Dark Horror

A famous house on the eastern seaboard, Oaklyn Castle has become even more notorious now a celebrity power couple calls it home. With a burgeoning family, Arabella Jaqus and Boyd Palmer have decided to raise their natural and adopted children in Palladian surrounds far from the furor of filmmaking. When Jaison Winters is summoned to the mansion, he views it as the job of a lifetime: a chance to redeem his flailing writing career by penning an accurate, in-depth biography of Arabella’s dynasty – a firsthand glimpse into a private world previously off-limits until now. But what Jaison ...

Something Goes Bump In the Night… Short-short spooky stories about different encounters with apparitions in different situations and settings. Some are based on true accounts; others may be embellished by the tellers–But all are unsettling if not outright scary! 25 First Person Ghost Story Shorts, Quick Reads That Offer a Little Spooky Chill… Thank you to everyone who agreed to allow me to include their story.

Matt Evans is in deep trouble. After taking a loan he should never have taken, his debt to local thug, Jeff Holden, has spiraled out of control. Just when it seems that time has run out, Jeff offers an alternative deal. Matt is to assist a scientist with his secret experiments to clear the debt. Despite his attempts to see the deal through, Matt soon realizes he’s trapped in a nightmare. The scientist has a dark agenda and a twisted mind that become more apparent with every visit to the underground lab. With his sanity on the line and possibly his life, Matt must escape at any cost, but ...

Defying those who think her an abomination, Shade wears her tattoos openly and carries obsidian blades at her hips. For years, she has protected the outcast clans who wander the blighted Wastes, but the land is growing more unstable and her blades are no longer enough. To save her people, Shade vows to raise a Veil of protection—a feat not accomplished in over a hundred years. But the magical Veils are said to belong to the Brotherhood church; if she succeeds in raising one, it will expose their lies. They swear to see her obliterated first.

Who would suspect that the same mind that created the most famous literary detective of all time also took on the eternally popular genre of vampires? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a contemporary of Bram Stoker, gave us some fascinating works of vampire fiction. From the bloodsucking plant in "The American's Tale" to the bloodsucking wife in "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire," he reveled in the horror created by creatures who survived on the blood of men and women.

As darkness engulfs the room and flickering candle flames cast their eerie shadows on the walls, I slowly page through the book of horrors. It is like stepping into a gothic fairytale, where one’s imagination knows no boundaries. I look around at the beautiful dark scenery and capture its magical and uncanny allure. I am frightened yet I feel liberated, for I know it is only in these dark memories my soul finds the everlasting salvation and peace. As I read through the chapters of terrifying tales, I begin to understand the purpose of my very existence... The book uses the '3D guise' ...

Spring Break, 1997. A group of college friends sets out for an unforgettable trip to Mexico, but their adventure takes a horrific turn when they are abducted by a satanic cult in the Tucson desert. Their captor? Zeena Graves—a strikingly beautiful yet merciless cult leader who commands her followers from the darkness of an abandoned church. As midnight strikes on Easter night, she prepares to enact a ritual drenched in blood and terror that can only be completed After the Pink Moon. Bound by fear, surrounded by zealots, and with time slipping away, the captives must find a way to escape ...

Visit Ashok's official website meakalpa.com to read an exclusive excerpt from The Bombay Lovecraft Society! Membership comes at a price... From Bram Stoker and CWA nominated and Utopiales Nantes Award-winning author Ashok Banker comes a chilling new novel of occult horror set in 1980s Bombay A masterful fusion of Lovecraftian terror and Indian Gothic that will haunt your dreams long after you've turned the final page. In the shadows of 1980s Bombay lurks an ancient evil that makes the notorious Rockman serial killings pale in comparison. When a struggling artist is lured into the mysterious...

A collection of twenty-five horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. The creepers include: BLACK AS NIGHT: THE SEQUEL: Norman's two sons disappeared on Halloween; the same night, a masked rider carries a screaming woman in a burlap sack from the abandoned house next door. DISTURBING ELEMENTS: A chemistry prof has a phobia of seeking vengeance on any student who reminds him of the jocks who bullied him in college. CHARLEY REVISITED: Mandy's new book about an invisible playmate jeopardizes her marriage and her life. THE NECKLACE: Hazel inherits ...

Nine stories that will redefine your fears from the fairy tales and nursery rhymes of your childhood. A small town hires a unique exterminator to clear their fields of pests, but when they refuse to pay he uses his skill for revenge. The U.S. military embarks on an experiment unlike any other and offers soldiers the chance to reach new heights and shorter contracts. An anesthesiologist discovers his skills go beyond simply guiding people to sleep and that they have lasting consequences. A brother and sister get lost in the woods and discover a beautiful woman with a house luring teenagers ...

