The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2013 Edition


Paula GuranEllen Klages - 2013
    There need be no monsters for us to be terrified in the dark, but if there are, they are just as often human and supernatural. Join us in this outstanding annual exploration of the year's best dark fiction that includes stories of quiet fear, the utterly fantastic, the weirdly surreal, atmospheric noir, mysterious hauntings, seductive nightmares, and frighteningly plausible futures. Featuring thirty-five tales from masterful authors and talented new writers sure to make you reconsider walking in the shadows alone...Instructions for Use • Paula GuranNo Ghosts in London • Helen MarshallFake Plastic Trees • Caitlín R KiernanThe Natural History of Autumn • Jeffrey FordGreat-Grandmother in the Cellar • Peter S. BeagleRenfrew’s Course • John LanganEnd of White • Ekaterina SediaWho is Arvid Pekon? • Karin TidbeckIphigenia in Aulis • Mike CareySlaughterhouse Blues • Tim LebbonEngland Under the White Witch • Theodora GossThe Sea of Trees • Rachel SwirskyThe Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury • Neil GaimanThe Education of a Witch • Ellen KlagesWelcome to the Reptile House • Stephen Graham JonesGlamour of Madness • Peter BellBigfoot on Campus • Jim ButcherEverything Must Go • Brooke WondersNightside Eye • Terry DowlingEscena de un Asesinato • Robert HoodGood Hunting • Ken LiuGo Home Again • Simon StrantzasThe Bird Country • K. M. FerebeeSinking Among Lilies • Cory SkerryDown in the Valley • Joseph BruchacArmless Maidens of the American West • Genevieve ValentineBlue Lace Agate • Sarah MonetteThe Eyes of Water • Alison LittlewoodThe Tall Grass • Joe R. LansdaleGame • Maria Dahvana HeadleyPearls • Priya SharmaForget You • Marc LaidlawWhen Death Wakes Me to Myself • John ShirleyDahlias • Melanie TemBedtime Stories for Yasmin • Robert ShearmanHand of Glory • Laird Barron

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Ninth Annual Collection


Ellen DatlowStephen King - 1996
    Also useful for its exploration of the crossover genre known as "dark fantasy." Noteworthy authors include Peter S. Beagle, Ursula Le Guin, Stephen King, Lucy Taylor, Steve Rasnic Tem, Tanith Lee, A. S. Byatt, David J. Schow, and Joyce Carol Oates.Contents: * Summation 1995: Fantasy by Terri Windling * Summation 1995: Horror by Ellen Datlow * Horror and Fantasy in the Media: 1995 by Edward Bryant * Obituaries by James Frenkel * Home for Christmas by Nina Kiriki Hoffman * Heartfires by Charles de Lint * Screens by Terry Lamsley * King of Crows by Midori Snyder * Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros by Peter S. Beagle * The Hunt of the Unicorn by Ellen Kushner * More Tomorrow by Michael Marshall Smith * Penguins for Lunch by Scott Bradfield * Either, OR by Ursula K. Le Guin * Paper Lantern by Stuart Dybek * Lunch at the Gotham Café by Stephen King * Queen of Knives (poem) by Neil Gaiman * Dragon-Rain by Eileen Kernaghan * Llantos de La Llorona: Warnings from the Wailer (poem) by Pat Mora * Too Short a Death by Peter Crowther * The James Dean Garage Band by Rick Moody * Because of Dust by Christopher Kenworthy * Loop by Douglas E. Winter * La Loma, La Luna by Sue Kepros Hartman * Women's Stories (poem) by Jane Yolen * Swan/Princess (poem) by Jane Yolen * Switch by Lucy Taylor * Scaring the Train by Terry Dowling * Blood Knot by Steve Resnic Tem * The Girl Who Married the Reindeer (poem) by Eilean Ni Chuilleanain * The Otter Woman (poem) by Mary O'Malley * Resolve and Resistance by S.N. Dyer * La Dame by Tanith Lee * Circe's Power (poem) by Louise Glück * Dragon's Fin Soup by S.P. Somtow * The Granddaughter by Vivian vande Velde * Daphne and Laura and So Forth (poem) by Margaret Atwood * A Lamia in the Cevennes by A.S. Byatt * The Guilty Party by Susan Moody * She's Not There by Pat Cadigan * The White Road (poem) by Neil Gaiman * Refrigerator Heaven by David J. Schow * After the Elephant Ballet by Gary A. Braunbeck * Henry V, Part 2 by Marcia Guthridge * Mrs. Greasy by Robert Reed * ############## by Joyce Carol Oates * The Printer's Daughter by Delia Sherman * Prayer (poem) by Nancy Willard * Jacob and the Angel (poem) by Jane Yolen * The Lion and the Lark by Patricia A. McKillip * Honorable Mentions: 1995Edited by Terry Windling and Ellen Datlow.

