Dark Fantasy Short Stories

In April 2020, the world faced imminent lock-down, so a group of filmmakers started a virtual support group. Once a week, these diverse voices would assemble to do what they do best: tell each other stories. Campfire horror tales, emotional cosmic mysteries, and anything else that either made them take their minds off what was happening to the world, or help them understand it. HAUNTED REELS is the best of those stories.

Destinies can’t be ignored. No one knows that better than Annita. For as long as she can remember, it's been foretold she would find a dragon. A real-life dragon. She’s beginning to think it was all some kind of mistake until she’s swimming in one of the many caves around the island and discovers none other than a dragon. There is no fear as she approaches, utterly transfixed at the sight of the creature. Then he shifts into the shape of a thoroughly gorgeous man who spears her with bright blue eyes.

Welcome to futures profound, dark and unexpected… A businessman in the year 2047 awakens late one morning to discover that everything that has ever been written or entered on the internet has become instantly accessible to him. Then comes the terror of realising that his entire sordid life is now in the public domain. An Arnold Schwarzenegger replica arrives on Planet Strong, a theme-world teeming with Schwarzenegger look-a-likes, to compete in the Mr Arnold bodybuilding contest. Suddenly he finds his existence weirdly paralleling that of the plot of the movie Total Recall – and someone...

Like the tanning of a leathered corpse, the inaugural release of Grimoire seeks to stretch the fleshy bounds of dark fiction and horror. Included within these unhallowed book are tales of medieval horror and cacophony, Lovecraftian delights and wretched Kaiju, accursed djinn and pestilential priests, all brought together for the very first time in one horrific collection. Engaging and provocative, these tales of the damned stalk the graveyards at night, crawl up from the empty and wet places of this world, and haunt the dreams of all who hear them.

From the author of Aevalorn Tales comes a dark fantasy story about trifling with fate. In the heart of the Aevalorn Parishes, the halfling folk prepare to celebrate the end of the Dark Days with warmth and camaraderie. But for Elina Hogsbreath, owner of the Swindle & Swine, this time heralds a troubling tradition. Horwich Cobbleberry is a vain and pompous halfling who has made it his habit to drink from a magical cup once a year, again endangering the inn and everyone in it. Having enough of Horwich’s false promises to forego the ritual, Elina takes matters into her own hands. Fans of ...

From the author of Aevalorn Tales comes a dark fantasy story about the healing power of food. In the quaint halfling hamlet of Pondaroak, Elina Hogsbreath, a kitchen witch and the steadfast proprietor of the Swindle & Swine, manages the tavern's everyday magic. On a stormy evening, a rain-drenched, weary traveler arrives to stay for the night. He is burdened by grief and harbors a dark secret. Witnessing his sorrow, Elina prepares a meal to soothe the traveler's woes and confronts old fae magic threatening to consume him.Appealing to Brandon Sanderson, Travis Baldree, and S. L. Rowland fans...

There are worse things waiting... Young maiden Perina escapes from a cruel dungeon and makes her way to King Gathelaus and reveals that he must defeat a mysterious foe that has become a tyrant ruling over a far-flung fiefdom. What strange powers does the tyrant hold to seem invulnerable and inhumane? How can he be defeated? How can Gathelaus beat an unbeatable foe? Blades of the Boneless is a sword and sorcery adventure mixed with a hint of body horror. Live the adventure in this exciting fantasy novella.

This is a SHORT STORY set within the ongoing THE UNSEEN franchise. Potential spoilers ahead! This short story stars the youngest character in the intense THE UNSEEN franchise, Hope Diaz. Her survival is one of heartache, terror, and perseverance, an event that occurs during book two of the main series, DESOLATION.

She inherited a house, but discovered something far more valuable within the haunted walls... When Lyra inherits Fairlane Manor from her late great-uncle, she never imagined the secrets it held within its timeworn walls. The legacy of a once-renowned artist lingers like a specter, his eerie and lifelike animal paintings haunting the minds of those who dare to behold them. In a whispered legend, a traveler sought refuge at Fairlane Manor, only to become ensnared in the painter's mysterious masterpiece. Trapped within the canvas, he was cursed to roam as a fearsome werewolf, his fate forever ...

