Some public servants provide shelter for the homeless, others food for the hungry. Me, I run over cyclists with my car. If not me, then who? Over three dozen to date, and the number keeps growing. I don’t want fame or money for my deeds, but a plate of nachos every now and then would be nice.Since the ages before time was measured, the angelic races have existed. Unseen by our eyes, they move through creation, shaping our world, sustaining our existence, and battling demonic hordes. But the war is changing; the battle lines are expanding into new frontiers and the next epoch is emerging.Centuries after the first humans were exiled from their home, their descendants have pushed eastward into a prehistoric wilderness. In a land shrouded by mist and superstition, primitive tribes struggle to establish new civilizations, unaware that their world is about to change forever.Weary from unceasing conflict, Sariel—legendary warrior of the Eternal Realm—crosses into the Temporal in search of the only one who can bring him peace. But he is not the first; others have already begun their inhabitation. As the dominance of their kingdom spreads, threatening to engulf all of humanity, Sariel finds himself standing between his own kind and the one he loves and must embrace the life he abandoned in order to secure her freedom.

Chuck Dutton built Music City Salvage with patience and expertise, stripping historic properties and reselling their bones. Inventory is running low, so he's thrilled when Augusta Withrow appears in his office offering salvage rights to her entire property. This could be a gold mine, so he assigns his daughter Dahlia to personally oversee the project. The crew finds a handful of surprises right away. Firstly, the place is in unexpectedly good shape. And then there's the cemetery, about thirty fallen and overgrown graves dating to the early 1900s, Augusta insists that the cemetery is just a fake, a Halloween prank, so the city gives the go-ahead, the bulldozer revs up, and it turns up human remains. Augusta says she doesn't know whose body it is or how many others might be present and refuses to answer any more questions. Then she stops answering the phone. But Dahlia's concerns about the corpse and Augusta's disappearance are overshadowed when she begins to realize that she and her crew are not alone, and they're not welcome at the Withrow estate. They have no idea how much danger they're in, but they're starting to get an idea. On the crew's third night in the house, a storm shuts down the only road to the property. The power goes out. Cell signals are iffy. There's nowhere to go and no one Dahlia can call for help, even if anyone would believe that she and her crew are being stalked by a murderous phantom. Something at the Withrow mansion is angry and lost, and this is its last chance to raise hell before the house is gone forever. And it seems to be seeking permanent company. The Family Plot is a haunted house story for the ages-atmospheric, scary, and strange, with a modern gothic sensibility to keep it fresh and interesting-from Cherie Priest, a modern master of supernatural fiction.

Eden is a remote hotel with a sordid past. Two couples brought together by a mutual curiosity stumble upon evidence of the horrific events that have transpired within. The couples have gruesome visions of murders and suicides, pushing them to find the truth behind terrifying stories told by the staff.Eden is a remote hotel with a sordid past. Two couples brought together by a mutual curiosity stumble upon evidence of the horrific events that have transpired within. The couples have gruesome visions of murders and suicides, pushing them to find the truth behind terrifying stories told by the staff. Trapped at the hotel, the couples encounter the ghosts of the many casualties in Eden, unveiling the mysteries of a young girl's specter and her ties to the mysterious deaths. But will they uncover the answers before they become the next ghosts to haunt Eden's halls?

Buster “Rant” Casey just may be the most efficient serial killer of our time. A high school rebel, Rant Casey escapes from his small town home for the big city where he becomes the leader of an urban demolition derby called Party Crashing. Rant Casey will die a spectacular highway death, after which his friends gather the testimony needed to build an oral history of his short, violent life.

'THEY' is a short story by Vincent Hobbes. It was first published in 'The Endlands' (Jan. 2011)A relaxing drive in the Rocky mountains becomes madness as two couples find themselves trapped in a blizzard.Dragon Wars: A Dragon Novella.This is the first Novella in the Dragon Wars series.The series will have a word count from 20,000-35,000Word Count: 21,582.Two realms collide in this epic introduction of Dragon Wars: A Dragon Novella. Bryce, has always believed himself to be average with one slight exception: he’s a genius. He doesn’t think this makes him special. At times he feels like a social out-cast. Yet he could do anything he puts his mind to, except talk to his neighbor, Ziora. The exceedingly pretty cheerleader captivates him, and ties his tongue in knots. By a convenient twist of fate Bryce is assigned to help Ziora with her final assignment for English.Bryce dares to be cautiously optimistic until he starts receiving anonymous emails warning that his life is in danger. At first he thinks it is a fellow classmate playing a prank on him, but he quickly finds out that it isn’t. Bryce processes the gravity of the situation, but then he is attacked at school by a stranger. A figure that is glowing red at the arms that shoots fire balls from his hands.Bryce hopes that this is all a bad dream, but soon realizes that it isn’t. What he is told is the ‘truth’ is beyond even his elevated comprehension. Now he must learn about a place he doesn’t even know about, and try to save the world that he knows and loves

