One Night on the Island


Josie Silver - 2022
    The remote Irish island she's booked is a far cry from London, but at least it's a chance to hunker down in a luxury cabin and indulge in some quiet, solitary self-care while she figures out her next steps in her love life and her career.Mac is also looking forward to some time to himself. With his life in Boston deteriorating in ways he can't bring himself to acknowledge, his soul searching has brought him to the same Irish island in search of his roots and some clarity. Unfortunately, a mix-up with the bookings means both solitude seekers have reserved the same one-bedroom hideaway on exactly the same dates.Instantly at odds with each other, Cleo and Mac don't know how they're going to manage until the next weekly ferry arrives. But as the days go by, they no longer seem to mind each other's company quite as much as they thought they would... Written with Josie Silver's signature warmth, charm and insights into the human heart, One Night on the Island explores the meaning of home, the joys of escape and how the things we think we want are never the things we really need.

Hark! the Herald Angels Scream


Christopher GoldenJames A. Moore - 2018
    Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is filled with scenes that are unsettling. Marley untying the bandage that holds his jaws together. The hideous children--Want and Ignorance--beneath the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The heavy ledgers Marley drags by his chains. In the finest versions of this story, the best parts are the terrifying parts. Bestselling author and editor Christopher Golden shares his love for Christmas horror stories with this anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today.Absinthe & angels by Kelley Armstrong --Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith --Fresh as the new-fallen snow by Seanan McGuire --Love me by Thomas E. Sniegoski --Not just for Christmas by Sarah Lotz --Tenets by Josh Malerman --Good deeds by Jeff Strand --It's a wonderful knife by Christopher Golden --Mistletoe and holly by James A. Moore --Snake's tail by Sarah Langan --The second floor of the Christmas hotel by Joe R. Lansdale --Farrow Street by Elizabeth Hand --Doctor Velocity: a story of the fire zone by Jonathan Maberry --Yankee swap by John M. McIlveen --Honor thy mother by Angela Slatter --Home by Tim Lebbon --Hiking through by Michael Koryta --The hangman's bride by Sarah Pinborough

Ghoster


Jason Arnopp - 2019
    Prepare to never look at your phone the same way again . . .Kate Collins has been ghosted.She was supposed to be moving in with her new boyfriend Scott, but all she finds after relocating to Brighton is an empty apartment. Scott has vanished. His possessions have all disappeared.Except for his mobile phone.Kate knows she shouldn't hack into Scott's phone. She shouldn't look at his Tinder, his calls, his social media. But she can't quite help herself.That's when the trouble starts. Strange, whispering phone calls from numbers she doesn't recognise. Scratch marks on the walls that she can't explain. And the growing feeling that she's being watched.Kate refuses to leave the apartment - she's not going anywhere until she's discovered what happened to Scott. But the deeper she dives into Scott's digital history the more Kate realises just how little she really knows about the man she loves.

Fantastic Orgy


Carlton Mellick III - 2011
    Over the past few decades, sexually transmitted diseases have evolved in unusual ways. Herpes, AIDS, Gonorrhea; these are all STDs of the past. These days, sexually transmitted diseases are more extreme and bizarre. Not exactly diseases anymore, they are more like sexually transmitted body modifications. There's an STD that changes your hair color, an STD that causes your toes to grow larger, one causes you to grow extra breasts on your body, another causes your skin to grow long metal spikes, and there's an especially annoying STD that causes you to ejaculate miniature eyeballs. Tonight is Share Your STD Night at the Demon Seed Swingers Club. Although most members of society fear the idea of contracting these diseases, there are some underground deviants who embrace them. They believe the diseases make them strange, unique, and beautiful. So they come together once a month to trade their wonderful STDs with each other in a surreal, fantastical orgy. However, tonight will not be like other nights. There's a new disease spreading through the sex club, a disease that causes people to become rabid bloodthirsty killing machines. As the infected rampage through the Demon Seed, the survivors realize there's only one thing they can do to survive the night: turn their grotesque STDs into deadly super weapons. Also featuring the short stories: Candy-Coated - A buff dude with a lollipop for a head has a hard time picking up the laydaaays due to all of the bearded truckers who keep trying to lick his head. Ear Cat - A Kitty of the Month Club selection gone horribly wrong. City Hobgoblins - A member of a punk rock band falls in love with a shark-like creature. (a prequel to the cult novel Satan Burger) Porno in August - A group of porn actors find themselves floating in the middle of the ocean, unable to remember who they are or why they are there. (Chosen for The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror)

Black Gate Tales


Paul Draper - 2020
    A disused London Underground lift goes way beyond the bottom floor.A psychic boy discovers what terrors are buried in the fallow field.A handshake seals a midnight fate in an old farming dispute.A corpse must be buried by dawn.BLACK GATE TALES: Fourteen short stories of dread, hope, death and wonder.

