Horror Fiction Short Stories

This collection comprises stories by and inspired by the originators of weird fiction. From Allen's "The Arctic Death", through to Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", Stoker's "Dracula's Guest", and beyond. Time immemorial; worlds unimaginable.

Midnight. Some call it the witching hour. Others call it the devil’s hour. Here in the graveyard, midnight is a very special time. It is a time when ghostly spirits are at their strongest, when the veil between our world and theirs is at its thinnest. Legend has it, that while most of the world is asleep, the lack of prayers allow the spirits to communicate under the cover of darkness, among the headstones, their whispers rustling in the leaves of the old oak trees. But if you’re here in the graveyard, you can tell yourself it’s just the wind....

The Cthulhu Mythos is one of the 20th century's most singularly recognizable literary creations. Initially created by H. P. Lovecraft and a group of his amorphous contemporaries (the so-called "Lovecraft Circle"), The Cthulhu Mythos story cycle has taken on a convoluted, cyclopean life of its own. Some of the most prodigious writers of the 20th century, and some of the most astounding writers of the 21st century have planted their seeds in this fertile soil. The Book of Cthulhu harvests the weirdest and most corpulent crop of these modern mythos tales.

Few authors can claim to have marked a genre so thoroughly and personally that their words have leaked into every aspect of modern pop culture. Clive Barker is such an author, and the Books of Blood marked his debut - his coming out to the world - in brilliant, unforgettable fashion. Crossroad Press is proud to present Clive Barker's Books of Blood in audiobook format for the first time. The Books of Blood combine the ordinary with the extraordinary while radiating the eroticism that has become Barker's signature.

You can't kill the dead! Like any good monster, the zombie has proven to be ever-evolving, monumentally mutable, and open to seemingly endless imaginative interpretations: the thralls of voodoo sorcerers, George Romero's living dead, societal symbols, dancing thrillers, viral victims, reanimated ramblers, video-gaming targets, post-apocalyptic permutations, shuffling sidekicks, literary mash-ups, the comedic, and, yes, even the romantic.

Welcome to Anoka, Minnesota, a small city just outside of the Twin Cities dubbed “The Halloween Capital of the World” since 1937. Here before you lie several tales involving bone collectors, pagan witches, werewolves, skeletal bison, and cloned children. It is up to you to decipher between fact and fiction as the author has woven historical facts into his narratives.

The Ancient Ones are coming to consume our world, and only the bold investigators of Arkham Horror stand in their way in this chilling collection of eldritch novellas.

Nibble, Nibble, Crunch: In the beginning she thought it was sweet, this snowman who emerged as if from nowhere, but soon the six-year old Emma realizes that this snowman is different...very different. Humpty, Dumpty: They thought it would be easy. Four boys from a nearby boarding school planned on attacking and killing a family—just for the fun of it. But they hadn't prepared themselves for the terror of what they would meet inside of the house in shape of a little girl with a very special gift.

Two horrifying psychological thrillers. If you like American Psycho you’ll love these novellas. Rock-a-Bye Baby: Lisa Rasmussen just had a baby and everything in her life seems perfect at this point. Only she wishes that everyone else around her would be as flawless as she is and stop getting in her way. And if they won't listen, then she'll make them. Eenie, Meenie: He has been locked up before—but never in a place quite like this. Now he wonders if he will ever make it through to his release date—alive.

The Perry family's new house is perfect - except for the weird behavior of the neighbors, and that odd smell coming from a dark corner in the basement. Pity no one warned the family about the house. Now it's too late. Because the darkness at the bottom of the basement stairs is rising.

Moonlit graveyards, ravenous monsters, and deadly reflections in the mirror...some nightmares are so diabolically delicious, you never want them to end. And now they don’t have to. Scare Street brings you volumes one and two of Short Horror Stories in a single edition. Six macabre morsels of fear, brought together for your listening pleasure. And each tale packs enough spine-tingling chills to last a lifetime. The clock chimes midnight. Your heart pounds in your chest as you start to listen. You begin to wonder...can you survive long enough to see the next nightmare begin?

Elizabeth Gaskell's chilling Gothic Tales blends the real and the supernatural to eerie, compelling effect. 'Disappearances', inspired by local legends of mysterious vanishings, mixes gossip and fact; Lois the Witch, a novella based on an account of the Salem witch hunts, shows how sexual desire and jealousy lead to hysteria; while in 'The Old Nurse's Story' a mysterious child roams the freezing Northumberland moors.

This is the tale of a 228 year old man, born in 1690, telling about his interactions with Dr. Samuel Johnson. A large part focuses on their belonging to a literary club and the other men who also participated in the club. It is a simple observance of social interactions, as put forth by a very old man and his dated voice.

Jason Blum invited 16 cutting-edge collaborators, filmmakers, and writers to envision a city of their choosing, and let their demons run wild. The Blumhouse Book of Nightmares: The Haunted City brings together all-new, boundary-breaking stories from such artists as Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Eli Roth (Hostel), Scott Derrickson (Sinister), C. Robert Cargill (Sinister), James DeMonaco (The Purge), and many others.

Number one New York Times best-selling author and master of horror Stephen King teams up with Bev Vincent of Cemetery Dance to present a terrifying collection of 16 short stories (and one poem) that tap into one of King’s greatest fears - air travel - featuring brand-new stories by King and Joe Hill.

Among the greats of 20th-century horror and fantasy, few names stand above Richard Matheson. Though known by many for novels like I Am Legend and his 16 Twilight Zone episodes, Matheson truly shines in his chilling, masterful short stories. Since his first story appeared in 1950, virtually every major writer of science fiction and fantasy has fallen under his influence, including Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, and Joe Hill, as well as filmmakers like Stephen Spielberg and J. J. Abrams.

"Crooken Sands" is a short fantasy/horror tale by the author of Dracula. The story follows a London merchant on a mysterious adventure in Scotland.

Few authors can claim to have marked a genre so thoroughly and personally that their words have leaked into every aspect of modern pop culture. Clive Barker is such an author, and the Books of Blood marked his debut - his coming out to the world - in brilliant, unforgettable fashion. Crossroad Press is proud to present Clive Barker's Books of Blood in digital for the first time.

More than a decade after Kelley Armstrong first opened the doors to the Otherworld, fans are still clamoring for more. In response to their demands - and to coincide with the Syfy Network show based on the series - Plume has signed up three Otherworld anthologies, each of which revolves around a different theme. The second in the trilogy, Otherworld Secrets, features fan favorites such as Cassandra, Savannah, and Adam in rare and never-before-published short stories - plus a brand new novella.

First published in an 1839 edition of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, "The Fall of the House of Usher" is the story of the declining physical and psychological health of the residents of the House of Usher - and the way in which the house itself reflects that. Gothic in theme and style, the story is an exemplar of Poe's philosophy of composition, which dictates that literary works should be short and methodological and have a unity of effect wherein all the elements of the story are related and relevant.