Weird Fiction

The year is 1984 and a 16 year old Jake Corba is just a misunderstood kid in need of a good home. It seems the world has given up on him already, but he finds new hope in a unique group home in Oak Bridge, CA. Jake finds a new life in the small town, but unfortunately his old problems won't seem to go away. No matter where he goes, he cannot escape the dark secret that has cursed his life since the day he was born. While Jake finds enemies, he also finds friends, but their help may not be enough to prevent the darkness that is destined to come. He is about to face the most intense challenge...

The Meowy Republic stands proud in its traditions and its military might. Unlike the savages to the west and the barbarous centaurs to the east, every meowy has a say in how they are governed. But who shall lead them? Meowllary Clawton? The liberal lion who strives to help the less fortunate? Or Meowgaret Scratcher. A staunch conservative who yearns to expand the nation’s borders for the sake of security. The Republic needs wise leadership in troubling times. How should it deal with the pair of giant fairy-like creatures who look like hairless apes? These humans, as they call themselves, ...

Deadly Reunion is a collection of short stories. The first story, Deadly Reunion, tells of five women who reunite at a school reunion. A few months later they are invited to one of the women's lakeside cabins for a girl's weekend. Unfortunately for them they have been lured into a trap, this reunion does not go well. Who's you Daddy is the story of two young children whose mother dies leaving them orphaned. Having never known who their father was or if he was even still alive, they run off in the hopes of finding some relatives to live with rather than being split up and placed in separate ...

From cult author Ken Shakin, a collection of perverse fiction about love and hate between all species of animal. These are bedtime stories for the grownup beast, full of beings from another world, our own, one where the creatures talk and the civilized devour their neighbors. Four shorts, and a novella that explores misanthropy and misogyny in the same breath: How To Tame A Wild Animal, a murder mystery about wine, women, and castration.

Sarah was just trying to stop her dungeon from collapsing. Now she’s rewriting reality. What began as a bureaucratic headache has exploded into metaphysical mayhem. As a hybrid dungeon core with a snark problem and too much cosmic power, Sarah is evolving into something no one—kingdoms, liches, or the laws of magic—can define. The magical Compact is cracking. Archives are collapsing. And the Lich Lord Kravix? He’s one ritual away from turning the world into his ascension playground. Armed with a crumbling dungeon, glitchy golden glyphs, and a desperate need for five minutes of peace...

Mr. Klutz is retiring! (A surprise even to him, courtesy of scheming Dr. Carbles.) Vice principal Mrs. Jafee thinks it’s her time to shine, but Dr. Carbles has hired someone else for the job! Stand-up comedian Mrs. Stoker is ready to defend her place as principal in a joke-off against Mrs. Jafee.

The rise of the Master of Elements shall mark the return of the Wizard King. Weirden’s where . . . . . . chocolates are free, . . . people have windows instead of tummies, . . . and humans are called Ordinaires . . . because it’s a magical realm in the sky! An ordinary high-school boy, Ariston Baker, takes a risky plunge into an archaic picture book to save his friend, Kylan. Ariston soon realizes he has teleported into a magical sky realm called Weirden. Time is of the essence, for he must cross the tricky magical mazes, fetch his friend, and pass the exit gate before sunset, or he ...

A.J. and the gang are celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day with all the classic activities. But when A.J. spots a little man dressed head-to-toe in green sneaking around, it can only mean one thing: a real-life leprechaun! And one that’s wreaking havoc all around the school! Will the Ella Mentry School kids be able to catch the leprechaun before he causes even more trouble?

Jake Corba is a man who has lived under an ancient curse all his life. He is functionally possessed by a demon and has spent most of his adult life denying his family and his heritage. That all changes when a mysterious man known only as Ivar steps into his life in an attempt to help Jake accept the man he is destined to become. Through his journeys, Jake fights demons, zombies, and all manner of supernatural creatures, but as he does he finds himself square in the middle of a trap that has been laid out over the span of decades by two enemies from his past seeking revenge

Families that kill together, stay together. The Lawman and his weary companions have survived the Rites and are headed west for Victory Island. Not far behind, Lothair Eichberg has sworn to take revenge for the murders of his own kind. Along the way they encounter another infamous figure from the past recently revived and intent on taking over the world. The frozen dead are still rising, starving for human flesh. Ancient family ties will bring them all together again for one final, bloody reunion.