Mallory and Mitchell Howard hope a vacation to the woods will help them rediscover their chemistry. If a break from the responsibilities of their everyday lives fails to reignite their old passion, then Mallory and Mitchell hope they might return as changed partners thrilled by new love. Yet the woods hold something sinister, and soon neither Mallory nor Mitchell recognize their own reflections.Though they have settled into routine, Mallory and Mitchell Howard fail to feel content with their lives and marriage. Their passion for one another has faded as both begin to watch one aspiration after another slip beyond their grasp. Thus Mallory and Mitchell flee into the north woods, hoping an unplanned, spontaneous vacation will return some of the carefree splendor of their lost youth. But Mallory wakes in the night at the sound of a pounding at their hotel door and stammers to see a shadow at the foot of her bed. Mallory soon after trembles as she witnesses her face in the mirror transform into a woman she does not know, and fear chokes her as Mallory desperately runs from the reflections that suddenly haunt her. Mallory and Mitchell enter the north woods hoping for change, but neither anticipates the transformation the shadows between the trees deliver.

The first sequel to Cities of the Dead: Stories of the Zombie Apocalypse brings readers four more stories set in four unique locations, continuing the thrilling journey started in the first collection of stories. Set in the midst of a brutal winter, the different groups of survivors must innovate new ways to survive, and test their mettle against both the undead and Mother Nature.The first sequel to 2011's highly acclaimed Cities of the Dead: Stories of the Zombie Apocalypse, Winters of Discontent brings the reader four additional stories set in the same universe. If zombies weren't enough to contend with, Mother Nature has gripped North America with a brutal winter, forcing the surviving humans to find ingenious new ways to survive the apocalypse. And, to make matters worse, men are quickly turning on their fellow men in a battle for the remaining resources of the world. Readers will also re-unite with gyrocopter pilots Will and Frank as they, too, fight the undead and winter in the shadow of the Kinzua Dam deep in a forest in Pennsylvania.

 From a new master of horror comes an apocalyptic showdown between the residents of a secluded, rural town and the deadly evil that confronts them wherever they turn . . . Evil Doesn't Die The cozy little town of Pine Deep buried the horrors of its past a long time ago. Thirty years have gone by since the darkness descended and the Black Harvest began, a time when a serial killer sheared a bloody swath through the quiet Pennsylvania village. The evil that once coursed through Pine Deep has been replaced by cheerful tourists getting ready to enjoy the country's largest Halloween celebration in what is now called "The Spookiest Town in America. " It Just Grows Stronger But then--a month before Halloween--it begins. Unspeakably desecrated bodies. Inexplicable insanity. And an ancient evil walking the streets, drawing in those who would fall to their own demons and seeking to shred the very soul of this rapidly fracturing community. Yes, the residents of Pine Deep have drawn together and faced a killer before. But this time, evil has many faces--and the lust and will to rule the earth. This struggle will be epic.

With the Experiment in Terror show finding some success, amateur ghost hunters Perry Palomino and Dex Foray embark on their most terrifying investigation yet. A tiny, fog-shrouded island in the rough strait between British Columbia and Washington State has held a dark secret for decades: It was a former leper colony where over forty souls were left to rot, die and bury each other. Now a functioning campground, Perry and Dex spend an isolated weekend there to investigate potential hauntings but as the duo quickly find out, there is more to fear on D’Arcy Island than just ghosts. The island quickly pits partner against partner, spiraling the pair into madness that serves to destroy their sanity, their relationship and their very lives.

Maybe I can be like those handsome men on the shaving ads.The invitation to join the secretive Guadel should have been the fulfillment of dreams Va'del didn't even realize he had. When his sponsors are killed in an ambush a short time later, he instead finds his probationary status revoked, and becomes a pawn between various factions inside the Guadel ruling body.Jain's never known any life but that of a Guadel in training. She'd thought herself reconciled to the idea of a loveless marriage for the good of her people, but meeting Va'del changes everything. Their growing attraction flies against hundreds of years of precedent, but as wide-spread attacks threaten their world, the Guadel have no choice but to use even Jain and Va'del in their fight for survival.Publisher's Note: Frozen Prospects is a YA Epic Fantasy book, and is the first novel in the Guadel Chronicles Series which is written so that it can be safely enjoyed by teens and adults alike. Frozen Prospects is followed by Thawed Fortunes.The Guadel Chronicles: All the scope of an epic fantasy combined with the action of a sword and sorcery book!

