Creepy Suspense

What terrible secret is your grandfather hiding in the basement? If your grandfather is like almost everybody else's, probably nothing all that dangerous. It's likely pretty damn boring down there. But if he's anything like Paul's, it may be something you should avoid at all costs. WARNING: This series of stories contains strong language and graphic scenes. First published in Horror Lover (no longer available)

Great magicians are masters of illusion. The truly dangerous ones don’t bother with tricks. On Augie Doyle’s seventeenth birthday, a strange carnival rolls into Hollowbrook. It’s all gears and steam, brass and bone—a dazzling steampunk spectacle of rides, wonders, and performers. But beneath the laughter and cotton candy, Augie senses something dark. Something wrong. Then the magician takes the stage. He doesn’t just perform tricks—he defies reality. In his most chilling act, he assembles a man piece by piece, as if stitching together a living puzzle. The crowd cheers. Augie’s...

The gradual deterioration of both Route 66 and the relationship between a couple who find themselves traversing the historic highway come to a head as all roads (or, at least, the one they're on) lead to a roadside attraction off the beaten path, hiding, from the rest of 1960s Americana, a religious cult and its leader who claims to be the second coming of Christ.

Monty and Ellen Drew’s vacation in the South Seas takes a spooky turn when their cruise ship loses all power. And the temperature drops...unnaturally. Ellen believes an evil presence has taken over the ship...except Captain Norris doesn’t believe her. But with the ship dead in the water—and no rescue happening—the captain asks Ellen and Monty for assistance in overcoming possible supernatural forces. When the crew and passengers begin to mysteriously fall asleep and don’t awaken, Ellen and Monty must discover how the entity is holding the ship hostage... And why no rescuers can ...

Deep in the shadowy forests of Cedar Creek, the Peterson family’s idyllic summer retreat turns into a nightmare when seven-year-old Jamie vanishes without a trace. As search parties comb the woods and whispers of "wild animals" spread through the town, fifteen-year-old Owen knows the truth: something far more sinister is at play. Haunted by the image of a monstrous, otherworldly figure snatching his brother, Owen teams up with a reclusive neighbor, Eleanor Kane, whose knowledge of the forest’s dark history reveals a chilling pattern of disappearances spanning decades. Together with a ...

Life is strange. But it’s never as strange as what Augie Doyle believes. When teens start vanishing from Hollowbrook High, Augie Doyle—resident horror nerd and amateur investigator—knows something isn’t right. Hollowbrook residence believes human trafficking has come to their small town, but Augie suspects something far more sinister. A new copper mine has brought an influx of jobs, families, and students. Augie isn’t sure if the newcomers can be trusted. His top suspects? His new neighbors, who burn things in their backyard long after everyone else has gone to bed. A creative way...

Frederick Galvanni is the thief of the century, but it's not his first time claiming the title. For Frederick and the inhabitants of his world, reincarnation is real, but people are always reborn in the country in which they died. Now Frederick seeks to pull off his greatest heist yet - enter a maximum security prison where souls are trapped through reincarnation - and assemble the greatest criminal team that has ever lived.

Ruby Holmes is plenty excited to serve her cakes and goodies to the many trick-or-treaters in Carmel Springs, Maine. Costumes range from fearsome to the funny, and when Ruby sees a clown jostling with a vampire to get to her cakes, she doesn’t think anything of it. That is, until the corpse of the ‘vampire’ washes up on the beach, right in front of her food truck. Ruby’s not going to let this mystery go unsolved, even if it means annoying the local detective and the murderer themselves. Can Ruby discover the identity of the killer clown? Or will he get the last laugh?

When Lexi receives an invitation to participate in a brand-new escape room, along with her best friend Tess, she’s thrilled. They could both use the distraction after a recent tragedy. But once inside, they learn that they must compete against one another. What do you do when your best friend suddenly becomes your biggest adversary, and every choice you make puts her in danger? How far will you go to win?

In a marshbound village where time sags and secrets linger, the old bell at St. Olwen’s chapel tolls once more. Thomas Wherrit has buried dozens beneath its shadow. But when the bell rings without warning—and no grave awaits—unease begins to fester. Something is stirring in the soil. And this time, the call feels personal. The Gravedigger’s Bell is a chilling standalone tale from Sebastian Blackwood—perfect for fans of eerie folklore, quiet dread, and stories that leave their echo long after the last page.

