Dark Fantasy Short Stories

Imagine entering your first relationship with a powerful, wealthy, dominant man. He is smooth, charismatic, and intelligent, yet there are rules to be part of his dynamic life. Can you pass all the tests and follow the rules to be a part of something great?

The four previous volumes in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's anthology series of fairly-tales retold with a distinctively modern edge have been hailded by reviewers as "brilliant", "provocative", and "disturbing". In this triumphant new collection of original fiction, 21 of today's leading writers spin the cherished fables of childhood into glittering gold - offering magical tales for adults, as seductive as they are sophisticated.

In number-one New York Times best-selling author Charlaine Harris’s "Dahlia Underground,” venerable vampire Dahlia Lynley-Chivers survives an attack by an anti-vampire terrorist group, only to show them they tried to blow up the wrong bloodsucker. Bailey Ruth Raeburn, a ghost assigned to assist humans in trouble, steps into the middle of a marital dispute with surprising twists in Carolyn Hart’s “Riding High”....

"Everything You've Always Wanted" by Mick Garris: It was supposed to be the night of his life - a celebration of his one hit slasher flick. But the price of admission is higher than this has-been filmmaker ever could have imagined. "The Land of Sunshine" by Kealan Patrick Burke: Although she was mute long before the affair that nearly wrecked their marriage, her silence has tortured her husband ever since. Now he will seek out what he has lost or be driven mad by remorse.

A mere child yet a precocious writer, young Freddie records a series of terrifying encounters with an inhuman being that haunts his life and seems to predict his death. When an award-winning horror writer on the downward slope of a long career receives an invitation to address the Essex County Science Fiction Group, he figures that he's got nothing to lose. Though she's adopted by the cool kids, the new girl at Renfield High School is most drawn to Nancy Wilhoit, who claims to be haunted.

"The Departed" by Clive Barker: On All Hallows' Eve, a dead and disembodied mother yearns to touch her young son one last time. But will making contact destroy them both? "Creature Feature" by Heather Graham: What could be better publicity for a horror convention than an honest-to-goodness curse? It's only after lights out that the hype - and the Jack the Ripper mannequin - starts to feel a little too real.

After surviving an attempt to end his life, Spencer is determined to make it through whatever horrors await him to get what he wants. Lead by a guide he’s not sure he can completely trust, Spencer will have to put his faith in the unknown and hope that he’s strong enough to see the end of his journey. Facing off against things that the human mind can’t possibly comprehend, a man with nothing to lose will learn the true meaning of regret, remorse, and recovery.

EPIC award finalist Howard Odentz has penned 26 disturbingly fascinating horror stories about the youngest predators among us. From Andy and Boris to Yuri and Zina, this eclectic anthology is filled, A to Z, with psychopaths, monsters, and murderers.

Solomon Pace - Cold-blooded killer? Depraved evil sadist? A man just trying to make his way in the world? Or just deeply misunderstood? Of all my characters, Solomon Pace has to be one of the most complicated, but least understood. In the "Storm Series" novels, he is always in the shadows, manipulating people and situations, and when he does come into the light, it is only to perform some dastardly deed before returning back into the inky gloom to continue his plotting.

Richard has just buried his beloved wife. He is a man desperate for answers and has a hardened heart for vengeance. He knows deep down that his enemies have taken his wife from him and will stop at nothing to destroy the ones who did. Against the advice of his allies, he follows a lead to fulfil his vengeance. Yet this path will only bring death.

Robert E. Howard may no longer be penning Conan tales but that doesn't mean you have to go without your fix of axe wielding barbarians, lusty wenches, and evil wizards! Literary Rebel is dedicated to bringing you a new crop of monthly fantasy fiction by talented authors. In this month's issue: Steve Dilks returns with another jaw-dropping Bohun tale, a fledgling sorcerer goes toe to toe with an evil warlord, and a mercenary pits himself against a villainous tree(?). You have to listen to it to get it.

With the Imprecari crime organization vying for expansion to the west, drastic changes must be enforced to achieve global domination. Blade Bandit Desenius Dylandonai, while on a routine raid to the small town of Saluma, is brutally murdered by his long-time comrade Soltar Ulanus. But everyone deserves a second chance. Mysteriously arising from a burning pyre, Desenius makes his way back to his home city with one thing on his mind: find Soltar and make him pay for his betrayal.

Clementine has been taken by a creature of darkness. Dorin is a fiend in love who must find Clementine before losing her forever. While on his desperate search, Dorin pens eight dark and romantic monstrous tales, written only for Clementine.

Ten-year-old Jason Meechum is a quiet boy who hides in fantasy and science-fiction books. Other kids pick on and make fun of him, but he suffers through it. That's because Jason has a secret. A secret of pain and fear. A secret he wants to tell but can't. All of that is about to change because Jason will be the recipient of something special. Something beautiful, mysterious, wondrous, and odd. Tonight, Jason will be the bearer of two secrets that will meet for the first time. Only one will survive. The outcome will determine if 10-year-old Jason will live to see age 11.

Tales from the Eerie Canal weaves the sinister mystery of Edgar Allan Poe with the dark humor of Edward Gorey. No canal. No Lake Erie. Just a stream of the disturbing splashed with bits of the absurd.

After Claudia and Ben stumble upon Dorian's secret, they are taken prisoner. Food and supplies are running low, and Dorian's ultimate goal is survival of the race - and the fittest.

Dark Ride is a collection of short fiction by one of the brightest writers in the genres of horror and dark fantasy. These stories range from the horrific to the surreal, and prove Michael Laimo to be a compelling stylist and relentless storyteller. None have been collected previously, and some are original to this volume.

Here are 23 terrifying tales, dark reflections of the silver screen from both sides of the camera. James Dean gets a second chance at life and death. The Wicked Witch is out of Oz, and she's made some very unlucky friends. When God decides reality needs an editor, what and who gets cut?

During her lifetime Violet Paget, who wrote as Vernon Lee, was referred to as 'the greatest of modern exponents of the supernatural in fiction', and yet today she remains on the periphery of the genre. This collection of her uniquely weird short stories and dark fantasies proves why she was once considered among the best of the genre, and why she deserves to return to those ranks today.

Heartbroken and recently divorced, Jennifer had lost her will to live. Ready to take her own life, she was visited by a strange leprechaun-looking man who offered to take her sorrow away. All she needs to do is swallow two black pills.