Book picks similar to
Christmas is for the Kids by Peter James


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Mr Smiley: My Last Pill and Testament


Howard Marks - 2015
    On his release from one of America's toughest prisons, Howard made a promise to himself to go straight. No more drugs, no more smuggling, no more fake passports. He would retire to a quiet life with his family in the Balearic Islands of Spain. It didn't quite work out that way.This was the mid-nineties, the height of the ecstasy and clubbing boom, and Ibiza was at the very centre of the vortex for the 'E generation'. Pills had taken the place of marijuana, Paul Oakenfold had replaced The Rolling Stones as the music of the masses, but some people are just born for life on the other side of the law.It wasn't long before Howard found himself trying pure ecstasy and rubbing shoulders with some of the king-pins of the pill trade. These included some of Britain's most notorious gangsters, who were laundering millions of pounds of gold stolen from the legendary Brink's-Mat bullion raid. As Britons descended on Ibiza ahead of one of the greatest summers of the nineties, Howard was preparing for his most outrageous operation yet.Incredibly funny, moving and scabrous, Howard Marks' Mr Smiley follows a journey to the heartland of the clubbing and British crime scene. It is also a fitting last word from one of Britain's best loved bad boys.

Echoes of a Haunting: A House in the Country


Clara M. Miller - 1999
    Do not expect the "usual" tale filled with blood running down the walls, demons jumping out of closets, heads pivoting while spewing pea soup or seances with levitating mediums. Instead, the horror that lived in the House in the Country began slowly and quietly. It gradually built in intensity until living there became unbearable.The author's family, normal by any criteria, began to earn an unfair reputation as "devil worshipers" and "kooks". Despite efforts by various psychics and clergymen to ease the pressure, the house eventually won. When emotional and psychic shocks turned to physical threats, it became impossible to stay. The book attempts, in diary form, to trace the trajectory of the "haunting".

Two Weeks: A True Haunting (True Hauntings Book 3)


Rebecca Patrick-Howard - 2015
    With plenty of bedrooms for everyone, a big yard, and the best climbing tree they’d ever seen, she and her sisters couldn’t wait to get moved in. It didn’t take long for the house to reveal its secrets. In this spooky tale of a real life haunting, an entire family was targeted as something evil lurked between the walls and threatened to tear them apart. In the two weeks the family lived in the haunted house they battled physical attacks from unseen assailants, spiritual attacks on their articles of devotion throughout the house, and even demonic possession. And then, of course, there was the thing in the basement-the thing that nobody wanted to talk about. Was the house reliving its torrid past or are some houses just born evil? Laura's family was about to find out in the worst way! In this incredible true ghost story of a family living a horrible nightmare in central Kentucky, if you weren’t a believer in the paranormal before, you might just change your mind. (TWO WEEKS is, indeed, a true account of a haunting that took place in the late 1980s.)

True Ghost Stories: Real Haunted Cemeteries and Graveyards


Zachery Knowles - 2017
    Or as one gentleman whom had has picture taken at an infamous Old West Cemetery, only to have it developed and discover someone else was in the picture, too—holding a knife. Envision yourself walking along in a cemetery when a tall, handsome young man approaches asking for the location of a crypt. When you politely respond in the negative, he politely thanks you, turns, and disappears. Be cautious visiting a cemetery at dusk for a pack of large, dark-colored hellhounds with fiery red eyes might pass right through the trees as they are running toward you, barking and baying in a terrifying fashion. These stories and more fill the pages of this book. Included are cemetery hauntings from all over the world, including the United States, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Egypt, Argentina, Mexico, and Czechoslovakia. Infamous hauntings from Greyfriars Kirkyard and Stull Cemetery, as well as countless lesser-known hauntings are guaranteed to unnerve even the bravest of readers. Ghosts of criminals, police chiefs, murder victims, innocent young children, distraught mothers, lonely bachelors, forlorn lovers, a cursed pharaoh and many more are described in this book. All sorts of manifestations are also integrated including ghostly animals, shadows cast by a hangman’s tree no longer there, a screaming skull encased in concrete…these are just a few of the ghostly manifestations you will learn of within these pages. Be prepared to view cemeteries in a whole new light. Don’t read this without all the lights on and think twice before visiting any of these cemeteries without showing the proper respect—you may not come out with your sanity intact. Ready to scare yourself senseless? Scroll to the top of the page and hit buy!

The Haunting of the Creole House


Blake Croft - 2019
    Something dark lurks in the old Creole house.Abbie and Richard’s young sons are the first to witness this phenomenon. When Aiden, the youngest, treats the teddy bear he found in their room as a friend, his brother Dave senses something terrible. Constant nightmares and fighting take a toll on them all, and what begins as a strange occurrence takes an ugly turn that spurs them to run for their lives. However, the sinister entity has other plans.Can the Coltranes bring an end to the madness before tragedy strikes?There is something in the Creole house. Ever watching, always hungry… it waits.If you like chilling supernatural suspense, you’ll love this story. Get your copy now!

Sisters of Mercy: Spookshow 8


Tim McGregor - 2017
    Excited at the prospect of her new business, she's also well aware that most bars fail in their first six months. There's no margin for error here. Across town, Detective Mockler, investigates two gruesome homicides linked to an alleged curse that mimics the signs of the stigmata. He dismisses the curse story only to find himself afflicted with the wounds that, according to the curse, will take his life in seven days...

