Small Horrors

A Penguin Classic. First published in 1938, this volume of stories collected with the encouragement of his longtime editor Pascal Covici serves as a wonderful introduction to the work of Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck. Set in the beautiful Salinas Valley of California, where simple people farm the land and struggle to find a place for themselves in the world, these stories reflect Steinbeck’s characteristic interests: The tensions between town and country, laborers and owners, past and present.

Marshall Miller would’ve remembered her face even if he hadn’t seen it on a MISSING poster. When a young woman disappears in his small town, the investigation hinges on Marshall’s haunted sighting of her, crying in the back seat of a police car driven by a cop named Maddox. There’s only one problem: no local cop named Maddox exists. But the speeding ticket he handed to Marshall certainly does.

In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI, are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman - and he’s playing games with them.

In an unassuming house on the edge of town, secrets linger like shadows in the corners, and the past is never truly past. Every creak in the floorboards, every sigh of the wind through the eaves, seems to carry a whisper of forgotten sins and untold stories. For those who dare to step inside, the house becomes more than just a home—it becomes a mirror to their fears, their desires, and their darkest regrets. But as the threads of its haunted history begin to unravel, one truth emerges: the house remembers. And it’s not done telling its story.

Deftly written and utterly addictive, this Western literary horror debut will find a home with fans of authors like Joe Hill, Cormac McCarthy, and Anne Rice. One night in 1980, a man becomes a monster. Haunted by his past, Travis Stillwell spends his nights searching out women in West Texas honky-tonks. What he does with them doesn't make him proud, just quiets the demons for a little while. But after Travis crosses paths one night with a mysterious pale-skinned girl, he wakes weak and bloodied.

Bram Stoker Award finalist Tananarive Due crafts chilling tales of suspense.

In Joplin's Ghost, 24-year-old R&B phenomenon Phoenix Smalls is on the cusp of fame and fortune. But she is haunted by the spirit of Jazz legend Scott Joplin. After a series of sultry, erotic encounters with the ghost, and with the pressures of stardom closing in on her, Phoenix begins to fear for her life and career.

Journey into the uncharted territories of our world where brave souls recount their chilling encounters with the legendary creature, Bigfoot. This gripping anthology by bestselling author, Ethan Hayes, unveils personal testimonies about encounters with Bigfoot. Through the eyes of witnesses, the line between reality and myth blurs, sparking profound questions about the unknown and our place in the natural world. From casual hikers to seasoned trackers, these diverse encounters explore the transformative power of belief, with some leaving you a bit scared and cautious about trekking into the...

Vera Martinez wants nothing more than to escape Roaring Creek and her parents' reputation as demonologists. Not to mention she's the family outcast, lacking her parents' innate abilities, and is terrified of the occult things lurking in their basement. Maxwell Oliver is supposed to be enjoying the summer before his senior year. Instead he's taking care of his little sister while his mom slowly becomes someone he doesn't recognize. Soon he suspects that what he thought was grief over his father's death might be something more sinister.

A powerful novel examining the nature of evil, informed by the works of T. S. Eliot and Freud, mythology, local lore, and hard-boiled detective fiction, Sanctuary is the dark, at times brutal, story of the kidnapping of Mississippi debutante Temple Drake. She introduces her own form of venality into the Memphis underworld where she is being held.

Intruder in the Dust is at once an engrossing murder mystery and an unflinching portrait of racial injustice. Set in Faulkner's fictional Yoknapatawpha County, it is the story of Lucas Beauchamp, a black man wrongly arrested for the murder of Vinson Gowrie, a white man. Confronted by the threat of lynching, Lucas sets out to prove his innocence, aided by a white lawyer, Gavin Stephens, and his young nephew, Chick Mallison.

In the tranquil town of Silverlake, death doesn't hold the same finality as it once did. The Returned – reanimated bodies of the deceased – are a solace to grieving families. But not every solace is comforting, especially when it disrupts the delicate balance of a family already on edge. After the tragic loss of Mark, Maya and her son Lucas are presented with the gift of Mark’s second chance at life. But the Mark who comes back isn't the husband and father they once knew. As Lucas grapples with the ghost of his father and Maya yearns for the warmth of her family, their lives are ...