Best New Horror 14


Stephen JonesCaitlín R. Kiernan - 2003
    With contributions from such favorites as Ramsey Campbell and Kim Newman, along with the talented likes of Neil Gaiman, China Mieville, Graham Joyce, Paul McCauley, Stephen Gallagher, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Jay Russell, Glen Hirshberg and many more, the hairraising tales in this edition hold nightmares for travelers in alien lands, unveil the mystery and menace lurking in our everyday reality, explore the terrors of the supernatural, and honor horror's classic tradition. As always, editor Stephen Jones provides an illuminating and engaging overview of the past year in horror fiction, as well as an affecting necrology and a guide to contacts among publishers, organizations, booksellers, and magazines in the eerier fields of fiction.Contents:AcknowledgementsIntroduction: Horror in 2002 by Stephen JonesOctober in the Chair by Neil GaimanDetails by China MiévilleThe Wretched Thicket of Thorn by Don TumasonisThe Absolute Last of the Ultra-Spooky, Super-Scary Hallowe'en Horror Nights by David J. SchowStandard Gauge by Nicholas RoyleLittle Dead Girl Singing by Stephen GallagherNesting Instincts by Brian HodgeThe Two Sams by Glen HirshbergHides by Jay RussellThe Unbeheld by Ramsey CampbellIll Met By Daylight by Basil CopperCatskin by Kelly Link20th Century Ghost by Joe HillEgyptian Avenue by Kim NewmanThe Boy Behind the Gate by James Van PeltNor the Demons Down Under the Sea by Caitlín R. KiernanThe Coventry Boy by Graham JoyceThe Prospect Cards by Don TumasonisThe Cage by Jeff VanderMeerDr. Pretorius and the Lost Temple by Paul J. McAuley (as by Paul McAuley)Necrology: 2002 (essay) by Stephen Jones and Kim NewmanUseful Addresses (essay) by Stephen Jones

