Desiree Craig

Gina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom. With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake.

(Formerly the Darkness Prevails Podcast) Host Darkness Prevails brings you Unexplained Encounters, a podcast where everyday folk share their most terrifying and unexplained experiences. From mysterious creatures seen in national forests to supernatural events disrupting peoples' lives, prepare to explore the unexplained. These stories might sound bizarre, but it's up to you to decide which to believe. Submit your story to Unexplained Encounters at darkstories.org

Lisa Power is a tortured ghost of her former self. The author of a bestselling thriller called Thief River Falls, named after her rural Minnesota hometown, Lisa is secluded in her remote house as she struggles with the loss of her entire family: a series of tragedies she calls the “Dark Star.” Then a nameless runaway boy shows up at her door with a terrifying story: He’s just escaped death after witnessing a brutal murder - a crime the police want to cover up. Obsessed with the boy’s safety, Lisa resolves to expose this crime.

Melissa Byatt’s life in Forest Grove seems as perfect as can be: a doting husband, three loving children and a beautiful house in a close-knit community. But appearances can be deceiving. One evening, Melissa arrives home to the unimaginable: her husband lies stabbed on the kitchen floor, their children standing calmly around him.... With horror, she realises that one of them is to blame. But which one? And why would they attack their own father?

Sorry, not sorry, you’d say it too if you’d ever been to Neverland. I know the big story is that Wendy Darling is the first girl to end up on Neverland because girls are too smart to fall out of their prams. I’m living proof that’s a lie. Wendy was just the first time Peter actually asked permission before he took a girl to Neverland to be his mother. I guess he learned his lesson from me. He kidnapped me from my bed while I was sleeping and just expected me to be his mother. I’d rather be a lost boy than his mother. Peter eventually gave up on me.

Calandra looks back on her old life with envy. What she wouldn't give to be back with her fellow courtiers and their exasperating need to make small talk. That was before the war, before captivity, before the curse that now pursues her through the centuries. The land of Invarnis is on the brink of destruction. How can Calandra help save it if she can't even save herself?

Ty is just a normal guy trying to do his best. He’s single, stuck in a dead-end job with the most hateful boss in the universe, and struggling under a mountain of debt. When he witnesses an impossible battle between two superpowered people, every instinct he has tells him to run. Instead, he becomes the owner of a device that can change his life in ways he can barely imagine. All he has to do is survive for long enough to learn how to use it.

After another long day at work, all Jon Christensen wanted was a cheap burger and some peace and quiet. When he pulled into the McDonald’s, Jon only had the usual cares on his mind. His sister. The bills. A career with seemingly nowhere to go. But after a confusing encounter at the cash register triggers a violent episode in the parking lot, he’s quickly pulled into a world he doesn’t understand.

Victoria Thornton lives in Seattle in a cozy little house, and is employed at the job of her dreams. As curator of an art museum, she has left the glamour and glitz of Los Angeles and her mother’s high-society lifestyle far behind. Her nightly video chats with her beloved daddy are all that tie her to her childhood in a posh mansion in a high-class neighborhood.

When 17-year-old Imorean Frayneson receives a scholarship to Gracepointe University in Norway, he’s a bit surprised: He didn’t even remember applying. When he arrives, he notices odd things: gates that lock at night, staff members who refuse to give straight answers, and most disturbing of all, a spectral creature that seems to be haunting him. Before long, Imorean finds himself caught up in a sinister plan - one created 17 years ago - that threatens to destroy the life he knew and expose the secret truth of who he really is.