Glimpses: The Best Short Stories of Rick Hautala


Rick Hautala - 2012
    One of 2012’s HWA Lifetime Achievement Award Winners, Rick Hautala has a writing career that spans more than three decades. From Moondeath, his first novel published in 1980, to the republication of his best-selling novel The White Room (DRP, 2012) and his forthcoming “Little Brothers” novella Indian Summer (CD Publications, 2012), his novels and short stories have entertained millions of readers around the world. Now comes Glimpses, a career-spanning “best of” collection that brings together twenty-four stories, including eight from each of Rick’s critically-acclaimed collections Bedbugs and Occasional Demons, and eight previously uncollected stories. And Glimpses delivers what it promises—quick glimpses into the deepest shadows of our lives, around unfamiliar corners of streets we think we know, and down the darkest alleys of strange cities where readers will have to face their worst fears and their most unnerving nightmares. Of course, Glimpses wouldn’t be a Rick Hautala collection if it didn’t included gorgeous original artwork—a wraparound cover and eight new illustrations—from award-winning artist Glenn Chadbourne. So whether it’s in a haunted schoolhouse or an abandoned lighthouse, an iron bridge that spans a fast-moving river or a World War I battlefield, prepare yourself because you never know what you may catch a glimpse of … and by then, it may already be too late.

Abandoned: A Ghost Story


Carol McMahon - 2017
     She’s been kicked out of her apartment in Queens by her alcoholic boyfriend and has no other friends in the city. A co-worker tells her about a house on Staten Island where she can live in rent-free, but Lisa comes to realize the price that comes with living in an abandoned house. Abandoned: A Ghost Story is a novelette of 14,500 words.

It Came from the Multiplex: 80s Midnight Chillers


Joshua ViolaGary Jonas - 2020
    Please be advised that all emergency exits have been locked for this special nostalgia-curdled premiere of death. From crinkling celluloid to ferocious flesh—from the silver screen to your hammering heart—behold as a swarm of werewolves, serial killers, Satanists, Elder Gods, aliens, ghosts, and unclassifiable monsters are loosed upon your auditorium. Relax, and allow our ushers to help with your buckets of popcorn—and blood; your ticket stubs—and severed limbs; your comfort candy—and body bags. Kick back and scream as you settle into a fate worse than Hell. Tonight's director's cut is guaranteed to slash you apart.Edited by Joshua ViolaProduced in collaboration with the Colorado Festival of HorrorCover art by AJ Nazzaro and Joshua ViolaStory art by Xander SmithHeader art by Aaron LovettContents:FOREWORDBret and Jeanni SmithINTRODUCTIONPaul CampionALIEN PARASITES FROM OUTER SPACEWarren HammondRETURN OF THE ALIEN PARASITES FROM OUTER SPACEAngie HodappNEGATIVE CREEPAlvaro Zinos-AmaroHELLULOIDDayton Ward and Kevin DilmoreRISE, YE VERMIN!Betty RocksteadyTHE CRONENBERG CONCERTOKeith FerrellCREATURE FEATUREGary JonasINVISIBLEMario AcevedoSCREEN HAUNTOrrin GreyTHE DEVIL'S REELSean Eads and Joshua ViolaON THE ROCKSK. Nicole DavisCOMING ATTRACTIONSStephen Graham JonesLATE SLEEPERSSteve Rasnic TemSPECIAL MAKEUPKevin J. Anderson

The 7 Rules of Moving On: A Mystic Hot Springs Novella


Jess K. Hardy - 2022
    Determined to move on from a breakup and a stagnant life, she heads to Mystic Hot Springs—a resort in the remote town of Twin Hearts, Montana—for a Valentine's Day getaway with her best friend before embarking on a new job in Seattle and a more exciting life. She's armed with a laminated list of rules to keep her heart safe and a simple plan: find a rebound guy, get lucky, put her ex behind her. Not part of her plan: the resort’s sweet and smoking hot bartender, Andrew Trig.Trig, with his soulful brown eyes, thick beard, and Keanu Reeves good looks, is not no-strings-attached rebound material. He's sell-all-your-stuff-and-move-to-the-middle-of-damn-nowhere-for-him material. Kissie is determined to keep her distance, but when he offers to act as her wingman for the weekend after her best friend gets sick in exchange for her help convincing Mystic’s owners not to sell the resort he loves, she can’t refuse.The more time Kissie spends in Twin Hearts, she’s charmed by the town, by Mystic, and by Trig. As the sexual tension between them steams up the windows more than the hot springs water, Kissie will learn some rules are made to be broken. When a single night calls into question everything she thought she wanted, she’ll have to decide if big feelings will send her running away, or if sometimes moving on means staying right where you are.Notes from JessWelcome to Twin Hearts! Where magic is in water, love is in the air, and talking bears play cupid.Kissie and Trig came to me one night begging to meet. They were in the bar. Kissie was wearing a polka dotted mod dress and Trig was in jeans and a flannel. Kissie was all over the place, buzzing around and spilling her drink but absolutely convinced she had her life together. Trig was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest, grinning at her and thinking, "She is the woman of my dreams." Literally. I adore these two love-struck goofballs and I sincerely hope you do as well. Stay tuned for book 2 this summer! If Ryan plays his cards right, he might finally get his redhead.

