Book picks similar to
Die Laughing by John R. Platt


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cold, thin air: Volume 2


C.K. Walker - 2015
    Curl up in front of a warm fire on a silent night and choose your poison.

Scars and Other Distinguishing Marks


Richard Christian Matheson - 1987
    'Red' seems to me to be a masterwork. 'Vampire' is a breathtaking work of virtuosity."—Dennis Etchison, from his Introduction"An impressive debut. These stories are all beautifully written and very, very disturbing."—Fangoria"Richard Christian Matheson's prose is elegant, yet spare. He is undoubtedly the master of the contemporary horror short story. His potent, subtle horror sneaks up on the reader and its echoes linger long after the story has ended."—Ellen Datlow, fiction editor, Omni

Out and Back


Hillary Allen - 2021
    Out and Back recounts Allen's fight to rehabilitate her body, rebuild her belief in herself, and return to the life and sport she loves.

Toybox


Al Sarrantonio - 1999
    Toybox itself was nominated for an International Horror Guild Award for best collection.Little Selene was bored. And then came the mysterious Toyman, carrying a very special toybox, filled with wonders and terrors beyond imagination. As Selene peered into the toybox, the stories tumbled out: a quiet little girl whose horrible secret bursts forth at a Halloween party ... a doll made of corn that hides a very nasty surprise ... a depraved celebration for the last vampire ... All of these and many more awaited Selend - and now they wait for you - inside the toybox. Go ahead, open it, if you dare.

Poison Flowers and Pandemonium


Richard Sala - 2021
    Poison Flowers and Pandemonium collects all four of these original graphic novellas in one beautiful hardcover worthy of Sala's legacy.First up in Poison Flowers is "House of the Blue Dwarf," a 125-page thriller featuring master criminal the Bloody Cardinal, who leaves a wake of mayhem and madness everywhere he goes. "Monsters Illustrated" is a fun, 64-page monster movie riff that showcases Sala's visual imagination. A young woman in a dusty bookstore reads a strange bestiary — the "book within a book" showcases a series of Sala's gorgeous watercolor and ink drawings. But when she gets to the end, she finds the bookseller drives a hard bargain. "Cave Girls Of The Lost World" is a campy, 60-page romp about a team of young women whose plane crashes in a land forgotten by time and rife with dinosaurs, carnivorous plants, and apemen — but these intelligent, brave, and resourceful women are ready to rumble! Rounding out the book is "The Amazing Adventures of Fantomina Fantomella," a 45-page graphic novella of violence and non-stop action. Priest and his mob thought Fantomina was dead. So how is it that she's come back with a vengeance? Poison Flowers & Pandemonium is a perfect showcase of Sala's gorgeous watercolor artwork and his love of B-movie horror, silent film-era archetypes, and femmes fatale.

Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, The (Digital Picture Book)


Joyce Reardon - 2002
    This diary became the secret place where Ellen could confess her fears of the new marriage, her confusion over her emerging sexuality, and the nightmare that her life would become. The diary not only follows the development of a girl into womanhood, it follows the construction of the Rimbauer mansion called Rose Red; an enormous home that would be the site of so many horrific and inexplicable tragedies in the years ahead. The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red is a rare document, one that gives us an unusual view of daily life among the aristocracy in the early 1900s, a window into one woman's hidden emotional torment, and a record of the mysterious events at Rose Red that scandalized Seattle society at the time - events that can only be fully understood now that the diary has come to light. Edited by Joyce Reardon, Ph.D. as part of her research, the diary is being published as preparations are being made by Dr. Reardon to enter Rose Red and fully investigate its disturbing history.

Awaken


Stephen R. King - 2016
    Enjoy five short stories of madness and terror from Stephen L. King. Do you awaken after bad dreams and feel the fear still lingering in the room? Become aware in these vivid fantasies as you remember those strong feelings again. WARNING: Not the famous Stephen King from Maine.

