Short Horror

Brace yourself for a heart-stopping journey as Dr. Allison Hayes battles an ancient evil disguised in the most innocent of melodies. Your pulse will race. Your skin will crawl. Reality itself will warp around you as you plunge headfirst into a world where every whispered note could spell doom. This cosmic horror will infect your mind, leaving you breathless, exhilarated, and forever changed. Forget everything you thought you knew about the power of music.

Paris, France, is known as the City of Lights, a metropolis renowned for romance and beauty. Beneath the bustling streets and cafés, however, exists the Catacombs, a labyrinth of crumbling tunnels filled with six million dead. When a video camera containing mysterious footage is discovered deep within their depths, a group of friends venture into the tunnels to investigate. But what starts out as a lighthearted adventure takes a turn for the worse when they reach their destination - and stumble upon the evil lurking there.

Uncover the secret annals of untold history in these eighteen medieval manuscripts. Each tortured scribe will bring you face to face with ancient horrors lurking in cursed castles, wild woodlands, haunted hamlets, and mysterious monasteries. Including a lineup of authors both established and emerging, HOWL Society Press presents the first-ever anthology of historical horror from the medieval period, fittingly introduced by the writer who arguably started it all: Christopher Buehlman, author of the medieval horror epic Between Two Fires.

Darkly thrilling, these 20 new ghost stories have all the chills and power of traditional ghost stories, but each tale is a unique retelling of an urban legend from the world over. Multiple award-winning editor Ellen Datlow and award-nominated author and editor Nick Mamatas recruited Jeffrey Ford, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale, Caitlin Kiernan, Catherynne M. Valente, Kit Reed, Ekaterina Sedia, and 13 other fine writers to create stories unlike any they've written before.

Paul Tremblay has won widespread acclaim for illuminating the dark horrors of the mind in novels and stories that push the boundaries of storytelling itself. The fifteen pieces in this brilliant collection, The Beast You Are, are all monsters of a kind, ready to loudly (and lovingly) smash through your head and into your heart.

From werewolves and vampires, to demons and aliens, the monster is one of the most recognizable figures in horror. But what makes something, or someone, monstrous? Award-winning and up-and-coming authors like Richard Kadrey, Cassandra Khaw, Indrapramit Das, Priya Sharma, and more attempt to answer this question. These all-new stories range from traditional to modern, from mainstream to literary, from familiar monsters to the unknown . . . and unimaginable.

Our story begins in 1785 when a young seafarer, Captain Thornhill, disappears while visiting the shop of a barber in London, a certain Sweeney Todd whose shop in Fleet Street is situated by St. Dunstan's church, just round the corner from the famous and popular meat pie shop run by Mrs. Lovett. Thornhill was carrying a string of pearls as a gift for Johanna Oakley, the sweetheart of his friend Mark Ingestrie who is missing, presumed lost at sea.

The terror at Hotel Caligula continues, as ghost-hunting enthusiasts explore its sinister corners. Ancient forces of nature turn the table on a lonely old man. And bullied teenagers discover that supernatural vengeance comes with a deadly price....

Returning with his distinctive brand of unsettling fiction, J. R. Hamantaschen presents a new collection of unsettling and dark tales. These 11 stories refuse to shy away from the profound depths of human desperation and unyielding perseverance. Echoing the voices of weird fiction legends like Thomas Ligotti, H. P. Lovecraft, and Chuck Palahniuk, Hamantaschen’s narratives are a masterful blend of the uncanny and the profoundly insightful. Prepare for a journey that challenges the boundaries of dark fiction and leaves you questioning your sanity.

When Evelyn Eldritch is struck by lightning, she gains more than just a shock to the system—she discovers she's a witch! And so begin the adventures of a novice witch in one quirky village—with a maddeningly handsome policeman and a whole lotta murder, mystery, and magic! Dive into this enchanting four-book boxset, containing loads of paranormal cozy fun today!

Do you hate sleep and love real ghost stories? Then this 50-story collection is exactly what you’re looking for! With terrifying true tales from all around the world, these ghost stories will make you jump at every little sound. We caution you not to listen to these stories if you value good sleep, because these spooky stories will have you sleeping with one eye open! From those bumps in the night to that shadow you notice out of the corner of your eye that vanishes when you look at it, these creepy, chilling stories will leave you on edge and terrified.

Join short horror fiction writer P. D. Williams for a tour of his dark house of many rooms. This horror anthology is a collection of terrifying tales that will stay with you, even with the lights on. Popular horror authors, narrators, and podcast hosts are there to guide you past the sticky cobwebs and shifting shadows of this macabre mansion.

Experience the blazing, surreal sensation of a fever dream...A young woman named Amanda lies dying in a rural hospital clinic. A boy named David sits beside her. She’s not his mother. He's not her child. Together, they tell a haunting story of broken souls, toxins, and the power and desperation of family. Fever Dream is a nightmare come to life, a ghost story for the real world, a love story and a cautionary tale.

"Dancers in the Dark" is set in the Sookieverse and features Sean and Layla. Dancer Layla Rue Le May's childhood prepared her to handle just about anything, including her aloof partner, Sean McClendon, a 300-year-old, redheaded vampire. Even so, when she somehow acquires a stalker, Layla Rue is surprised to find that Sean is the only one she can trust.

Analyzing the way in which horror has been used throughout history to articulate the fears and taboos of the current generation, Darryl Jones considers the continuing evolution of the genre today. As horror is mass marketed to mainstream society in the form of romantic vampires and blockbuster hits, it also continues to maintain its former shadowy presence on the edges of respectability, as banned films and violent internet phenomena push us to question both our own preconceptions and the terrifying capacity of human nature.

A spine-tingling collection of weird and wonderful horror stories, featuring ghosts, curses, strange phenomena, ghouls, black magic, and demonic apparitions. Do you dare to listen?

People of the Dark is a short story by Robert E. Howard, first published in 1932. The tale blends elements of fantasy, horror, and adventure, set within the dark and mysterious world of ancient races and reincarnation. The protagonist, John O'Brien, experiences strange dreams in which he finds himself in a past life as a warrior named Conan. Through these visions, he discovers a lost civilization and becomes entangled in an ancient conflict. The story is notable for its exploration of themes such as the cyclical nature of time, the struggle for power, and the primal instincts buried deep within human nature.

Sam has retreated to her late father’s rental house, a safe place to commune with the animals in the greenbelt out back, tend to her garden, and keep her secrets. Her sense of security slowly returns - until an aggressive neighbor from the other side of the ravine fells a tree on her property. How little he regards nature. Or understands its darkness. How little he knows Sam.

Stranded on a desert island, a young man yearns for objects from his past. A local from a small coastal town in England is found dead as the tide goes out. A Norwegian whaling ship is stranded in the Arctic, its crew threatened by mysterious forces. In the nineteenth century, a ship drifts in becalmed waters in the Indian Ocean, those on it haunted by their evil deeds. A surfer turned diver discovers there are things worse than drowning under the sea. Something from the sea is creating monsters on land.

Elizabeth Gaskell's chilling Gothic Tales blends the real and the supernatural to eerie, compelling effect. 'Disappearances', inspired by local legends of mysterious vanishings, mixes gossip and fact; Lois the Witch, a novella based on an account of the Salem witch hunts, shows how sexual desire and jealousy lead to hysteria; while in 'The Old Nurse's Story' a mysterious child roams the freezing Northumberland moors.