Mr. Nice Guy (Pierce Brothers, #1)


Belinda Williams - 2021
    . .‘Give me a week. Seven days and seven nights. I’ll show you what it’s like to be with a nice guy.’Chelsea’s housemate Tom is tired of her complaining about her boyfriends. Arrogant, sexy, irresistible—bad boys are basically Chelsea’s M.O.Pretty much everything that Tom is not. He’s dependable and sweet. He’s also kind of hot in a cute, unthreatening way. His offer surprises Chelsea. He’s right . . . she’s never really given a nice guy a chance before. And now she’s curious. Hell, it might even be fun.There’s just one rule: this isn’t a friends with benefits arrangement. Except Chelsea never imagined nice guys could play so dirty . . .

Short Shockers: Collection One


Peter James - 2013
    Funny, sad, but always shocking, each tale carries a twist that will haunt readers for days after they turn the final page . . .This 25,000 word collection, available exclusively in this ebook edition, includes:12 Bolingbroke Avenue (First published in 1998)Number Thirteen (First published in 2010)Just Two Clicks (First published in 2004)Dead on the Hour (First published in 2006)Virtually Alive (First published in 1997)Meet Me at the Crematorium (First published in 2009)Venice Aphrodisiac (First published in 2011)Time Rich (First published in 2013)Christmas is for the Kids (First published in 1993)

The Corpse Garden


S.H. Cooper - 2016
    From a young boy with with an unhealthy fixation on what could go wrong to a man who can't accept that his wife wants to leave him, traipsing through The Corpse Garden certainly isn't for the faint of heart. Author S.H. Cooper presents a combination of works popularized on Reddit's NoSleep and four, previously unreleased stories for brand new thrills and chills that are best read with the lights on.

Sleep Martyrs


C.A. Wittman - 2019
    But navigating around their controlling stepfather and their aloof new siblings becomes the least of their worries.There is a vague sense of menace in their state of the art lavish smart home with its cutting edge calm technology. And something is not quite right with the bright, cheerful kids at Santomon’s private school where the girls are enrolled. Undergrads from prestigious universities and ivy-league colleges are vying for the coveted internships within Santomon Village. The mega-corporation is the darling of the tech world and a philanthropic superstar when it comes to awarding educational scholarships to low-income families who require rehabilitative services for their teens at Santomon’s troubled youth program called Salinger House.But not everyone is singing Santomon praises. A growing number of parents whose children have returned home from the program are voicing concerns that at first seem vague, while a social activist group called The Disruptors has been investigating a cash-for-kids scandal in South Dakota that involves Santomon. For Tori, she can feel that something ominous, something evil is afoot, and as her mother begins to have doubts about her marriage and there is talk of divorce, Tori yearns to return to Inglewood and the simple life they had. But her sister, Laila ‘s not so sure leaving the village will be easy because what she has discovered is a treacherous web of lies unfathomable in their scope. What Laila wonders is if they can get away from Santomon before it’s too late.

This Mortal Coil


Emily Suvada - 2017
    Her father was the world's leading geneticist, and humanity's best hope of beating a devastating virus. Then, hidden beneath Cole's genehacked enhancements she finds a message of hope: Lachlan created a vaccine.Only she can find and decrypt it, if she can unravel the clues he left for her. The closer she gets, the more she finds herself at risk from Cartaxus, a shadowy organization with a stranglehold on the world's genetic tech. But it's too late to turn back.There are three billion lives at stake, two people who can save them, and one final secret that Cat must unlock. A secret that will change everything.

The Last Good Man


Thomas McMullan - 2020
    He has come from the city, where the fires are always burning.In his cousin’s village, Peck finds a place with tea rooms and barley fields, a church and a schoolhouse. Out here, the people live an honest life – and if there’s any trouble, they have a way to settle it. They sit in the shadow of a vast wall, inscribed with strange messages. Anyone can write on the wall, anonymously, about their neighbours, about any wrongdoing that might hurt the community. Then comes the reckoning.The stranger from the city causes a stir. He has not been there long before the village wakes up to the most unspeakable accusation; sentences daubed on the wall that will detonate the darkest of secrets.A troubling, uncanny book about fear and atonement, responsibility and justice, and the violence of writing in public spaces, The Last Good Man dares to ask: what hope can we place in words once extinction is in the air?