‘This is the entrance to the Witch Well and behind that door you’d face your worst nightmare. Don’t ever go through there.' Night falls, the portcullis rises in the moonlight, and young Billy starts his first night as a prison guard. But this is no ordinary prison. There are haunted cells that can’t be used, whispers and cries in the night... and the dreaded Witch Well. Billy is warned to stay away from the prisoner down in the Witch Well. But who could it be? What prisoner could be so frightening? Billy is about to find out... An unforgettable ghost story from the creator of the Wardstone Chronicles (Spook's Apprentice) series. Illustrated throughout by the incredible Scott M Fischer, this beautifully produced book will make the perfect Halloween gift.

Harry Keogh is moving on. Though the search for his missing wife and child continues, his heart now lies in Edinburgh with Bonnie Jean—a beautiful Scottish werewolf whose friendly pack and flourishing pub have given him a place he can almost call home. But from the rocky heights of Sicily, the diabolical Francezci brothers plot the wolf-pack’s destruction; and down in the terrible Pit beneath Le Manse Madonie, an ancient evil schemes. The vampires conspire. They reach a decision. They choose a vector. Mafia thug Mike Milazzo is no good to anyone, anytime, anywhere . . . which makes him perfect. Disposable. The brothers infect him with a deadly poison—an engineered plague that even a werewolf could never survive—and they offer him a terrible bargain: successfully contaminate the wolf-pack, and receive the antidote. Fail, and die! Mike has everything to lose. So does Harry Keogh. But the Necroscope lost everything once before, and he isn’t about to do it again…

Colby Jack is a murse, but not like you think. Shy, kindhearted, and very sarcastic, Colby is trying to get his act together to continue working his dream job as a Registered Nurse at Henry Ford Hospital. When he is running late for work, again, his morning takes a turn from bad to weird. By the end of the day, Colby will learn there are secrets lurking in the shadows...and within himself.Colby Jack is a murse, but not like you think. Shy, kindhearted, and very sarcastic, Colby is trying to get his act together so he can continue working his dream job as a Registered Nurse at Henry Ford Hospital. When he is running late for work, again, his morning takes a turn from bad to weird. By the end of the day, Colby will realize there are secrets lurking in the shadows…and within himself. M.U.R.S.E. is the first of a five part short story series from Christopher Lee Cousino, author of the superhero novel HOMELESS and the ZOMBIE HERO novel series.

Fred the Bartender has heard many wild tales in his time, but the one Jack Matthews is about to tell him will challenge both his credulity and his sanity."For so many years, passionate fans of The Count of Monte Cristo have suffered a loss upon finishing Alexandre Dumas' last words. It is a grieving of sorts that has long been unmitigable... until now. The mysterious Holy Ghost Writer has penned "The Sultan of Monte Cristo" as a direct continuance of the story readers have long struggled against leaving behind. The adventure-laden journeys of Edmond Dantes continues in (Dumas') newly-honed role as investigative reporter who publishes his (original) book as part of (this) story. New life is breathed into those characters we all knew and loved (or loved to hate) in the original Count of Monte Cristo tale (what can now, finally, be referred to as Book 1). Haydee, the infamous Villeforts, and even Countess G are lifted from the stalemate of our beloved story and given new life, and readers will also be introduced to a host of colorful new characters (like the memorable Raymee) whose lives, loves, and circumstance flow comprehensively and effortlessly through the entire narrative. Amazingly, the prose so closely matches the mood, tone, pacing, and richness of environment of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo that this feels like the natural continuance of those lives. The sequel manages to introduce such a microscopic view into the full-flesh world our colorful characters engage in that readers can't help being sucked in. We cannot help but run breathlessly alongside them throughout the journey, to imagine the consequences between their words, to ponder on their insights and their woe-filled courses of action. We stand next to Mercedes as she lives and breathes; we get that rare glimpse into the future of the characters that Alexandre Dumas himself surely intended. Through well-defined and multilayered plotlines, the story's laser-point pacing, and rich character building, this work lends the quagmire of adventures, missteps, and danger-filled mysteries a guarantee of unforeseen, adventurous turns and cathartic "a-ha" insights. The Holy Ghost Writer seems a literary time-traveller: the swiftness with which he carries us straight into the 1800s is mind-boggling and a rare feat even in the best historical fiction writing. Excellent novel, and highly recommended!" Peanut's review.