The Mammoth Book of Vampires


Stephen JonesBasil Copper - 1992
    Among them are: Harlan Ellison, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Paul McAuley, Peter Tremayne, Steve Rasnic Tem, and Ramsey Campbell.This anthology collects the very best in vampire fiction which blends sheer horror with dark humor, deadly tenderness with tingling terror. For the classic vampire, as this volume amply shows, the Blood is the Life. From Hugh B. Cave's pulp thriller "Stragella" through to Harold Waldrop's bizarre mix of vampire and Nazis in "Der Untergang Des Abendlandesmenschen" and Christopher Fowler's "The Legend of Dracula Reconsidered as a Primetime TV Special." In between lie artful chillers by the likes of Clive Barker, Brian Lumley, R. Chetwynd-Hayes, Robert Bloch and John Burke, along with new and original stories by Niel Gaiman with "Cards from a Vampire Tarot," and Kim Newman with "Andy Warhol's Dracula: anno Dracula 1978-79." You can sink your teeth, too, in F. Paul Wilson's fast-paced thriller "Midnight Mass," Manly Wade Wellman's "Chastel," offering bloody intrigue and adventure with Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant; and Les Daniel's "Yellow Fog," which features his enigmatic vampire-hero Don Sebastian de Villanueva.CONTENTSIntroduction: The Children of the Night by Stephen JonesHuman Remains by Clive BarkerNecros by Brian LumleyThe Man Who Loved The Vampire Lady by Brian StablefordA Place To Stay by Michael Marshall SmithThe Brood by Ramsey CampbellRoot Cellar by Nancy KilpatrickHungarian Rhapsody by Robert BlochThe Legend of Dracula Reconsidered as a Prime-Time TV Special by Christopher FowlerVampire by Richard Christian MathesonStragella by Hugh B. CaveA Week In The Unlife by David J. SchowThe House At Evening by Francis GarfieldVampyrrhic Outcast by Simon ClarkThe Labyrinth by R. Chetwynd-HayesBeyond Any Measure by Karl Edward WagnerDoctor Porthos by Basil CopperStraight To Hell by Paul McAuleyIt Only Comes Out At Night by Dennis EtchisonInvestigating Jericho by Chelsea Quinn YarbroDracula's Chair by Peter TremayneA Taste For Blood by Sydney J. BoundsThe Better Half by Melanie TemThe Devil's Tritone by John BurkeChastel by Manly Wade WellmanDer Untergang Des Abendlandesmenschen by Howard WaldropRed As Blood by Tanith LeeLaird of Dunain by Graham MastersonA Trick of the Dark by Tina RathMidnight Mass by F. Paul WilsonBlood Gothis by Nancy HolderYellow Fog by Les DanielsFifteen Cards From a Vampire Tarot by Neil GaimanVintage Domestic by Steve Rasnic TemTry A Dull Knife by Harlan EllisonAndy Warhol's Dracula: Anno Dracula 1978-1979 by Kim Newman

Best New Horror 18


Stephen JonesDon Tumasonis - 2007
    It features some of the very best short stories and novellas by today's masters of the macabre — including Neil Gaiman, Glen Hirshberg, Tanith Lee, Ramsey Campbell, and Charles Coleman Finlay.Contents: Summer / Al Sarrantonio --Digging deep / Ramsey Campbell --Night watch / John Gordon --Luxury of harm / Christopher Fowler --Sentinels / Mark Samuels --Saffron gatherers / Elizabeth Hand --What nature abhors / Mark Morris --Last reel / Lynda E. Rucker --American dead / Jay Lake --Between the cold moon and the earth / Peter Atkins --Sob in the silence / Gene Wolfe --Continuity error / Nicholas Royle --Dr. Prida's dream-plagued patient / Michael Bishop --Ones we leave behind / Mark Chadbourn --Mine / Joel Lane --Obsequy / David J. Schow --Thrown / Don Tumasonis --Houses under the sea / Caitlín R. Kiernan --They / David Morrell --Clockwork horror / F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre --Making cabinets / Richard Christian Matheson --Pol Pot's beautiful daughter (Fantasy) / Geoff Ryman --Devil's smile / Glen Hirshberg --Man who got off the ghost train / Kim Newman --Necrology: 2006 / Stephen Jones & Kim Newman.

The Mammoth Book of New Terror


Stephen JonesDavid J. Schow - 2004
    Here are over 20 stories and short novels by the masters of gore, including Ramsey Campbell, Dennis Etchison, F. Paul Wilson, Brian Lumley, Tanith Lee and John Kaine. This classic Mammoth title features new and previously uncollected stories from some of the biggest and brightest names on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as classics from acknowledged masters.The contents include:Fruiting Bodies by Brian LumleyNeedle Song by Charles L. GrantTurbo-Satan by Christopher FowlerTalking In The Dark by Dennis EtchisonThe Circus by Sydney J. BoundsFoet by F. Paul WilsonThe Candle In The Skull by Basil CopperThe Chimney by Ramsey CampbellDark Wings by Phyllis EisensteinReflection Of Evil by Graham MastertonMirror Of The Night by E.C. TubbMaypole by Brian MooneyUnder The Crust by Terry LamsleyTir Nan Og by Lisa TuttleA Living Legend by R. Chetwynd-HayesWake-Up Call by David J. SchowThe Fourth Seal by Karl Edward WagnerUnlocked by Tanith Lee & John KaiineClosing Time by Neil GaimanIt Was The Heat by Pat CadiganFodder by Tim Lebbon & Brian KeeneOpen Doors by Michael Marshall SmithAndromeda Among The Stones by Caitlín R. KiernanFlowers On Their Bridles, Hooves In The Air by Glen HirshbergAmerikanski Dead At The Moscow Morgue Or: Children Of Marx And Coca–Cola by Kim NewmanAmong The Wolves by David Case

