Occult Horror

In this collection of classic ghost stories from Japan, beautiful princesses turn out to be frogs, paintings come alive, deadly spectral brides haunt the living and a samurai delivers the baby of a Shinto goddess with mystical help. Here are all the phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore: 'rokuro-kubi', whose heads separate from their bodies at night; 'jikininki', or flesh-eating goblins; and terrifying faceless 'mujina' who haunt lonely neighbourhoods.

We each inhabit many worlds, often at the same time. From worlds on the inside to the world on a cosmic scale. Worlds imposed on us, and worlds of our own making. In time, though, all worlds will end. With Skidding Into Oblivion, his fifth collection, award-winning author Brian Hodge brings together his most concentrated assortment yet. It includes all of the best picks and awards finalists. All stories have one thing in common: It’s the end of the world as we know it, and we don’t feel fine at all.

Grief has settled in at Hart House. For nine months, Alfie has been caring for his twin seven-year-old daughters after the sudden death of their mother, Pippa. One night, Alfie wakes to find Sylvie and Cassia at the foot of his bed, claiming there’s a man in their room. Alfie finds no sign of a man, but it isn’t long before the girls start talking about an imaginary friend. What seemingly begins as a harmless coping mechanism for the two grieving girls quickly develops into something more insidious.

After his estranged father’s mysterious death, Charlie Remick returns to Seattle to help with the funeral. There, he discovers his father left him two parting gifts: the keys to the family record store and a strange black case containing four ancient records that, according to legend, can open a gate to the land of the dead. When Charlie, his sister, and their two friends play the records, they unwittingly open a floodgate of unspeakable horror. As the darkness descends, they are stalked by a relentless, malevolent force and see the dead everywhere they turn.

For best-selling horror novelist Wilson Paventeau, the scariest novel of his career is the one he didn't write. It bears his name on the dust jacket and contains his bio near the end, but this enigmatic tome is not part of his oeuvre. And the most frightening thing about it may not be the tale between the covers, but the reason for its mysterious appearance in Paventeau's life.

The Fairy Bargain of Prospect Hill meets The Magician’s Daughter in THE PECULIAR GARDEN OF HARRIET HUNT, a story about a lonely young woman with only her magic garden for company; but when she becomes implicated in her father’s disappearance and her mysterious new husband wants to take what isn't his, she must use the magic of her beloved creeping ivy and thorny roses to end the cycle of abusive men in her life—because a woman who takes back her power is pure magic.

The first three novels from the acclaimed Haunted series are collected here in one terrifying volume. Sisters Sarah and Chloe inherit a house they could never have previously dreamed of owning. However, the girls soon realize this is a place evil calls home.

Sisters Sarah and Chloe inherit a house they could never have previously dreamed of owning. It seems too good to be true. Shortly after they move in, however, the siblings start to notice strange things: horrible smells, sudden drops in temperature, as well as unexplainable sounds and feelings of being watched.

Aiden Anderson got off to a tough start in life. He had a small family to begin with, and they were all gone by the time he turned 16. He did his best to shake off his grief and go on to a successful life as a musician. He was talented, but just missed the big time. When Aiden dies in a car crash, he couldn't be more surprised to open his eyes in his grandmother's kitchen in 1961. He has a second chance at everything: family, friends, and fame. Even in Middle Falls, second chances don't always turn out right.

It’s the mid-'90s. Grunge and flannel are fading as the Spice Girls and Hot Topic conquer the malls. Cherry gloss glistens on the lips of the youth. Modems hiss as America comes online. And in a fog-drenched cove at the edge of New England, something terrible awakens when a fisherman reels in a gruesome catch: the remains of a young woman. Remains still pulsing with furious life.

Barely surviving his last battle against malevolent forces, retired marine and ghost hunter Shane Ryan is surprised to receive an invitation to a new Iron Tournament. But before he can turn his attention to this supernatural death match, he must first track down a shipment of unusual metal, torn from the foundation of a cursed cathedral.

Working in the ER, Dr. Marie Lavant sees the darkest side of New Orleans. But the bloody wounds of patients are not the only things that haunt her. As the descendent of a legendary voodoo queen, Marie is cursed with the ability to communicate with spirits of the dead.

It's February 1991. Desert Storm is raging in Iraq but 22-year-old Jack has more pressing matters at home. His favorite bar, The Spot, is about to be sold out from under his friend Julio. No longer merely reactive, Jack takes the fight to his enemies and demonstrates his innate talent for seeing biters get bit. With a body count even higher than in Cold City, Dark City hurtles Jack toward the climax of this formative New York odyssey in which all scores will be settled, all debts paid.

Taking a night off from running her successful San Francisco clothing store, Lily attends a local art deco ball where vintage fashions steal the show. But when a young woman at the event falls under a mysterious sleeping sickness, Lily senses that a curse was placed on the woman's corsage. Before Lily can solve the woman's magical ailment, she's asked to assist in investigating a string of poisonings in the Bay Area witchcraft community.

The team has grown to three, but the workload isn’t getting any smaller. With reports of Hell’s Angel's werewolves, dead relatives returning to haunt their loved ones, unspeakable aberrations hiding in the shadows, and the unwanted attention of a macabre serial killer, the team at Blue Moon Investigations is in even more trouble than usual.

This volume contains the stories that nearly everyone agrees are the best work of H.P. Lovecraft’s life. Chronologically, it is the second book in a three-volume omnibus set comprising the complete fictional works of Howard Phillips Lovcecraft.

Savannah resident Mercy Taylor may now be in control of the South’s most powerful family of witches, but she’s struggling to master her newfound magic. Pregnant with her first child and still reeling from a heartbreaking betrayal, she just wants to be able to use her supernatural abilities without accidentally destroying dishes or blasting the doors off buildings.

A sudden burst of radiation is detected beneath the desert in Iran. Alex Hunter – code name Arcadian – and his highly trained incursion team are dropped into the ruins of Persepolis. All they find is an empty underground facility – nothing to explain the gamma spike. It is as if a black hole has swept everything away.... Israel is threatening nuclear war. And someone, or something, is draining the fluids from the bodies of Iranian soldiers in the desert.

Jacqueline Carey is the New York Times best-selling author of the award-winning Kushiel's Legacy series. Dark Currents introduces Daisy Johanssen, a hell-spawn living in a Mid-west resort town that also boasts fairies, vampires, and a Norse goddess. As police department liaison for the paranormal, Daisy takes notice when a drowning victim shows signs of eldritch involvement. Paired with officer - and werewolf - Cody Fairfax, she must solve the case before tourist season is ruined.

As darkness gathers, the sky is filled with frantic motion and maddening murmurs. In an effort to end the world, an unhappy, aging Native American shaman invokes the Hopi god of death. Those around him remain skeptical, dismissing him as crazy old man. Then they discover his mutilated, bloody body and soon other similarly disfigured bodies begin to appear. Horses, sheep, cattle - no living thing is safe. But what is causing the horrible deaths?