In number-one New York Times best-selling author Charlaine Harris’s "Dahlia Underground,” venerable vampire Dahlia Lynley-Chivers survives an attack by an anti-vampire terrorist group, only to show them they tried to blow up the wrong bloodsucker. Bailey Ruth Raeburn, a ghost assigned to assist humans in trouble, steps into the middle of a marital dispute with surprising twists in Carolyn Hart’s “Riding High”....

Experts tried justifying this, tried explaining it with logic. Anything concluding her fallout to settle down students of the university and residents surrounding. Doctors have deemed it mental while well-known demonologists have come forward claiming evil spirits. One thing is certain. The details surrounding Kendall Harrison are not only baffling; they are terrifying.

Five full length books by Sharon Hamilton: Heavenly Lover, Underworld Lover, Underworld Queen, Honeymoon Bite, and Mortal Bite. These books are the entire works of Sharon's Paranormal series, her Golden Vampires of Tuscany and her Guardians. There is dark angel/vampire love waiting for you.

Come one, come all! The Carniepunk Midway promises you every thrill and chill a traveling carnival can provide. But fear not! Urban fantasy's biggest stars are here to guide you through this strange and dangerous world....

Congratulations! You made it to the last and final installment of the keys! We maximized and planned our future with THE KEYS TO FUTURE SELF. I mentored you through my failures with KEYS TO YOUR CROWN. For those who want long lasting relationships and a family we did a thorough assessment and and internal break down with KEYS TO YOUR KINGDOM. Now what most men put first we will FINALLY cover last with the KEYS 2 SEX! Most men chase and women. You want to really become the best version of yourself and have and abundance of sex and women. Let me tell you a secret. Looks in side you, the ...

A Hot Erotic Story Designed for MAXIMUM AROUSAL. *Adults Only 18+* *Read On Your PC, Mac, Smartphone, Tablet Or Kindle! * Wet & Sticky: Vol. 9 (A Preview): Like most people their type, they wanted nothing more than a night of fun. He was a struggling young writer with a hankering for booze and a hunger for sweethearts. She was the perfect blend, cute, smart, and coy to a fault; the type of girl who had no idea just how beautiful she really was. But her silence belied a powerful lust. For behind closed doors, it is the quiet ones who make the most noise... Seize Your Copy NOW Tags: erotic ...

A carnival of horrors, outer space, heaven: these are just a few of the locations visited in this collection of short stories. Though I’ve always found long form fiction to be easier to write, like many other authors, I started by writing short fiction, where words are precious and each pithy sentence must do the work of an entire chapter. Please join me in my early journey through the abbreviated worlds of the short story.

Once upon a time, the stories that came to be known as "fairy tales" were cultivated to entertain adults more than children; it was only later that they were tamed and pruned into less thorny versions intended for youngsters. But in truth, they have continued to prick the imaginations of audiences at all ages.

When a woman’s fed up there’s hell to pay. When a female demon is fed up? You’d better get the f-ck out the way. Wassup? I’m Xenia, and I’m sick and tired of my mate. And no, he didn’t cheat on me, that’s human crap to get mad at. No, the f-cktard can’t get over the thought of his baby brother one-upping him; and has been neglecting me as a result. Well, an idle mind is a dangerous place, especially when it belongs to an intelligent, female demon. When my father-in-law, the devil himself, gives me a task to wipe out an entire country, I jump on it. Especially when I see just...

"Everything You've Always Wanted" by Mick Garris: It was supposed to be the night of his life - a celebration of his one hit slasher flick. But the price of admission is higher than this has-been filmmaker ever could have imagined. "The Land of Sunshine" by Kealan Patrick Burke: Although she was mute long before the affair that nearly wrecked their marriage, her silence has tortured her husband ever since. Now he will seek out what he has lost or be driven mad by remorse.

There in the rain, in the crashing waves, the ebb and flow of the tide … can you hear the voices? Three holidaymakers stumble across the legend of the Black Dog. A fallen music idol makes a deal with the deadly unknown. Figures, like ink spots, stand silently waiting in the snow. Tiny unfinished children play games in the garden, drifting in and out of view. Rising sea levels threaten to consume the earth and reveal the world’s true monsters. Three Bells toll the swaying menace of the straw man. A chorus of tiny wings; music of the damned. The incomplete, the unclean, the undying. ...