Jackson and Dustin have faced horrors together that would break lesser men, saving each other’s lives more times than they can count. Their bond, forged in blood and fear, is unshakable. When Jackson’s girlfriend, Doli, vanishes during a visit to Black Mesa, he knows he needs Dustin’s help. Rumor has it that a skinwalker—a creature of legend and nightmares—has taken her. Even though Dustin’s wife, Ash, is eight months pregnant, he leaves her in the care of Lux and his mother to stand by Jackson’s side once again. Ben, grateful to Jackson for saving Lux’s life back in ...

Waking up wet and injured in the middle of a muddy road, David Chambers finds himself lost in a world filled with nightmares. His memory shattered, unable to recall how he got there, David finds that he has arrived on a shadowy version of Earth, precisely on the eve of a terrible battle. The dead, resurrected by the power of nature herself, are attacking the walled city of Blackmarch, intent on its total destruction. Captured by the town's fearful inhabitants, he's given no choice but to join in the heated war for survival. After barely surviving the onslaught, he is drawn into a dangerous ...

For more than 30 years, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror fans crave. Now, with the 11th volume of the series, Daltow's back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night. With each passing year, science, technology, and the march of time shine light into the craggy corners of the universe, making the fears of an earlier generation seem quaint. This light creates its own shadows. The Best Horror of the Year chronicles these shifting shadows.

While on a singles tour of Europe, Seattle's own Pia Thomason is looking for a man and trying not to think about her 40th birthday. Too bad her choice of suitors is less than appealing. But when she meets two mysterious strangers in Iceland, Pia becomes immersed in an undead love affair.

From paranormal plots to stories of the supernatural, tales of the unfamiliar have always fascinated us humans. To keep the tradition alive, fantasy aficionado Paula Guran has gathered the most delightfully disturbing work from some of today's finest writers of the fantastique! No two mysterious shadows are alike, and the same can be said for the books in this series. The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Volume 4 contains more than twenty stories. Listener beware and indulge if you dare, because these chilling tales are sure to spook and surprise!

He just wanted to belong. Now, he wants them to scream. Martin Keene is a ghost in his own life, a janitor invisible to the world. His only solace is his obsession with Bigfoot—a creature as misunderstood and isolated as he feels. When a local squatching group offers a fleeting chance at connection, their casual rejection ignites a terrifying spiral of delusion and rage within him. Deep in the remote Adirondack Mountains, Martin’s twisted fantasy takes root. If they hunt for a monster, he will give them one they will never forget. Donning a crude costume and fueled by a lifetime of ...

"I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger...." writes Wilfred Leland James in the early pages of the riveting confession that makes up "1922", the first in this pitch-black quartet of mesmerizing tales from Stephen King. For James, that stranger is awakened when his wife, Arlette, proposes selling off the family homestead and moving to Omaha, setting in motion a gruesome train of murder and madness.

Four more short stories from the “Crossroads” series that will help keep you entertained late into the night. Discover the bright imagination, suspense, thrilling drama, picturesque visions, and the second look into the true meaning of the “Crossroads” series message. Follow the series to piece together the hidden meaning of the stories to determine the overall message that is being portrayed. Will it bring enlightenment? Will it be the light at the end of the tunnel? Does fear take over and leave the message hidden? The journey continues and the message will surely begin to appear.

What if Edgar Allan Poe's masterpieces happened in our world? Step into five chilling retellings that transport Poe's most terrifying tales into the 21st century, where ancient horrors take on frightening new forms. From sterile hospital corridors to corporate boardrooms, from contaminated mansions to digital graveyards, these stories prove that the human capacity for guilt, obsession, and revenge transcends any era. "The Monitor" - A night-shift nurse's paranoia spirals into murder, where the tell-tale heart becomes the relentless beeping of medical equipment, and guilt echoes through ...

LOVE IS TWISTED. TRUST IS DEADLY. SECRETS COME WITH A PRICE. Molly thought her life couldn’t sink any lower after being brutally dumped from a reality TV show. But when New York’s most elusive and dangerously handsome tech billionaire, Henry Bentley, sweeps her off her feet. Molly's heartbreak is replaced by a tantalizing thrill she never saw coming. Bonded by past traumas and wild, unspeakable desires, Henry invites Molly to his private island—an exclusive paradise where pleasure knows no limits. But when she arrives, she finds herself tangled in a seductive game of survival. A game ...