Dark Horror

Empty rooms have their own stories to tell. Here are 11 of them. The lost, the forgotten, the unrespectable; the children in the walls, the girls from the factory, the Cult of Junnha, the lone figure from Apartment 12; the home where hate lives, the chuckling newborn - they all leave their echoes here. Remember to turn off the lights when you leave: keep the shadows safe. These empty rooms may not be so empty after all.

In this short prequel to The Preserve, J. L. Williams reveals the first glimpse into the life and times of young mortician, Jackson Lucid. Just another day and another dead body for Jackson to retrieve from the hospital. He doesn't know it will be the one to turn his entire perspective of death upside down. At this point, he's just following the routine his mentor taught him. But now that Morris has recently passed on, Jackson finds himself alone in the world. He makes friends at the funeral home, but not many worth mentioning except Serena, a girl who's been through her own fair share of ...

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 ...

In 1915, The Birth of a Nation casts a spell across America, swelling the Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die.

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 ...

In her grandmother's fine, rich Boston house, Heaven Leigh Casteel dreamed of a wonderful new life of new friends, the best schools, beautiful clothes, and most important, love. The pearls of culture, wisdom, and breeding would now be hers. Soon, she would make the Casteel name respectable, find her brothers and sisters, and have a family again. But even in the world of the wealthy, there were strange forebodings, secrets best forgotten. And as Heaven reached out for love, she was slowly ensnared in a sinister web of cruel deceits and hidden passions.

Vitus Adamson is falling apart. As a pre-deceased private investigator, he takes the prescription Atroxipine hourly to keep his undead body upright and functioning. Whenever he is injured, he seeks Niko, a bombshell mortician with bedroom eyes and a way with corpses, to piece him back together. Decomposition, however, is the least of his worries when two clients posing his most dangerous job yet appear at his door looking for their lost son.

He wasn’t the chosen one—he was the one who chose. On the fringes of a dying empire, fifteen-year-old blacksmith’s apprentice Erikson Gray discovers Lightbearer—a cursed blade of forgotten power. It whispers. It schemes. He hesitates… but takes it anyway. Pursued by enemies on all sides, Erik flees with outcast knights and broken thieves. But the blade’s voice grows louder. It feeds on doubt. Sharpens his need. Tests his resolve. As trust frays and loyalties rot, Erik must choose: forge his own path, or fall to the one the blade demands. Dawn of the Lightbearer begins Absolution...

A collection of horror/thriller stories with surprise endings to chill you and thrill you to the bone. The nightmares include: JACK IN THE BOX: Harold fixes up old houses and sells them for a nice profit. That is, until he bought the dreaded house on Elm Street. THE SECOND VIRGIN BIRTH: At midnight on Christmas Eve, a nun rescues a baby left on the chapel steps in the freezing cold. GRANDPA: The zombie apocalypse has begun and Grandpa is near death in the next room. TATTOO: Bad things start to happen after Marla picks a ferocious black panther for the free tattoo she won. THE JACK THE ...

A collection of four critically acclaimed, gripping short novels that explore the darkness lurking within ordinary lives. Black Canyon Twelve-year-old Brian Garrett embarks on a weekend camping trip in Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison, hoping to reconnect with his distant parents. But when his father suffers a brutal accident deep in the chasm, survival takes a sinister turn. Over the next twenty-four hours, Brian will face a horrifying truth about his father—and himself. Rewind A man wakes in a decaying apartment, hooked to a mysterious machine, a dead body in the next room—...

Dahlia Abernathy has only known revenge. When her parents were killed at an early age by vampires, Dahlia spent the rest of her life under the thumb of the Witch's Guild being trained to kill them. Her latest mission sends her undercover to a prestigious music academy in Venice, Italy. Her goal? To kill Professor Valtu Aminoff, her teacher and the notorious vampire who inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula. But getting close to a dangerous vampire like Professor Aminoff is one thing. Falling for him is another.

