Winner of the 2012 Crypticon Seattle Writing Contest - Gail's life is not a tragic story of a young beauty lead astray or a heartbreaking tale of how an innocent girl and her brushes with the cruel reality of the world.Winner of the 2012 Crypticon Seattle Writing Contest - Gail's life is not a tragic story of a young beauty lead astray or a heartbreaking tale of how an innocent girl and her brushes with the cruel reality of the world. It is only a series of bad decisions and worse relationships, mixed with low self-esteem and an inability to plan for the future. What happens when her path crosses with that of Frank and Steve, a duo with agendas of their own and a frightening history behind them?

In 1974 a gruesome and shocking murder stunned the small town of Bludenhale, Indiana. Three people were slaughtered in a small garage and the one accused of the atrocity, Angel Larson, was sentenced to life in a mental hospital three counties over. Susan Smith, the mother of the hideously slain Heather Smith, has been secretly visiting her daughter’s killer at the Indiana State Mental HospitalIn 1974 a gruesome and shocking murder stunned the small town of Bludenhale, Indiana. Three people were slaughtered in a small garage and the one accused of the atrocity, Angel Larson, was sentenced to life in a mental hospital three counties over. Susan Smith, the mother of the hideously slain Heather Smith, has been secretly visiting her daughter’s killer at the Indiana State Mental Hospital for over a decade. Unbeknownst to most of the people of Bludenhale, Heather and Angel were best friends and have known each other since they were five. Overcome with grief, Susan needed that connection with her daughter despite her raising Heather’s four year old daughter Amy. She knew Angel would be the one to provide that connection. Those secret visits came to an end in 1994 when Angel Larson was mysteriously murdered in her room twenty years after the Bludenhale Massacre of 1974. Since then, an endless string of tragedies have plagued Susan’s life. Her granddaughter Amy Smith was found dead behind the strip club where she worked and Susan’s husband Mark collapsed dead of a heart attack in their barn two years later. Now, twenty three years later, Susan is struggling just too even get out of bed every day. But on a warm, late September afternoon, Susan is visited by an elderly soul who claims he is responsible for her daughter’s death. From there she will have to fight not only the internal nightmare truth inside herself but also a supernatural entity of horrific proportions. Return to Bludenhale in the follow up to Joe Zito’s bloody novel ‘The Garage’.

Doctor Vanderburg is a snake oil salesman. He's also dying on the side of the road. As chance would have it, Cyrus runs into him and his wagon of wonders and is presented with a gift. Of course it's got a bit of a curse on it.Last Halloween, I had a party. One of the things I wanted to do was to have guests tell ghost stories around a fire. This was a great idea in my head, but then I realized I needed a ghost story to tell. I did the usual Google search, but didn't find anything I was happy with. Most of what I found were urban legends and things that I was aware that the people that I would be telling the story to had probably already heard. I realized that I was just going to have to write my own ghost story. I only had a week before Halloween, but I locked the basic story down and gathered up some props for a theatrical telling which culminated in me throwing a ring into the fire...an action that would probably make sense after reading the story.

Tales of Terror 1. The Horror of the Heights 2. The Leather Funnel 3. The New Catacomb 4. The Case of Lady Sannox 5. The Terror of Blue John Gap 6. The Brazilian Cat Tales of Mystery 1. The Lost Special 2. The Beetle-hunter 3. The Man With the Watches 4. The Japanned Box 5. The Black Doctor 6. The Jew's Breastplate

An Anthology of short stories written by GoodReads Paranormal & Horror Lovers Group. Eight authors contributed to this free ebook as an exercise in collaboration and pushing the limits of the paranormal/horror genre with highly unique works.When Victor Frankenstein crafts his infamous creature in Mary Shelley’s masterpiece, he creates something that is a patchwork not only of men but of ideals, of emotions. Out of many, he is one. Indeed, this anthology you read now is something similar, though I do say quite a bit more pleasant to encounter than the fruit of Victor’s labors!What precisely does the word creature conjure in the imagination? Something frightening? Something unknown? The authors of the stories you are about to read had this question to consider and not one of them came up with exactly the same answer as another of their collaborators. The initial reaction to such a question might be to recoil, to think of something unsettling or scary. But then one must consider the creature itself. How does it react to its state of being? It’s surroundings? Does it enjoy killing men or does it loathe violence? Is it predator or prey? Do humans simply fear it or try to combat the creature themselves?It’s the reaction that makes the creature, not the state itself of being an outsider to mankind. You will read in these pages about various supposed monsters, and they all behave differently. The creatures in these stories are everything from horrifying killers to sympathetic lovers to misunderstood beings trying to fit into human society, each one with its creator’s personal stamp placed upon it. This anthology was born out of a desire to come together as authors, out of a sense of community, and the reader can certainly feel this as well. Despite the occasionally-gruesome or unsettling subject matter, this is a labor of love, we promise!The idea to create a compilation was posed by author B.C. Sirrom on the Paranormal and Horror Lovers group on Goodreads in May of 2012. The idea took off immediately, with eight writers contributing to the work and several others offering to help with editing and cover art. But what was to be the topic of such an anthology?After much deliberation, the topic of creatures was chosen, an emphasis placed on the unique and the cultural. The rules were simple: the story must be in the paranormal or horror genre and between five and ten thousand words. While mature content was allowed, it was not required, and contributors had to be willing to assist with editing. With the ground rules in place, the authors set out to craft their tales.This specific topic is one that not only fit the overall theme of the group itself, but also one that allowed the authors room to breathe, room to create and thus, room to craft a collection of well-fitted stories that will entertain, thrill and horrify.No matter what the word ‘creature’ initially brings to mind for you, the reader, that is only the beginning

