Cold Print


Ramsey Campbell - 1985
    A collection of Ramsey campbell's horror stories, including The Church in the High Street, The Room in the Castle, The Horrors from the Bridge, The Insects from Shaggai, The Render of the Veils, The Inhabitant of the Lake, The Will of Stanley Brooke, The Moon-Lens, Before the Storm, Cold Print, Among These Pictures Are, The Tugging, The Faces at Pine Dunes, Blacked Out, and The Voice of the Beach.

Born Bad: Collected Stories


Andrew Vachss - 1994
    Andrew Vachss might have scissored his characters from today's headlines: a stalker prowling around an anonymous high-rise; a serial killer whose transgressions reflect a childhood of hideous abuse; an inner-city gunman who is willing to take out a blockful of victims in order to win a moment of acceptance.Tautly written and endowed with murderous ironic spin, Born Bad plunges us into the hell that lies just outside our bedroom windows.

Little Deaths


Ellen DatlowKathe Koja - 1994
    A gasp of pleasure. The exquisite danger of nakedness...In Little Deaths some of the most gifted writers inside and outside the horror genre have come together to peer into this realm of desire and dread, love and violence, tenderness and shame in a stunning collection that takes its title from the French phrase for orgasm: le petit mort.The lady of situations / Stephen Dedman --Hungry skin / Lucy Taylor --Becky lives / Harry Crews --The swing / Nicholas Royle --Lover doll / Wayne Allen Sallee --The careful geometry of love / Kathe Koja and Barry N. Malzberg --The pain barrier / Joel Lane --Ménage à trois / Richard Christian Matheson. On Amen's shore / Clive Barker --Fever blisters / Joyce Carol Oates --An outside interest / Ruth Rendell --And Salome danced / Kelley Eskridge --That old school tie / Jack Womack --Ice palace / Douglas Clegg --Serial monogamist / Pat Cadigan --Dying in Bangkok / Dan Simmons

Poe's Children: The New Horror


Peter StraubM. Rickert - 2008
    Showcasing this cutting-edge talent, Poe’s Children now brings the best of the genre’s stories to a wider audience. Featuring tales from such writers as Neil Gaiman and Jonathan Carroll, Poe’s Children is Peter Straub’s tribute to the imaginative power of storytelling. Each previously published story has been selected by Straub to represent what he thinks is the most interesting development in our literature during the last two decades.Selections range from the early Stephen King psychological thriller “The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet,” in which an editor confronts an author’s belief that his typewriter is inhabited by supernatural creatures, to “The Man on the Ceiling,” Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem’s award-winning surreal tale of night terrors, woven with daylight fears that haunt a family. Other selections include National Book Award finalist Dan Chaon’s “The Bees”; Peter Straub’s “Little Red’s Tango,” the legend of a music aficionado whose past is as mysterious as the ghostly visitors to his Manhattan apartment; Elizabeth Hand’s visionary and shocking “Cleopatra Brimstone”; Thomas Ligotti’s brilliant, mind-stretching “Notes on the Writing of Horror: A Story”; and “Body,” Brian Evenson’s disturbing twist on correctional facilities.Crossing boundaries and packed with imaginative chills, Poe’s Children bears all the telltale signs of fearless, addictive fiction.

Best New Horror 1


Stephen JonesGregory Frost - 1990
    The first annual collection of the world's best horror stories and short novels showcases fiction from every part of the field--from terror to supernatural chills--and features the talents of Ian Watson, Stephen Gallagher, Ramsey Campbell, and others.

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories


Jeff VanderMeerWilliam Gibson - 2010
    Together these stories form The Weird, and its practitioners include some of the greatest names in twentieth and twenty-first century literature.Exotic and esoteric, The Weird plunges you into dark domains and brings you face to face with surreal monstrosities. You won't find any elves or wizards here... but you will find the biggest, boldest, and downright most peculiar stories from the last hundred years bound together in the biggest Weird collection ever assembled. The Weird features 110 stories by an all-star cast, from literary legends to international bestsellers to Booker Prize winners: including William Gibson, George R. R. Martin, Stephen King, Angela Carter, Kelly Link, Franz Kafka, China Miéville, Clive Barker, Haruki Murakami, M. R. James, Neil Gaiman, Mervyn Peake, and Michael Chabon.

Dark Screams: Volume Six


Brian James Freeman - 2017
    THE OLD DUDE’S TICKER by Stephen King Richard Drogan has been spooked ever since he came back from Nam, but he’s no head case, dig? He just knows the old dude needs to die. THE RICH ARE DIFFERENT by Lisa Morton Even though she made her name revealing the private lives of the rich and famous, Sara Peck has no idea how deep their secrets really go . . . or the price they’ll pay to get what they desire. THE MANICURE by Nell Quinn-Gibney A trip to the nail salon is supposed to be relaxing. But as the demons of the past creep closer with every clip, even the most serene day of pampering can become a nightmare. THE COMFORTING VOICE by Norman Prentiss It’s a little strange how baby Lydia can only be soothed by her grandfather’s unnatural voice, ravaged by throat cancer. The weirdest part? What he’s saying is more disturbing than how he says it. THE SITUATIONS by Joyce Carol Oates There are certain lessons children must learn, rules they must follow, scars they must bear. No lesson is more important than this: Never question Daddy. Or else. THE CORPSE KING by Tim Curran Grave robbers Kierney and Clow keep one step ahead of the law as they ply their ghoulish trade, but there’s no outrunning a far more frightening enemy that hungers for the dead. Praise for the Dark Screams series “A wicked treat [featuring] . . . some of the genre’s best.”—Hellnotes, on Volume One “Five fun-to-read stories by top-notch horror scribes. How can you lose? The answer: you can’t.”—Atomic Fangirl, on Volume Two “If you have not tried the series yet, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of any (or all) of the books for yourself.”—Examiner.com, on Volume Three “Fans of horror of every variety will find something to love in these pages.”—LitReactor, on Volume Four “[Volume Five] runs the gamut from throwback horror to lyrical and heartbreaking tales.”—Publishers Weekly

Predators


Ed Gorman - 1993
    Because a predator lies in wait. This compelling new collection from the editors of the bestselling Stalkers tells of worlds where evil waits and watches...and kills. Each story will send chills up your spine, keep you burning the lights all night, and have you looking over your shoulder—just in case the Predator is there. So lock your doors, check your windows, and get ready to savor fiction that touches the primeval places…where all your screams are born.