Nurse Mercy Lynch is elbows deep in bloody laundry at a war hospital in Richmond, Virginia, when Clara Barton comes bearing bad news: Mercy's husband has died in a POW camp. On top of that, a telegram from the west coast declares that her estranged father is gravely injured, and he wishes to see her. Mercy sets out toward the Mississippi River. Once there, she'll catch a train over the Rockies and―if the telegram can be believed―be greeted in Washington Territory by the sheriff, who will take her to see her father in Seattle.Reaching the Mississippi is a harrowing adventure by dirigible and rail through war-torn border states. When Mercy finally arrives in St. Louis, the only Tacoma-bound train is pulled by a terrifying Union-operated steam engine called the Dreadnought. Reluctantly, Mercy buys a ticket and climbs aboard.What ought to be a quiet trip turns deadly when the train is beset by bushwhackers, then vigorously attacked by a band of Rebel soldiers. The train is moving away from battle lines into the vast, unincorporated west, so Mercy can't imagine why they're so interested. Perhaps the mysterious cargo secreted in the second and last train cars has something to do with it?Mercy is just a frustrated nurse who wants to see her father before he dies. But she'll have to survive both Union intrigue and Confederate opposition if she wants to make it off the Dreadnought alive.

Friends meet to celebrate the life of one of their old comrades who had passed long ago. The evening goes from playing board games to sharing scary stories. The only thing is one tale will turn out to be true.Friends meet to celebrate the life of one of their old comrades who had passed long ago. The evening goes from playing board games to sharing scary stories. The only thing is one tale will turn out to be true.It's the fourth story I released to the public back in November of 2011. If you enjoy this story, check out my others. If you really loved it, look into my first novel, Void Star. Thank you so much for reading and supporting indie authors!-J.P. YagerOtterbored.com

The Rescue is a tale about the road to hell. Good intentions really aren't enough. In fact, sometimes good intentions bring out the bad.In the next hour, I would die. Either burnt to a crisp during Vela’s nosedive into Earth’s atmosphere or blown to a thousand pieces when the Vela explodes in space. The first would make me a Ku’wahine warrior, the second an Earther hero. My now dead sister Haunani had chosen the warrior route. Captain Tim Jones would do everything he could to be the hero. I didn’t care for either choice.So begins Nalani’s Choice, a top ten selection in a Preditors and Editors readers short story poll.

From the writer of the cult sensation John Dies at the End comes another terrifying and hilarious tale of almost Armageddon at the hands of two hopeless heroes. WARNING: You may have a huge, invisible spider living in your skull. THIS IS NOT A METAPHOR. You will dismiss this as ridiculous fearmongering. Dismissing things as ridiculous fearmongering is, in fact, the first symptom of parasitic spider infection-the creature secretes a chemical into the brain to stimulate skepticism, in order to prevent you from seeking a cure. That's just as well, since the "cure" involves learning what a chain saw tastes like. You can't feel the spider, because it controls your nerve endings. You can't see it, because it decides what you see. You won't even feel it when it breeds. And it will breed. So what happens when your family, friends, and neighbors get mind-controlling skull spiders? We're all about to find out. Just stay calm, and remember that telling you about the spider situation is not the same as having caused it. I'm just the messenger. Even if I did sort of cause it. Either way, I won't hold it against you if you're upset. I know that's just the spider talking.

After killing the men who tried to steal her father’s research, Juliet—along with Montgomery, Lucy, Balthazar, and a deathly ill Edward—has escaped to a remote estate on the Scottish moors. Owned by the enigmatic Elizabeth von Stein, the mansion is full of mysteries and unexplained oddities: dead bodies in the basement, secret passages, and fortune-tellers who seem to know Juliet’s secrets. Though it appears to be a safe haven, Juliet fears new dangers may be present within the manor’s own walls. Then Juliet uncovers the truth about the manor’s long history of scientific experimentation—and her own intended role in it—forcing her to determine where the line falls between right and wrong, life and death, magic and science, and promises and secrets. And she must decide if she’ll follow her father’s dark footsteps or her mother’s tragic ones, or whether she’ll make her own. With inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this breathless conclusion to the Madman’s Daughter trilogy is about the things we’ll sacrifice to save those we love—even our own humanity.