Fooling around on your wife can be hazardous to your health. Jusk ask Tom. He's juggling a frustrated wife, a secret new girlfriend, and the unpleasant task of trying to keep his deteriorating farmhouse from falling down around him.Now with his wife out of town for the week, Tom is eager to get with his beautiful new lover - but first there's something he has to finish up...in the CRAWLSPACE.CRAWLSPACE is a selection from SCREAMSCAPES: TALES OF TERROR, by Evans Light.Fooling around on your wife can be hazardous to your health. Jusk ask Tom. He's a man with a lot to juggle: a frustrated wife, a secret new girlfriend, and the unpleasant task of trying to keep his deteriorating vintage farmhouse from falling down around him.Now with his wife out of town for the week, Tom is eager to get busy under the covers with his beautiful new lover - but first there's something he has to finish up...in the CRAWLSPACE.

Short story. The Italian philosopher Signore Bonfigliotti investigates a curious case of cannibalism in a remote Irish village...From M. H. Tardiff, author of grand entertainment, comes an anthology of nine short stories, in genres ranging from science fiction to dark comedy.Settings range from the skies of WWI to the white desert of a prehistoric glacier. Explore ages past and future and gasp as the strange and alien come to life and create a world not quite normal.Adventure awaits...

Gleefully mixing SF, fantasy, and horror, Screaming Science Fiction is a full-length collection of nine thrilling, chilling, spine-tingling stories by horror master Brian Lumley (Necroscope), including "No Way Home," "Snarker's Son," "The Strange Years," and a nearly 20,000 word novella ("Feasibility Study") appearing for the first time anywhere. Contents: Snarker's son -- Man who felt pain -- Strange years -- No way home -- Man who saw no spiders -- Deja viewer -- Feasibility study -- Gaddy's gloves -- Big "C".

“A Warm Afternoon, A Dark Summer Night” tells the story of a young boy named Thomas as he learns about life and death while growing up on a farm.A Hellcat demon shifter with no interest in love…Centuries ago, Garth awoke in the center of a mystical stone henge in the Scottish Highlands with no memories. A dragon shifter, Lachlan, and wolf shifter, Leslie, rescue Garth and take him to Castle MacWulver. The castle is the home of Clan MacWulver - a group of demon shifters blending in with human society while trying to find their fated Judge, a very special human with a pure heart and soul whose love has the power to redeem a demon of their sins. A mad scientist and veterinarian who is afraid to love…Sasha Robinovitch doesn’t like humans, but loves her genetically engineered monster pets. One day, after pulling an all-nighter, Sasha has a candy craving, and decides to go to a candy shop named Helltastic Confectionary. There she meets the owner Garth Mackenzie. He’s a giant of a man at six-eight with bulging muscles and an intense golden stare. Terrified of his thuggish appearance, Sasha tries to flee but when she unexpectedly hears his thoughts in her mind she discovers he’s not so scary after all. Will an unlikely friendship blossom into true love? Garth sells candy during the day as he reluctantly tries to find his fated Judge. At night he participates in matches hosted by illegal, underground fight clubs while trying to discover the whereabouts of his Archenemy the Red Priest. Centuries ago, the priest defeated Clan MacWulver and trapped the shifters in their animal forms using powerful Druidic magic. Ever since Garth’s people have been forced to fight sword-wielding Battle Priests and Battle Nuns in matches where rich, masked humans bet on the outcome of those fights. Author's Note: Swearwords and graphic sexual content have been removed from this version in order to make it more appropriate for my Teen readers. Enjoy!

