Scary Suspense

This collection features a menagerie of horror stories. Some are scary. Some are disturbing. Some are funny. Meet werewolves, vampires, zombies, psychopaths, aliens, cannibals, ghosts, and various things that go bump in the night. Previously published in dozens of anthologies and magazines, some of these tales are mild, but some are extreme. Let the reader beware...

Johanna Wise longed to be a part of the rich popular clique at Shadyside High School. When Dennis Arthur, the star of the track team and one of the most popular guys in school, asks Johanna out it is a dream come true. They seem to have so much in common as they joke about school and creative ways to get rid of their least favorite teacher, Mr. Northwood. When Dennis dares her to actually kill Mr. Northwood Johanna jokingly says yes. The problem is that the entire school is taking her seriously - including Dennis.

Space-obsessed Murphy Shannon is pumped that his 6th grade class is visiting the Rayburne Observatory. Except being a know-it-all means he's totally bored with the lectures he has to sit through. So when classmates Orly and Cleo say they should explore on their own, Murphy sneaks out with them. But when they come face-to-face with the strange Dr. Rayburne and his experiments, they realize they may be in way over their heads. A grand adventure in space may be in store for them, if they can survive….

In Demon Slayer, listeners follow Max as he discovers demons have kidnapped his mother. What tools can he use to defeat the demons? Why did they take his mother, and where? And if he finds her, can she truly be saved?

After the success of his first novel, John Krik has struggled to come up with a follow-up that his fans would eagerly gobble up. On a spur of the moment decision, John leaves his suburban married life to spend six months in an abandoned house in the quiet eerie town of Cafeville, where secrets lurk in every corner. The towns’ biggest source of gossip is the Greens who live right next door. As John attempts to put his finger on what it is about the house that has everyone steering clear, he finds himself captivated by the seductively charming Eva Green.

While hiking in the woods near Spooksville, Adam and his friends find a cube-shaped stone. It is clear, like a crystal, and seems to shine with colored light. To their surprise, they discover that if they hold it and make a wish for something, the wish will come true! They call it the Wishing Stone. And they love it. Until they discover that there is a price to be paid for each wish, and that the price can be deadly.

Het Ministerie van Oplossingen gaat op reis! Al vijfendertig jaar staat de Haviksburcht leeg. Volgens de buurtbewoners in de Zwitserse heuvels spookt het er. Maar is dat wel zo? Een paar kilometer verderop wordt de Internationale Conferentie voor alle Ministeries van Oplossingen ter wereld gehouden. Daar ontmoeten Nina, Alfa, Ruben, Kai en mevrouw Vis de veertienjarige Elin van het Zwitserse Ministerie. Zij neemt de kinderen mee naar de Haviksburcht. Als ze bewijzen dat het er niet spookt, kunnen er weer mensen wonen.

Andromeda Klein has a few problems of her own. Her hair is kind of horrible. Her partner-in-occultism, Daisy, is dead. Her secret, estranged, much older and forbidden boyfriend-in-theory, has gone AWOL. And her mother has learned how to text. In short, things couldn't get much worse. Until they do. Daisy seems to be attempting to make contact from beyond, books are starting to disappear from the library, and then, strangely and suddenly, Andromeda's tarot readings are beginning to predict events with bizarrely literal accuracy.

A dusty old theater that was shut up for years is coming to life again, and the Aldens are there for opening night! They're excited to help out backstage with a brand-new mystery play. But the Trap-Door Theater has mysteries of its own - with rumors of ghosts, disappearing props, and even a haunted seat! What secrets lie behind the scenes?

In the haunted town of Emberfield, mysterious packages arrive, each promising your heart's desire but lurking with unspeakable horrors. As you immerse yourself in this chilling tale, feel the tension rise with every shadow that dances in the dark. Join Rose, Clara, and the Torres family as they grapple with the seductive allure of wishes granted and the terrifying price of their fulfillment. Imagine the thrill of unwrapping secrets that twist reality and plunge you into a world of corruption!