The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories


Peter HainingA.E. Coppard - 2000
    Over 40 tales of visitation by the undead--from vengeful and violent spirits, set on causing harm to innocent people tucked up in their homes, to rarer and more kindly ghosts, returning from the grave to reach out across the other side. Yet others entertain desires of a more sinister bent, including the erotic. This new edition includes a selection of favorite haunted house tales chosen by famous screen stars such as Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. In addition, a top ranking list of contributors includes Stephen King, Bram Stoker, Ruth Rendell, and James Herbert--all brought together by an anthologist who himself lives in a haunted house.Contents1 • The Haunted House • (2000) • short fiction by Elizabeth Albright and Ray Bradbury3 • Foreword: I Live In A Haunted House • (2000) • essay by Peter Haining9 • The Haunted and the Haunters • (1919) • novelette by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (variant of The Haunted and the Haunters; or, The House and the Brain 1859)39 • Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House • (2000) • short story by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (variant of An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House 1862)53 • A Case of Eavesdropping • [Jim Shorthouse] • (1900) • short story by Algernon Blackwood69 • A Haunted House • (1921) • short story by Virginia Woolf73 • Ghost Hunt • (1948) • short story by H. Russell Wakefield81 • Dark Winner • (1976) • short story by William F. Nolan89 • The Old House in Vauxhall Walk • (1882) • novelette by Mrs. J. H. Riddell [as by Charlotte Riddell]109 • No. 252 Rue M. Le Prince • (1895) • short story by Ralph Adams Cram125 • The Southwest Chamber • (1903) • novelette by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman [as by Mary Eleanor Freeman]145 • The Toll-House • (1907) • short story by W. W. Jacobs157 • Feet Foremost • (1932) • novelette by L. P. Hartley191 • Happy Hour • (1990) • novelette by Ian Watson217 • The Ankardyne Pew • (1979) • short story by William Fryer Harvey [as by W. F. Harvey]231 • The Real and the Counterfeit • (1988) • short story by Mrs. Alfred Baldwin [as by Louisa Baldwin]249 • A Night at a Cottage ... • (1926) • short story by Richard Hughes253 • The Considerate Hosts • (1939) • short story by Thorp McClusky265 • The Grey House • (1967) • short story by Basil Copper309 • Watching Me, Watching You • (1981) • short story by Fay Weldon329 • A Spirit Elopement • (1915) • short story by Richard Dehan339 • The House of Dust • (1920) • short story by Herbert de Hamel357 • The Kisstruck Bogie • (1946) • short story by A. E. Coppard367 • Mr Edward • (2000) • short story by Norah Lofts (variant of Mr. Edward 1947)385 • House of the Hatchet • (1941) • short story by Robert Bloch403 • Napier Court • (1971) • short story by Ramsey Campbell423 • Lost Hearts • (1895) • short story by M. R. James435 • The Shadowy Third • (1916) • novelette by Ellen Glasgow461 • A Little Ghost • (1922) • short story by Hugh Walpole477 • The Patter of Tiny Feet • (1950) • short story by Nigel Kneale489 • Uninvited Ghosts • (1981) • short story by Penelope Lively497 • Playing with Fire • (1900) • short story by Arthur Conan Doyle [as by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]513 • The Whistling Room • [Carnacki (Hodgson)] • (1910) • short story by William Hope Hodgson533 • Bagnell Terrace • (1925) • short story by E. F. Benson547 • The Companion • (1978) • short story by Joan Aiken557 • The Ghost Hunter • (2000) • short fiction by James Herbert563 • Computer Séance • (1997) • short story by Ruth Rendell573 • In Letters of Fire • [L'homme qui a vu le diable] • (1908) • novelette by Gaston Leroux (trans. of L'homme qui a vu le diable)593 • The Judge's House • (1891) • short story by Bram Stoker613 • The Storm • (1944) • short story by McKnight Malmar627 • The Waxwork • (1931) • short story by A. M. Burrage [as by Ex-Private X]641 • The Inexperienced Ghost • (1902) • short story by H. G. Wells655 • Sophy Mason Comes Back • (1930) • short story by E. M. Delafield669 • The Boogeyman • (1973) • short story by Stephen King683 • Appendix: Haunted House Novels: A Listing • (2000) • essay by Peter Haining

Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales


Ellen DatlowMike O'Driscoll - 2017
    They symbolize freedom, eternal life, the soul.There’s definitely a dark side to the avian. Birds of prey sometimes kill other birds (the shrike), destroy other birds’ eggs (blue jays), and even have been known to kill small animals (the kea sometimes eats live lambs). And who isn’t disgusted by birds that eat the dead—vultures awaiting their next meal as the life blood flows from the dying. One of our greatest fears is of being eaten by vultures before we’re quite dead.Is it any wonder that with so many interpretations of the avian, that the contributors herein are eager to be transformed or influenced by them? Included in Black Feathers are those obsessed by birds of one type or another. Do they want to become birds or just take on some of the “power” of birds? The presence or absence of birds portends the future. A grieving widow takes comfort in her majestic winged neighbors, who enable her to cope with a predatory relative. An isolated society of women relies on a bird to tell their fortunes. A silent young girl and her pet bird might be the only hope a detective has of tracking down a serial killer in a tourist town. A chatty parrot makes illegal deals with the dying. A troubled man lives in isolation with only one friend for company—a jackdaw.In each of these fictions, you will encounter the dark resonance between the human and avian. You see in yourself the savagery of a predator, the shrewd stalking of a hunter, and you are lured by birds that speak human language, that make beautiful music, that cypher numbers, and seem to have a moral center. You wade into this feathered nightmare, and brave the horror of death, trading your safety and sanity for that which we all seek—the promise of flight.

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Fourth Annual Collection


Ellen DatlowSharon M. Hall - 1991
    Morlan, Robert Silverberg, Michael Swanwick, Jane Yolen and many others. Supplementing the stories are the editors' invaluable overviews of the year in fantastic fiction, Edward Bryant's witty roundup of the year's fantasy films, and a long list of Honorable Mentions —all of which adds up to an invaluable reference source, and a font of fabulous reading.

The Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction


Mike AshleyClifford D. Simak - 2006
    Here are 25 stories of science fiction that push the boundaries, by the biggest names in an emerging crop of high-tech futuristic writers including Charles Stross, Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Peter Hamilton and Neal Asher.

Shock Rock, Volume I


Jeff GelbPaul Dale Anderson - 1992
    David J. Schow ... Thomas Tessier... F. Paul Wilson... Richard Christian Matheson ... Nancy A. Collins... Graham Masterton ... Pay Garton ... Rex Miller ... and ten other stars of today's shock fiction know what metalheads and moralists, punksters and preachers have known all along. Rock and roll. With its hot licks and raw glitter, has a dark side too - where the party stops and the terror begins.Put on your headphones. Open this electrifying book. Rock to the world of horror where martyred musical super-legends return from the dead at 120 decibels... where radio stations sponsor ghastly giveaways that no living soul could want ... where other-earthly pirates bootleg not records, but human souls... where people are strange ... and the devil rocks all night.THE NEW SOUND OF HORRORCONTENTSStephen King - You Know They've Got a Hell Of A BandF. Paul Wilson - Bob Dylan, Troy Jonson, and The Speed QueenDavid J. Schow - OdeedNancy A. Collins - Vargr RuleRonald Kelly - Blood Suede ShoesDon D'Ammassa - The Dead Beat SocietyGraham Masterton - Voodoo ChildPaul Dale Anderson - Rites Of SpringMichael E. Garrett - Dedicated To The One I LoatheBrian J. Hodge - RequiemR. Patrick Gates - Heavy MetalRex Miller - BunkyBill Mumy & Peter David - The Black '59Richard Christian Matheson - GroupiesMichael Newton - ReunionMark Verheiden - BootlegRay Garton - Weird GigJohn L. Byrne - Hide In Plain SightThomas Tessier - Addicted To loveJohn Shirley - Flaming Telepaths

