Supernatural Short Stories

What do you get when you combine magic and teenage attitude? A witch stuck in a snow globe, that’s what. Shelby Flynn’s tired of being treated like a kid and when she finds herself in trouble for yet another simple mistake, she wishes for a perfect life. Unfortunately, she has a lot to learn about perfection and finds out the hard way that growing up has nothing to do with age, and being independent doesn’t mean that you don’t occasionally need a little help.

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was born in Dublin, Ireland and is acknowledged as an influential writer in the genre of gothic and supernatural fiction of the 19th century. Many of his short stories were originally published in various magazines. Here are six of them: “The White Cat of Drumgonnial”, “Dickon the Devil”, “The Drunkard's Dream”, “The Secret of the Two Plaster Casts”, “The Vision of Tom Chuff”, and “An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House”.

On the night of a freak September snowstorm, Dr. Ruth Strunk copes with caffeine withdrawals, the sudden coming-of-age of her daughter, Emma, and the horrific manuscript that was mysteriously left in her mailbox. Fatigued and questioning her own sanity, Dr. Ruth comes to a terrifying realization with dire consequences in this short thriller.

The vampire thought he knew Marcel. He didn't. Neither do you. What the vampire Christian Beauparlant believes to be a sad, dutiful visit to a dying friend, Marcel, takes an unexpected turn. The affable, island bartender is much, much more than he appears, and in the blink of an eye, he changes the vampire's world forever.

I thought moving into a new apartment would be easy. Even in this world of magic and monsters, moving out shouldn’t be too hard, right? With help from the ghost in my head, I hunt monsters to pay the bills and pay my way through university. Now it’s time I finally get my own place. Through lopping off zombie and giant rat heads, I should have enough money, right? But if there’s anything consistent about living in Hope City, things are seldom easy.

The twins are on the hunt for ghosts again, and trouble follows. Tripping into an open grave, they discover a dead man covered in fresh blood. They race to find Hawk Theriot, the only federal ranger in the vast Atchafalaya Basin. Hawk tracks the murderer through clues left at the scene. Meanwhile, the murderer breaks into Hawk's camp in search of the twins, putting Kristi's life in jeopardy.

Twins Mindy and Mandy rely on shaky advice to find ghosts at an abandoned house. Discovered with a bloody knife in their hands, they turn to Hawk Theriot to clear them for the murder of the old man, Gramps Atkins, who once lived there. Hawk suspects one of Gramps's three sons. Only he does not know which one. All have motive, means, and opportunity. After interviewing all three, Hawk reaches a surprise conclusion, despite the continued interference of the twins in the guise of help. Even the ghosts did not see this one coming.

One by one, cities have been falling to a terrorist attack. No one can stop the terrorists or figure out where the next attack will take place. All that is known is when the attacks start, the strange gas the terrorists use turns the moon a blood red, and black shadows of men and women are seen, slinking among the buildings. Yet, somehow, not a single survivor has managed to provide a solid description of the people attacking their towns. Most contribute this to the mysterious gas that seems to put the residence into a temporary psychotic state, but what if it’s something more than that?

Travel to the year 1967, when San Francisco became the place for young people to explore their sexuality, find freedom and transcend. What Willow never expected was to experience a ghostly presence that haunted her dreams and terrorized her waking hours. Will she discover what the stranger wants from her before it's too late? Over 18 recommendation due to mature content concerning references to drug use and its culture.

Ten stories of thrilling terror from the deepest depths of the psyche. So light the bedside lamp, draw the bedcovers close, and prepare for a rare treat of a book whicc will have you reading into the early hours of the morning.

Victor McCain is used to fighting demons, satanists, and even fallen angels. But when God's bounty hunter travels to the Windy City to take on one of Chicago's most notorious mob bosses, he is confronted by an assassin the likes the world has never seen. Literally.

William Hope Hodgson was an early British writer of supernatural and fantasy fiction, becoming an inspiration for later writers such as Clark Ashton Smith and others. Dating to 1904, this was his first published story, and it tells the tale of a mysterious marble statue coming to life and murdering the townspeople.

Ronnie Bowler has awakened on his birthday to find a strange gift in his email inbox. An old friend has sent him a link to a death day timer. He disregards the morbid idea of amusement until things start happening. The morbid becomes the malevolent as Ronnie’s lack of superstition begins to pursue him. As the clock ticks down, he realizes that time stops for no one and all of our days are numbered. So now he cannot stop, even with his numbers right in front of his eyes.

William Hope Hodgson was an early British writer of supernatural and fantasy fiction, becoming an inspiration for later writers such as Clark Ashton Smith and others. This story, from 1907, tells the tale of a series of mysterious deaths and a strange creature at a local water tower.

Originally published in 1888, this short piece by Richard Garnett offers the reader a light-hearted approach to Lucifer becoming the Pope for a day, after approaching a young man, who would grow up to become Pope Sylvester II, and offering to purchase his soul.

In addition to the children's tales that he is usually known for, Frank R. Stockton also wrote some ghost stories. This particular piece is from 1900. After a gentleman purchases an abandoned mansion, he begins to fall in love with the ghost of a young woman who returns to her old home once a year, on Christmas Eve, for a single hour. But what happens when he soon meets her, not as a specter but in real life?

Irwin Smutter is an outcast: a socially unacceptable, nasty cigarette smoker. Irwin seeks out a cessation expert, a dispassionate hypnotist who cures him while revealing cigarettes are the least of his problems.

Could someone experience a haunting and remain completely unaware? In the case of Reginald Bonner, investigator Taija Ford believes she's uncovered evidence revealing just such an event. Sometimes people don't realize what they have until it's too late, and if they refuse to believe the impossible, they might not comprehend the real danger until death stakes its claim.

“Mr. Tony Abbot”? It was my time. I had been waiting for this moment and now it had arrived. It was like going to school or starting a new job for the first time, a feeling of apprehension. I was looking forward to it with dread, I was going down.

A short story introducing the characters of the coming book The Mysterious World of Professor Darkk and Miss Shadow. Two strange individuals come to the aid of a group of people being attacked by a demonic being.