A horror short fiction, concentrating on the events leading up to and subsequent horrific death of someone whom very much deserves it.This is the first published short story by SKM, a new on the scene horror writer with a gripping and thrilling tale.The Scene: A young girl is found blood drenched, walking down a lone country road.The Adversary: A drunken and abusing bastard of a step-father.Th Conclusion: Tasty.

Zombies attack a small town. Friendship blossoms into love.A crazy hypothesis is tested and creates a literal firestorm of controversy when an attempt is made to communicate with another race of beings that have existed on Earth for millennia.

New Damascus was a place of desert and mountain. It was a town suffering from sickness, where trouble always stopped by to holiday. It was the preacher who finally took matters into his own hands, praying for salvation. Salvation didn't come. Something else did.New Damascus was a place of desert and mountain. It was a town suffering from a sickness, where trouble always stopped by to holiday, and strange, perverted things happened and were endured with silence. Livestock gave birth to stillborn or deformed young. Blood appeared in the well. Children disappeared. Men were overcome by episodes of dark, manic rages not even found at the bottom of a flask.It was the preacher man in the town who finally took matters into his own hands after a New Damascus woman gave birth to a strange, dead child that looked more like a coyote pup than a person. Some say it was the Preacher’s. Some say the problem was that it wasn’t. What is certain is that he went into the desert without any food, only one water-skin and a small pistol for rattlesnakes, and stayed in the wild for seven days and seven nights.No one knows exactly what kind of praying he did in the sand and rocks, but what answered his call certainly wasn’t God. Most are convinced he was praying for help. But what came were the black riders. They didn’t bring a kind hand. They were there to euthanize New Damascus.Sometimes they look like scarred gunslingers with wide-brimmed hats on their heads. Sometimes they look like ghosts of old Apache chiefs, though everyone knows they exist by no man’s creed. Most say they’re tall, with hooded black robes that cover their faces. Riding Death.New Damascus was destroyed. The Preacher never found. Most likely, the black riders killed him as well in their cleansing of the town. He may have put a bullet through his head when he saw his home burning before him. Only a few whisper that when the deed was done, the black riders hunted him down, bringing with them a fifth horse for him to sit a top of and that he rides with them today.Those who whisper that, say that it isn’t dangerous to believe in the black riders. It is dangerous when they notice you.”

An elderly woman's memories aren't what they seem in this terrifying tale of a haunting in New York.Maura Sullivan tells herself that the past was wonderful -- filled with laughter and love.But there's something horrible going on. What really happened all those years ago?And what's waiting in the shadows?Avar-Tek Event #2 (short story): When a military accident releases swarms of microscopic robots called forger nanites into the environment, science intern Kutisha finds that her lab is their target. As three swarms head her way, the military dispatches hover-tanks carrying human sized robotic mechs. Alone, late at night, she places her faith in the mechs, watching the battle between the big and little machines unfold on her doorstep. The question may not be who will win, but who to trust.

Surviving..when there is no where else to flee. Daryl Ingram, arrogant and ignorant, refused to prepare for the spreading chaos of the zombie plague. Unprepared for their arrival, he fled in terror to his only avenue of escape, the trap door leading to the crawlspace. Cold, damp and blind to the world outside, his survival is in doubt.Surviving..when there is no where else to flee. Daryl Ingram, arrogant and ignorant, refused to prepare for the spreading chaos of the zombie plague. Unprepared for their arrival, he fled in terror to his only avenue of escape, the trap door leading to the crawlspace. Cold, damp and blind to the world outside, his survival is in doubt.No food. No water. Only the trash that fell into the crawlspace with him. Undead footsteps echo on the floor above him. All he can see through the narrow vents are his neighbors, both the living death and the truly dead. Death seems to be his only option.