Psychological Thriller Short Stories

In the title story, a young boy becomes obsessed with his cousin's doll after she tragically passes away from leukemia. As he grows older, he begins to collect "found dolls" from the surrounding neighborhoods and stores his treasures in the abandoned carriage house on his family's estate. But just what kind of dolls are they?In The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror, Joyce Carol Oates evokes the “fascination of the abomination” that is at the core of the most profound, the most unsettling, and the most memorable of dark mystery fiction.

The most terrifying thing that you can possibly imagine is your own body in the hands of a monster. Or worse, in the hands of another human being. In this definitive anthology of body horror selected by a World Horror Grandmaster, you'll find the unthinkable and the shocking: a couture designer preparing for an exquisitely grotesque runway show; a vengeful son seeking the parent who bred him as plasma donor; a celebrity-kink brothel that inflicts plastic surgery on sex workers; and organ-harvesting doctors who dissect a living man without anesthetic.

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.

Evie and her daughter, Asteria, are fleeing an abusive cult when they meet a stranger in an abandoned Arizona shopping mall. Fate hasn’t set Nameless on their trail. It’s a premonition, and a chance to make reparations for a failure from his past he can’t even remember. This time, Nameless must do everything in his power not to fail those who trust him with their lives.

The award-winning master of psychological suspense is in top form in this collection of diverse and diabolically clever stories. In the never-before-published “Just One More,” a married couple—longing for that old romantic spark—creates a playful diversion that comes with unexpected consequences.

This issue of Assemble Artifacts is packed with thrillers, sci-fi, horror, and more. It features Hongfei Liu's brilliant artwork and stories of elite survival, supernatural battles, and eerie mysteries. You'll find haunting twists on a childhood tale, genetic secrets with life-or-death stakes, and unsettling explorations of relationships under pressure.

Charlie Kroft’s job at the crisis center means she’s often seen as a hero: she’s helped countless people climb out of the deepest pits of personal despair. But when one phone call thrusts Charlie into the spotlight, she must contend with the hidden pain that drives her…and with the mysterious stranger who knows the truth.

Needing a break from the big city, Alvirah and WIlly escape to Cape Cod - only to meet a would-be heiress framed for murder in "Death on the Cape." When Alvirah and Willy seek the tranquillity of the Cypress Point Spa, it's the perfect getaway - until a jewel thief turns up in "The Lottery Winner." Back in Manhattan, the search for a neighbor's missing newborn makes for a suspense-filled Christmas in "Bye, Baby Bunting."

When Ella boards a sumptuous charter off the coast of Australia, she feels…dread. Her husband, Mac, the social butterfly who makes these wellness retreats so much easier to navigate, is stuck at work, leaving her exposed to the other passengers. Luckily, she forms an instant bond with the charismatic Chloe, a newly single woman salving a broken heart. But as the friendship grows, Ella discovers they share more than the need for an escape, and their devastating connection has the power to forever alter their lives.

Sisters, Strangers and Slaughter is a psychologically thrilling collection of short stories focusing on the remote and inchoate hollows of the human condition. Each of the three stories features a narrator battling inner separateness, an arcane secret that threatens an otherwise healthy existence. In their suffering, the subjects are unable to tell physical pain from its mental shape.

This could be the most important mission of Nameless’s life. Because it’s putting him on a collision course with his own past and the nation’s future. The target: a fortified redoubt in the golden hills of California, the hub of a new world order that’s unthinkably close at hand. The time has come for Nameless to face its designer: the nihilist mastermind behind the One Solution. It’s also time for Nameless to discover who he is and was, and what brought him to this fateful endgame. But will the truth be a breaking point? Or a turning point?

A terrorist attack in the news leaves Nameless reeling from a disturbing vision. But it’s not a glimpse of the future. It’s a recovered memory that’s opening a window into his mysterious past. Uncharacteristically forthcoming—and unexpectedly personal—Nameless’s handlers have no choice but to emerge from the shadows. The indoctrinating factions of his visions are growing in number. What’s more, their chilling symbol of totalitarian control is now linked to the highest powers in the country.

Ripples in Reality: A Mosaic of Mind-Bending Mysteries is an exhilarating journey through the labyrinth of imagination, penned by debut author Freddie Rodgers. Each story, inspired by the likes of Stephen King, Agatha Christie, and the groundbreaking series Black Mirror, draws you into a universe where reality trembles, time bends, and the mind soars.

Sarah Vernon has spent 20 years trying to make it as a novelist...and she’s never even come close. None of her novels has sold more than 5,000 copies, and she’s never earned enough money to make fiction her full-time job. After her last disappointing publication, Sarah’s agent dumped her, and it seems like her dream is dead. Sarah vows that she’ll do anything for one last shot at the best seller list. Enter Will Presser. Nicknamed The Viper, Will is a literary agent whose career-making reputation precedes him.

The seven houses in these seven stories are empty. Some are devoid of love or life or furniture, of people or the truth or of memories. But in Samanta Schweblin’s tense, visionary tales, something always creeps back in: a ghost, a fight, trespassers, a list of things to do before you die, a child’s first encounter with a dark choice or the fallibility of parents.

Marti Greenwood has just moved into a brand-new home after a bitter divorce from her husband Emery, and while she’s still not quite done with him - of course, some of her most cherished possessions are nowhere to be found once she unpacks her things - a fresh start in a beautiful LA neighborhood is exactly what she needs. But days after her arrival, Marti is attacked in her home. She's found shaken and beaten, and her neighbors who immediately call the police. She never saw the face of her attacker, and so there is little to go on as detectives open an investigation.

A Short Walk to the Other Side is a second short story collection of supernatural, metaphysical, science fiction, and horror stories following "The Small Dark Room of the Soul" by award-winning author Matthew J. Pallamary that examines the shadow side of human nature.

Join James Ward Kirk for a guided tour through a nightmare exhibition of misanthropy, murder, and mayhem. Dreams for some, nightmares for others, these stories explore an impressive variety of thematic territory and make the perfect accompaniment for your next involuntary commitment.

"Searingly honest, brilliant and disturbing. Brad Phillips peels back the skin and bone and stares right into the human soul." (Anthony Bourdain) Brad Phillips' collection of short stories adeptly walks a very thin line between taboo and propriety, with rigorous self-awareness and generosity. By confusing ideas around fiction and autobiography, Phillips writes with painful sincerity about shame, addiction, trauma, and the more troubling outreaches of sexual desire, with wit that is at odds with the subject matter. Brad Phillips is a well-known Canadian artist.

What really happened to the girl who walked into the woods and vanished forever? It’s a never-forgotten mystery that clings like a shadow in a short story about dark memories and inescapable fears.