Book picks similar to
Skull Full of Kisses by Michael West


horror
short-stories
collections
anthologies

Kellie's Diary #1


Thomas Jenner - 2013
    When the world crumbles and the dead walk, Kellie struggles to survive and find her way home, all the while sharing her tale with her diary.This is an account of our hypothetical past, present and future.

A Gathering of Ghosts


David Haynes - 2014
    Prepare to have your blood chilled by six tales of fear and phantasmagoria…The Silent Bell: A doctor’s invention to prevent people being accidentally buried alive backfires on him with horrific results.The Stonegate Manor Collection: Lord Feltham’s paintings are worth a fortune, but also conceal a gruesome tragedy that has yet more lives to claim.The Haunting of Reverend Carson: The charlatan Musgrave makes a living pretending to talk to the dead, until he discovers his new client’s demons are more than merely spiritual.The Last Waltz: Through that miracle of technology, the Zoopraxiscope, a lonely man’s long-lost love is brought back to life before his very eyes.The Speaking Tube: John Barker is consumed with hatred for his malicious father and torments him with voices from hell, unaware of how close to the abyss he is himself.The Ghost Train: Alone aboard an empty train running along a dead track, Godfrey witnesses the grotesque secret that is entombed beneath Paddington Station.Go deeper into David Haynes’s world of the macabre…

Supernatural Noir


Ellen DatlowPaul G. Tremblay - 2011
    A detective caught in a war between two worlds... A man whose terrible appetites hide an even darker secret . . .Dark Horse once again teams up with Hugo and Bram Stoker award-winning editor Ellen Datlow (Lovecraft Unbound) to bring you this masterful marriage of the darkness without and the darkness within. Supernatural Noir is an anthology of original tales of the dark fantastic from twenty modern masters of suspense, including Brian Evenson, Joe R. Lansdale, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Nick Mamatas, Gregory Frost, Jeffrey Ford, and many more.

Clockwork Phoenix: Tales of Beauty and Strangeness


Mike AllenJoanna Galbraith - 2008
    The first volume of this extraordinary new annual anthology series of fantastic literature explodes on the scene with works that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways, that surprise with their settings and startle with the manner in which they cross genre boundaries, that aren't afraid to experiment with storytelling techniques, and yet seamlessly blend form with meaningful function. The delectable offerings found within these pages come from some of today's most distinguished contemporary fantasists and brilliant rising newcomers.Whether it's a touch of literary erudition, playful whimsy, extravagant style, or mind-blowing philosophical speculation and insight, the reader will be led into unfamiliar territory, there to find shock and delight.Introducing CLOCKWORK PHOENIX.

So Long, Lollipops


Sarah Lyons Fleming - 2014
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DX73ZPY It’s suggested you read the novel before you read SO LONG, LOLLIPOPS. Unless you’re someone who likes to read the last page of a book first—in that case, enjoy! SO LONG, LOLLIPOPS description below * * * * * * * * * Peter watched his new family drive away, certain it was the last time he’d ever see them. But sometimes plans go awry in the best way. Now, the plan is to get back to them. But sometimes plans go awry in the worst way. Sometimes the only plan is to believe it will be all right, even when it’s almost impossible to believe.

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.

The Hospital


Keith C. Blackmore - 2012
    He scavenges what he can from what's left over. He is very careful in what he does and where he goes, taking no chances, no unnecessary risks, and weighing every choice... until he decides to visit the hospital at the edge of town, and experiences terror the likes he's never encountered before. A short story of approximately 9500 words, or 29 pages. The first story of the "Mountain Man" series. Contains language and graphic violence. This short story also appears in the horror fiction novella "Cauldron Gristle."If you enjoy this, check out the novels "Mountain Man" and "Safari," the next books in the series.Series order:The Hospital (short story)Mountain ManSafari (Coming in time for Christmas) Hellifax

Hungry For You


A.M. Harte - 2011
    It’s ruthless, messy, mind-altering, and raw. It takes no prisoners. It chews you up and spits you out and leaves you for dead. Love is, you could say, very much like a zombie.In this haunting short story collection, anything is possible—a dying musician turns to tea for inspiration; a police sergeant struggles with a very unusual victim; a young wife is trapped in a house hiding unimaginable evil….With "Hungry For You", A.M. Harte explores the disturbing and delightful in an anthology that unearths the thin boundary between love and death.

Jagannath


Karin Tidbeck - 2011
    Whether through the falsified historical record of the uniquely weird Swedish creature known as the “Pyret” or the title story, “Jagannath,” about a biological ark in the far future, Tidbeck’s unique imagination will enthrall, amuse, and unsettle you. How else to describe a collection that includes “Cloudberry Jam,” a story that opens with the line “I made you in a tin can”? Marvels, quirky character studies, and outright surreal monstrosities await you in what is likely to be one of the most talked-about short story collections of the year.Tidbeck is a rising star in her native country, having published a collection there in Swedish, won a prestigious literary grant, and just sold her first novel to Sweden’s largest publisher. A graduate of the iconic Clarion Writer’s Workshop at the University of California, San Diego, in 2010, her publication history includes Weird Tales, Shimmer Magazine, Unstuck Annual and the anthology Odd.