Armored


John Joseph AdamsJohn Jackson Miller - 2012
    First, when the armor starts to take over, even the generals may be at its mercy–and under its control. Then solve the problem of armored rescue when irradiated vacuum stands between the frail flesh of the living and safety.  And what happens when the marriage of soldier and armor becomes a bit too intimate—and that marriage goes sour! It’s an armor-plated clip of hard-hitting tales featuring exoskeleton adventure with fascinating takes on possible future armors ranging from the style of personal power suits seen in Starship Troopers and Halo to the servo-controlled bipedal beast-mech style encountered in Mechwarrior and Battletech.

The Mammoth Book of Dracula


Stephen JonesLisa Morton - 1997
    Dracula visits, in these pages, such locales as the Côte d'Azur, the wilds of Oregon, the Los Angeles of Raymond Chandler, communist Eastern Europe, Rome at the dawn of the 21st century (a chilling tale in which he is forced to imitate the Messiah), and the ruins of post-apocalyptic New Jersey. He encounters Bettie Page, Aleister Crowley, Timothy Leary, Lou Reed, and Francis Ford Coppola (with the entire cast and crew of Apocalypse Now, in a hilarious spoof). The authors include such contemporary masters as Kim Newman, Nicholas Royle, Terry Lamsley, Joel Lane, Brian Stableford, and Ramsey Campbell. The book also has a foreword by Bram Stoker's great-nephew, and includes the never-before-published prologue to Stoker's theatrical version of Dracula.CONTENTSIntroduction: I Bid You Welcome by Stephen JonesForeword: Geeat Uncle Bram And Vampires by Daniel FarsonDracula: or The Un-Dead: Prologue by Bram StokerDracula's Library by Christopher FowlerThe Heart of Count Dracula, Descendant of Attila, Scourge of God by Thomas LigottiDaddy's Little Girl by Mandy SlaterConversion by Ramsey CampbellThe Devil Is Not Mocked by Manly Wade WellmanTeaserama by Nancy KilpatrickBlood Freak by Nancy HolderZack Phalanx is Vlad The Impaler by Brian LumleyWhen Greek Meets Greek by Basil CopperCoppola's Dracula by Kim NewmanThe Second Time Around by Hugh B. CaveEndangered Species by Brian MooneyMelancholia by Roberta LannesChildren Of The Long Night by Lisa MortonMbo by Nicholas RoyleThe Worst Place In The World by Paul J. McAuleyLarry's Guest by Guy N. SmithA Taste Of Culture by Jan EdwardsRudolph by R. Chetwynd-HayesRoadkill by Graham MastersonVolunteers by Terry LamsleyBlack Beads by John GordonYour European Son by Joel LaneQuality Control by Brian StablefordDear Alison by Michael Marshall SmithBloodlines by Conrad WilliamsWindows '99 Of The Soul by Chris MorganBlood Of Eden by Mike ChinnThe Last Testament by Brian HodgeThe Last Vampire by Peter CrowtherThe Lord's Work by F. Paul WilsonLord Of The Undead by Jo Fletcher

The Mammoth Book of Body Horror


Paul KaneNeil Gaiman - 2012
    A collection of truly gripping stories, with contributions from leading horror writers dedicated to the popular contemporary sub-genre of "body horror," which revolves around disease and mutation, whether self-inflicted or otherwise.

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