Psychological Horror

From the incomparable master of horror and suspense comes an electrifying collection of contemporary literary horror, with stories from 25 writers representing today’s most talented voices in the genre. Horror writing is usually associated with formulaic gore, but New Wave horror writers have more in common with the wildly inventive, evocative spookiness of Edgar Allan Poe than with the sometimes-predictable hallmarks of their peers. Showcasing this cutting-edge talent, Poe’s Children now brings the best of the genre’s stories to a wider audience.

Once a best-selling horror author, Paul Alenn is in a slump. His wife and daughter are across the country, moved away to the West Coast, leaving him alone in his Central Park-adjacent New York townhouse. When his sister calls, asking for help packing up his estranged mother’s house in his old hometown, Red Creek, he decides to put the past behind him and face his demons.

Edgar Allan Poe proposed that “the boundary line between instinct and reason is of a very shadowy nature” (1840). With its 21 stories of serial killers and sociopaths, fixations and fetishes, breakdowns and bad decisions crafted by authors as diverse as their writing styles, Shadowy Natures leads fans of psychological horror down dark and treacherous roads to destinations they will be too unsettled to leave.

The year is 2032, and five-year-old Jacob is opening the biggest gift, beneath the Christmas tree, which is labeled for him: his very first semi-automatic rifle—and he couldn't be prouder. He smiles to his parents who sit close by. They don't smile back. Their minds are stuck on earlier events of what should have been a magical day: the moment they found out Jacob was set to be a brother.

A man finds himself the subject of interrogation related to a break in at his home. Or does he? The line between reality and insanity is easily blurred and razor thin for Marv Stillman. Two best friends join one another on yet another adventure, this time to the furthest remote corner of the Rocky Mountains. They seek evidence of an ever-elusive beast.

Rain Thomas is a mess. Seven years an addict and three difficult years clean. Racked by guilt for the baby she gave up for adoption when she was 16. Still grieving for the boy’s father who died in Iraq. Alone, discarded by her family, with only the damaged members of her narcotics anonymous meetings as friends. Them, and the voices in her head. One morning, on the way to a much-needed job interview, she borrows reading glasses to review her resume.

After he’s shot in the line of duty, Detective Thomas Shepherd returns to Wolf Lake to pick up the pieces of his shattered life. Living beside the water, he finds peace...until the body of a missing woman washes up on his shore, and the town blames a teenage boy with a history of violence. Is a killer stalking the sleepy resort village?

Three lost souls will collide as they navigate through a mysterious town saturated with ash raining endlessly from the sky. They soon discover that they are not alone and will have to work together in order to escape alive. As they uncover clues scattered through the town they will have to decide which is more horrifying, themselves or those who are hiding within the ashes. Heaven is forgetting; hell is remembering.

After a woman dies, she watches over her son as he struggles with life’s challenges. When he dies, too, he comes to her for help, but she has different plans in store for him.

You did nothing. That doesn’t mean you’re innocent. On a night out, four friends witness a stranger in trouble. They decide to do nothing to help. Later, a body washes up on the banks of the Thames - and the group realises that ignoring the woman has left blood on their hands. But why did each of them refuse to step in? Why did none of them want to be noticed that night? Who is really responsible? And is it possible that the victim was not really a stranger at all?

Penny and Hattie are sisters in a small town, bound tight to the point of knots. They share a secret they cannot escape, even while it pulls them apart. One night, a match is lit, and Penny's terrible husband is killed - a marriage going up in flames and offering the potential of a new life. The sisters retreat into their family home, a house of secrets and memories, and try to live in the shadow of what they put in motion. But Penny's husband is not the only thing they are hiding - both from the outside world and from each other.

Verne's momma had one rule which could never be broken. He could not reveal to any outsider what went on within their house. Verne knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that to violate that rule was to bring unholy tortures down onto his head. And so not a word passed his lips. Not during the 25 years he lived in the dank basement, curled up on the thin mattress. Not during the 10 long years of his prison sentence. Until he made the mistake....

Dean and Jess knew the house had a tragic past but it did not stop them from making the move with their young daughters. It was supposed to be a new - and bigger - home with which they could continue to build upon their already established happy memories but as the house's past begins to haunt them they realize it is not the dream they first hoped it to be.

It's the hottest summer on record in the run-down village of Burdon, and someone's coming. Roaring into town one night on a powerful motorbike, the beautiful and mysterious Mary, soon proves she is not what she seems. For young Niall Costello, Mary becomes an obsession, and within days, her influence has spread across the village. As ancient myth collides with their lives, Niall and his family must defeat their inner demons if they are to defeat the very real one that has decided to pursue them.

Twelve housemates enter a house as part of a bold, new television show. All they know is they're to have their actions monitored 24 hours a day and compete in a series of tasks with the knowledge that - at the end of the show - one of them will walk away with 100,000 pounds. But all is not as it seems, and the truth - and danger - becomes apparent as soon as the doors lock them in on their first night, and the first of the 12 is murdered....

With his marriage over and his career in freefall, journalist Tom decides to reconnect with his fourteen-year-old daughter, Frankie. Desperate to spend precious time together now that they live an ocean apart, he brings her to Hollow Falls, a cabin resort deep in the woods of Maine. From the outset there’s something a little eerie about the place - strange whispers in the trees, windchimes echoing through the forest - but when Tom meets true-crime podcasters David and Connie, he receives a chilling warning. Hollow Falls has a gruesome history.

Join Marcus Caldwell as he steps into the decaying Chateau Amara Hotel, where every creak of the floorboards whispers secrets of sins long buried. As he confronts the enigmatic Midnight Masquerader, you’ll FEEL the chilling tension seep into your bones, leaving you breathless with anticipation!

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.

Are you ready to confront your deepest fears with "The Mourning Choir"–a bone-chilling horror experience that will HAUNT YOUR VERY SOUL?! Step into the eerie world of Emma Winslet, where every shadow holds a secret and the night air is thick with a haunting melody that beckons her closer to eternal darkness. As the clock strikes 3:33 AM, you’ll be drawn into a realm where the past and present collide, and the whispers of lost souls echo in the stillness.

Marguerite Antonia Caludio grew up in the looming shadow of her mother, a beautiful, talented flamenco dancer. But Anastasia had been taken down by breast cancer when Marguerite was only 14, and Marguerite's grandparents succumbed to grief only scant months later. Now, Marguerite lives along in the same three-bedroom apartment, maintaining the shrine to all which has been lost.