Weird Fiction

Monster 1 sets up the series with essays on the nature of monster stories, what they are, why we write them, then goes on to look at vampire stories featuring Japanese snow ghosts, Pulp vampires in Weird Tales and the occult detectives who chase them. Next are tales of slime monsters, bug-eyed monsters, vampires in space, ape monsters, vampires in Fantasy stories, and finally, the little people. The appendixes to the book include writer's advice on how to create your own monsters using examples from H. G. Wells and Daphne Du Maurier. The final essay looks at false monsters in the tradition ...

Self-Consumed contains the title story as well as Bagged, Tagged, & Buried. Both tales were featured in the out of print Journals of Horror anthology. They are both reprinted here for the first time and have been polished and edited. In Self-Consumed, a wealthy businessman who killed a young girl while drunk-driving discovers that guilt isn't the only thing that will eat someone alive.

- A woman fears she is losing her mind when her surroundings keep changing without explanation.- A brokenhearted woman will stop at nothing to recapture the heart of the man who left her at the altar.- A loner who lives with seven cats finds himself immobile and at the mercy of hungry felines.- A psychic investigating the disappearance of a little girl uncovers a shocking tale.- A zombie encounters a lost love while shuffling through her empty existence.- An alien scientist with dreadful personal hygiene comes to Earth to genetically engineer a new food source. A collection of twisted ...

Earwig takes a rare day off, which he spends drinking by himself in Au Metro, a seedy bar full of drunks, dancers and eccentrics. It is St Martin's day, and in the evening, as crowds parade through the street carrying lanterns through the snow, he is drawn reluctantly into a conversation with a sinister stranger called Tyre. As a result Earwig accidentally maims a waitress with a broken bottle. He understands that on some level Tyre meant this to happen. Shortly afterwards a black cat is delivered to the flat, unasked for.

"A Witch Shall Be Born" is one of the original novels by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian (a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian). The story concerns a witch replacing her twin sister as queen of a city state, which brings her into conflict with Conan who had been the captain of the queen's guard. Themes of paranoia, and the duality of the twin sisters are paramount in this story but it also includes elements of the conflict between barbarism and civilization that is common to the entire Conan series.

When a petrol yacht catches fire in the South Atlantic, its lone survivor, Patterson, swims to safety. He is relieved when he washes up on a tropical island inhabited by four other ship-wrecked characters. But when he discovers one of the men was cast adrift by the Titanic, he is forced to question where he really is and if he will be able to escape.

A distinguished professor becomes entranced with a Mesoamerican obsidian dagger. Strange dreams of bird-priests and swarming crocodiles haunt his dreams.

As two of the members heal in hiding, a new, ageless pair of enemies—the mysterious Archange and witchy Hellcat Kate, powerful beyond anything the Riders have thus far imagined—emerges from the mists, spreading chaos in their wake! The key to their defeat seems to lie in an arcane bejeweled hand and the infamous Hole in the Wall hideout of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid—if the Riders win the race through...the mists of time!

"Red Nails" is the last of the stories about Conan the Cimmerian written by American author Robert E. Howard. A novella, it was originally serialized in "Weird Tales" magazine from July to October 1936. It is set in the pseudo historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan encountering a lost city in which the degenerate inhabitants are proactively resigned to their own destruction. Due to its grim themes of decay and death, the story is considered a classic of Conan lore and is often cited by Howard scholars as one of his best tales.

Trick or treat! Halloween’s coming up, and Bella and Weir are busy working on their funny costumes. But everything will be turned upside down when Weir Do finds out his family is moving away. It won't be easy, but it will be funny.

For Hank and Amy it was supposed to be a new beginning. Rest and relaxation in the country was their intention when they moved to Gravel Switch, one of the smallest towns in central Kentucky. But when the house they rent reveals itself to be more than they bargained for the couple face a nightmare reality far beyond the limits of their imaginations. The couple find themselves at odds with some of the locals as Hank's health falls into deterioration. With his body falling apart Hank questions his sanity as events spiral out of his control.

"Einmal wollte der Kranzedan mit der Untergrundbahn fahren. Am Ende der Rolltreppe, die ihn tief, tief in die Erde hinab führte, befand sich – zwischen verblichenen Reklametafeln leicht zu übersehen – eine kleine Metalltür. Dahinter vernahm der Kranzedan ein ganz feines Stimmchen, das sprach: "Komm, komm, komm …". Da öffnete er die Tür und quetschte sich geduckt hindurch und nie wieder ward er gesehen …”.

Light years from home. Bonded to an alien for survival. A dark secret is about to be revealed . . . The planet Verdana was supposed to be their new home, their new Eden. But shortly after arriving the human colonists were faced with a dilemma - join with the alaahi or perish. In the end, they chose the process of symbiosis, a physical conjoining with the native alaahi. But now there are whispers amongst the colonists. The alaahi are not the benevolent beings they made themselves out to be. Before long a dark secret is about to be revealed, and young Jena must make a terrible choice . . . *...

A steam yacht is sailing the North Atlantic when they spot a mysterious light. Upon investigation, they discover a derelict cargo ship but when they board, superstitions soon turn to very real fears for the safety of the crew.

Men in black calling at your door on the stroke of midnight . . . Three pieces of human flesh with the power to kill . . . A devoted wife who just won't die . . . A bag of bones that should never EVER be touched . . . These are just some of the tales in this gripping collection, taking the reader from supernatural suburban terror to the far future where the fate of mankind rests in the hands of an innocent. CONTENTS The Midnight Men Juju Killing Gloria The Devil's Bones Inheritance The Glamour Nan Death's Head The Witch is Dead Deus Ex Machina

As the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction. But the saying doesn't go far enough, because truth is much stranger (and more entertaining) than any of us could possibly imagine. And the proof is right here.For almost 20 years, Chuck Shepherd, John J. Kohut, and Roland Sweet have been combing the nation's newspapers for true stories of bizarre human behavior.

An adventure ideally suited to Indiana Jones, ‘The Treasure of the Tombs’ sees three WW1 veterans return to a remote cave to recover hidden gold, but the tomb is cursed.

When a Londoner retreats to the Cornish Coast for a break, he encounters a veiled woman. Could it be the ghost of intrepid explorer Miss Alice Trellings, who disappeared whilst staying at the hotel?

Flora is a new mum enamored of her baby girl, Iris, even if she arrived a few weeks early. With her husband on deployment, Flora navigates the newborn stage alone. But as the sleepless nights pass in the loneliness of their half-empty home, the edges of her reality begin to blur. Just as Flora becomes convinced she is losing her mind, a surprising guest shows up to help: Flora's own mother, to whom she hasn't spoken in years. Can they mend their fraught relationship? Or is there more Flora's mother isn't telling her about the events that led to their estrangement?

Presented here are the favorites (including many of the adventures of Clovis): "The Open Window", "Clovis on Parental", "The Lumber-Room", "Sredni Vahtar", and more.