Four boys prepare for the adventure of a lifetime on their first time at sleep-away camp. Unfortunately for them, they don’t realize how big an adventure they’re getting into. And none of them could have prepared for it.

Sometimes, Christmas can be scarier than Halloween. Siblings Hannah and Jack are new in town. But their problems are much bigger than just adjusting to a new home and making friends at school. After an unpleasant encounter with a Santa collecting charitable donations, creepy things seem to happen everywhere they go. It looks like someone put Hannah and Jack on their naughty list. Getting some coal is the least of their worries. Someone pretending to be Santa is trying to scare them. And maybe more.

Fifty years ago, a fire in Hawthorne Harbor burned the high school to the ground. Everyone believed it was just a tragic accident, but something sinister lurks in the town. Fifty years dormant, it’s back again. Some people want to stop it. But others do not!

Child genius and budding inventor Frances is in trouble. Her dreams of scientific glory were dashed when her first big experiment nearly destroyed her whole town. So when a prestigious society invites her to their symposium, Frances sees it as a chance to redeem herself. On the way there, her train is hijacked, and she and her friend Luca flee into the Black Forest. Seeking shelter with a group of orphans, Frances learns the rules of the woods: Never travel alone. Never make a sound. Because something hunts in the shadows, something with glowing eyes and sharp teeth.

As a bogler's apprentice, 10-year-old Birdie has faced down plenty of monsters lurking in the chimneys, wells, and other dark places of Victorian London. She serves as bait, singing sweetly to lure the bogles out so her master, the well-seasoned Go-Devil Man Alfred Bunce, can kill them with his trusty spear. Enter the wealthy folklorist Miss Eames, who is determined to find more scientific ways of drawing out the monsters, and Birdie fears that her livelihood may be threatened by the well-meaning lady.

The offspring of the four families have barely managed to escape the Bell Witch’s deadly harvest. Exhausted, terrified, and haunted by their families’ twisted secrets, they know that death still awaits in the woods. Unless they can work together, and end the curse once and for all. Determined to free their families from the witch’s game, the young survivors return to the mist-shrouded forests of Black River, Tennessee. But they soon realize they are not alone. Something is watching, stalking them through the gnarled trees.

A child-snatching phantom called La Llorona, known to generations of terrified Hispanic kids, has been haunting the area where chupacabra Pepe and his family live. She’s responsible for a sudden rash of missing people, including Pepe’s trusted friends. Pepe begs Jorge and his chupacabra friend Carter for their help, but solving the mystery would mean secretly traveling from New Mexico to Jorge’s hometown of Los Angeles, along with their loyal buddies Liza and Ernie.

There’s a zombie on the loose! When Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose visit the Louisiana bayous, they meet a village with one spooky problem. Locals say a silver-haired zombie is digging up graves in the cemetery. Are the stories real? Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose will unearth the truth!

Meet Whisper, Frannie, Sophie, Gemma, and Zuzu, five friends who tell eerie tales by night and navigate middle school drama by day. In Misery Falls, Oregon, it is the 100th anniversary of the electrocution of the town’s most infamous killer, Silas Hoke, and the town is abuzz. When a mysterious text message leads the girls to the cemetery—where Silas Hoke is buried!—life can’t get any creepier. Except, yes, it can, thanks to the surprise storyteller who meets them at the cemetery.

One haunted orphanage + two types of ghosts + three freaked-out friends = plenty of trouble. Best friends Aldo, Pen, and Jasper are braced for a boring summer. And equally dull summer journal writing assignments. That is, until they see a slightly transparent boy with a bad haircut appear by the soccer field and then disappear into the woods beyond. The boys follow him and discover the long-abandoned Grauche Orphanage for Orphans, a house in the woods that is most definitely haunted. But the ghosts are not the problem.