Dark Deity (Asylum #3)


David Longhorn - 2019
    But others have not been so lucky. Young Ella Cotter, an innocent child, finds herself tormented by a ghost Paul unwittingly freed when he escaped the building's haunted grounds. As Paul attempts to use hypnosis to separate the child from the tortured entity that clings to her soul, blood runs in the streets. A series of mysterious killings rocks the nearby city of Tynecastle. And Paul is convinced the violent incidents are linked to Dr. Palmer, a sadistic wraith, who once turned Rookwood into an asylum of horrors. Working with the local police, and a rare book dealer with an interest in the occult, Paul and his allies soon find themselves face to face with an enemy unlike anything they have ever imagined. This terrifying evil force grows more powerful with each victim it kills. And the only way to stop it may cost Paul his mortal soul…

The Deadly Guest: A Horror Novel


Matt Shaw - 2020
    Good food, plentiful drink and - straight from Michael's "bucket-list" - a surprise visit from his free-spirited friend Vasia, for a dream threesome. At least that was what Luca had initially planned. Unbeknownst to him, Vasia and Michael aren't quite the friends Michael had insinuated and sharing Michael is the furthest thing from her mind. What should have been a night of pure lust-filled enjoyment soon goes to Hell, for all those in the hotel, soon after Vasia shows her true colours... Hells Flames A bonus novella following on from the catastrophic events of "The Deadly Guest".

Retard


Daniel I. Russell - 2015
    Back then, it was par for the course, the situation attracting only gossip and disapproval, but of course everyone was too busy to intervene..." December, 1987. Single mother Christine Stephenson watches with envy as the Birthday boy opens his present. A Fabled Four action figure. Her special son is obsessed with The Fabled Four but how could she possibly afford such a gift? Not that he deserved it. Wesley simply couldn't behave. She'd find a way, being such a good parent.

Welcome to the Funhouse


Kelly Brocklehurst - 2021
    With twelve grisly stories of coming-of-age terror, carnival cruelty and fairground frights, this collection brings together the best and most exciting talents in the horror community. Roll up! with the following stories:"Mirrors" by Robin Grieve"Candy Apple Smiles" by Christopher Robertson"The Cyclone Sisters' Travelling Circus" by Angela Sylvaine"Anna and Abby" by L. Pine"The Prop" by Nikki R. Leigh"The Viperess of Las Cruces" by C.W. Blackwell"The Golden Tickets" by Roxie Voorhees"Dance With Us" by Kelly Brocklehurst"No Strings" by Jamie Stewart"Family Outing" by Briana Morgan"Mirrored" by Dave Musson"Smile at All the Good Times We Had" by Spencer HamiltonWith a foreword from the editors.

Rotten Little Things (Tamer Animals Book 2)


Justin M. Woodward - 2019
    For the most part, she manages her disease well—that is, until her family moves into an old house in the woods, and she starts seeing an imaginary entity from her childhood creeping around the property. NEW HOME. OLD HAUNTS. Things quickly become terrifying for Monica as her reality begins to blend with fiction, and something else entirely. . . some indescribable evil out in those woods. "ROTTEN LITTLE THINGS takes you to some frightfully dark places." - Jay Sigler, author of TRAIN THOUGHTS

Supper: The Horror Short Story You've Been Craving


Carolyn McCray - 2012
    From the #1 international bestselling author in Horror, Men's Adventure, Hard Boiled Mystery, and Police Procedurals comes a Texas Chainsaw Massacre-style horror short story...Supper

Vince Flynn Collection: Executive Power, the Third Option, Separation of Power


Vince Flynn
    

Just Like Hell


Nate Southard - 2008
    With a record-breaking football season and several scholarship offers in his pocket, he can write his own future. But Dillon has a secret, something he’s never told the rest of his team. Even his best friends don’t know. They might not understand. They might overreact. Now the secret is out. Maybe that’s why Dillon just woke up in the trunk of a car. And maybe that’s why Dillon is about to go through something Just Like Hell.