A sorcerer on a cliff cuts into his own hand, summoning members of the ancient cult that destroyed his family. A maid hunts her former employer with a sword, attempting to win a revenge that could save us all. A doomed man rides a train to his dead father's home to unravel a terrible secret....

Or so its citizens believe. Sixteen-year-old Nelly is skeptical of the stories until one night she spots a strange light sneaking through the abandoned house on her family’s farm. When she investigates, she finds … fairies. Within hours of this discovery, Nelly's grandmother is catatonic, and the otherworldly trespassers are offering up a cure. But only at a terrible price. It turns out that Nelly is a rare find for the fae. And the shocking reason why is buried in a past only the dead can remember.

Twelve wacky tales from the brilliant and twisted mind of H.D. Ingles. A blend of intriguing mysteries, spicy thrillers, zany parodies, alluring dramas, and feel-good parables, with a touch of the supernatural and a hint of the downright surreal. From the sad and terrifying to the hilarious and uplifting, from a miserly old man whose dark past catches up with him, to a young woman trying to make her way in the business world any way she can, this collection will take you on a journey across the human condition. Who doesn't want a little adventure from time to time? Meet Kenny Sparks, a ...

Jason Palmer is broke, tired, desperate. When an old friend recommends him for a paid sleep study, he makes a choice that could change everything about his life. Soon, he has a paycheck, and a head full of questions. Why would a laboratory be operating out of an unmarked building in the middle of a small Kansas town? How do they already know so much about his life? What is The Gold Mine?

After noticing that A.J. and his friends’ geography knowledge could use some work, Mr. Cooper invites to class just the person to help. Globetrotter Mrs. Barr speaks seven languages and has visited nearly 200 countries! But why does she carry a suitcasfe everywhere she goes? And why does she open a window whenever she walks into a room? Perhaps Mrs. Barr has something to hide!

If this isn’t our reality, has a new nightmare been set in motion? How do we crawl out from this rabbit hole? Awakening in a whimsical world of dancing animals and mushroom castles, Michael and the Demonheart sisters are far from amused. With no clue how they arrived, terror ensues every mind. All the while, none have realized they’re being watched from the cotton candy clouds. Eager to return home, the archangel comes across a befuddling lead: the carnival’s in town. Though it appears docile, he and his friends come to realize there’s far more hiding behind the striped tents than ...

Daisy has been working on invisibilizing herself—ever since living with her mother’s violent ex-boyfriend, and now to avoid the school bullies who are targeting her. She keeps a low profile, eating lunch with the librarian instead of in the Lunchroom of Terror and secretly counting whenever she’s anxious.But things are looking up. A new boy has befriended her and seems able to stand up to the bullies, and the stray cat she’s been feeding is starting to almost trust her.

The weirdest back-to-school story in the history of the world! Plus bonus content!

Welcome to a very special issue of Weird Tales. This issue celebrates the Bram Stoker Awards, the “Oscars” of the horror trade. They are presented every year by the Horror Writers Association (horror.org), a group founded in 1985 (and incorporated in 1987) by a collective of masters of that genre, including Joe R. Lansdale, Karen Lansdale, Robert McCammon, and Dean Koontz. This issue is packed with short stories, flash fiction, poems, and an essay—all written by past winners of the Bram Stoker Award.

Cameron Carson, member of the Geeks and Nerds United (GANU) club, has been secretly hooking up with student council president, cheerleader, theater enthusiast, and all-around queen bee Karla Ortega since the summer. The one problem—what was meant to be a summer fling between coffee shop coworkers has now evolved into a clandestine senior-year entanglement, where Karla isn’t intending on blending their friend groups anytime soon, or at all.