Paranormal Ghost Fiction

For as long as it has stood overlooking New England’s jagged coastline, Lexington House has been the witness to madness... and murder. But in recent years the inexplicable malice that once tormented so many has lain as silent as its victims. Until now.A member of the nation’s foremost paranormal forensic team, Jenna Duffy has made a career out of investigating the inexplicable. Yet nothing could prepare her for the string of slayings once again plaguing Lexington House, or for the chief suspect....

Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, was an Irish writer known also by the Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo. His book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, comprises two parts, the first being the "Kwaidan Proper" and the second, "Insect-Studies", which consists of an essay each on ants, butterflies and mosquitos. According to the author, most of the folk tales and ghost stories in the first part were translated from old Japanese texts. The themes encompass resurrection, sacrifice, magic, and the realm of dreams.

The perfect location at the perfect price. It even had its own ghost, so the locals told them. Well, that didn’t matter – did it? Stuart and Cleo are in need of a sea change, so when a bargain priced house in a ‘to die for’ location becomes available, they immediately place an offer. Initially, they discounted the stories of the ghost. After-all their weekend retreat seemed like a slice of heaven on earth and they weren’t about to let anyone ruin it for them. Yet, as night falls, they become reluctant witnesses to the house's malevolent past. A sudden chill, a faint whisper, and ...

Once every five years, the Northern Clans of the Durupinen gather at Fairhaven Hall. There, at the ancient castle, surrounded by the very spirits they are bound to protect and serve, the clans settle disputes and shape the laws that govern the Gateways to the spirit world. For the first time, Jess and Hannah Ballard have to represent their clan. It is an awesome responsibility - a great honor...and they are sure it's going to be the most boring week of their lives.

There are those who walk among us who are no longer alive, but not yet crossed over. They seek retribution…vengeance…to warn. Among the living, few intuit their presence. Katie MacDonald is one who can. As she’s drawn deeper and deeper into a gruesome years-old murder, whispered warnings from a spectral friend become more and more insistent. But Katie must uncover the truth: could David Beckett really be guilty of his fiancée’s murder?

The elite witches are seeking to cut Tetrarch Doc Holliday's reign short as they make a play to seize power. As Doc races the clock to save the victims of Blackwater, the witches' personal prison, it becomes increasingly clear that war is inevitable. But if it's a war the elites want, then a war is exactly what Doc will give them....

Black Friday - the official opening of the Holiday Shopping Season - and Patrice Marcum is stuck in the middle of her local superstore with a crying infant, a near hysterical desire to just abandon the diapers and milk she desperately needs, and the snowstorm of the century dumping a half-foot of snow on the parking lot outside. She needs a miracle.

Ropa Moyo’s ghost-talking practice has tanked. Desperate for money to pay bills and look after her family, she reluctantly accepts a job to look into the history of a coma patient receiving treatment at the magical private hospital Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments. The patient is a teenage schoolboy called Max Wu, and healers at the hospital are baffled by the illness which has confounded medicine and magic.

Paranormal investigator Ellie Jordan faces a new case in an apartment building where a twisted, dangerous entity emerges from closets and doorways to terrorize the residents at night. A powerful spirit, it feeds on fear and takes the shape of its victims' worst nightmares. Ellie and her mentor, Calvin, have tried to capture the same entity before, in a different house nearby, an attempt that ended in disaster. Now, with the help of her apprentice, Stacey, Ellie must try again to capture the elusive shape-shifting ghost.

Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Stone has dedicated her career as a psychiatrist to exploring the darkest territory of all: the hearts and minds of serial killers. It’s a job she’s uniquely suited for, thanks to the secret talent that gives her an uncanny edge—Charlie can see dead people, whose tormented spirits cry out to her for the justice only she can provide.

It was supposed to be a fun girls’ weekend in Salem, but when a past-life regression session instead sends a terrifying vision of murder to Kylie Connelly, she’s shaken and not sure what to think. Worse, later she identifies the attacker from her vision: He’s a prominent local politician. Special Agent Jon Dickson of the FBI’s Krewe of Hunters is on the trail of a suspected serial killer based on the scantest of clues and unreliable witness testimony. When he realizes Kylie’s vision might be his best lead, he must gain her trust and get close enough to guide her new talent.

What if the real horror isn’t the ghost… but the truth it reveals? In this chilling collection, ghosts don’t just haunt—they unravel mysteries, distort reality, and change lives forever. From eerie whispers that hide sinister secrets to spectral encounters that shift the fabric of existence, each story will keep you guessing until the final, haunting twist. Inside, you’ll find: A forgotten house that never existed… or did it? A reflection that moves just a little too slowly. A babysitter who realizes her job might last forever. A missing roommate who was never supposed to be ...

On the night Miles Abernathy—sixteen-year-old socialist and proud West Virginian—comes out as trans to his parents, he sneaks off to a party, carrying evidence that may finally turn the tide of the blood feud plaguing Twist Creek: Photos that prove the county’s Sheriff Davies was responsible for the so-called “accident” that injured his dad, killed others, and crushed their grassroots efforts to unseat him. The feud began a hundred years ago when Miles’s great-great-grandfather, Saint Abernathy, incited a miners’ rebellion that ended with a public execution at the hands of law enforcement.

When Raina Hamish tries on a dress in a Miami boutique, she has a terrifyingly accurate vision of a murdered corpse in the murky shadows of the Everglades. She wants to help, but who would believe her when she can hardly believe herself?

It’s Christmas Eve, and Poppy isn’t feeling much of the Christmas spirit. Her mind churning with doubt regarding her recent engagement to Marty, Poppy’s thoughts are a turbulent sea of anxiety and regret. When a stranger walks into Poppy’s shop, introducing herself as Noelle, she tells Poppy she’s looking for a potion called Holiday Cheer. Poppy is surprised because she’s never even heard of it. Almost as soon as Noelle walks into the shop, she disappears again, leaving only the recipe for the potion and a festive candy cane. After brewing the mystery potion, Poppy finds herself...

Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal. She's a scientist, which is why she can't think of anything worse than having to help out her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours. She thinks she's made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus. There's something off about his presence, especially because when she checks at the end of the tour...he's gone.

A cemetery full of the restless dead. A town so wicked it has already burned twice, with the breath of the third fire looming. A rural, isolated bridge with a terrifying monster waiting for the completion of its summoning ritual. A lake that allows the drowned to return, though they have been changed by the claws of death. These are the shadowed, liminal spaces where the curses and monsters lurk, refusing to be forgotten.

The rain hasn't stopped for a week, and the 12 guests of the Blue Vein Tavern are trapped by flooded roads and the rising Skidwrack River. Among them are a ship's captain, tattooed twins, a musician, and a young girl traveling on her own. To pass the time, they begin to tell stories - each a different type of folklore - that eventually reveal more about their own secrets than they intended. As the rain continues to pour down - an uncanny, unnatural amount of rain - the guests begin to realize that the entire city is in danger, and not just from the flood.

When failed actor Cal Parsons travels to rural New York to claim the estate of his famous and estranged ex-partner, he discovers something he wasn't expecting - the ghost of his ex! And, worse, his ex invites Cal to join him for all eternity. Now. As Cal attempts to rid himself of the ghost by any means, he begins to fall for the attractive attorney representing the estate. Will Cal be able to begin a new relationship, or will he be seduced into the ever after?

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.