A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe


J.R. Hamantaschen - 2018
    Hamantaschen’s third collection of short stories delivers more inimitable dark fiction. These are eleven tales of macabre horror, filled with estrangement, honor, wonder, terror, delusion, pity, desperation and perseverance.

Dark Forces: New Stories of Suspense and Supernatural Horror


Kirby McCauleyEdward Gorey - 1980
    E. D. KleinThe Detective of Dreams by Gene WolfeVengeance Is. By Theodore SturgeonThe Brood by Ramsey CampbellThe Whistling Well by Clifford D. SimakThe Peculiar Demesne by Russell KirkWhere the Stones Grow by Lisa TuttleThe Night Before Christmas by Robert BlochThe Stupid Joke by Edward GoreyA Touch of Petulance by Ray BradburyLindsay and the Red City Blues by Joe HaldemanA Garden of Blackred Roses by Charles L. GrantOwls Hoot in the Daytime by Manly Wade WellmanWhere There’s a Will by Richard Matheson and Richard Christian MathesonTraps by Gahan WilsonThe Mist by Stephen King

Hot Blood: Tales of Erotic Horror


Jeff GelbMick Garris - 1989
    McCammon, Graham Masterton, Harlan Ellison, Ramsey Campbell and other masters of the macabre take readers into their private world of fear, fantasy, and fatal attraction--in 24 tales of dread and debauchery, riveting stories of sex and terror . . . the fresh fusion that is fast becoming America's obsession.

Hellhole: An Anthology of Subterranean Terror


Lee MurrayJonathan Maberry - 2018
    A world filled with wonders... and danger. But what if the legends are true?Delve into dark worlds in HELLHOLE, where death lurks around every corner, and come face to face with creatures from your worst nightmares in this collection of dark thrillers. New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry and Bram Stoker Award winner Rena Mason headline a cast of bestselling and award-winning authors.This collection includes:Introduction by James A. MooreAll the Devils are Here- A Joe Ledger/Lizzie Corbett Adventure by Jonathan MaberryThe Devil's Throat by Rena MasonA Plague of Locusts by Michael McBridePit of Ghosts by Kirsten CrossWhere the Sun Does Not Shine by Paul ManneringGuard Duty by SD PerryBlack Lung by Aaron SternsThe Offspring by J.H. MoncrieffGinormous Hell Snake by Jake BibleGhosts of Hyperia by Jessica McHughHe Who Fights by Sean EllisEdited by Lee Murray

Midnight Graffiti


Jessica HorstingDan Simmons - 1992
    . .It's got its fingers on the fear-loving pulse of the nation like no magazine around. Already winner of the American Horror Award and nominated for a Hugo, Midnight Graffiti has re-created the genre in just the first few years of its existence -- defying taboos, exalting the subnormal, mining our richest, most sinister fantasies, bringing you the best new works by the most acclaimed masters and hottest writers on the dark side of fiction.STEPHEN KING brings a plague of terror down from the peaceful skies of Maine . . . you may want to close your shutters. DAVID J. SCHOW cruises the L.A. streets with a martyred punk whose distinctive tag burns through the void of the voids. JOE R. LANSDALE finds a plastic, inflatable friend you can take almost . . . anywhere. NANCY COLLINS demystifies the messiah reborn, an avenging angel of the suburbs with a strange and savage appetite. And HARLAN ELLISON, DAN SIMMONS, NEIL GAIMAN, REX MILLER, STEVEN R. BOYETT, K.W. JETER, and JOHN SHIRLEY all bring you original tales from the farthest corners of the imagination that until now could only be found in the horror-haunted pages of . . . MIDNIGHT GRAFFITI.

Haunted Legends


Ellen DatlowM.K. Hobson - 2010
    Lansdale, Caitlin Kiernan, Catherynne M. Valente, Kit Reed, Ekaterina Sedia, and thirteen other fine writers to create stories unlike any they've written before. Tales to make readers shiver with fear, jump at noises in the night, keep the lights on. These twenty nightmares, brought together by two renowned editors of the dark fantastic, are delightful visions sure to send shivers down the spines of horror readers.

The Secret of Ventriloquism


Jon Padgett - 2016
    With themes reminiscent of Shirley Jackson, Thomas Ligotti, and Bruno Schulz, but with a strikingly unique vision, Padgett's work explores the mystery of human suffering, the agony of personal existence, and the ghastly means by which someone might achieve salvation from both. A bullied child seeks vengeance within a bed's hollow box spring. A lucid dreamer is haunted by an impossible house. A dummy reveals its own anatomy in 20 simple steps. A stuttering librarian holds the key to a mill town's unspeakable secrets. A commuter's worldview is shattered by two words printed on a cardboard sign. An aspiring ventriloquist spends a little too much time looking at himself in a mirror. And a presence speaks through them all. Contents: Introduction by Matt Cardin The Mindfulness of Horror Practice Murmurs of a Voice Foreknown The Indoor Swamp Origami Dreams 20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism Infusorium Organ Void The Secret of VentriloquismEscape to Thin Mountain