Britain is falling. The dead are rising. And no one is coming to help. What began as isolated outbursts quickly escalates into full-blown national panic. When football matches are cancelled and EastEnders goes off air, people finally realise this isn't just another news cycle—this is the end. In the quiet Welsh town of Usk, teenage brothers Matt and Danny lock down their family estate, thinking their isolation and wealth will keep them safe. But as the infected claw at their gates, help becomes a distant dream, and the real fight begins—not just against the dead, but to protect the ...

No call could ever be more magnetic or instinctive than the call of the past. Gerry is irresistibly drawn back to Lake Ness but it doesn't take long before he discovers that while battling prehistoric monsters is hazardous to his health, he's up against far more dangerous foes in both the members of his own species and his own destructive thought patterns. After the unexpected arrival of Leigh and Sam at the lake, followed by a rapid series of betrayals, Gerry finds himself fighting for his life once again. However, this time he is driven by the knowledge that if he makes it out of here ...

Summer was dying in Perfect. But boys will be boys and Jimmy Becker discovers something in the woods just beyond town, unwittingly unleashing something upon his hometown. But it was not the first time, and the town of Perfect was being watched by a group that was as old as recorded history, a group that sends someone in the take care of the problem, someone only known as Hunter.

How would you feel if your child could see the undead? Claire Mumford is just coming to terms with it when tragedy strikes her. Now she is trapped at home recovering and can't escape the very ghosts that haunt her six year old. Ghosts that don't rest easily. Can she uncover the mystery of the plague that struck over twenty citizens in the tiny hamlet of Woodland, Delaware in 1903? Can the spirits that are haunting their lives finally be put to rest? Can she find where the smallpox riddled bodies were buried and give them peace before they they run out of patience?

In the small, sun-soaked town of Lewisville, Florida, a series of brutal, ritualistic murders has shattered the community’s sense of safety. Detective Jack Rhodes and Officer Grady Reynolds, two unlikely partners, are tasked with unearthing the truth behind these terrifying acts. As they dive deeper into the investigation, their pursuit of the killer pulls them into a shadowy world where nothing is as it seems. For Willow Sullivan, a nurse haunted by visions of a dark presence stalking her, the nightmare is becoming all too real. Her days blur into sleepless nights filled with strange ...

When horror-obsessed Riley Lawrence and his group of college friends arrive in the small town of Carousel for their Centennial Celebration, the few decrepit cars parked in the street don’t scare them. But when they enter a locked building, an animatronic usher hands them each a ticket, and the lights dim, Riley realizes they’ve entered the inescapable patchwork of a horror movie set. And they’ve each been assigned an archetype—Scholar, Athlete, Eye Candy, Final Girl—to play out as the curtains rise.

An old house blemished with the putrid stench of past shame, an historic murder that was never satisfactorily solved, and a truth that is determined to show itself. Rob and his wife Julie are aware of their new house's unsavory past when they buy the property, but the place is a bargain that's too good to pass up. Located a short distance from the nearest town and in a prime position offering spectacular sea views, it's the perfect place for the couple to care for their foster children. However, it isn't long before the shadow of their new home's terrible past begins to taint their day-to-...

Folk who value their sanity and their lives would be wise not to visit Larson's Cove this summer. Death, danger, and intrigue have drifted into the small town of Meadowville, and the growing sense that something is amiss is almost palpable on the hot, still air. Larson's Cove isn't a popular spot with the locals, but it is home to Larson's Shed. The seafood restaurant on the bay's falling-down wharf was once somewhat of an icon in the area, but it has stood vacant for quite some time. However, circumstances have recently changed. Boyd Paine, an out-of-towner with a mysterious past, has ...

Journey into the uncharted territories of our world where brave souls recount their chilling encounters with the legendary creature, Bigfoot. This gripping anthology by bestselling author, Ethan Hayes, unveils personal testimonies about encounters with Bigfoot. Through the eyes of witnesses, the line between reality and myth blurs, sparking profound questions about the unknown and our place in the natural world. From casual hikers to seasoned trackers, these diverse encounters explore the transformative power of belief, with some leaving you a bit scared and cautious about trekking into the...