Weight Till Christmas


Ruth Saberton - 2013
    At least she will if she can squeeze into her party dress...Without a fairy godmother to wave a magic wand, Ellie Summers needs more than a pumpkin to impress her gorgeous boss. She works hard, not as a scullery maid but as a super sassy saleswoman, but he doesn't notice her. Their company's lavish Christmas party is the opportunity Ellie's been waiting for to make a big impression. And she doesn't intend it to be winning the mince pie eating competition.With the help of fellow dieter Sam, a sleigh load of will power and a sprinkling of Christmas magic, Ellie knows finding her Prince Charming is just a mistletoe kiss away.But is her prince really so charming? Or is Christmas romance closer than she thinks?

The Haunting of Gallagher Hotel


K.T. Rose - 2020
    But the "party" has just begun.Now, Chris and Riley face their demons as they fight to survive a hellish nightmare full of spoiled secrets, carnage, and vengeful spirits lost to the hotel dating back to the turn of the 20th century.Will they survive the night? Or will their souls be devoured by the most haunted building in Michigan?

To All A Good Night: A Mary O'Reilly Short Story


Terri Reid - 2016
    During the storm she learns the true meaning of Christmas with the help of her new friends, Stanley and Rosie.

Badlands: The Hunter


Robert E. Hatch - 2013
    Ranchers find fifteen-year-old Lori Perkins in the wilderness on the edge of death. When she awakens, she tells a grizzly story of murder, vengeance and a ghostly rider that killed her family. Beside himself, Sheriff Rufus Mackie calls upon a mysterious Hunter to deal with the revenant that apparently is still stalking Lori. Hunter leads Elizabeth Winslow who nursed Lori back to health and her son Jonah who is the same age as Lori and heavily crushing on her along with Sheriff Mackie and Lori back to Lori’s family farm. What they find shocks everyone. Badlands: The Hunter is a 9,000-word short story that introduces readers to Hunter, the main character of the upcoming Badlands novel series. This story is the first of six leading to the premiere of the first novel Badlands: Comes the Hunter, coming soon.

Dahmer's Not Dead


Edward Lee - 1999
    Jeffrey Dahmer is dead. Or is he?Two weeks after the madman's body is buried, another cannibalistic murder spree begins. Fingerprints, DNA, and modus operandi all link Dahmer to the hideous crimes.Homicide cop Helen Closs is certain it's all a hoax or a clever copycat...until the night her own phone rings, and Jeffrey Dahmer himself begins to speak...Dahmer's Not Dead is the latest collaborative effort by acclaimed horror novelist Edward Lee and serial-killer expert Elizabeth Steffen. Don't expect the same explicit hardcore horror that Edward Lee is so well-known for. Instead, Dahmer's Not Dead is a brilliant and technically accurate police-procedural thriller on par with the best crime novelists working today.The Cemetery Dance Publications edition of Dahmer's Not Dead includes a full-color dust jacket and illustrated endpapers by Erik Wilson.

Short Horror Stories Vol. 4


Kathryn St. John-Shin - 2019
    Vengeful spirits are the main attraction at a carnival of the damned. And a woman is stalked by evil she can never escape…Scare Street is proud to present the best in bone-chilling supernatural horror. This volume contains three macabre morsels for your reading pleasure. Each tale is a bone-chilling glimpse into a shadowy abyss of fear and terror.But don’t stare for too long. Because it’s only a matter of time before you feel a presence longing for your soul…

Peter and the Frankenstein


Darren Pillsbury - 2011
    Rowling (the HARRY POTTER series), Darren Shan (CIRQUE DU FREAK), R.L. Stine (the GOOSEBUMPS series), and Stephen King (IT)! Volume Three in the PETER AND THE MONSTERS series! Follow the adventures started in PETER AND THE VAMPIRES (Volume One) and PETER AND THE WEREWOLVES (Volume Two)!Tragedy has struck Peter’s best friend Dill. In his effort to help, Grandfather might have actually made things worse. But help is on the way in the form of a new ally, and important information surfaces that might explain the Curse now haunting Peter and his family. In this volume, Peter battles more supernatural mayhem, including:A scientist who pieces together a family of monstrous creations…A pack of small creatures that kill the local baker, and plan to make Peter their next victim…Peter’s own dark side, which rears its ugly head in a violent rampage…A mysterious ‘snow demon’ out of Native American legend that menaces Peter on a ski trip…And a couple of ‘walking dead’ who try to put Peter in the morgue during a visit to the hospital. The PETER AND THE VAMPIRES series is for teens and adults who, when they were kids, were looking for stories that kicked butt. The protagonist might be young, but the stories are dark, funny, and edge-of-your-seat suspenseful.PETER AND THE FRANKENSTEIN is the third in an ongoing series that includes PETER AND THE VAMPIRES (Volume 1) and PETER AND THE WEREWOLVES (Volume 2). This book is 150,000 words (450+ pages) and contains some mild language, violence, and scary situations.

Sanchez: A Christmas Carol: A Santa Mondega short story


Anonymous - 2014
     It's Christmas Eve in Santa Mondega and all is quiet...... apart from the ghost of the Mystic Lady. Sanchez is awoken in the middle of the night by the annoying fortune teller who warns him that he will be visited by three spirits, and that he must listen to them or terrible things 'might' happen. Join Sanchez, Flake, Tiny Tim, a bunch of terrorists and the ghosts of characters from previous books in the series in this crazy, violent and often ridiculous version of the classic Charles Dickens tale.

The Guest House Hauntings Boxset: A Riveting Haunted House Mystery


Hazel Holmes - 2021
    While its citizens have fallen on hard times, they've managed to survive decades of harsh, northern winters. But when drifter Sarah Pembrooke rolls into town looking for work, the frigid cold will be the least of their worries.