Dark Comedy Short Stories

O.J. Simpson in an alternate reality and blind ninjas ushering in the apocalypse are just two of the beautifully written tales in this seminal work of art, from the mind of a human being the likes of which God and the devil wholeheartedly agree upon. While drenched in comedy, Laughter's Cold Shadow takes on the darkest of subject matter: murder, rape, racism, the nuclear family, ninjas, Nazis, zombies, police brutality, drug cartels, hedonism, psychopathy, and more.

Bestsellerautor Markus Heitz erzählt in dieser ganz besonderen Weihnachts-Anthologie von einem Mädchen, das nicht nur den Nikolaus das Fürchten lehrt, weil sie statt dem gewünschten X-Mas-House-Of-Horror einen rosafarbenen Pullover bekommt, vom Treiben der Unheiligen drei Könige oder dem egoistischen Weihnachts-Muffel Quentin, dem eine Kita-Theater-Truppe mit einer ganz besonderen Vorstellung die Ehrfurcht vor dem Fest einbläut. In "Der Tannenbaum des Todes" wird das Beste aus zehn Jahren eines einmaligen Weihnachts-Live-Events erstmals in einem Buch versammelt!

In search of the ferocious truth, some would call trying to channel the spirit of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson a fool’s errand. But these are desperate times. So settle in for this trilogy of uppers, downers, screamers, laughers from John Bruni (Tales of Questionable Taste), Kent Hill (Hercules with a Shotgun) and Kevin Candela (Weedeaters: The Complete Acropalypse) as they bring you just what the doctor ordered.

As children we can’t help but dream of all of the amazing things that we will accomplish. Then life happens. We get a job, we get a house, and we get into debt. We settle. We trade away our youth for security in old age. We spend countless hours performing mundane tasks that leave us depleted and empty. Our souls crave meaning, but we are too afraid to make any change.

Is it possessed? Is it some kind of experiment? It doesn't matter. All that matters is that it is out to get you. The DilDozer, or DD for short, calls on all of those in its path in the hopes that one day it can unleash its 20 full inches of destructive force upon the world. Keep listening, if you dare, to the tale of the DilDozer. Deadly. Dangerous. Ribbed for her terror.

Set in the author’s native Belfast, the ten stories in Sweet Home lay bare the heartbreak and quiet tragedies that run under the surface of everyday lives. A lonely woman is fascinated by her niqab-wearing neighbours; a middle-aged teacher becomes obsessed with a young Gaelic football player; and an employer covers for his two employees caught having sex in a public toilet.

The Dreaded Summons and Other Misplaced Bills investigates seven unfortunate accounts piled together to make you laugh. The collection opens with Tina Teatree, who has a compulsion for weeding that soon digs up the root of her problem. The title story is "The Dreaded Summons", about an introvert and his friendship with a lost manatee. Other stories reveal the Breakfast Hunter, J.J. Whitweather, Shirley Short, and Fig B. Willingsbee.

A baby rat freed from the bottom of a dumpster becomes a white ibis wandering the wet driveway after a storm. Goodbye, hello, goodbye. It was the garbage times; it was time for something else. A tale of two tales, connected by a mysterious sunlit portal.

A palm reader notifies Lord Arthur that murder is in his future. But not his murder - he’s the murderer. This really throws a wrench into his wedding plans, for Lord Arthur is soon to be married to the most beautiful lady in London. In fact he loves her so much, he decides to postpone the wedding until his business is done. Now, for a tasteful homicide....

This is the story of a dying little boy fighting to escape a very special hell!

Strange Tales of the Curiously Uncommon is a collection of darkly humorous short stories, each with a cunning twist in the tale. When extraordinary events befall some of London's most ordinary of inhabitants, unexpected turns lead to some witty, strange, sometimes shocking yet ultimately gratifying results.

Kate and Michael, twenty-something housemates working at the same Trader Joe’s supermarket, are thoroughly screwed when people start turning into zombies at their house party in the Oakland hills. The zombie plague is a sexually transmitted disease, turning its victims into shambling, horny, voracious killers.

Whatever happened to that bumbling skeleton army from our favorite movie about a time-traveling S-Mart employee? Finally, the whole story.

My short stories are all exactly 50 words long (not including the title). Some of the one-word prompts used to create my stories include wildfires, holiday lights, a horseshoe, time traveler, street food, and Donald Trump. My magnetic poetry is oddly philosophical and meant to confound and amuse. May you thoroughly enjoy my book! Have a nice day!

Don't believe everything the characters tell you. Recommended for fans of John Crowley, Paul Park, and Michael Swanwick.

Death. It’s a part of life and something we all must accept. Whether it be our own demise or losing a loved one, the experience of death is both sobering and surreal. My Dad Is Dead is a group of related short stories that explore that dichotomy through the eyes of a kid. In George Verongos’ second book, he turns childhood memories into “fictionally enhanced” tales (he made us say that, he’s trying to make it a thing).

Von seiner Frau verlassen und als Langweiler beschimpft, setzt Lars alles daran, von nun an das Beste aus sich herauszuholen. In dem Schönheitssalon, den er ab sofort besucht, staunt er darüber, wie viele Ehefrauen ihren Mann gern tot sähen - und dies bei der Gesichtsmassage auch noch freimütig ausplaudern. Lars beschließt: Gegen eine anständige Bezahlung wird er die Damen von ihren Gatten erlösen. Und tatsächlich sind die ersten Aufträge schnell erledigt. Doch dann beginnt alles schiefzulaufen.

This original short story asks the question, "If eternal life came at the expense of love, would you choose death?"

A senior older brother calls his sister to pay for his prostitute. A dissatisfied young housewife attends a Total Woman seminar. Twirling class from a tyrannical band director. Just a few of the East Texas hard-living souls erupting from Small Texas, a collection of short stories from the wild mind of Cindy Marabito

Fictional and funny ways to create trouble. Listen and enjoy.