Bram Stoker Award-winning author Laird Barron returns to the dark and dreadful with his fifth horror collection, which weaves sixteen weird tales into a mosaic of the bloody and the macabre.

Jason Palmer is broke, tired, desperate. When an old friend recommends him for a paid sleep study, he makes a choice that could change everything about his life. Soon, he has a paycheck, and a head full of questions. Why would a laboratory be operating out of an unmarked building in the middle of a small Kansas town? How do they already know so much about his life? What is The Gold Mine?

After two years of hiding, I'm finally free, and all I want is some peace and maybe a little garden to tend. The adorable cabin in the forest is just what I'm looking for, private and secluded. Other than the long-dead inhabitants of the old graveyard nearby, I only have one neighbor. Arlow Shaw is antisocial if not outright reclusive, quiet, and guarded when it comes to discussing himself. A nature lover, he spends most of his time in the forest or tending to his bee hives. His calming effect on me is perplexing but exactly what I need.

When the mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in the desert on the outskirts of Los Angeles, the detective assigned to the case can't deny the similarities between this murder and one that occurred a year prior. Media outlets are quick to surmise this is the work of a budding serial killer, but Detective Bill Renney is struggling with an altogether different scenario: a secret that keeps him tethered to the husband of the first victim.

In this chilling collection, five acclaimed authors invite you into a world where the supernatural hides in plain sight. Look closely, and you’ll find it: lurking within an ancient tree, stalking an idyllic beach, and whispering through a friend’s letter. Your curiosity is exactly what it’s been waiting for.