Body Horror

Against all odds, former geneticist Benny White has survived the first Wave of the Game of Souls. But the rewards have come at a cost, and the games are far from over. New enemies have been introduced with eyes set on those calling the Blackstone Keep home. Not only do the contestants have to struggle against the Arketh-Takshi—a group of intergalactic vampiric pirates residing within scattered portals—but also with private outworlder factions whose motivations are anything but clear. Not to mention some threats that originate a little closer to home.

The most terrifying thing that you can possibly imagine is your own body in the hands of a monster. Or worse, in the hands of another human being. In this definitive anthology of body horror selected by a World Horror Grandmaster, you'll find the unthinkable and the shocking: a couture designer preparing for an exquisitely grotesque runway show; a vengeful son seeking the parent who bred him as plasma donor; a celebrity-kink brothel that inflicts plastic surgery on sex workers; and organ-harvesting doctors who dissect a living man without anesthetic.

Whether for entertainment, under the guise of medicine, or to propel consumerism, heinous acts are perpetrated daily on women’s bodies. In Body Horror: Capitalism, Fear, Misogyny, Jokes, award-winning journalist Anne Elizabeth Moore catalogs the global toll of capitalism on our physical autonomy. Weaving together unflinching research and surprising humor, these essays range from investigative—probing the Cambodian garment industry, the history of menstrual products, or the gender biases of patent law—to uncomfortably intimate.

A tourist becomes prey in this surprising journey into the secrets of a small town.

Laney Kilpatrick has been renting her vacation home to strangers. The invasion of privacy gives her panic attacks, but it’s the only way she can keep her beloved Hemlock Island, the only thing she owns after a pandemic-fueled divorce. But broken belongings and campfires that nearly burn down the house have escalated to bloody bones, hex circles, and now, terrified renters who've fled after finding blood and nail marks all over the guest room closet, as though someone tried to claw their way out...and failed.

In this chilling anthology, ten talented authors plunge into the darkest corners to explore the grotesque and unsettling. From grotesque mutations to psychological terrors, each story unfolds a unique and horrifying journey through the visceral landscapes of the human body. Brace yourself for a collection that will leave you questioning your own existence, as the authors unravel tales that linger beneath the skin. "Body Horror Anthology" is an exploration of the grotesque, where the boundaries between the body and the unknown are blurred, and the unimaginable becomes all too real.

R is a young man with an existential crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. His ability to connect with the outside world is limited to a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. After experiencing a teenage boy’s memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim’s human girlfriend, Julie.

Feel the breath-taking tingle of suspense. Share the captivating horror of the supernatural in these six complete stories presented by a masterful reader.

Alien visitors devastate a remote farm in Lovecraft’s first and best venture into science fiction.

Since the zombie invasion, the island of Manhattan has been turned into a wintery wasteland. The Zombie King has arrived in search of a mythical Opener. A human who can create a bridge to the land of the dead and unleash all its horrors on earth. But, who is the mysterious Giant, and why can no one get onto the island of Manhattan? Then we take a trip to the carnival and learn the origins of the Dead-Killer and why he wants the Zombie King dead forever. And finally, where does the Vamp get her tattoos? And why are they so important?

Thirteen terrifying tales from the master of horror who created the nationally bestselling Necroscope series. The title story, "Fruiting Bodies," in which a small village slowly disappears, won the British Fantasy Award.

Lestat speaks. Vampire-hero, enchanter, seducer of mortals - for centuries he has been a courted prince in the dark and flourishing universe of the living dead. Lestat is alone. And suddenly, all his vampire rationale - everything he has come to believe and feel safe with - is called into question. In his overwhelming need to destroy his doubts and his loneliness, Lestat embarks on the most dangerous enterprise he has undertaken in all the danger-haunted years of his long existence.

Thanksgiving can't end too soon for Victor Bayne, who's finding Jacob's family hard to swallow. Luckily, he's called back to work to track down a high-profile missing person. Meanwhile, Jacob tries to find a home they can move into that's not infested - with either cockroaches or ghosts. As if the house-hunting isn't stressful enough, Vic's new partner Bob Zigler doesn't seem to think he can do anything right.

Freshman year stinks for Vlad Tod. Bullies still harass him. The photographer from the school newspaper is tailing him. And failing his studies could be deadly. A trip to Siberia gives "study abroad" a whole new meaning as Vlad connects with other vampires and advances his mind-control abilities, but will he return home with the skills to recognize a vampire slayer when he sees one? In this thrilling sequel to Eighth Grade Bites, Vlad must confront the secrets of the past and battle forces that once again threaten his life.

Our greatest fears are of the unknown. Usually we think those fears are in front of us...or behind us. But perhaps the human body itself holds the greatest horror. What happens after death? Do our bodies have a new existence either in whole...or part? Will others seek to claim them and do unspeakable things? We don’t know. But our authors do. And they have the talents and wits to make these diabolical stories vehicles for horror, for terror, for the unimaginable....

A time traveler gains a vista of the world’s unknown history—at the peril of his life!

Max Baker, a 31-year-old accountant, finds himself in a desperate situation after killing a prostitute in his hotel room. ‘I lost control of myself,’ he says. ‘I couldn’t get the thought out of my head!’ Panicking and unable to dispose of the evidence by himself, he calls on his long-time friend John Kasper for help. Kasper is horrified and hesitant to help at first, but he can’t abandon his friend during his time of need. Max’s family and future are at stake. Together, they devise and execute one plan after another, hopelessly trying to hide Max’s crime...

John and Brooke are on their own, hitchhiking from town to town as they hunt the last of the Withered through the midwest—but the Withered are hunting them back, and the FBI is close behind. With each new town, each new truck stop, each new highway, they get closer to a vicious killer who defies every principle of profiling and prediction John knows how to use, and meanwhile Brooke's fractured psyche teeters on the edge of oblivion, overwhelmed by the hundreds of thousands of dead personalities sharing her mind. S

Stylish and camera-obsessed, Naomi and Nathan thrive on the yellow journalism of the social-media age. They are lovers and competitors - nomadic freelancers in pursuit of sensation and depravity, encountering each other only in airport hotels and browser windows. Naomi finds herself drawn to the headlines surrounding Célestine and Aristide Arosteguy, Marxist philosophers and sexual libertines. Célestine has been found dead and mutilated in her Paris apartment. Aristide has disappeared.

Full body transplants on sale here: the more you pay, the better the body. But can an expensive upgrade really fulfil the life-changing expectations of demoralised mortician Caroline McAleese? Caroline is desperate to be promoted to the sales team - but she's overweight and over 40, and in a world where attractiveness is prioritised ahead of intelligence, her prospects are slim. Then she hits the jackpot in the Citizens' Lottery, and gets the chance to trade up to the perfect new body: one that's young, lithe and beautiful.