In addition to her training to one day run the Caerleon Order, Vlad Tepes Drakulya is teaching Sir Differel Van Helsing how to hunt monsters, but it proves useless when she is caught by a Hag who threatens to eat her. The only person available to help her is one of the subordinate chefs. But how can a cook protect her from a powerful paranormal being? This is a short story.Sir Differel Van Helsing must be well trained before she can take over the Caerleon Order when she comes of age. Her staff is concentrating on teaching her how to perform her administrative duties and to defend herself, but she also wants to be a monster hunter like Vlad Tepes Drakulya. Though her staff is against it, he believes she could be a great one, greater even than her ancestor, Abraham. However, he insists upon training her himself, using his own methods.They are unusual to say the least, and she doesn't fully understand their purpose, but they seem useless when she is kidnapped by a Hag, who intends to eat her in her own kitchen. Helpless to prevent it, she assumes the worst, until Madam Trumbo, one of the subordinate chefs, appears. She is her only hope, but how can a mere cook save her from a powerful paranormal being?

With more than 100 movies based on his writing, H.P. Lovecraft ranks among the most adapted authors in history--along with Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King.  His unnervingly scary tales appeal to both diehard fans of horror and readers with mainstream tastes, and H.P. Lovecraft Goes to the Movies presents the very best of his filmed stories. Additionally, this unique collection provides an enlightening historical introduction, short headnotes for each story calling out interesting trivia, and an appendix with credits for each screen version. THE STORIES INCLUDE: "The Colour out of Space": filmed twice, once as a vehicle for Boris Karloff called Die, Monster, Die! "The Dunwich Horror," also filmed two times, once with Dean Stockwell "Pickman's Model" and "Cool Air": both for Rod Serling's Night Gallery TV program "The Call of Cthulhu," which laid the foundation for the Cthulhu Mythos

The Body of a Goddess. . . with the Heart of Hell itself. The devil is a dead-beat dad and his consort Lilith couldn't care less. A stolen embryo stirs in Lilith's womb and a plan pulses through her veins: To unleash her child from the gates of hell--as soon as she destroys the only two vampire hunters who can possibly stop her. . . THE FORBIDDEN Damali Richards is a woman-child in a world running with blood, depravity and demons. Turned by her lover, Carlos Rivera, and brought back again, Damali clings to the one measure of purity that was handed down to her through generations of the wise, gifted and strong. Now, through the power of magic, through the ache of desire and the touch of her lover, Damali is on a journey from the streets of Philadelphia to the ancient earth of Africa. With a small army, with Carlos and with her own mad skills, she might just save the world from the demon seductress who wants her and her faith obliterated--before Armageddon begins. . .

This short Civil War ghost story, set in the contemporary South, shows how the act of settling a simple bet can sometimes change history.Those who survived the horrible battles of the American Civil War are talked about almost as much as the many thousands who did not. And what about those who should have fought, but didn't? Hardly anyone talks about them, or the many reasons they might have missed the opening volley.The Best Damned Squirrel Dog (Ever) tells one such story. Though the characters and location are fictional, the author's in-depth knowledge of local history brings the story to life and makes this a great read for anyone interested in love, pets, the 150th anniversary of the "great unpleasantness," or the war itself.

Ten-year-old Danika Samms was going to be a dancer. Until a serial killer put an end to her dreams. Now her ghost has come to Thulu and La Fi to save her dog from the killer. La Fi is a medium and Thulu is a finder and together they find justice for the dead.The detectives take the case, but they find a heartbreaking secret and a seasoned killer already on the prowl for his next victim.Ten-year-old Danika Samms was going to be a dancer. She was even going to be on TV for a big national contest. Until a serial killer put an end to her dreams. Now her ghost has come to Thulu and La Fi to save her dog from the killer. La Fi is a medium and Thulu is a finder and together they find justice for the dead. The detectives take the case, but they find more than a lost pup. They discover a heartbreaking secret and a seasoned killer already on the prowl for his next victim. And this time their walk on the darker side of the paranormal puts their own lives at risk. "Ghost Dancer" is the third novelette from the Modern Magics series.