Horror Fiction Stories

For more than 30 years, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror fans crave. Now, with the 11th volume of the series, Daltow's back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night. With each passing year, science, technology, and the march of time shine light into the craggy corners of the universe, making the fears of an earlier generation seem quaint. This light creates its own shadows. The Best Horror of the Year chronicles these shifting shadows.

The year is 1888, and the scent of blood lingers heavy in the London air. Stefan Salvatore thought he could escape his violent origins by settling in the peaceful countryside of England, but when a heinous murderer named Jack the Ripper surfaces, Stefan fears darkness will always follow him. Drawn into the investigation, Stefan assumes the worst: This is the work of a vampire. And the more he learns, the more he becomes convinced that the killer is someone close to him - and that he can never outrun his past.

Featuring work by Charles Dickens, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Clara Venn and Hume Nisbet, this collection of nine enduring stories - some well-known, others less familiar - evoke the many spirits of Christmas. Featuring misty journeys to distant loved ones, Christmas Eve manifestations and lonely, frost-filled vigils.

The Walking Dead original novel series, set in the universe of Robert Kirkman's iconic universe, continues with The Fall of the Governor. From co-authors Kirkman, creator of the Eisner Award-winning comic book and executive producer of AMC's blockbuster TV series, and Jay Bonansinga, Stoker Award-finalist and internationally acclaimed author, comes the gripping third novel in this richly woven, literary saga, which began with The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor.

After receiving a distress call from a drill team on a distant planet, a skeleton crew is sent into deep space to perform a standard search-and-rescue mission. When they arrive, they find the planet littered with the remains of the project - including its members’ dead bodies. As they try to piece together what could have possibly decimated an entire project, they discover that some things are best left buried - and some monsters are only too ready to awaken.

Yes, you should be afraid of the dark.... A powerful demon is hell-bent on revenge, and he knows paranormal investigator Ford Atticus Ford by name. As Ford wrestles with the uncertain nature of his future, a different kind of evil storms into his world, proving that not all demons are inhuman. Trailing in Lauren Coeburn's wake are some of the most elusive and terrifying paranormal entities in existence - the black-eyed children.

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.

Imagine a Depression-era town where it hasn't rained for years. A pale rainmaker with other-worldly eyes brings rain to the countryside and mesmerizes the townspeople, but the children begin to disappear one by one. Only young Robert Steelgate is able to resist the rainmaker's spell and begin the struggle to discover what has happened to his missing brother and the other children.

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.

Acclaimed in her own time for her short story “The Lottery” and her novel The Haunting of Hill House - classics ranking with the work of Edgar Allan Poe - Shirley Jackson blazed a path for contemporary writers with her explorations of evil, madness, and cruelty. Soon after her untimely death in 1965, Jackson’s children discovered a treasure trove of previously unpublished and uncollected stories, many of which are brought together in this remarkable collection.

As the Spook's apprentice, Thomas Ward's first duty is to protect the County from ghosts, boggarts, and other dangerous creatures. But now his mother has come back from her homeland to seek his help. One of the most dangerous of the old witches, Ordeen, is about to return to earth, bringing with her suffering and devastation. Tom's mother has mustered a powerful army - including Tom's friend Alice, the Pendle witches, and the assassin Grimalkin - to confront Ordeen.

There can be no light without darkness, pleasure without pain, or love without loss. Masters of supernatural and psychological horror have teamed up to create this macabre collection of 32 horror stories about love. Jealous murders, monstrous doppelgangers, heart-rending romances, devils and angels, cannibals, and virtual worlds - your most desperate longings and worst nightmares all rolled into one. Shocking twists and absolute mind-f--kery will thrill and terrify you to the end!

It's been one year since a virus triggered junk DNA and people all over the world started changing, becoming something else, craving blood. It's been 10 months since the word vampire stopped being something from old monster stories and Hollywood movies. It's been six months since our world and theirs erupted into war, two since an uneasy peace was signed, and one hour since that peace was shattered. The war is here again - the vampire war.

For longtime Stephen King fans, the highlight of this volume will be The Little Sisters of Eluria, which is something of a prequel to the Dark Tower series. For "Constant Readers" and neophytes alike, all of the dark tales herein are intense, eerie, and instantly compelling. King "develops characters and atmosphere more fully in the span of 50 pages than many authors can in a full novel," says Amazon.com.

Lawrence Talbot's childhood ended the night his mother died. After he left the sleepy Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor, he spent decades recovering and trying to forget. But when his brother's fiancée tracks him down to help find her missing love, Talbot returns home to join the search. He learns that something with brute strength and insatiable bloodlust has been killing the villagers, and that a suspicious Scotland Yard inspector has come to investigate.

"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.

Olivia and Natasha are the best of friends. From hanging out after school to passing notes in class, the two are practically inseparable. Until one day, one of Natasha's notes to Olivia is altered, leading Olivia on a mysterious trek to the local cemetery. It is there that she meets a ghostly girl from the past who has an eerie warning for Olivia and her friend.

This volume features William F Harvey's original undead hand story "The Beast with Five Fingers" that sparked many movies including Sam Raimi's "The Evil Dead". Poe's classic "The Tell Tale Heart" is joined by Lovecraft's creepy tale of alienation "The Outsider", and a chilling Dickens ghost story "The Signalman".

Rafael Fuentes isn't easily scared. He loves writing ghost stories, reading scary books, and entertaining his friends with terrifying tales he creates on the spot. Rafa has come up against enough real-life scary situations that fictional hauntings seem like no big deal. Rafa's incarcerated mom is being released from jail soon, and will be coming to live with him, his sister, and their grandparents. For the first time in a while, Rafa feels a pit of fear growing in his stomach.

It’s another sucky year at Bathory High for Vladimir Tod. The evil vampire D’Ablo is hunting for the ritual that could steal Vlad’s powers. His best friend Henry doesn’t want to be his drudge anymore. And as if all that weren’t enough, it’s getting harder for Vlad to resist feeding on the people around him. When months go by with no word from Uncle Otis and D’Ablo shows up demanding Vlad’s father’s journal, Vlad realizes that having a normal high school year is the least of his concerns.