Small town secrets are the most disturbing... and the most deadly. In 1983, four teens got together in the forest surrounding Scab Wood, North Dakota, and did something terrible. Something so horrific, it's haunted them to the present day. But when children begin to emerge from the woods—kids presumed missing and dead for years—the four are reunited one last time against their will to set things right and keep that secret buried. WARNING - this novella contains strong language and violent situations. I'm guessing you got that figured out already.

Caleb Cantrill is an Irishman whose luck may have just run out. He has two fortunes in gold and can't remember the location of either. And that's the least of his worries. A gang of blood-thirsty bandits are riding north to claim his first fortune, sovereign gold, which he fled with after a bank job went wrong. His second fortune, an immense gold strike, comes with a monstrous blight attached, one he accidentally unleashed onto a small mountain town nestled in the heart of a remote Canadian valley.

Monty and Ellen head to Medellin, Columbia, to investigate a haunted castle. They’re hired to protect its priceless museum exhibits from the annual rampage of the ghost of El Castillo. However, when Ellen is attacked by the spirit, things take a scary turn. While Monty uses his hi-tech instruments to track the entity, Ellen, a psychic, communicates with the dangerous spirit via a translator. When they begin to make a connection between the angry spirit and his shady history, they must trust a notorious man in order to identify the ghost... But the past hides a grim secret—a secret that ...

Douglas Island sits off the coast of New York State, its imposing cliffs warning away visitors. Still, Finn Douglas has big plans for his inheritance and the rambling manor house that dominates the landscape. He has a vision to turn the island into a resort getaway for overworked city dwellers. But when the broken body of his business partner is found at the base of the rocky escarpment, he fears it wasn’t an accident.

Henry was the first to reach the girl, found sleeping on the beach, with his friends Gil and Susan. When they learn what has happened to her, they are thrown into a mystery that nightmares are made of. The young girl has been forced to host a hideous malevolence that insinuates itself into the bodies and minds of thousands of unsuspecting people. The only hope of saving them is to become Night Warriors, an ancient Order with the power to infiltrate the dream world, and destroy the original source.

They Never Left When disgraced journalist Rex Mallory returns to the small town of Whisper Ridge, he expects rust, rumors, and a few ghosts from his past. What he doesn’t expect is a missing woman, a mutilated corpse, and the burned remains of a notebook that points to decades of disappearances. As Mallory digs deeper, he uncovers chilling whispers of an abandoned asylum, a preacher with too many secrets, and a sheriff who doesn’t take kindly to questions. Every lead pulls him closer to a horrifying truth buried beneath the town’s sleepy surface—one the townspeople are willing to ...

A trip to the Yukon Territory in northern Canada turns into a nightmare for three childhood friends. Shortly after being dropped off on a frozen, isolated lake they make a bone chilling discovery. When the initial shock eventually wears off, they realize that the ones responsible are hiding in the woods and keeping a close eye on them. That’s when the terror starts in earnest. The plane that brought them to this vast, isolated wilderness is not scheduled to return for another week, and they have no means of communicating with the outside world. There’s only one option available to the ...

In an unassuming house on the edge of town, secrets linger like shadows in the corners, and the past is never truly past. Every creak in the floorboards, every sigh of the wind through the eaves, seems to carry a whisper of forgotten sins and untold stories. For those who dare to step inside, the house becomes more than just a home—it becomes a mirror to their fears, their desires, and their darkest regrets. But as the threads of its haunted history begin to unravel, one truth emerges: the house remembers. And it’s not done telling its story.

Not all witches ride brooms, wear pointy hats, and have warty noses. A fortune teller predicts Augie Doyle will soon meet a green-eyed beauty with a crescent-moon tattoo. Best yet, she’s his soul mate. That would be exciting news if he didn’t already have a girlfriend. Breaking up is out of the question. She lives with him and his dad. They’re practically a family. But then the new girl arrives. Just like the psychic predicted: gorgeous, smart, confident … and somehow into Augie. It feels too good to be true. And it is. As soon as she enters his life, things start going wrong. One ...

What’s that noise outside the window? Maybe some endings should be left alone. What was that bump I felt? What’s that crawling in your underwear? Take a look through Dark Windows: More Twisted Tales to find the answers to these questions and more in this collection of short stories of dark fiction, supernatural, suspense and psychological horror all bound together with a black sense of humour. Why not take a look through these Dark Windows… you never know what you might see?