Scary Fantasy

SKIN - An anthology of dark fiction. A collection of stories from some of the best up-and-coming authors of horror.

Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been friends forever. And for almost as long, they’ve been playing one continuous, ever-changing game of pirates and thieves, mermaids and warriors. Ruling over all is the Great Queen, a bone-china doll cursing those who displease her. But they are in middle school now. Zach’s father pushes him to give up make-believe, and Zach quits the game. Their friendship might be over, until Poppy declares she’s been having dreams about the Queen - and the ghost of a girl who will not rest until the bone-china doll is buried in her empty grave.

Beneath heaven is hell. Beneath hell is Furnace. Furnace Penitentiary. The world's most secure prison for young offenders, buried a mile beneath the earth's surface. One way in, no way out. Once you're here, you're here until you die, and for most of the inmates that doesn't take long - not with the sadistic guards and the bloodthirsty gangs. Convicted of a murder he didn't commit, sentenced to life without parole, 'new fish' Alex Sawyer knows he has two choices: find a way out, or resign himself to a death behind bars.

Here´s a glorious cornucopia of highly entertaining tales from macabre and fantasy author Rabbit Warren, each with its own chilling and unexpected twist at the end. Ranging from the sinister supernatural to gruesome revenge to tragic human mistakes and macabre sea-adventures, they include a Victorian murder story, a girl´s search for her dead Dad, the discovery of a body in a butchery, a rat catcher´s gory love for his job, a schoolboy´s ghostly treasure hunt, a mafia man´s vendetta, a cyclist who doesn´t know if he is dead or not, a barber with his cut-throat knife, a hitchhiker´s ...

Edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, this hair-raising holiday collection includes 15 original tales - including an original Sookie Stackhouse story.

Strange things are happening in Maya's tiny Vancouver Island town. First, her friend Serena, the captain of the swim team, drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. Then, one year later, mountain lions are spotted rather frequently around Maya's home and her reactions to them are somewhat . . . unexpected. Her best friend, Daniel, has also been experiencing unexplainable premonitions about certain people and situations.

Robby and his sister Karla beg their parents to take them to a big carnival that has opened on the other side of town. When they arrive, the two kids are delighted by the rides, the sideshow, the interesting displays, and the great food booths. They wander away from their parents and find themselves at a less-trafficked area at the back of the carnival. Inside a large penned-in area, they see a dejected-looking boy about their age sitting on the grass. A sign on the tall metal fence reads: PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE WEIRDO. The kids are reluctant to disobey the sign, but the boy seems really nice.

Then you don't mind sitting by a vampire's tomb at midnight. Or being locked up with the mummies in a dark museum. Or you might like to join the mysterious boy who lurks in the shadows at Saint Michael's. Or the ghost who waits by the side of the road. Or maybe, when you are home alone, you'd like to listen to these spine-chilling tales...and try to believe they won't happen to you!

Magic. Mystery. Time-travel. Join Jack, Annie and the Magic Tree House in this historical holiday story that puts a twist on Charles Dicken's classic The Christmas Carol. Jack and Annie must help the famous writer Charles Dickens! The brother and sister are whisked back in time to Victorian England and the foggy streets of London. There, Jack and Annie discover that Charles Dickens has been thrown in jail! How can they help him? They will need all their magic-and help from three ghosts-to keep the great writer from ruining his life!

Isolated and left on their own at a wild animal safari park at the beginning of a zombie uprising, the boys and girls from the school field trip must learn how to survive on their own. They are safe behind the tall fences and strong walls, but what about all the wild animals inside the gates with them?

Esther Gold loves Halloween more than anything in the world. So she is determined to go trick-or-treating again this year despite the fact that her parents think she is officially too old. Esther has it all planned out, from her costume to her candy-collecting strategy. But when the night rolls around, something feels...off. No one is answering their door. The moon is an unnatural shade of orange. Strange children wander the streets, wearing creepy costumes that might not be costumes at all.

A gate has been opened. The Old Ones have been released. And now the third and fourth of The Five -- twins with a mysterious psychic bond -- are joining the fight....Hailed "a master of edge-of-your-seat writing" by Booklist, Anthony Horowitz pens the New York Times best-selling Gatekeepers series, With Nightrise, he amplifies the suspense as an evil group strives to imprison and control the psychic twins, Scott and Jamie.

Serafina makes an epic return in the fourth installment of Robert Beatty's number one New York Times best-selling series. Peace and tranquility have finally returned to Biltmore Estate after hard-won battles against encroaching darkness. But as time passes without signs of danger, Serafina finds herself questioning her own purpose. Who is she if not Biltmore's protector?

This house is keeping secrets...When 11-year-old Olive and her parents move into the crumbling mansion on Linden Street and find it filled with mysterious paintings, Olive knows the place is creepy - but it isn’t until she encounters its three talking cats that she realizes there’s something darkly magical afoot. Then Olive finds a pair of antique spectacles in a dusty drawer and discovers the most peculiar thing yet: She can travel inside the house’s spooky paintings to a world that’s strangely quiet...and eerily sinister.

Serafina's defeat of the Man in the Black Cloak has brought her out of the shadows and into the daylight realm of her home, Biltmore Estate. Every night, she visits her mother in the forest, eager to learn the ways of the catamount. But Serafina finds herself caught between her two worlds: She's too wild for Biltmore's beautifully dressed ladies and formal customs and too human to fully join her kin.

The dark is full of terrifying creatures. And Tom Ward - the seventh son of a seventh son, and the Spook's last apprentice - hasn't seen all of them. Far from the county, one named Slither has lived for hundreds of years, hunting blood. But a dying father binds the monster to a bargain. If Slither will take his two youngest daughters safely to their family in the south, then the eldest daughter, Nessa, is his.

When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret.

Clary Fray is seeing things: vampires in Brooklyn and werewolves in Manhattan. Irresistably drawn towards a group of sexy demon hunters, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City - and the dangers of forbidden love.

Journeys Beyond the Map “Use this stick to vanish from sight, But return before the fall of night.” Jack and Emily, siblings who didn’t always get along, are sent to visit their aunt, a specialist in ancient magic and archaeology. While exploring a secret room in the basement of her mysterious home, they discover an enchanted map that transports them to far-off worlds. In each place, they must solve puzzles and help the local inhabitants, all while racing against time. If they fail to complete their tasks before nightfall, they risk being trapped there forever. Through these thrilling...

Years have passed since Wulf and Tilda vanished from the County. Alice and Tom have given up hope of ever seeing them again—until a terrible enemy from the past forces them to take drastic action, and reach out through time in a bid for help. Now Wulf faces the greatest and most powerful demon who has ever walked the Dark: the Fiend. He will have to use all his powers—and gather some new ones—to have even a chance of survival.