The Island: A Beautiful Deception This is a Sci-Fi tale of murder, mystery, and horror. When Harrison Thomas accepts the position of Inspector in charge of the police force on the tropical island of San Lacruz, he leaves the United States for a new life. He also rejects the painful memories of a marriage that didn’t work and a world that seems increasingly cold and callous. Tropical paradise seems like a good place for a new start, and dealing with drunk tourists is much easier to handle than the daily tragedies he sees on the mainland. San Lacruz most certainly seems to offer that second...

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 ...

In the frozen North, steel is law. Loyalty is brittle. And the sword’s whispers grow colder with every mile. Erikson Gray survived the Sacred Grove, but the North offers no refuge—only frostbitten warlords, ancient grudges, and a realm cracking beneath the weight of betrayal. The Circle of Eight rules these lands with blade and blood, and they will not bow to a southern boy, cursed blade or no. To prevent the empire’s collapse, Erik must forge an alliance among men who would rather see him dead. But Lightbearer whispers of conquest. Of strength. Of dominion. And in a land where trust ...

When Del Lareaux leaves the St. Augustine orphanage, she is desperate to build a normal life for herself and Jimmy, the mentally handicapped boy she spent years protecting. But when a hellish spirit is raised from the dark swamps of Louisiana, abominations of unimaginable horror begin to prey on the lost souls of New Orleans, and Del’s soul is the most coveted.

Come with me on a journey into the dark distance. What will we find waiting? A wooden soldier that is much more than the toy it appears to be... A father who wants nothing more than the forgiveness of his abused son... The most tragic automobile accident in history... A trip to Mexico that is anything but a relaxing vacation... A tower with a valuable jewel that turns out to be not what's expected... A vampire who finds faith can come in many forms... An interplanetary outpost haunted by a rogue alien... A serial killing shaman who takes refuge in the most dangerous swamp on the planet, ...

She has ten days to live—and the dead aren’t the only ones hunting her. After a crushing defeat, martial artist Melissa Weller hits the road to escape her past, accompanied by her best friend: Magic, a talking yellow lab with secrets of his own. But when their detour lands them in the eerie town of Russelfield, Alabama, Melissa is ambushed and cursed by a vengeful spirit. With an ominous ritual looming closer, Melissa has ten days to solve a mystery—or die trying. Recruiting a reluctant local witch for help, Melissa must face sinister spirits, centuries-old Chinese folklore, and a ...

Nestled in the quiet town of Brookhaven, Eleanor Marsh’s life as a librarian has always been peaceful, predictable, and safe. She finds comfort in the rows of books that surround her, their well-worn pages carrying stories of adventure, mystery, and hope. But when an unmarked book appears in the library’s collection, Eleanor’s ordered world begins to unravel. The book is unlike any other. Its leather cover is cracked with age, its spine unmarked, and its pages disturbingly blank—at first. Then, names begin to appear. Each name belongs to someone in Brookhaven, and beneath each one ...

"Hudgins is a Horror-Meister to reckon with!" VICTOR MILLER - Writer of Friday the 13th You wake up in the middle of nowhere. You have no memory. You don't know why you are overwhelmed with a ravenous craving...to kill. If you like quick reads, this is the author for you! Steve Hudgins uses a screenplay/novel hybrid writing style that keeps the descriptive portions of the story brief, allowing the narrative to push forward at a rapid pace. THE CRAVING Becky is about to be raped and likely murdered, but is rescued by a towering man dressed in black. Unbeknownst to her, the man had been ...

Fresh out of jail and eager to start a new life, Chet Moran and his pregnant wife, Trish, leave town to begin again. But an ancient evil is looming, and what seems like a safe haven may not be all it appears. Snared and murdered by a vile, arcane horror, Chet quickly learns that pain and death are not unique to the living. Now the lives and very souls of his wife and unborn child are at stake. To save them, he must journey into the bowels of purgatory in search of a sacred key promised to restore the natural order of life and death.