The Year's Best Science Fiction Vol. 1: The Saga Anthology of Science Fiction 2020


Jonathan Strahan - 2020
    With short works from some of the most lauded science fiction authors, as well as rising stars, this collection displays the top talent and the cutting-edge cultural moments that affect our lives, dreams, and stories. An assemblage of future classics, this anthology is a must-read for anyone who enjoys the vast and exciting world of science fiction.Contents: * Introduction (The Year's Best Science Fiction Vol. 1) • essay by Jonathan Strahan 8 The Bookstore at the End of America (2019) / short story by Charlie Jane Anders * The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex (2019) / short story by Tobias S. Buckell * Kali_Na (2019) / short fiction by Indrapramit Das * Song of the Birds (2019) / short fiction by Saleem Haddad * The Painter of Trees (2019) / short story by Suzanne Palmer * The Last Voyage of Skidbladnir (2019) / short story by Karin Tidbeck * Sturdy Lanterns and Ladders (2019) / short story by Malka Older * It's 2059, and the Rich Kids Are Still Winning (2019) / short story by Ted Chiang * Contagion's Eve at the House Noctambulous (2019) / novelette by Rich Larson * Submarines (2019) / short story by Han Song (trans. of 潜艇 2014) * As the Last I May Know (2019) / short story by S. L. Huang * A Catalog of Storms (2019) / short story by Fran Wilde * The Robots of Eden (2019) / short story by Anil Menon * Now Wait for This Week (2019) / novelette by Alice Sola Kim * Cyclopterus (2019) / short story by Peter Watts * Dune Song (2019) / short story by Suyi Davies Okungbowa * The Work of Wolves (2019) / novella by Tegan Moore * Soft Edges (2019) / short story by Elizabeth Bear * Emergency Skin (2019) / novelette by N. K. Jemisin * Thoughts and Prayers (2019) / short story by Ken Liu * At the Fall (2019) / novelette by Alec Nevala-Lee * Reunion (2019) / short fiction by Vandana Singh * Green Glass: A Love Story (2019) / short story by E. Lily Yu * Secret Stories of Doors (2016) / short story by Sofía Rhei * This is Not the Way Home (2019) / novelette by Greg Egan * What the Dead Man Said (2019) / short story by Chinelo Onwualu * I (28M) Created a Deepfake Girlfriend and Now My Parents Think We're Getting Married (2019) / short story by Fonda Lee * The Archronology of Love (2019) / short story by Caroline M. Yoachim * Recommended Reading: 2019 • essay by Jonathan Strahan.

To Read or Not to Read


Vincent Hobbes - 2011
    It was first published in 'The Endlands' (Jan. 2011) Gunter von Strauss owns a small bookstore. He carries something for everyone’s taste. He also carefully inspects each book, making sure they are safe to read. Who knew that choosing the wrong book could carry such a consequence.

Carnacki: Heaven and Hell


William Meikle - 2010
    It includes six interior illustrations from artist Wayne Miller.All new tales of William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki.Meet an Edwardian occult detective who goes where no other gentleman will dare. Nine stories and a novella that take Carnacki deep into neolithic barrows, into the crypts of ancient cathedrals and see him fighting the elemental powers of darkness on his own terms.The Blooded Iklwa: A malevolent spirit is intent on blood. Can Carnacki identify the source of the attacks and stop the Zulu blade from its nightly haunting? Or will his client be forced to suffer a death of a thousand cuts?The Larkhill Barrow: A pounding terror has been called up out of Salisbury Plain; an ancient darkness that will haunt your dreams.The Sisters of Mercy: Battle hardened old soldiers lie sick abed in fear for their souls. Only someone with intimate knowledge of the powers of darkness can help them.The Hellfire Mirror: The rituals of an infamous club have left their mark on a mirror, leading Carnacki into a fight to stop his own home from being overrun with the forces of darkness.The Beast of Glamys: Danger to the daughter of a Scottish Lord leads Carnacki to a remote castle, and the uncovering of the secret behind a legend that has persisted for centuries.The Tomb of Pygea: Something serpentine whispers in the dark under Admiralty Arch, and only Carnacki has the skills, and the nerve, to descend, and to listen.The Lusitania: A cruise ship is berthed in Liverpool, deserted by passengers and crew, stuck in port until Carnacki can remove the cause of their terror; apparitions of disaster and shipwreckThe Haunted Oak: Ghosts of the recent dead walk beneath its spreading boughs and the Church needs Carnacki's expertise. But some things are best left to take their course -- natural, or supernatural.The Shoreditch Worm: When one of the churches of London changes its chimes, something old starts to wake. Can Carnacki stop it before it is too late?The Dark Island: Carnacki uncovers a gateway to a dark realm of magic and myth, where the far future of our planet can be touched and seen, if a man has the stomach for it.Meet Carnacki: Ghosthunter.

Rolling in the Deep


Mira Grant - 2015
     They didn't expect actual mermaids.  They certainly didn't expect those mermaids to have teeth. This is the story of the Atargatis, lost at sea with all hands.  Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.  Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the bathypelagic zone in the Mariana Trench…and the depths are very good at keeping secrets.

Sucker's Portfolio


Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - 2012
    Short, sardonic, and dark, these six brief fiction stories and one non-fiction piece are consummate Vonnegut with piercing satire and an eye for life’s obscene inanity. Also available for the first time is an unfinished science-fiction short story, included in the appendix. These stories trace trivial human lives and mundane desires, which is precisely where Vonnegut’s inimitable perspective as a humanist shines, illuminating his alternating hopeful and dismal outlook, although undoubtedly focusing on the latter. Here as in his greatest novels, Vonnegut’s writing takes us to the darkest corners of the human soul and with wit and humor, manages to remind us of our potential to be something greater.

The White People and Other Weird Stories


Arthur Machen - 1904
    LovecraftActor, journalist, devotee of Celtic Christianity and the Holy Grail legend, Welshman Arthur Machen is considered one of the fathers of weird fiction, a master of mayhem whose work has drawn comparisons to H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. Readers will find the perfect introduction to his style in this new collection. With the title story, an exercise in the bizarre that leaves the reader disoriented virtually from the first page, Machen turns even fundamental truths upside down. "There have been those who have sounded the very depths of sin," explains the character Ambrose, "who all their lives have never done an 'ill deed.'"