Small Horrors

When Maeve Calloway and her friends enter the Gravenfield Maze Challenge seeking the $50,000 prize after losing everything in an apartment fire, they think their luck is finally changing. They couldn’t be more wrong. Deep in rural Nebraska, the town of Gravenfield harbors a dark secret—its legendary corn maze isn’t just difficult, it’s deadly. The rules seem simple: find golden kernels, rack up points, and survive three days to claim the prize. Easy peasy, right? As her friends succumb one by one to the maze’s horrors, Maeve struggles to keep the survivors together—including her...

In 1944, Oakwood's town council is desperate to save their young men from being lost to the devastation of the far-reaching effects of WWII, and as such make the unconscionable decision to make an evil deal with an agent of the devil in order to protect their own children, town's citizens and peaceful way of life. Little does journalism student Jim Norton know that his decision to write an article on the town, that seems to have been able to have escaped the pitfalls of progress for his school paper in 1984, will lead him down the treacherous rabbit hole that might end with his demise.

A horrific car crash leads to problems for the people who scavenged the remnants of the accident scene. A small and peaceful town becomes a nightmare for those involved. This 19,000 word short story makes for a nice afternoon or evening listen!

On Christmas Day in 1893, every man, woman, and child in a remote mining town disappeared, belongings forsaken, meals left to freeze in vacant cabins, and not a single bone found. Now, journalist Abigail Foster and her historian father have set out to explore the long-abandoned town and learn what happened. With them are two backcountry guides - along with a psychic and a paranormal photographer who are there to investigate rumors that the town is haunted.

In this short story, Zeke had enough of big city life, but something has followed him to the backwoods. Every predator, natural or unnatural, gets only one chance to learn how dangerous it is to push a country boy in the corner.

Prince Vladimir Odoyevsky's beautifully written and powerful take on the age-old question: "What would happen if you received exactly what you wanted?"

Sheila Tulane is in love with the resort's pool boy, Teague Harmon, and will do anything to please him - even if it means murdering Guild member Sam Carstens. Meanwhile, Asadi doubts his position in the Guild when he is forced to violate his own personal code. Are his days with the Guild numbered?

It is difficult to combine mysticism with humor, but Alexander Grin takes on the challenge and comes out with flying colors. For all its mystical and mythical references, An Incident at the Apartment of Madam Cerize, is quite a heartwarming story, giving all of us some hope that, sometimes, powers that be do care.

It isn’t just a wrong number. It’s her own. And it’s calling at exactly 3:28 AM. Every night. When Terri Reeves moves to the picturesque town of Pinecrest, she expects quaint shops and quiet streets—not her dead ex-boyfriend knocking on her door or calls from her own phone number in the dead of night. Unbeknownst to Terri, Pinecrest’s charming facade hides an ancient occultic pattern—one traced directly to Terri’s apartment and the middle of the night calls. “Don’t answer,” warns the local parapsychologist. “Don’t engage.” But the calls keep coming… and the texts...

Vampire painter, serial killer, an investigator who can see ghosts, a drunk ex-detective, a man who cannot sleep…they all have one thing in common, the peaceful town among the mountains…or is it?

Ben lost his father some months back and is doing his best at being a boy amidst the new tragedies in town when he is confronted by an unseen threat. With nowhere to hide, no one to help, and his mother worried that she is losing him to mental illness, Ben teams up with an unlikely ally who has a horrible secret. Dan Leeds takes the boy under his wing. Each having their own demons to battle, they are confronted by an ageless power unlike anything they could have imagined. Prophecy, the past, and a boy's need become entwined with Leeds, his secret, and saving the world.

A finales de los años ochenta una familia homomarental se muda con una niña y un niño (hermanos mellizos) a un pueblo recóndito de no más de treinta habitantes intentado esconderse del estigma social que provoca la enfermedad de una de las madres que es portadora del VIH.

Asadi's world has ended with the murder of his wife, Taqiya. Yet, even as he buries her, a new tragedy occurs in the small town of Still Water. It seems the sheriff has returned and a member of the Guild has fallen at his hand. As the Guild reels from the blow, Asadi meets a strange being who will challenge the way he sees them. Is the creature telling lies? Or will Asadi learn the Guild is not all it seems?

SHE THOUGHT IT WAS OVER. SHE WAS WRONG. Detective Claire Barnes thought the case that haunted Tanger Falls, Tennessee, was nearing it’s final days after three and a half years. The accused is scheduled to stand trial in what appears to be an open and shut federal case, and she’s ready to relax and help the small town rebuild. Everything is on track until there’s high tech intervention that alters the evidence to resurrect things that had been buried, causing Claire to suffer from nightmares that set her suspense on edge. When Ruby Josen re-emerges from hiding, Claire finds herself in ...

BRONZE BADGE HONORABLE MENTION IN THE 2020 AUTHOR SHOUT READER READY AWARDS FOR MYSTERY BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. Ruby Josen is a nobody desperate to become somebody. She’s been trapped in Tanger Falls, Tennessee, her entire life, watching others move on while she’s stuck in a rut of grief after her mother’s death. Ruby passes her misfortune off as bad luck, until she’s passed over for a promotion that she’s worked ten years to achieve. In desperation, she turns to a mystery man who promises that he can remove the obstacles holding her back – all she has to do is accept his ...

The Addisons - Julia and Tonio, 10-year-old Dewey, and derelict Uncle Robbie - are driving home, cross-country, after collecting Robbie from yet another trip to rehab. When a terrifying blizzard strikes outside the town of Good Night, Idaho, they seek refuge in the town at the Travelers Rest, a formerly opulent but now crumbling and eerie hotel where the physical laws of the universe are bent.

An isolated Welsh island seemed like the perfect escape for a convict on the run, a jilted woman, and a policeman seeking a quiet life. When the surly locals turn to murderous violence, the three visitors are forced to flee together, trying to stay one step ahead of their increasingly insane pursuers. The bad news keeps coming. There are too many to fight. There is no escape from the island. And the worst storm in years has just begun. They can only run and hide as they face a night of horror and madness. If they don't work together, then none of them will live to see the light of day.

Trigger warning.That’s what the front entrance should say. Instead, it lies the same way the outsiders do. Week after week, it cheerfully ushers unsuspecting loved ones and visitors to the registration desk where they’ll sign day passes to visit us: the broken girls. The lost. The forgotten. The damaged. The twisted. Every Saturday—Sundays on holidays too—outsiders will visit with no clue what really goes on in the place they’ve sent us to where nothing ever changes. With dull eyes and plastic smiles, we’ll nod, grin, and take their hopeful offerings of trinkets from a deceitful...

Ghost hunters, an exorcism, and a ghostly grey tabby Mad River welcomes a pair of ghost hunters and their television show to town only for a murder to occur as the cameras were rolling. Now Shelby's ghost friends are being accused of the dirty deed and the good reverend is calling for an exorcism. Can Shelby find the killer before the pastor exorcises her spirit friends away from the only homes and town they've ever known? Find out in the Mad River Mystery Series.

Be very Afraid when the Ghosts are Spooked! When Shelby's sister Harriet isn't acting herself and the ghosts of Mad River Old Town are in hiding, she knows something isn't quite right. Follow that with two inquisitive strangers, Shelby's in the fight for her sister's life. Just in time for Halloween! Join Shelby along with the ghosts of Mad River as they tackle an evil entity set to take over someone's body and soul.