Scary Thriller Suspense

All of a sudden, the most ordinary things have taken on a sinister edge: a penny on a doormat. An odd man in a brown suit under a streetlamp. The persistent sound of an ax chopping in the middle of the night. He keeps telling himself that this is Seaham, a sleepy seaside town where nothing ever happens. Or at least nothing did, until his dad’s construction company opened up the cliff beneath the old—some say cursed—Langdon place.

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...

Years of brutal combat and a never-ending battle against supernatural evil have taken a heavy toll on Shane Ryan. Now, as he searches for the man responsible for the recent thefts of haunted objects in New England, he finds himself wondering if the world would be better off without him....

New student Lizzy Palmer is the talk of Shadyside High. Michael and his girlfriend Pepper befriend her, but the closer they get to her, the stranger she seems...and the more attractive she is to Michael. He invites her to join him on a snowmobile race that ends in a tragic accident. Soon, Michael's friends start being murdered, and Pepper becomes convinced that Lizzy is behind the killings.

The dead speak and one man hears their harrowing cries.... Dan Tate survived a heart-breaking tragedy and is plagued by nightmares of his terrifying ordeal. Withdrawing into an emotionless shell, he has driven away everyone who cared about him. Dan is lost, and utterly alone. Until he hears the voices.... In Coffin Cemetery, the anguished spirits cry out to him. Lost souls, torn from their places of rest, are seeking a way to move on. Dan wants to help these wandering ghosts find some measure of peace, in the hopes that, he too can finally put his past behind him.

The Aldens have promised Grandfather a vacation from mysteries during their island visit. But the promise proves hard to keep when things start to go missing. Then an old fisherman tells Benny of the island’s ghost horse, and late that very night Benny sees a mysterious stallion galloping down the beach. Could the ghost horse have something to do with the disappearances?

In this universe, many different realities exist simultaneously. You have to be careful when it comes to what you think about, wish for, and especially what you say. Thoughts and words have more power than you know, and you can turn your sense of reality into one you may not like. We were given the ability to create... so make sure your creation is as positive as you know how to be. If it is not, then be very mindful of what needs to change, because eventually, your own creation could end up being your own worst nightmare. This is The Scary.

Retired Marine Corps sergeant Shane Ryan has seen his share of death and violence. And as far as he’s concerned, the best defense is a good offense. So, when he and his friends manage to head off a supernatural attack at a nearby orphanage, he is determined to hunt down whoever is responsible for the carnage. There’s just one problem. The evil behind all this is a hopelessly deranged young boy who has developed the ability to command the restless spirits of the dead.

A host of the smartest young adult authors come together in this collection of scary stories and psychological thrillers curated by Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea's April Genevieve Tucholke. Each story draws from a classic tale or two - sometimes of the horror genre, sometimes not - to inspire something new and fresh and terrifying. There are no superficial scares here; these are stories that will make you think even as they keep you on the edge of your seat.

When the end finally occurred, everything about it was cinematic. The dead came back and ate people, civilization collapsed, and no one could do a thing. But Cyrus V. Sinclair couldn’t care less; he’s a sociopath. Amidst the chaos, Cyrus sits back and contemplates the gore stained streets and screams of his fellow man with little more emotion than one of the walking corpses. With his cache of guns and MREs, he rather likes the idea of hunkering down in his Seattle apartment while the world ends outside.

What has been awakened is unbound. The Boy is getting his first taste of freedom. As their comrades fall, fear threatens to consume the survivors in chapter four of The Boy in the Iron Box. Liev’s plan: get his men out of this ancient stone prison, take their chances with the wolves, and descend the summit at first light. But in this snowbound hell, there’s soon to be a frightening new twist to survival.

Amid the sweet sounds of a music box, their darkest fears will haunt them.... In Black River, Tennessee, everyone knows the legend of the Bell Witch...and the alleged curse that hangs like a dark shroud over the town. To some, it is just a local tall tale. But to others, it is terrifyingly real. For centuries, four families have been forced into the ritualistic tradition of sacrifice and terror. Every year, a member of each family stumbles upon an antique music box they need to lock before the time is up. And a horrible fate awaits them once the boxes open.

Ever since her sister became a man-eating spider and slaughtered her way through town, nineteen-year-old Ness has been terrified—terrified of some other Nightmare murdering her, and terrified of ending up like her sister. Because in Newham, the city that never sleeps, dreaming means waking up as your worst fear.

On an isolated mountain, a stone labyrinth provides rough shelter for a band of mercenaries. At its core lies a centuries-old mystery. But in chapter two of The Boy in the Iron Box, no secret is safe. A concealed pit; an iron box, wrapped in chains; a statue of a boy. What unknowns await the anxious, disoriented team in this strange ruin? Night will tell.

Beak-a-boo, it sees you! Cooper Klavan and his sister Anna are fishing with their parents at a woodland pond when they come across an injured bird. Anna, a huge animal lover, insists on taking it home to rehabilitate. But the bird really does not want to be rescued. It bites Anna, and scares Cooper. Soon, Anna is behaving very strangely. She's perching high up in trees, gathering sticks to hide in her room, and refusing to eat eggs-- once one of her favorite foods. Cooper doesn't want to jump to any conclusions, but his sister seems to be going to the birds.

The cheerleading squad at Shadyside has always been strong, but now there are rumors that lack of funds may mean the end of cheerleading at Shadyside. That would be a shame for Heather Wyatt, who has just transferred from her old school, where she was a star, and is eager to join the squad. There’s only one other girl who stands in her way - rich, spoiled Devra Dalby, who is also trying out for the one open slot. The competition to join the squad is anything but friendly - and it ends in murder. Will Heather make the squad - if there's even a squad anymore - or will she end up dead?

Kit Gordy sees Blackwood Hall towering over black iron gates, and she can't help thinking, This place is evil. The imposing mansion sends a shiver of fear through her. But Kit settles into a routine, trying to ignore the rumors that the highly exclusive boarding school is haunted. Then her classmates begin to show extraordinary and unknown talents. The strange dreams, the voices, the lost letters to family and friends, all become overshadowed by the magic around them.

Lili St. Crow’s darkly exhilarating Strange Angels novels have won a devoted readership. In the third book of the series, Crow’s unusual heroine, Dru Anderson, has been through the ringer, what with a missing mother, her father turning all undead on her, and forces of evil that just won’t seem to let her be. On the run from a predator with a taste for her blood, Dru can count on help from Graves and Christophe—but they just might do more harm than good as they battle for her affections.

After arriving in Plainfield, Connecticut to investigate a series of unusual events, Shane Ryan quickly uncovers a trail of mysterious deaths. And even stranger, for the first time in his life, his connection to the dead is silenced. For as long as he can remember, Shane has heard the whispered cries of spirits and ghosts. But a malignant force of evil holds Plainfield in an iron grip. Warren Thorne, the sinister spirit of a powerful man, controls the living and the dead alike. And he is determined to increase his power, no matter the cost....

Still recovering from his recent tragedy, retired Marine Shane Ryan receives a call from James Moran, a well-known dealer of haunted items in New England. A robbery gone wrong has left Moran with a trail of dead bodies and a missing box of items from his inventory. And he wants Shane to track down the thief. There’s not much to go on, but Shane has an ace up his sleeve. He can communicate with the spirits of the dead, and their dark whispers guide him to a string of similar crimes.