Book picks similar to
Shudderville by Mia Zabriskie
horror
paranormal
free
short
A Demon's Promise
Kristie Cook - 2010
He was created by the demons we fight. Our love could save the world—or end it. All I’ve ever wanted was a normal life, but two days before I’m supposed to leave for college, I'm attacked by creatures that can't possibly be real. The next morning, Mom wakes me up at the butt-crack of dawn so we can hit the road early. She acts like we can’t escape this city fast enough, but won’t explain. I know we have family secrets. She’s been guarding them from me all my life, supposedly with good reason. But I think it’s time for me to know the truth, with or without her help. Until I meet Tristan Knight. He’s gorgeous, smart, and talented, and I suddenly forget all about researching our enigmatic family, retreating behind my façade of normalcy. At least, until one fateful night when I discover he’s not normal either. Then the secrets begin to unravel. Supposedly, we’re fated mates, and our union brings hope to my family’s secret society, the angels’ army on earth. Our love could save the world. Or end it. Because the angels aren’t the only ones who want us on their side. The demons will stop at nothing to claim us. After all, we’re a match made in Heaven—and in Hell. This is the newest edition of the first book in the paranormal fantasy series where you’ll meet vampires, werewolves, witches, warlocks, and more. The further you get into the series, the more creatures you'll discover, including shifters, fae, sorcerers, angels, demons, and more. NOTE: This is an urban fantasy series with romantic elements that crosses from New Adult to Adult. It contains mature content meant for 16 years and older. This series is not a YA.
Spirit Legacy
E.E. Holmes - 2013
Jess' life has never been what anyone would call easy; doing damage control in the wake of your nomadic, alcoholic mother doesn't exactly make for a storybook childhood. But now her world has fallen apart just when it should be coming together: her mother gone—dead under mysterious circumstances; her life uprooted to stay with estranged relatives she’s never met; and there’s something odd about some of the people she’s been meeting at school:They’re dead.Aided by Tia, her neurotic roommate, and Dr. David Pierce, a ghost-hunting professor, Jess must unravel the mystery behind her hauntings. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger shadows her every move. An ancient secret, long-buried, is about to claw its way to the surface, and nothing can prepare Jess for one terrifying truth......her encounters with the world of the dead are only just beginning.Spirit Legacy is the first of three thrilling novels in The Gateway Trilogy by E.E. Holmes.
A Bit of Bite
Cynthia Eden - 2011
But when suspicion falls on werewolf alpha Julian Kasey—Ava’s ex-lover and the man who still haunts her dreams—Ava knows that she’ll either have to prove his innocence…or watch the whole town go up in flames.Originally part of an Entangled anthology.
The Great Bazaar and Other Stories
Peter V. Brett - 2010
A handful of Messengers brave the night between the increasingly isolated populace behind protective wards. Arlen Bales will search anywhere, dare anything, to save the world. Maybe Abban, a merchant in the Great Bazaar of Krasia who purports to sell anything, has the answer.
Where There's Smoke
Jodi Picoult - 2014
Now, in this original short story, available exclusively as an eBook, Picoult introduces Serenity Jones, one of the fascinating characters from her eagerly awaited new novel, Leaving Time. Even as a child, Serenity Jones knew she possessed unusual psychic gifts. Now, decades later, she’s an acclaimed medium and host of her own widely viewed TV show, where she delivers messages to the living from loved ones who have passed. Lately, though, her efforts to boost ratings and garner fame have compromised her clairvoyant instincts. When Serenity books a young war widow to appear as a guest, the episode quickly unravels, stirring up a troubling controversy. And as she tries to undo the damage—to both her reputation and her show—Serenity finds that pride comes at a high price.
The Taste of Fear
Jeremy Bates - 2012
When robbed of their money and passports, they seek help from the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam on the very day Al Qaeda chooses to bomb it. In an eyeblink they are taken hostage and whisked across the border deep into the Congo, one of the last truly wild places left on earth.Battling terrorists, deadly wildlife, and cannibalistic rebels, Scarlett and Sal must find a way to survive in a violent, primeval world. And the only person who may be able to save them is the assassin sent to kill them.
Relentless
Robin Parrish - 2007
There's another man in the world wearing his face and living his life. What's more, the man he sees in the mirror is a stranger.Somehow, he's been Shifted -- his whole life fundamentally altered, in the space of a single breath. But the changes don't stop at skin-level. Inexplicably, he's able to affect objects around him by simply thinking about them. And as he soon learns, he's become the central figure in a vast web of intrigue that stretches from an underground global conspiracy to a prophecy dating back over seven thousand years, that tells of his coming. Enemies and allies find him at every turn, but one thing they all learn very quickly is that you don't want to push Grant Borrows too far...Can destiny be undone?The players are ready. The game is in motion. And the pace is Relentless.In the allegorical tradition of Tolkien and Lewis comes a powerful new myth for a new generation.
A Feral Darkness
Doranna Durgin - 2001
She doesn't know she's also left an opening for a far more malevolent force. Years later, thanks to the actions of several angry young men, Brenna discovers the terrible potential of that gateway. With a devastating plague unfolding abruptly around her, she must depend on her wits, a stranger she doesn't trust, and a mysterious stray dog who becomes more than just a faithful companion as she struggles to drive back the threat of a modern Black Death. Welded by a desperate sacrifice, woman, man, and dog face the feral darkness together.
