzy Lee, Chad Stroup, and David James Keaton.

Soft and Others: 16 Stories of Wonder and Dread


F. Paul Wilson - 1989
    Presents a collection of horror short stories, among them Soft, Green Winter, and The Cleaning Machine.Contents:The Cleaning MachineRatmanLipidleggin'To Fill the Sea and AirGreen WinterBe Fruitful and MultiplySoftThe Last One Mo' Once Golden Oldies RevivalThe Years the Music DiedDat-Tay-VaoDoc JohnsonBucketsTrapsMusclesMenage a TroisCutsBonus storiesPerformanceNight DiveMemoirs of the EffsterRumorsHunters

The Drowned Life


Jeffrey Ford - 2008
    . . .There is a life lived beneath the water—among rotted buildings and bloated corpses—by those so overburdened by the world's demands that they simply give up and go under. . . .In this mesmerizing blend of the familiar and the fantastic, multiple award-winning New York Times notable author Jeffrey Ford creates true wonders and infuses the mundane with magic. In tales marked by his distinctive, dark imagery and fluid, exhilarating prose, he conjures up an annual gale that transforms the real into the impossible, invents a strange scribble that secretly unites a significant portion of society, and spins the myriad dreams of a restless astronaut and his alien lover. Bizarre, beautiful, unsettling, and sublime, The Drowned Life showcases the exceptional talents of one of contemporary fiction's most original artists.

Burnt Tongues


Chuck PalahniukBryan Howie - 2014
    Stories with taboo subjects, unique voices, shocking images—nothing safe or dry.Burnt Tongues is a collection of transgressive stories selected by a rigorous nomination and vetting process and hand-selected by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, as the best of The Cult workshop, his official fan website.These stories run the gamut from horrific and fantastic to humorous and touching, but each leaves a lasting impression. Some may say even a scar.Also includes: The Power of Persisting: An Introduction by Chuck Palahniuk, and from the Editors: The Genesis of Burnt Tongues by Dennis Widmyer and Richard Thomas.Table of Contents:Live This Down by Neil KrolickiCharlie by Chris Lewis CarterPaper by Gayle TowellMating Calls by Tony LiebhardMelody by Michael De Vito, Jr.F for Fake by Tyler JonesMind and Soldier by Phil JourdanIngredients by Richard LemmerThe Line Forms on the Right by Amanda GowinA Vodka Kind of Girl by Matt EganGasoline by Fred VenturiniDietary by Brandon TietzInvisible Graffiti by Adam SkorupskasBike by Bryan HowieHeavier Petting by Brien PiechosEngines, O-Rings, and Astronauts by Jason M. FylanLemming by Terence James EelesThe Routine by Keith BuieSurvived by Gus MorenoZombie Whorehouse by Daniel W. Broallt

Short Horror Stories Vol. 6


Kathryn St. John-Shin - 2019
    And a loving couple’s home renovations awaken a sinister presence. Your journey into terror has begun…Scare Street is proud to present the best in bone-chilling supernatural horror. This volume contains two macabre morsels for your reading pleasure. Each tale transports you on a terrifying journey beyond the veil of death, and into the shadowy world that lies beyond.But as you embark on your trip to the other side, remember not to linger too long. Because once evil traps you in its icy grasp, it may never let go.And your stay might become a bit more permanent than you expected…

Where the Summer Ends: The Best Horror Stories of Karl Edward Wagner, Volume One


Karl Edward Wagner - 2012
    Lavishly designed and illustrated, Wagner's psychological portrayals and ingenious use of Southern landscape make this publication an event.

Dead Leaves: 9 Tales from the Witching Season


Kealan Patrick Burke - 2011
    Featuring seven reprints, a brand new story "The Toll", an introduction, and rounded out by the author's recommended reading and viewing lists, DEAD LEAVES makes for the perfect autumnal read.

Blue World


Robert R. McCammon - 1989
    From the battlefields of a Vietnam veteran's memory to an old-time movie hero's search for a serial killer, from Halloween in a special town--where the rules of trick-or-treat are written in blood--to a Texas road where a wrong turn leads to a nest of evil, horror master McCammon is at his terrifying best in this collection of stories.

Give Me Your Heart


Joyce Carol Oates - 2010
    In these and other powerful tales, children veer beyond their parents’ control, wives and husbands wake up to find that they hardly know each other, haunted pasts intrude upon uncertain futures, and those who bring us the most harm may be the nearest at hand.In ten razor-sharp stories, National Book Award winner Joyce Carol Oates shows that the most deadly mysteries often begin at home.

The Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft


John PelanSteve Rasnic Tem - 2003
    P. Lovecraft’s shocking, terrifying, and eerily prescient Cthulhu Mythos. In twenty-one dark visions, a host of outstanding contemporary writers tap into our innermost fears, with tales set in a misbegotten new world that could have been spawned only by the master of the macabre himself, H. P. Lovecraft. Inside you’ll find:DETAILS by China Miéville: A curious boy discovers that within the splinters of cracked wood or the tangle of tree branches, the devil is in the details.VISITATION by James Robert Smith: When Edgar Allan Poe arrives, a callow man finally gets what he always wanted—and what he may eternally despise. MEET ME ON THE OTHER SIDE by Yvonne Navarro: A couple in love with terror travels beyond their wildest dreams—and into their nightmares.A FATAL EXCEPTION HAS OCCURRED AT . . . by Alan Dean Foster: Internet terrorism extends far beyond transmitting threats of evil.AND SEVENTEEN MORE HARROWING TALESFrom the Trade Paperback edition.vii • Introduction: The Call of Lovecraft • essay by Benjamin Adams and John Pelan1 • Details • short story by China Miéville21 • Visitation • short story by James Robert Smith33 • The Invisible Empire • novelette by James Van Pelt57 • A Victorian Pot Dresser • novelette by L. H. Maynard and M. P. N. Sims85 • The Cabin in the Woods • novelette by Richard Laymon109 • The Stuff of the Stars, Leaking • short story by Tim Lebbon125 • Sour Places • short story by Mark Chadbourn141 • Meet Me on the Other Side • short story by Yvonne Navarro161 • That's the Story of My Life • short story by Benjamin Adams and John Pelan181 • Long Meg and Her Daughters • novella by Paul Finch243 • A Fatal Exception Has Occurred At ... • short story by Alan Dean Foster261 • Dark of the Moon • short story by James S. Dorr275 • Red Clay • short story by Michael Reaves [as by J. Michael Reaves]291 • Principles and Parameters • novelette by Meredith L. Patterson325 • Are You Loathsome Tonight? • (1998) • short story by Poppy Z. Brite331 • The Serenade of Starlight • short story by W. H. Pugmire (variant of Serenade of Starlight) [as by W. H. Pugmire, Esq.]345 • Outside • short story by Steve Rasnic Tem355 • Nor the Demons Down Under the Sea • [Dandridge Cycle] • short story by Caitlín R. Kiernan371 • A Spectacle of a Man • short story by Weston Ochse389 • The Firebrand Symphony • (2001) • novelette by Brian Hodge437 • Teeth • novelette by Matt Cardin463 • Notes on the Contributors (Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft) • essay by Benjamin Adams and John Pelan