Weird Fiction

Most of us have at some point in our lives felt like an outsider, sometimes considering ourselves "too weird" to fit in. Growing up as a Russian immigrant in West Texas, Olga Khazan always felt there was something different about her. This feeling has permeated her life, and as she embarked on a science writing career, she realized there were psychological connections between this feeling of being an outsider and both her struggles and successes later in life.

The weird, wild west - an American frontier populated by gunslingers, rattlesnakes, outlaws, zombies, aliens, time travelers, and steampunk! Twenty-three of science fiction and fantasy's hottest and most popular authors create all-new tales, written exclusively for this anthology. Aliens and monsters, magic and science are introduced to the old west, with explosive results.

Welcome! You have stumbled onto by chance or by fate the best experience you could possibly have from the comfort of your own safe home or whatever cozy dwelling you prefer. It’s your choice if you’d love to consume the funniest and most ridiculous thing you have ever read, as it is right at your fingertips. Your carpet will need to be professionally cleaned from the rolling on the floor laughter, your stomach will be need to be checked by a highly-trained gastroenterologist for the gut-wrenching laughter, and your tear glands will need to be re-filled for the cry laughter from all the ...

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, ...

One night and my life completely jumped the tracks. Actually, a pack of expired condoms did that - the rest of the night was pretty amazing. Open bar at a friend's wedding. Bad dancing all around. Stupid trivia bets with my fellow Ice Knights hockey teammates. And Tess Gardner. The factoid-blurting, fandom-T-shirt-wearing, no-I-don’t-want-a-relationship-with-you woman makes me forget for one night that I’m a man with a routine and my future all mapped out. Still, it sucked she left our room without giving me her number.

Flash fiction for weirdos.

From the twisted mind that brought you The Case Of The Mad Doctor Clingman The London Years comes the chilling continuation of a tale that defies science and sanity alike... Deep in the windswept wilds of Cornwall, behind crumbling stone walls of an abandoned mine that locals now dare not name, Dr. Clingman and his notorious band of deranged misfits have found a new sanctuary for their unspeakable work. Forced to flee the smog-filled alleys of London, the Mad Doctor has not abandoned his grotesque vision—he has expanded it. Accompanied by his faithful companions—each more disturbed than...

Featuring all-new tales of dark fantasy, cosmic horror, supernatural revenge, and the sorcery of terror from masters of the craft, this issue includes stories and poems by Alma Katsu, Heather Graham, Maurice Broaddus, Fran Wilde, Priya Sharma, Anne Walsh, Yvonne Navarro, Jake Bible, Gabrielle Faust, and Christina Sng.

Leann sells Volvos and recently had her Uncle Ron move in with her. She's having an affair with her boss, Ed, who claims to have an agoraphobic girlfriend, Kelly. Leann decides Ed is a loser and ends the affair. She feels bad about it and decides to tell Kelly everything. But when she gets to Ed's house she finds Kelly behind a barred window claiming she's being held against her will. Kelly ends up coming home with Leann, who doesn't know what to do with the stray girl. Everything Leann thought she knew about Ed, about Kelly, seems to be wrong. Kelly claims Ed is a sadistic murderer who ...

If you’ve just fallen into this beguiling treasure, then it’s in your best interest to just spank yourself and throw this book back in the vault where you found it. Because once opened, fabulous words that grow into sentences and paragraphs and stories will leave you with a massive rock-solid sense of the surreal. Leave now and we can both forget about this momentary plunge of lusciousness your eyes were about to feast on. Go! Prevail upon the legendary badassery life that is yours elsewhere. You have been thanked for your no-obligation, risk-free read of this secure blurb and I wish ...

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....

School’s out for summer! A.J. can’t wait to spend his days playing video games, watching TV, and forgetting everything he learned during the school year. But when his parents announce they’ve signed him up for sleepaway camp, his great plans slip away right before his eyes.

Seamlessly shifting between the speculative and the blindingly real, balancing the bizarre with the subtle brutality of the mundane, A Manual for How to Love Us is a tender portrait of women trying their best to survive, love, and find genuine meaning in the aftermath of loss. In these unconventional and unpredictably connected stories, Erin Slaughter shatters the stereotype of the soft-spoken, sorrowful woman in distress, queering the domestic and honoring the feral in all of us.

- A fugitive finds himself in a deadly predicament- Reality show producers push the envelope to please their superiors- A group of test subjects take an unexpected journey- A rogue scientist takes genetic modification to the next level- People who eat Tide Pods turn into detergent-craving zombies- Something terrifying lurks in the Canadian wilderness- Evacuees from a doomed Earth colonize a distant planet.- A malfunctioning android threatens humanityTake a journey down the psycho path in Volume 3 of Mandy White’s Dysfunctional Fiction series.This ebook is DRM-free. Can be read on non-...

A.J. and the gang are tired of Miss Banks and her constant pranks. They decide to get her back and, afterward, the principal, Mrs. Stoker, suggests a weeklong prank competition between the students and the teachers. If the kids manage to pull off a win, they’ll get a candy party! And so begins the most epic prank war that Ella Mentry School has ever seen! But can the kids outprank their teachers before the week is up?

Emma Mcgraw is slowly making friends at her new school. but when Cynthia calls her weird, Emma is shocked. They are supposed to be best friends! in response, Emma decides that Cynthia’s new name should be bossy pants, and she tells everyone in the class.

- A henpecked husband makes a stand against his surly wife.- Is a mysterious stain on the ceiling of a prison cell a product of the inmate's imagination or something more sinister?- A woman trapped in a loveless marriage finds magic in a gift from a friend.- Something is alive in the outhouse…- A young boy longs to venture beyond the walls of his post-apocalyptic city, until he learns the terrifying truth about what’s out there.- A terminally ill teen’s forbidden love affair turns tragic.- A young witch and her talking dog are tasked with ridding their home of unwanted guests. Magic ...

Snake oil salesman Dr. Darius Darke and other "legends" of the Old West are called upon to fight a band of brain-eating bandits in a three-dimensionally-challenged box canyon. This story is a prequel to David Bain's full-length weird Western novel Riders Where There Are No Roads. David Bain is the author of Death Sight, the first novel in the Will Castleton psychic detective series, Gray Lake: A Novel Of Crime And Supernatural Horror and several short story collections.

Weird things dwell in the hidden corners of Britain: subterranean beasts, extradimensional entities, resurrected ghouls, and spectral vampires. And there are weird places, too. Beyond the veil of the waking world, lie realms of secrets, domains of madness. So begins the saga, of Peter Van Melsen...

Mr. Cooper's class is getting a pet! Alexia hopes it is something cool, like a snake. But is she ready to take care of the pet, or will it be one weird mess? Join A.J. and the gang from Ella Mentry School as they show young listeners why they attend the weirdest - and most fun! - school around.