Small Horrors

On a 10-year mission to avenge the brutal sacrifice of her man by Stargut, the local sheriff, himself on a mission to create the perfect man-beast, Lovey, abandoned by her spellbound friend Patty, is joined by a stranger. Tom is a preacher of sorts who has followed the scent of evil for a hundred years. He mysteriously appears in the village of Wrong, a rural Midwestern town, its mutant inhabitants mere creations of the devil lawman. Together, the three converge under the moon into the wood down by the river at the doorsteps of hell.

Welcome to Julep, Mississippi, right on the Gulf Coast. Where neighbors have known each other for generations. Where the local hair salon has more information about what’s going on in town than either the local paper or the local sheriff’s department. The owner of the bakery knows you by name. The minister of the biggest church in town has more clout than the mayor. And people say “bless your heart” for all kinds of reasons, the least of which is when they’re ready to insult you.  

The foothills of upstate New York are alive with something terrifying. It hunts, it tempts, it traps, and there’s no escape. Thomas R Clark reinvents Irish mythology and takes you on a bloody, emotional, and horrific journey back through time with the tale of the McEntire clan, and the devastating secrets they hold. The author of the Splatterpunk Awards-nominated Bella’s Boys: A Tale of Cosmic Horror has crafted a story that’s part The Wicker Man and part Cycle of the Werewolf, but at the same time like nothing you’ve heard before.

When Sandra Meyer's violent ex-boyfriend returns to sleepy Edgarville, Illinois, she turns to the man who stood up to Nick Benedetto years ago. Sandra adores Garth, but she doesn't want any more ties to Edgarville. Now finished with a decade of dedicated service as her mother's caregiver, Sandra is planning her exit from this one-stoplight town. Garth is firmly rooted in Edgarville, with the family monument business and a trophy shop that will need a "mom" to his "pop". Garth has wanted Sandra ever since he slugged Nick more than 10 years ago.

Kait Brecker can't remember the last time she didn't feel like busted glass. Her volcanic temper's already scared most of her friends away, and a bad breakup with her college boyfriend Lutz left her crippled by guilt and painful memories. So when she learns that her best friend Alice is planning a three-day sabbatical in a secluded mountain cabin, Kait jumps at the chance to tag along, convinced that rekindling their fractured friendship is the key to fixing whatever’s breaking down inside of her. She should have known.

Darrick MacBrehon, a government auditor, wakes among the dead. Bloodied and disoriented from a gaping head wound, the man who staggers out of the mine crack in Redbird, West Virginia, is much more powerful — and dangerous — than the one thrown in. An orphan with an unknown past, he must now figure out how to have a future.

A relentless evil possessing an already depraved man...gruesome and perverse acts of brutality... Will anyone survive? Centuries ago the natives captured and imprisoned a life force of pure evil and unending hunger. Thirteen years ago, an eight-year-old boy woke the darkness. It grows in strength every day and now the boy is a man. A man skilled in terror and violence, the very things the darkness needs to finally break free.

A body has been uncovered in a mudslide just outside the village of Andwiston. In the pub they talk of murder, but Dan - sometime mechanic, constant drunk - is finding it hard to sift through his jumbled memories. Watching him from the dark is Lorna, a lost soul living in the woods, haunted by ghosts and a vision from her childhood: a cold boy standing alone in Gallinger's field.

In Riverton Falls, a small New England town, globe-trotting bartender Celeste Fortune stands in her kitchen puzzling over last night’s frightening dream - a woman at a window, lilacs blowing in the breeze, someone’s hands tight around her neck. Celeste is sure the dream belongs to someone else. Perhaps she has finally broken through to the collective dreams of Dreamland cult. Hoping her therapist and cult leader will help her untangle it, she heads off into the cold November morning to her final appointment with him - or so she hopes.

Ana, a widowed mother, and her family move to the countryside to find a better life and stumble upon a family that has the whole town helping in hiding their horrific secret. But right when Peter starts to develop feelings for Veronica, he and his mother stumble upon their carnivorous ways. So now the question is, will they stop them or will they try to escape?

Ivan Turgenev's Ghosts is a rare venture into the supernatural for this writer, and all the more precious for it. The story has all the beauty of Turgenev's language, all the power of his description, and the decidedly chilling feel of a true ghost story.

Khoma Brut had no idea the trouble he would be in when he asked for shelter at a lonely hut, belonging to an old woman. Enjoy this quirky and spooky tale by Nikolai Gogol.

A true horror classic of Ukrainian literature, Nikolai Gogol's Terrible Revenge raises the notions of terror, betrayal, and revenge to an entirely new level.

Alexander Grin is known for his strange and chilling tales, and this one is certainly one of the oddest of them all. The author would like us to consider what would happen if a creation not only outsmarted its creator but became truly dangerous.

The Engineering Castle is a real building that still exists. It remains one of the most sought-after landmarks in St. Petersburg, and it is steeped in legend, ghost stories, and lore every bit as much as Nikolai Leskov makes it sound.

A Mysterious Incident at the Mental Institution is a spooky, chilling tale from Nikolai Leskov based on a true incident.

A reminder from Alexei Nikolayevich Tolstoy that one might take great caution when pursuing hidden treasure.

Kingston is a secluded East Texas town surrounded by a lake and giant pine trees. Except for Friday night football, there is not one thing worth getting excited about. Until Ronnie Javorsky runs onto the field after the national anthem and is shot to death by an unseen assailant. But Ronnie is just the first victim. A macabre game of murder has begun in the quaint town, a challenge to see which sadistic killer can rack up the most kills and do the most destruction before the sun rises. All at the invitation of a mysterious figure known as the Host.

Sheriff Peter Holbrook leads a simple life watching over the residents of Nowhere, Kansas, where the most noteworthy crimes are dognappings and brawls at the local tavern. He’s always had an inherent fear of the gray - the yearly spring storms that plague the area. As the gray descends on Nowhere, a mysterious woman crashes her car just outside city limits. The tattooed stranger may not remember who she is, but Peter instantly feels a connection with her. But, the girl’s appearance isn’t the oddest event. 

Seventeen-year-old Hylee Williams didn’t ask to disappear. She didn’t ask to move from Kansas City, Kansas out to the suburbs in Missouri. But she did disappear, and not only that, but when she vanished from our world, she materialized in a dark, twisted version of the night that changed her life forever: the night her older brother went missing. Just as Hylee realizes this moment could be the key to unraveling the truth about her brother, she’s yanked away from the dark place back to our world.