Scary Science Fiction

"Get me some ghosts," said Fulton Snoddle-Brittle. "Frightful and dangerous ghosts!" Fulton has gone to the Dial-a-Ghost agency with an evil plan. He wants to hire some truly terrifying ghosts to scare his nephew Oliver to death.

But Oliver likes ghosts. And the peculiar ones he meets at Helton Hall decide at once to help him outwit the wicked Snodde-Brittles.

Introducing Science Fiction Short Stories Vol. 10, a collection of thrilling tales that will transport you to other worlds and challenge your imagination. From the minds of The Shadowplay Collective, these stories will take you on a journey through the vast expanse of space and beyond. Whether you're a die-hard sci-fi fan or just dipping your toes into the genre, this collection is sure to captivate and entertain. In this collection, you'll find stories set in distant galaxies, on alien planets, and in futuristic societies. The Shadowplay Collective has crafted each tale with care, weaving ...

Auggie and his magical companions are tending to the Fabled Stables when the building shakes and shudders to make room for a new arrival: the Tattle-Tail. Auggie and friends travel through the portal to a town called Rainbow’s End in search of this mysterious creature. Auggie assumes that the Tattle-Tail is in danger, but he learns that it’s actually the town that needs rescuing...from an infestation of Tattle-Tails!

A girl follows a group of strangers inside the giant Library of Doom. The strangers want their evil friends released from the pages a pop-up book. Can the Librarian stop them before the world’s deadliest criminals are set free?

Enter a land of wizards, warriors, mythical creatures and powerful Magic in an exciting fantasy adventure. Wish and Xar are outlaws on the run, hunted by Warriors, Wizards and, worst of all, Witches.... Can they find the ingredients for the spell to get rid of Witches before the Kingwitch gets his talons on the Magic-that-Works-on-Iron? Their next Quest is the most terrifying and treacherous of all...and someone is going to betray them. Are you ready to Knock Three Times?

Welcome to Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. The five scouts of Roanoke cabin - Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley - love their summers at camp. They get to hang out with their best friends, earn Lumberjane scout badges, annoy their no-nonsense counselor Jen...and go on supernatural adventures. That last one? A pretty normal occurrence at Miss Qiunzella’s, where the woods contain endless mysteries.

Horrifying things are happening at Gloomsburg Castle. To begin with, the creepy place is crawling with Tiny Biting Ghosts (or "TIBIGS", in official ghosthunter code). And now it appears as if the murderous spirit of a brutal Baroness has taken hold of the landlady, infecting her with a killer case of hic-hic-hiccups!

Nothing about Kess Pedrock’s life is normal. Not her home (she lives in her family’s Unnatural History Museum), not her interests (hunting for megafauna fossils and skeletons), and not her best friend (a talking demon’s head in a jar named Shrunken Jim).

Rowan is now the Royal Monster Hunter, and her twin brother, Rhydd, is destined to be king. But her mother's cousin Heward is still determined that his children be the ones to inherit the titles and will stop at nothing to show that Rowan and Rhydd are too immature to properly lead. After the gryphon that Rowan captured in Book One gives birth but then dies, Rowan is left with a baby gryphon she knows she cannot keep. And it grows faster than anyone can imagine....

In the days of the Salem witch trials, the sleepy hamlet of Duston Heights had just one practitioner of the dark arts: the notorious necromancer Esdrias Blackleach. As the fever for witch hunting reached its terrible peak, Blackleach was accused of using powerful black magic against his fellow townsfolk. But just before he could be brought to trial, he dropped dead, escaping justice forever. Or so it seemed.

A group of six young miners are exploring Asteroid AX245 to find the mineral ixonium. It is the most valuable substance in the galaxy and is used to power interstellar travel. The group splits into three teams to explore some tunnels in the asteroid’s surface. But just before one team begins digging into the rock, they receive an urgent message. The other team reports seeing a black, gooey substance oozing out of the rock. Their report is cut off by their loud screams—and then total silence. What happened to Team Gamma? And what is the black goo that seems to have a will of its own?

Not since he faced his fears has Charlie had so many bad dreams. Whenever he falls asleep, he finds himself in a Netherworld field surrounded by a flock of creepy black sheep. They're not counting sheep. They refuse to jump. In fact they don't do much at all. Even eerier, though, is that it's not Charlie's nightmare. Somehow he's trapped in someone else's bad dream. And he's pretty sure the twins Ick and Ink are responsible.

In their third zombie-tastic adventure, Jack Sullivan and his friends June, Quint and Dirk discover that they might not be the last kids on Earth after all...and everyone is thrilled—except Jack. Living in a tree house with his best friends, battling monsters and escaping certain death—he's been having the most awesome time of his life. Somehow he's got to persuade his friends that life is perfect just the way it is...then they won't leave him.

Captive's Sound is still standing...but a new evil is rising. Nadia saved the town of Captive's Sound from a fiery apocalypse and vanquished the Sorceress Elizabeth...or so she thought. But a crack into the underworld opened, and a greater evil is breaking through. As Nadia's Steadfast, her boyfriend, Mateo, should make her magic stronger, but the curse that torments him has only intensified. And try as she might, Nadia can't break the cruel spell on her best friend, Verlaine, or stop a mysterious illness that's striking people down one by one.

Heckie is not just a witch. She's a good witch who wants to make the world a better place. So, with her Toe of Transformation and her Knuckle of Power she turns unpleasant people into animals. But to her surprise, Basil's parents want their son back.

Life is tough for twelve-year-old orphan Adia. Her aunt and uncle believe she’s an ogbanje, a demon-possessed child that brings misfortune wherever they go, and Adia can’t disagree—especially when she suddenly manifests mysterious powers that she can’t control, causing an earthquake in her village. So when Adia is offered a kitchen apprenticeship at the faraway Academy of Shamans, she flees with nothing but a pouch of change, her cat Bubbles, and the hope that someone there can figure out what's wrong with her—and fix it.

Internationally best-selling author Justin Somper’s exciting Vampirates novels are eagerly anticipated for their swashbuckling adventure. The fifth exciting installment of the series finds the rebel Sidorio - the self-proclaimed King of the Vampirates - eager to expand his empire. But as the Pirate Federation and the Nocturnal Vampirates fight back, destroying rebel ships on sight, Grace and Connor Tempest find themselves drawn into the epicenter of this dangerous conflict.

After escaping from Edgaren’t and Dr. Jay, the Sinister-Winterbottoms and their friends arrive at Stein Manor Science Camp. They all work together to distract the friendly teenage camp director so they can explore and look for clues about where their parents might be. Meanwhile, Theo and Alexander settle on a daring plan. They know exactly where Edgaren’t is going to be: coming for them, and the books. This time, they’ll be ready.

Vega Jane is 14 when she is secretly given a map that reveals a mysterious world and dangerous creatures beyond the walls of Wormwood, a place no one has ever left - or wanted to. Until now. The map makes her question everything she has ever been told about the place she calls home. Her friend, Delph, and her dog, Harry Two, are the only ones Vega trusts. Trapped by secrets and lies, they want freedom and truth. But she will have to fight for freedom. And the truth may cost Vega her life.

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming.... This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.