Renee Engle never expected to be bitten, to become a monster. But when five year old Jenny clamped rotten jaws onto her left wrist, the infection couldn't help but take hold. Jake couldn't understand, only able to slow the transformation as much as possible. And as the woman he loved turned into a monster from her own nightmares, there would soon be nothing left of Engle.The moon is falling. The shift is tearing apart the transportation infrastructure, and the population is stricken with "moon sickness" - literal lunacy.Charlotte, Lawton, and Fisk are friends. They met in a writing workshop when the news of the moon's fall was only mentioned on the late-night conspiracy shows. While lunar cults pray for the intense celestial coitus of Luna's impact with Earth, all Fisk wants is Charlotte.MOON SICK is a surreal short story by Aniko Carmean, author of MIXED MEDIA and STOLEN CLIMATEs.

Where were you when the zombies rose? At home with the wife and kid? At the store? Driving to work? She was at home. She was hoping to protect her family. She failed. Betrayed by those she loved, and innocent life is taken, and her family suffers. In the end who do you save when everyone you love has turned against you? Read about a minor character from the book ZOMBIES BITE!Hazel Haven is a small, tropical island in a world where humans and monsters live together. But for Heather, Hazel Haven is boring. Craving the life of an adventurer, she sets sail across the ocean, only for things to go from bad to worse. She is attacked by pirates, breaks her leg, and becomes stranded on a foreign island... and that's just in her first few days at sea! Clearly, she was a little too eager to leave home, but there's no turning back now.Of Pirates & Castaways is the first book in the Hazel Haven trilogy. The series is a labor of love that combines the quirky characters and over-the-top fights of Japanese anime with a Western sense of humor and pacing. Inspired by stories like One Piece and Ranma 1/2, this lighthearted tale of islands, monsters, pirates, and castaways is a fun read for all ages.

Middle-aged San Francisco horror writer Franz Westen is rediscovering ordinary life following a long alcoholic binge. Then one day, peering at his apartment window from atop a nearby hill, he sees a pale brown thing lean out his window…and wave. This encounter sends Westen on a quest through ancient books and modern streets, for the dark forces and paramental entities that thrive amidst the towering skyscrapers of modern urban life…and meanwhile, the entities are also looking for him.

Apocalypse: keep it in the family.Ah, the problems never cease. The Team want Paddington to help contain a family of vampires before they fulfil another vague, ancient prophecy that will destroy the world. The werewolf pack wants revenge. His wife wants him to stay away from it all. Oh, and there’s some question about Paddington’s father’s death. Specifically, whether it actually happened...Apocalypse: keep it in the family…It's been three years since Chief Constable Paddington became a werewolf and thwarted the family of vampires who tried to fulfil an ancient prophecy and destroy the world. Three years of peace. Paddington was almost starting to believe that the hard times were over. That he could settle down with his wife. Think about starting a family.Unfortunately, family and Paddington don't go well together. His father died of a heart attack a few days after Paddington's birth. His mother's dying words still haunt him.Yeah, family's never been his strong suit, but Paddington is about to become a dad himself. Happy day.Except now the vampires have disappeared and the Supernatural Help and Investigation Team are demanding Paddington help bring them back. The werewolf pack, though, are howling for bloody revenge. So to speak.Oh, and there's some question about Paddington's father's death. Specifically, whether it actually... happened.Just like old times, then. Still, at least there isn't a prophecy foretelling the end of the world...Right?

Five longer tales designed to creep and disturb. "It Watched Us Play" - "A Series of Strange Occurrences" - "The Hole" - "The Heat" - "The Misdial"Five longer tales designed to creep and disturb."It Watched Us Play" - Something has been lurking in the old neighborhood."A Series of Strange Occurrences" - Some buildings just shouldn't be lived in."The Hole" - The ultimate horror fan tells his own story."The Heat" - Sometimes darkness would be a welcome relief from the horror."The Misdial" - A strange number, an unknown caller... or is it?

Danny thought his biggest problem was being a downtown kid trapped in farm country. Then he found out about the Were-Squirrels. The back alleys of Toronto have not prepared him for this.In a Japan that never was ... Yamabushi Kaidan is a mountain monk with tremendous fighting ability and spiritual powers, Yumi is a brilliant but untested warrior, fighting for her village and her independence, and Kaidan's apprentice Akio is a gifted healer with a courageous heart, but can their combined prowess save the village of Kyuusai from the onslaught of the Smoke Dragon, an evil never before seen in the Autumn Valley?The Smoke Dragon is a Ditmar and Aurealis Awards finalist.The Adventures of Yamabushi Kaidan continue in The Mist Ninja.