The Hellbound Heart
Clive Barker - 1986
Not your ordinary affair. For Frank it began with his own insatiable sexual appetite, a mysterious lacquered box- and then an unhinged voyage through a netherworld of imaginable pleasures and unimaginable horror… Now Frank - or what is left of Frank - waits in an empty room. All he wants is to live as he was before. All Julia can do is bring him her unfulfilled passions… and a little flesh and blood…
Terrifying Tales
Edgar Allan Poe - 2014
Here, in one volume, are his masterpieces of mystery, terror, humor, and adventure, including stories such as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Black Cat, The Masque of the Red Death, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Purloined Letter, and The Pit and the Pendulum, to name just a few, that defined American romanticism and secured Poe as one of the most enduring literary voices of the nineteenth century.
Hunter of Demons
Jordan L. Hawk - 2013
But when a demon murders his brother, Caleb knows he has to avenge Ben’s death, no matter what the cost. Unfortunately, his only allies belong to an extremist group who would kill Caleb if they found out about his talent.Gray is a wandering spirit, summoned to hunt and destroy demons by drinking their blood. This hunt goes horribly wrong, and for the first time in his existence Gray is trapped in a living, human body. Caleb’s body…and Caleb is still in it.Hotshot federal agent John Starkweather thinks he’s seen it all. But when he’s called to exorcise Caleb, he finds a creature which isn’t supposed to exist outside of stories. For Gray is a drakul: a vampire.Having spent his life avoiding the government as an unregistered ‘mal, Caleb can’t let himself trust a federal exorcist, no matter how sexy. And he certainly isn’t going to give into the heat growing between them and sleep with Starkweather.Can Starkweather win Caleb’s trust and convince him he isn’t the enemy? Can Caleb keep Gray under control, as the drakul experiences the temptation of a living body for the first time?Because if he fails and Gray gives in to bloodlust, Starkweather will have no choice but to kill them both.Novella: 33,643 words
Kisses from Hell
Kristin Cast - 2010
Truly, Madly, UndeadlyThis irresistible collection features stories of love amid vampires by five of today's hottest authors—Kristin Cast (Tempted), Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy), Alyson Noël (Evermore), Kelley Armstrong (The Summoning), and Francesca Lia Block (Pretty Dead).From a fugitive vampire forced to trust a boy who might work for the group bent on destroying her to the legendary romance of two immortals whose love compels them to risk everything, this heart-pounding collection brings new meaning to the words "love you forever." Whether you're into romances that are dark and moody or light and fun, these stories will quench that insatiable thirst for enchanting tales of the beautiful undead.Part of the Kisses from Hell Anthology
The Doorknob Society
M.J. Fletcher - 2012
When she was young Chloe’s mother vanished. Wracked by feelings of abandonment and anger she lost herself traveling with her father's magic act, where illusions were part of her everyday life. Yet everything changes when they are pursued by a mysterious man in black out to kill her father. Touching a doorknob activates abilities she never knew she had and she finds herself thrust into a world of ancient societies and secrets.When her father disappears it is a race against time to find answers before she loses what is left of her family. Now Chloe must choose who to trust, the man who will do anything for her or the one she can’t stop thinking about.
The Long List Anthology: More Stories From the Hugo Award Nomination List (The Long List Anthology Series Book 1)
David SteffenScott Lynch - 2015
Every year, supporting members of WorldCon nominate their favorite stories first published during the previous year to determine the top five in each category for the final Hugo Award ballot. Between the announcement of the ballot and the Hugo Award ceremony at WorldCon, these works often become the center of much attention (and contention) across fandom. But there are more stories loved by the Hugo voters, stories on the longer nomination list that WSFS publishes after the Hugo Award ceremony at WorldCon. The Long List Anthology collects 21 tales from that nomination list, totaling almost 500 pages of fiction by writers from all corners of the world. Within these pages you will find a mix of science fiction and fantasy, the dramatic and the lighthearted, from near future android stories to steampunk heists, too-plausible dystopias to contemporary vampire stories. There is something here for everyone.CONTENT"The Breath Of War" by Aliette De Bodard"When It Ends, He Catches Her" by Eugie Foster"Toad Words" by T. Kingfisher"Makeisha In Time" by Rachael K. Jones"Covenant" by Elizabeth Bear"The Truth About Owls" by Amal El-Mohtar"A Kiss With Teeth" by Max Gladstone"The Vaporization Enthalpy Of A Peculiar Pakistani Family" by Usman T. Malik"This Chance Planet" by Elizabeth Bear"Goodnight Stars" by Annie Bellet"We Are The Cloud" by Sam J. Miller"The Magician And Laplace’s Demon" by Tom Crosshill"Spring Festival: Happiness, Anger, Love, Sorrow, Joy" by Xia Jia"The Husband Stitch" by Carmen Maria Machado"The Bonedrake’s Penance" by Yoon Ha Lee"The Devil In America" by Kai Ashante Wilson"The Litany Of Earth" by Ruthanna Emrys"A Guide To The Fruits Of Hawai’i" by Alaya Dawn Johnson"A Year And A Day In Old Theradane" by Scott Lynch"The Regular" by Ken Liu"Grand Jeté (The Great Leap)" by Rachel Swirsky
The Man on Table Ten
Luke Smitherd - 2013
But then, he hasn't touched a single drop of booze since one, fateful day, and alcohol loosens bar room lips at the best of times; so today, his decision to have three drinks will change the life of bright young waitress Lisa Willoughby forever…because now, the The Man On Table Ten wants to share his incredible tale.It's afterwards when she has to worry; afterwards, when she knows the unbelievable burden that The Man On Table Ten has had to carry throughout the years. When she knows the truth, and is left powerless to do anything except watch for the signs...This is an alternative cover edition. The original ISBN (ASIN) is ASIN: B00CXFH4MC.